Today was very cold and windy and it seemed as if we might get a little snow, but alas, no luck! As I am with my favorite little buddy most everyday, my heart feels very full of love and appreciation for this little guy who may not be very big, but he does make me feel warm inside! And that's my fur baby Elvis!

It's the start of a new year! I went through the blessings jar last night and it was so great to read about all the wonderful things that had happened in 2013! For this year I may try something new. There is this wonderful hymn entitled "Great is thy Faithfulness" and one of the lyrics reads , "Morning by morning new mercies I see". This had me thinking about each and everyday there is a new mercy that God has blessed us with. It may be small, it may be gigantic, but we need to take the time to see each day these new mercies He gives us. So I thought I would try to keep a daily log each day this year of my mercies and blessings. ( I will attempt to do this daily but I may have to double or triple up some times! ) Today is a trivial blessing, but none the less makes me happy!! Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love shoes! So to start this year out - thanks to many DSW gift card blessings from family and friends - I will say new shoes make me so very happy! And I thank God that I have many more shoes than I possibly need!

I have been very remiss in posting over the holiday season. I am going to try and work harder at posting more regularly. I thought I would start the year off right by being more mindful of the blessings God has given me. I saw this idea on Pinterest - of course - and thought what an awesome idea. So here is my Blessings Jar for the year. I would encourage any one to try this and see how full your jar becomes at the end of the year. My hopes and prayers for this year is great health for me and my family, lots of laughter, new friends, less stress, and taking more time to enjoy my life and those in it!

Just made this lovely gift basket for a customer! I hope the lucky recipient will be pleased!!!

J

New product coming out this weekend at the shop. Fruits of the Spirit Candles! I love these so much and I loved making them. Each candle represents one of each of the fruits of the spirit from the Bible verse found in Galatians 5:22-23 -" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." These will make great presents for teachers, Sunday School, and for yourself as well. They come in a beautiful 12 ounce glass container with the scripture found on each one. I have also packaged them in a lovely lavender organza bag.

Decided to go a little shabby with some pumpkins and help boost my "Mabelicious" display at the show. I painted some pumpkins pink and white and added a little bling with some glitter! Add some tulle and dried flowers and voila!

We are open!

It's been way too long since I have posted. I guess I have this little thing called opening up a shop to keep me  busy! What an exciting adventure it has been! We opened  officially on Sept. 8th and had a fabulous opening! Since then it's been two weeks and I couldn't be happier! I love it when people come in and remark how peaceful it is. That was my goal. To have a little "retreat" for customers to shop in peace and quiet and enjoy themselves as they browse through all the lotions and creams and other unique gift items. I am posting some photos but I am not pleased with the turn out. I am not a photographer and keep having trouble with the lighting, but hopefully you can get a small glimpse into the shop. 

And so my journey begins! I received the keys to my new shop and between feelings of excitement and  joy were also mixed with "Oh my gosh what am I doing?!"  You dream about something for ever and then when it finally starts to come true it's a bit overwhelming. That's when Faith has to enter in and take hold. My faith is being tested on a daily basis, but I truly believe it will only make me stronger. And the most important aspect of that is my walk with God. He is revealing himself to me in ways that I have never experienced. So when those days of fear take hold, I am reminded of just who is in charge and who to lean on.

Future home of Mizz Kim's Creations

Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding." This is what I have to do.

This is the view from my "Cabana". I was sitting here thinking how lovely and how blessed I am to have this right in my own back yard. What beauty God has created. We could all benefit in just taking more time in noticing it around us.

This week's happenings:

My niece Callie graduated from high school - in the top 1 percent I might add!!!

Tea party at my Pastor's House! A lovely time with the ladies!!

New friends who wandered into our yard! We call them Huey, Duey, and Louey!

Lavender picked and drying!

and of course...more soap!

My week in pictures:

Hubbie's big fundraising event for his band!

Step-daughter's graduation from the University of GA

New shoes from Cato!

Bookshelf before....

Bookshelf after....

Making more soap.

Thought I would share my Pinterest inspired Easter decoration. 

Fun times last night at Champy's Chicken in Chattanooga. It was a fun night after a long week of festival concerts for the North GA Band directors. My husband being one of those.

Here's our dear friends Amy and Tracy Wright. Tracy is the Band Director for the Ringgold Middle School.

Had a wonderful time in Savannah this past weekend. My husband goes there every year with his students for All-State Band. We closed down The Lady and Sons restaurant! Great food and great company.  

More photos from the Christmas Seven Course Feast!! 

Forgot to add the parsley to give it some color! Oh well, everyone
 seemed to enjoy them anyway!

Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes!

Smoked Turkey with gravy
, roasted potatoes and carrots and asparagus! 

Just pulled off a pretty big goal. Serving a 7 course Christmas Feast for a few friends. We get together every year for a big dinner and this was something I had always wanted to try. I didn't get photos of all the courses but one of the guests did. So as soon as I get them I will post those as well. What a great time we had and what fun planning it all out. 

Amy and Jeff

Josh and Jen

Me and the hubbie

Tracy and Amy

First Course - Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Decided to play around with an idea I have been wanting to do. Creating journals! I love journals! I must have a ton of them. I love beautiful covers and I see the fresh empty pages waiting to be filled with thoughts, lists, ideas, anything I feel like writing. This one I am calling a Blessings Journal so I  can write down each day the blessings that come my way. And of course it's in my favorite color of purple! I may make more and might add them to the Mizz Kim's Creations line. Still toying with that one....

Making Halloween cookies for my students!