Get your QUICK TAKES HERE!

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YOU. GUYS.

I am obsessed with a new icon–that of St. Anne and Joachim.

So, the names aren’t exactly Biblical, but, there is a long-standing tradition that Anne and Joachim were the parents of the Blessed Virgin a.k.a. Mary a.k.a. the mother of Jesus.

Also, fun fact, St. Anne is the patroness of Detroit. W00t.

ANYWAY.

My parents threw a hearty church-y shindig last week for a couple hundo people, and one of the things at the church was a silent auction. And the items were donated by a local iconographer. And one of the icons was of St. Anne and St. Joachim…MAKING OUT.

I know.

My sister and I tried to convince my parents to buy that one. And, solid effort by the padre, but no dice.

Anyway. This led to a bit of internet research for a free source to show ya. Not so much dice, but until then, how do you like:

Yeahhhhhhh holiness!

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YO. YOU GUYS.

I’m kind of in the middle of a novena to St. Therese right now (holler if you need stuff).

Now, a lot of times, the “sign” that accompanies a St. Therese novena will be roses.

I know it, but I also think it’s kind of silly and quaint. Like, look, your prayers are heard, whether you get a rose or not, so why rely on the sign?

Well. Today, in the middle of a bunch of bustle at work, a guy who works here said to me, “Hey, do you like the color yellow?”

And I said, “Yes! It is my favorite color! Every color is my favorite color!!”

And then the phone rang, and I answered it and bustled around some more.

But he said, after all that, “Oh, I asked because this was the only color they had at the front counter.”

And he pulled, from his manly, black leather motorcycle jacket, a yellow rose.

WHAT.

I know, I know.

I was kind of surprised, to say the least.

But, I put it in a vase and thanked him a few times.

Later that day, because it is Friday and I won’t be here for a few days, I gave it to a different lady, stapling a paper towel around the bottom.

It was only after she left that I was like, “AN UNEXPECTED ROSE!! AND I’M PRAYING THE NOVENA!!”

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Whoever you are, wherever you are: Happy Sweetest Day, darling.

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I’m thinking about helping to host a marriage conference.

NOTE THE IRONY.

But, really, I am. I know that it would be helpful for married peeps; only, they have no time to organize such madness because they have babies and stuff. So I kind of volunteered.

If you are married: hey. What kinds of things would be THE MOST helpful at a conference-y event? (The aim is for those married less-than ten years, just FYI).

Finances? Praying together/ discerning as a couple? What to do when shizz life hits the fan? What to do when you don’t like each other? Sex/ fertility/ infertility?

I’m willing to help and listen and plan. I’m just crazy under-experienced.

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I kiiiiiind of want to do a cross-blog sewing thing. For dresses. Do you like to sew? Do you want to talk about a new and exciting project? Do you want to be featured on a blog that has a readership of my mom? 😀

Yo! I’m thinking about having parameters be: sweatshirt dress. Like, make it nice and warm…and TOTES STYLISH.

Talk to me.

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This is Alice. She goes to my church. I think she’s 94, and she used to be a chorus girl in Detroit’s hey day and she’s full of life and love and color. We get each other.

Ask her how she’s feeling, and she’ll say, “I feel like A MILLION BUCKS!”

I adore her.

I told her I would share her with my blog, and she gave you these words of wisdom:

“Be kind. Be understanding. That’s a big word, ‘understanding.’ Be generous when you can–maybe not money, maybe not food, maybe a few beautiful words.”

🙂

Camera phone picture! I said, “Don’t you want to pose, Alice?” and she did.

I think I’m going to take all of my photos with this pose FROM NOW ON.

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Do you want to know what I’m doing this weekend? 🙂

I’ve had a friend, LT, since third? fourth? grade. And her dad, a photographer, used to say to her, unexpectedly and unannounced, once in the fall: “No school today, kiddo, we’re going on a color tour.”

And they would get in the van and look at the leaves. Is that not the best way to celebrate autumn?

A few weeks ago, an infograph was circulating on the web. And it said which weekends would have the best color in which places. And I forwarded it to LT and I said: “Color tour?” and she said: “Yes!” 🙂

So, here I go.