An On.a.Whim Story

“There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a 

beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves.”

~Thomas Wolfe

What do you do when you're overwhelmed by the uncertainty of your future? My last semester in college I started obsessively plucking my eyebrows. Realizing that "penciling in" my brows at 21 was pathetic, I decided it was time for a new hobby. 

That's when I found sewing; or rather, sewing found me.

A couple of my most favorite things are cooking and sewing; 

On.a.Whim is a lovely merging of the two. 

There's nothing like wearing a dress you've created all on your own or preparing a meal for the ones you hold dear. What shows you care about someone more than spending the time to bake a Poppy Seed Cake or Buttermilk Pie for them?  

Growing up my mom always had a homecooked meal at the table at 5 p.m. As a family we would sit down together at the table and share our day over one of her delicious recipes. Most women, single or with a family, work today and find it difficult to fit in space to shop for, plan and bake cookies -- much less a whole meal. But what about the woman who works 40 hours and still wants to step into the kitchen a couple times a week, throw on a cute, trendy apron and bake away?

 

Well, that's what On.a.Whim is all about. It's about taking the time to be thoughtful and creative. Two of our basic needs are food (which we consume at least three times a day) and clothing to keep our bodies protected from the elements. Why not enjoy the process of the experience?

Back to my early sewing days:  I purchased my Singer used for $50 and started sewing away. A sweet lady named Anne felt sorry for my pathetic jagged stitches and offered free lessons. I am forever indebted to her!

On.a.Whim aprons have been displayed in coffee shops, created in mother-daughter versions, sold at craft shows, and even made into "man-prons" with John Deere fabric! What I haven't been able to do is keep any aprons in stock! They seem to fly out of my hands as soon as the last stitch is sewn!

A couple of weeks ago, I got very brave and decided to sew my first dress. I found some fine wale corduroy at Smocking Bird in Homewood and a Simplicity pattern at Hancock's Fabric.

Many hours later and with lots of mom's help, take a peek at the finished product:

What about you? Any sewing or baking stories?

God Doesn't Have Selective Hearing

Do you ever wonder if God is wearing earplugs? Last week's discovery of Yale graduate student Annie Le's body, the continued horrid details of Jaycee Dugard's 18-year-long captivity, as well as some painful much closer-to-home news I just discovered has caused me to wonder if God can still hear the cries of the innocent.

I've been reading through the Psalms and this morning Psalm 10 was an anchor for my despairing thoughts. To know that King David also struggled with the great disparity between the hopelessness and evil of this world and the seemingly distant stance of God is such a comfort:

"Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?, David asked. 

"Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, 

who are caught in the schemes he devises. 

He boasts of the cravings of his heart; 

he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. 

In his pride the wicked does not seek him; 

in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

(This line convicted me; do I make room in my thoughts for God? The truth is He should be the center of my thoughts.)

But, right when I want to get depressed and hide under my covers for the rest of my days, here's a helping of hope:

"But you, O God, DO see trouble and grief; 

you consider it to take it in hand.

The victim commits himself to you;

you are the helper of the fatherless.

The Lord is King for ever and ever; 

the nations will perish from his land.

You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted;

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."

God never said our time on earth would be easy or free of pain. We live in a sinful world full of sinful people. But, to know that God is near and does indeed hear the cries of His children, is a great blessing! 

Happy Birthday Big Sis!

I'm so thankful to share the road with you! 

Love you much! 

~Cricket

Blazing Trails

I shared my Sunday morning as close to heaven as possible (at least in the state of Alabama) with less than a hundred hard core runners. For my first trail run ever, the XTerra Alabama Cheaha State Park 10K Trail Run was a wicked initiation with an extremely technical and narrow course. It only took one almost face plant into a sharp rock for me to realize this would be a full hour of steady concentration and strategy to prevent twisted ankles or worse yet, hydroplaning off a cliff. It was awesome.

Although the pre-race training was lacking, the pre-race trash talking was in rare form. The sweet dashboard note below was left for me by Amanda Blake after a particularly fulfilling training run a couple of weeks ago.

And, never one to disappoint, take a look at who took home first place female overall. Nicely done Blake. Thanks for a great Sunday morning!

A Chapel Hill Labor Day

For Labor Day weekend, I took a short plane ride to see my long-time friend Katie in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Katie and I met our freshman year at Auburn on a Navigator's retreat where we bonded over a shared interest in C.S. Lewis. Apparently we also both like to move. In the past three years, Katie has lived in multiple countries (including a stint in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Argentina) while I've traveled to six different times; so what if they've all been within the Birmingham city limits!

Kylie, another dear friend who lives in Durham, picked me up from the airport and we were able to enjoy a much too short catch-up session over Chick-fil-A nuggets at her husband John's store. It was, as always, so good to see Kylie and John and meet their 18-month-old Wheeler.


Katie had a full agenda for our weekend including rock wall climbing at the community center, dinner at Crook's Corner and breakfast at Weaver Street. But perhaps the best was saved for Saturday night when we were charmed by the tunes of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an African-American string band, at Cat's Cradle.


With song titles like Cornbread and Butterbeans, Two Time Loser and Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind, we were in for a real treat. According to Jeff Tamarkin from All Music Guide, the CCD's "belong to an era when music was not something to be sold but something from the soul." I'd have to say between their fiddle, banjo and vocals, they had me.

Visit utube.com/ccdrops for a sampling.

Did I mention we also stopped by the nearby Carrboro Farmer's Market?

Katie and I decided to make a late-lunch quiche using ingredients from the market.

We gathered some fresh basil.

Katie selected the perfect Roma tomatoes.

We chopped the tomatoes (around four small) and basil (a small handful) and mixed them with five eggs, salt, pepper & fresh, grated mozzarella cheese.

Then we poured all the ingredients into a Pillsbury Pie Crust set in a pie pan and baked on 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Our late afternoon meal was complemented with whole wheat blueberry muffins (recipe coming soon) and fresh greens that were also from the farmer's market. It was the perfect meal for a perfect weekend. Thanks for a wonderful respite Katie; you're the perfect hostess!