LAST DAY TO JOIN AT 1/2 PRICE!

http://mystyleshare.com/Videos/Detail/74


Watch this video at our new site, "MyStyleShare," to see what being a Design Consultant with Willow House is all about!  Last day to join at the 1/2 price rate of $99!  Contact me at facebook.com/darlenesdesigns.

NEW Kitchen e-Boutique!

http://www.kitchenmoderne.com/Default.aspx?opuscid=480257

Check out my new kitchen store--the first of many wonderful e-boutiques we plan to roll out during the second half of the year!

MyStyleShare.Com Launch!

http://www.mystyleshare.com/Pictures/Detail/913
Check out the photo of my Cordova Nesting Tables on our new Willow House site!  For the next few days, we are only allowing Willow House Consultants to sign up for MyStyleShare. But we’ll soon open up the community so all of our hosts, customers, family, and friends can join.

Don’t forget — you will be able to share any of your photos and videos that focus on style. These can feature Willow House products, but feel free to showcase any areas of your home or ideas you have. Our community’s not just about Willow House — it’s about your style!

The Invisible Mother

 

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?”  Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner because no one can  see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. 

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'  I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?'  I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'  Some days I'm a crystal ball: 'Where's my other sock? Where's my phone? What's for dinner?'  I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature, but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!  

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'  

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

*        No one can say who built the great cathedrals. We have no record of their names.

*       These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 

*        They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

*        The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. 

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’  And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'  I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does."  No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.  

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.  When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."  That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, "You're gonna love it there."  

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.  

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.  

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know. I just did.  

God's Wife

An eye witness account from New York City on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
 
A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'
 
'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,’ was the boy's reply.
 
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
 
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed
his little feet, and dried them with the towel...
 
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
a pair of shoes…
 
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.'
 
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears
in his eyes, asked her,  'Are you God's wife?'
 

Cleaning for a Reason

If you know any woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It's our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

S*N*O*W D*A*Y Humor

Wednesday Words

"But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah..."  Jonah 1:17

Have you ever felt "swallowed up" by the "big fish" in your life?  I am doing a wonderful Bible study entitled, Jonah by Priscilla Shirer.  And as we studied the other evening, we noticed that the Bible says that the LORD provided the great fish for Jonah.  It wasn't a punishment.  It was his salvation! 

Maybe that big fish in your life that seems to be swallowing you up and keeping you from what you want to do and where you want to go is really your salvation.

I don't know about you, but it is so comforting knowing that when I am drowning in my own life choices, God will come along and save me from myself.  It may be a big fish or something I don't readily recognize as His hand, but He will always be with me and protect me so that I can get back on the road to Ninevah!

Tuscan Canisters in Outlet!

Beautiful blue glazed pottery and graceful, functional design? Robin’s-egg blue with a hand-brushed edge looks gorgeous. (set of two; Medium is 4 5/6" square x 8 3/4" tall; holds 6 cups. Small is 4 5/6" square x 8" tall; holds 4 1/2 cups.)

 

Medium and Small-$24.96 set (reg. $89.95)

Have you had enough of your job?

Are you tired of leaving your child with someone else every day while you go to work?   Does it seem like you always have more month than money?  Do you dream of a job that would showcase your talent?  Would you like to be your own boss?

Willow House could be the answer to your prayers. 

And, if you have ever considered becoming a Design Consultant with Willow House, this is the time to join.  The start up price has been cut in half--only $99, and you can benefit from Double Hostess Dollars when you do your first party to get even more free product to start your business and enjoy in your home. 

Try us.  You have nothing to lose and so much to gain!  This offer ends February 28th.  Call me for an appointment.

Gallery Flatware Retiring

Just found out our Gallery Flatware is retiring after this spring to make room for a new flatware set in the fall.  If you need to complete your collection or you have been waiting to start one, contact me today!

Buy 1 set for 4 people get the 2nd set 50% off OR buy 1 place setting get one 1/2 off - February only!  Supply is limited!

And the winner is...

Shelley Freeman has won my free product drawing for becoming a "follower" of my blog!  Thanks, Shelley, and you get to choose anything from the Willow House catalog valued at $39.96 or under.  Just comment here what you decide.

If YOU would like to be my February winner,  become a "follower" of this blog and be sure your photo is visible under "followers." 

Tobi's Tips: New Year’s Resolutions: Interiors Bootcamp

resolutions. First, on most of our lists, is getting our bodies in shape for the New Year. Those added holiday pounds just won’t work for spring and summer weather, so where do we go? Boot camp, of course!

But how many of us put our house on the same regimen when January rolls around? If a clean and fresh, but high-style space is what you are looking for, I say, instead of exercise … accessorize!

