Of Life and Leisure

There has certainly been enough leisure time this summer. Strangely enough, it passes by so quickly that it seems I was hardly able to make good use of it. Whether or not that makes sense...

But I'm ready to get back to life full-force. It's all coming up at once, and I'm bracing myself. Not to say that in a negative way. Like when you brace yourself at the top of the first hill on your favorite roller coaster. :P

Laura started school this week. (I believe I'm going to get to do a little chauffeuring now)
This Saturday we have choir practice for our great big homecoming service at church. (I joined the choir. Hoorah! I didn't want to at first, but our new director is great. Singing is fun.)
Awana kick-off is on the 20th. I'm going to be a Sparks teacher! (5 and 6 year olds, I think. Cute!)
Preschool starts back in the beginning of September.

Yes, dear people! The decision has been made, and I am, indeed, going back to work. I suppose my last post on the topic was rather seemed like I was against going back to work. This is not the case. Really, I was just sort of thinking aloud (perhaps a little dramatically?). Anyways, I'm really excited! I'm certainly not going to become rich teaching preschool a couple days a week, but I'm doing it because I love it. We were in a parking lot somewhere yesterday when I saw some little kids at daycare playing outside. It made me so ready to be back!

This has the potential to grow to be a very long post. Hang on.

Yesterday we went thrift store shopping. Fun stuff. For me, anyways. All the little people may as well have been hanging by their toes, they were in such agony. I got two pairs of really nice, brand new jeans. And a little green fondue pot. Which, I admit, is a little pointless. Especially as it's missing it's base. But it's SO cute!! All vintagey, with the different colors on the ends of all the little sticks... lol
Check out the other kitchenware I'm longing for:

Wouldn't these little bowls just be perfect for some beef stew or something?
And then for dessert, you could put a great big brownie (mixed in one of these bowls) in the bottom of these, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and some caramel sauce that you warmed in this little yellow pot.

And, then there's just the coolest set of Pyrex I've ever seen.
( Oh, the amazing quantities and vast color palettes of Pyrex and Melmac! Oh, how I could just go on and on with the hyperlinks!)

But, you know, perhaps once I'm old and sensible, I would regret owning such fabulous dishes. I would think to myself, "oh, you odd self. Whatever for did you want green and yellow and orange kitchenware?!"

But perhaps not.

I certainly thing my ramble about kitchen stuffs is quite long enough, so let us diversify.

Yesterday, during our travels, I busied myself with reading. My dear Katey left a book at our house, and I carried it with me in case we should stop by. I decided to do a little skimming, and before I knew it I was chapters deep. So now, I highly recommend Not a Tame Lion - The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis. I'm not a huge-mongous Lewis fanatic, but I do enjoy his work, and I think he was definitely someone to be admired. This books was a great introduction to the man himself, and his... well, spiritual legacy. Certainly more interesting a read than I usually expect to find under the category of "biography." Something in my mind has caused that word to become near synonomous with "boring." Boring it was not. It was full of quotes that made me eager to read the next on my library-list : Mere Christianity. One of such quotes was this,

" Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another,
"What! You too? I thought no one but myself..." "

I've experienced that number of times! Such wonderful friends have I.
Speaking of friends, I wish a happy 15th year to my dear friend, Alicia.

I like baloney sandwiches and ice skating.

So! Where was I going with this post? ... Sorry, derailed train of thought. ... Um...
Well, I know I was supposed to write about the Prayer Advance. But I thinkI'll pass for now. Perhaps I'll get around to it, perhaps I shan't. Laura wrote an excellent post including thoughts from all of the sessions. Great stuff, you should check it out.

I seem to have completely lost my thought flow here, and this epistle is of sufficient length now anyhow.

I bid you all a happy week!
<3 Caitlin

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I've been browsing Etsy this morning, as I do most mornings, and I thought it would be fun to put together a little treasury of my own, featuring items from my favorites.



I added these to my favorites the other day.
They're not the only set of yellow vintage mugs in my favorites.
I love yellow. I love coffee mugs. I love vintage. How can I help it?


Now are these earrings cool or what? Permanent origami butterflies.
They're beautiful, unique, and colorful. So cool.

Do you know what I would make with this amazing wool?
Neither do I.
Probably a beret. They're my new "thing." I've made 6 the past 3 weeks.
But get this- it's dyed with Kool-Aid.



GreyBrocket is easily my favorite seller on Etsy. Which is really sad, because as of yet, I haven't bought anything from her. But I haunt her shop continually. She recently added a whole collection of neat screenprinted stuff to her assortment of amazing vintage goodies.
I think this bag is my absolute favorite out of everything I've ever seen in her shop.
It's yellow, and it has a bird.
Happiness in the shape of a bag.




I don't think I even need to say anything about this pair of earrings.
A (good) picture is worth a thousand words.


Orange vintage hoodie!! YAY!


Okay, so this is actually one thing in my favorites that I will never buy.
I just couldn't justify buying a cute pillow.
But I can't help loving it.

These mugs were feeling left out, so I decided to include them, too.
They're also from GreyBrocket.



I'm in love with this ring. Really.



Okay, I stumbled across these one day and had to add them.
I just realized they would be perfect for embellishing my kool-aid yarn berets!

And so, there you have a ton of my favorites in no particular order. I'm pretty sure my favorite colors and animals are reflected quite clearly in this lovely little list.
Please do not buy any of these things unless you're buying them for me.

Just kidding.