You know that place in your home, the one that makes you cast a weary and longing eye to your calendar and budget, while renovation fantasies fill your brain. Nothing is really wrong with the space…it is functional after all…and often you resign yourself to an attitude of “it is what it is” or, you can take matters into your own hands and make that space a beautiful place to be. Your choice, I guess. However, it’s amazing what can be done with some paint, repurposed decor and a little elbow grease. Welcome to my space…otherwise know as the master bath!

The original claw foot tub and some beautiful Asian art.

A silk rug from India dresses up the floor.

A cozy place to relax.

Of course, antique enamelware and dried lavender work well anywhere.

The Princess has her own ideas to add some natural beauty in our home…where can I put a giant leaf?

inspire me Monday. Tuesday at our house. The scoop inspire me Tuesday. Make it pretty. Made by you. Metamorphosis. You’re the star. Tuesday with a twist. Wonderful Wednesday. Talk Of The town. Keep in touch. Beautifully made. Party in your pjs. Wednesday blog hop. Your whim. Home and garden. Waste not. Dagmar’s house. Style showcase. Grandma’s house DIY. Vintage charm. Friday features. Home sweet home. Feather nest. Friendship Friday. Funtastic Friday. Grace at home. Pit stop. Thursday favorites. Share your cup. BFF open house. Morning Cup Of Joe. Home matters. Sweet inspiration. Best of the weekend. Create bake grow. . Fresh market faith and family. Sunday at home. Snickerdoodle. Happiness is homemade. Saturday shuffle. Silver pennies. Create with joy. Inspiration Monday. DI&DI. Amaze me . Over the moon. Good morning Monday. Share your style

So thankful for all the Princess love. Excited to be featured at these fabulous blog parties…

Over The Moon@Marilyn’s Treats

Best of the Weekend@Ms Toddy Goo Shoes

Morning Cup Of Joe@The Cottage Market

Sweet Inspiration@A Crafty Mix

Keep in Touch@Let’s Add Sprinkles.

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

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Sheree at Stage Presents – Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things – Pin

Penny at Penny’s Passion – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

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With a busy week visiting family and tending to a recuperating Princess, I have reached deep into the vault for a classic recipe that still stands as one of my most favorite. 

Honestly, I never heard about tomato pie until I lived in the south. Even then, for some reason, it just held no appeal for me…oh boy,was I blind.  Finally, after several “suggestions” from Pinterest, I decided to give it a go.  Pleasant surprise…despite the simplistic nature of the ingredients, it truly tasted…well, just like a fresh summer day.  Let me give you the recipe!

The usual cast of characters…although I have experimented with some guest ingredients like bacon and corn…

1. Blind baked pie shell. I typically have several homemade pie crusts in the freezer, but store bought is fine…no judgment

2. 1/2 to 1 cup fresh chopped basil, extra points if you grow your own

3. 5-6 freshly chopped tomatoes with the juice squeezed out….I save and freeze the juice to use in stocks and broths

5. 1/2 cup mayonnaise…I use full fat, I assume reduced fat would work, if you try it let me know.

6. 2 cups chopped and shredded cheese…I use whatever I have on hand, for this pie I used cubed mozzarella and shredded cheddar.

7. A few dashes of hot sauce and a sprinkling of sea salt

Easy peasy steps

1. Placed juiced tomatoes in blind baked crust

2. Sprinkle chopped basil and sea salt on juiced tomatoes

3. Mix mayonnaise, cheese and hot sauce together until it is the consistency of a “slushy snowball” and spread on chopped basil…gently spread!

4. Bake 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven…I don’t cover it.

5. Remove, cool and enjoy!

Oh, and no worries about the Princess…I believe she is on the mend.

Inspire me Monday. Tuesday at our house. The scoop. Inspire me Tuesday. Make it pretty. Made by you. Metamorphosis. You’re the star. Tuesday with a twist. Wonderful Wednesday. Talk Of The town. Keep in touch.Party in your pjs. Wednesday blog hop. Your whim. Home and garden. Waste not. Dagmar’s house. Grandma’s DIY. Friday features. Feather nest. Friendship Friday. Funtastic Friday. Grace at home. Pit stop. Thursday favorites. Share your cup. BFF open house. Morning Cup Of Joe. Home matters. Sweet inspiration. Best of the weekend. Create bake grow . Fresh market. Faith and family. Sunday at home.Snickerdoodle. Happiness is homemade. Saturday shuffle. Silver pennies. Create with joy. Inspiration Monday. DI&DI. Amaze me. Smell good Sunday. Over the moon. Good Morning Monday

