The Choice by Elizabeth Robertson Campbell - Forbidden romance always makes a good story, and in this case a young South African artist with a penchant for Israel gets a job at the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. Aaron, an young Israeli man drops in one day to learn and complain about the Christians in his country. In this true story as told by Elizabeth, she is up to the biblical challenge to her beliefs (why not - her beliefs are basically the same with the exception of whether Jesus was the son of God.) You can guess what happens from there, until it comes to the choice she eventually has to make which goes beyond her intense love for Aaron. It's very Christian in tone, Elizabeth's writing is conversational, and her art accompanies many of the chapters and instances. It's one woman's story written with love and incredulity that it ever happened.
Spark Joy by Marie Kondo - An illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up - Marie's second book is the perfect companion to the first in which she teaches us a new method for purging and organizing our lives. In Spark Joy she answers all the questions and delves a little deeper into the categories - Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono and Sentimental Items. We learn that Komono is all over the house in 23 categories! Personally I had already mastered most of the Komono categories, but for the ones I'm still overflowing in, I'll have to read the pages over and over again in order to get to the ultimate state of "tidiness" I crave. Ultimately the test of Spark Joy speaks to me because it's honest and about my own relationship to the stuff I've accumulated. I'm still joyful about my clothes; it's great to have a closet full of only what I love to wear and then have the tools to let it go when I no longer love to wear it. When I wrote these last few blog posts, I was in Florida visiting my mom for six weeks! It was a lovely getaway to the warm weather; I didn't miss the cold and gloom at all. I came home all fired up to get organized once and for all, and decided to start in the kitchen and on my desk. For almost a week now, my kitchen counters and desk are practically bare. The stuff that was on the desk is doing time on the dining room table and every day I deal with it, refining my file system and purging. Walking into the kitchen is absolutely joyful. Those bare counters are helping me to feel more hopeful than I've felt in years. Even the sponges are out of sight in the sink. Steve is not exactly on the program yet, but I'm working on him and he's got no choice. This is how it's going to be in there from now on. It's like I was holding my breath and now I can breathe.
Her Heart On Her Sleeve: I live in a suburb north of Chicago, and I read, bead, make jewelry, sew, watch TV and movies, crochet, craft, decorate, go to house and garage sales, walk and go on beach walks, listen to music, take pictures, cook and bake, read, and write about all of it on herheartonhersleeve. I have a companion blog called Jewlery by Dianne Sophia at diannesophia.blogspot.com where I write exclusively about my jewelry.
Jewelry By Dianne Sophia: I have been collecting vintage jewelry since I was a girl growing up in Detroit, and have been designing and making jewelry for 15 years. I love to work with pearls and crystals, semi-precious stones, Sterling Silver and Gold, along with vintage beads and materials. I delight in combining shape, pattern and color in new ways. I'm inspired and influenced by my travels and experiences as a reader, writer, photographer and student of life. My blog herheartonhersleeve.blogspot.com chronicles my life in art and popular culture.
The Choice by Elizabeth Robertson Campbell - Forbidden romance always makes a good story, and in this case a young South African artist with a penchant for Israel gets a job at the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. Aaron, an young Israeli man drops in one day to learn and complain about the Christians in his country. In this true story as told by Elizabeth, she is up to the biblical challenge to her beliefs (why not - her beliefs are basically the same with the exception of whether Jesus was the son of God.) You can guess what happens from there, until it comes to the choice she eventually has to make which goes beyond her intense love for Aaron. It's very Christian in tone, Elizabeth's writing is conversational, and her art accompanies many of the chapters and instances. It's one woman's story written with love and incredulity that it ever happened. 
Spark Joy by Marie Kondo - An illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up - Marie's second book is the perfect companion to the first in which she teaches us a new method for purging and organizing our lives. In Spark Joy she answers all the questions and delves a little deeper into the categories - Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono and Sentimental Items. We learn that Komono is all over the house in 23 categories! Personally I had already mastered most of the Komono categories, but for the ones I'm still overflowing in, I'll have to read the pages over and over again in order to get to the ultimate state of "tidiness" I crave. Ultimately the test of Spark Joy speaks to me because it's honest and about my own relationship to the stuff I've accumulated. I'm still joyful about my clothes; it's great to have a closet full of only what I love to wear and then have the tools to let it go when I no longer love to wear it. When I wrote these last few blog posts, I was in Florida visiting my mom for six weeks! It was a lovely getaway to the warm weather; I didn't miss the cold and gloom at all. I came home all fired up to get organized once and for all, and decided to start in the kitchen and on my desk. For almost a week now, my kitchen counters and desk are practically bare. The stuff that was on the desk is doing time on the dining room table and every day I deal with it, refining my file system and purging. Walking into the kitchen is absolutely joyful. Those bare counters are helping me to feel more hopeful than I've felt in years. Even the sponges are out of sight in the sink. Steve is not exactly on the program yet, but I'm working on him and he's got no choice. This is how it's going to be in there from now on. It's like I was holding my breath and now I can breathe. 
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