Lots of old stuff lovers! So excited to have my new old stuff featured this week on

Funtastic Friday@Olives & Okra

Share Your Cup@Have a Daily Cup Of Mrs. Olson

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming Alice – FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents – Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things – Pin

Penny at Penny’s Passion – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

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I have to admit…I haven’t put a lot of effort into my summer decor this year. Maybe because summer just seemed to sneak up on me this year or maybe the joy of having the Princess home 24/7 took a wee bit more time…but mostly because every piece of summer home decor was packed up in preparation for our home renovation. The funny thing is a little bit of summer always sneaks into the house…with a little help. The delights of summer are simple…

Beautiful Sunflowers…

…and seashells collected all over the world.

brightly colored sea glass and sweet lavender linens…

…and the bounty of tomatoes fresh from the backyard garden.

And playing so hard in the pool you just can’t stay awake for one more minute!

Thank you for the kind messages and words this week. Princess is home and on the mend…but not happy about her soft diet.

Inspire me Monday. Inspire me Tuesday. Tuesday at our house. The scoop. Make it pretty. Made by you. Metamorphosis. You’re the star. Tuesday with a twist. Wonderful Wednesday. Talk Of The town. Keep in touch. Beautifully made. Party in your pjs. Wednesday blog hop. Your whim. Home and garden. Waste not. Dagmar’s house. Style showcase. Grandma’s house DIY. Vintage charm. Friday features. Home sweet home. Feather nest. Friendship Friday. Funtastic Friday. Grace at home. Pit stop. Thursday favorites.BFF open house. Morning Cup Of Joe. Home matters. Sweet inspiration. Best of the weekend. Create bake grow. Fresh market faith and family. Sunday at home. Snickerdoodle. Happiness is homemade. Saturday shuffle. Silver pennies. Create with joy. Inspiration Monday. DI&DI. Amaze me. Over the moon. Create And celebrate

My Chocolate Butter Cake was a hit…check it out!

Keep in Touch@ Let’s Add Sprinkles

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming Alice – FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents – Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things – Pin

Penny at Penny’s Passion – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

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July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month

This Spring our family was delighted to learn our Princess would have a surgery free Summer. This is a first for us. A little calm before the storm of orthodontics that will hit our household in the next few years. It is a chance to reflect on the amazing progress that has already been completed, but it is  hard…no, it’s excruciatingly hard…to contemplate what will be happening in the future-but it’s part of the journey…hers and ours. We are grateful for that

Sometime, in the early stages of our adoption journey, my husband and I had to make the difficult decision as to what special need child files we would be open to review. With the average wait of 6 years and climbing for  “healthy” girls from China, the special needs program offered a shorter wait and often included very minor or correctable needs.

After much prayer we listed the needs we felt we could manage and waited for God to put his plan into action. Flash forward about 6 months and we received that highly anticipated phone call and email file! As I gazed at that beautiful face I noticed her big brown eyes and smooth skin, her adorable ears and her gentle hands…I did not even notice her unrepaired unilateral complete cleft…it just did not matter, she was our baby.

Our Princess was 20 months old and living in the remote mountains of Northern China.

But what is a cleft palate/lip?  A cleft is a gap in the mouth that didn’t close during the early stages of pregnancy, and this kind of birth defect happens more often than you may realize. It is estimated that, worldwide, a child is born every 3 minutes with a cleft — about one in 500-750 births. Sometimes a cleft condition can be easy to see because it’s an opening in the lip. Sometimes it’s harder to tell if someone has a cleft because it’s an opening in the roof of their mouth (called the palate.).

There are many risk factors that can increase the likelihood of birth defects. While some causes are still unknown, genetics and family history, pre-existing medical conditions, poor nutrition and exposure to harmful environmental substances can affect the healthy development of a baby. As a result, these factors could also be the cause of a baby born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. We will never know why it happened, but we will never know where her outstanding fine motor skills and dimples came from either…and that’s OK.

Our Princess after we met her in China, already charming her Mama and Baba

Cleft lip and cleft palate can be repaired through a series of surgeries and orthondontics.  While it can be corrected, it really is not an “easy fix”…despite what you may see in Operation Smile advertising.   Our brave girl has had 3 major surgeries and some pretty extensive speech therapy with quite a few more surgeries in her future…continuing into her young adulthood.

Her first surgery at Johns Hopkins

She is a spunky bright little girl who charms everyone she meets. She is opinionated and sassy with a flair for the dramatic. Her empathy has no limits. She is our joy and we are humbled and honored that God has entrusted her into our care.  It really is a miracle.