Tobi’s Top Ten for Interiors Boot Camp:  
1.) Recognize — Identify the pieces you can live without. Take them to a secondhand shop or sell them on eBay. Use the extra money to pay for new goodies for your home.
2.) Visualize — Envision your room as the clean and fresh space you want to achieve. Look at magazine photos or blog posts for inspiration, and then use these photos as a guide when designing your room.
3.) Sanitize — Our homes get lots of wear with kids, pets and entertaining. Don’t forget to have your drapes, carpet and furniture cleaned once a year. You might think about getting these items treated to avoid future stains.
4.) Organize — Head to your local discount store or an organizing specialty store and stock up on containers to hold all the items that clutter up your space. Invest in pullout racks for cabinets to make them more functional, and consider adding specialized shelving to your closets … make the most of your space.
5.) Personalize — While you want to remove a lot of clutter, make sure your home still represents you. Consider adding monogrammed pillows, your favorite color to accent pieces or walls, and create a place to display your most important collectibles. Your home should reflect your personality.
6.) Categorize — Speaking of collectibles, a collection of anything has more impact if it is displayed all together instead of spread out around the house. To keep the clutter down and the impact up, separate your collections into categories of like items. Use shadow boxes or shelving to display a collection that you and your guests can enjoy.
7.) Computerize — Put many of your photos on computer disks. This way you can run them on a photo display or your iPad, and get rid many of the picture frames that are cluttering your space. Keep only the most important and most recent photos in frames.
8.) Emphasize — Almost anything can be made new again with a fresh coat of paint or a new fabric. Take a good look at things before you throw them out. A neat chair or desk with a gorgeous, curved leg can look like a million bucks painted in bright lacquer paint. Consider spicing up your walls with stripes and borders that mimic applied moldings. They are simply created with a little painters tape and a contrasting paint color.
9.) Accessorize — Now that you have new or refurbished pieces as your base, you need to add the “jewelry.” Accessories are key. A new pair of lamps or pillows in fun colors and fabrics will give your room the finishing touches it needs to look complete.
10.) Prioritize — Most of us can’t do all these things at once. Develop a plan so you can budget for some of these steps each month. Start with the cleaning and organizing. By the time you add new elements to the room, it will be ready for its debut.
Want more tips and ideas like these? Attend one of Tobi Fairley’s Design Camps! You’ll learn all you need to know to whip your interior into shape. Upcoming camps: Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. E-mail info@tobifairley.com to learn more or visit the Tobi Fairley blog at tobifairley.com/blog.

This article appears in the January 2011 issue of AY Magazine
Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to AY Magazine »



Yummy Gluten Free Recipe for my friend, Diane!

Double Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding Pie

 

Prep Time:20 min Start to Finish:3 hr Makes: 8 servings

3	cups Chocolate Chex® cereal, finely crushed
5	tablespoons butter, melted
12	oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped, plus more for chocolate shavings
1 1/2	tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa, sifted
2	cups half-and-half
1/3	cup sugar
1	egg plus 2 egg yolks
6	tablespoons whipping cream, plus 1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1/2	cup white vanilla baking chips
1/4	cup creamy peanut butter

1.	In small bowl, stir together cereal and melted butter. Press in bottom and up side of ungreased 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake crust 15 minutes. Sprinkle with one-third of the chopped chocolate.
2.	Meanwhile, in large heatproof bowl, mix cocoa and remaining chopped chocolate; reserve. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, heat half-and-half over medium-high heat until almost boiling. In medium heatproof bowl, beat sugar, egg and egg yolks with whisk until pale yellow. Slowly beat in half of the hot half-and-half, then pour egg mixture into saucepan. Reduce heat to medium. Heat mixture just to boiling. Cook, beating with whisk, about 1 minute or until thickened. Pour through sieve into reserved cocoa mixture; beat with whisk until smooth. Pour into crust; refrigerate 30 minutes.
3.	Wipe out saucepan. Add 6 tablespoons cream. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Place vanilla baking chips and peanut butter in medium heatproof bowl. Pour hot cream on top and let stand until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes; beat with whisk until smooth. Spread evenly over chilled pie. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 hours.
4.	To serve, top servings of pie with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

1 Serving: Calories 920 (Calories from Fat 530); Total Fat 59g (Saturated Fat 34g, Trans Fat 1g); Cholesterol 180mg; Sodium 380mg; Total Carbohydrate 86g (Dietary Fiber 4g, Sugars 65g); Protein 13g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 25%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 25%; Iron 45% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 4 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Medium-Fat Meat; 1 High-Fat Meat; 9 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 6 MyPyramid Servings: 3 tsp Fats & Oils, 1 oz-equivalents Meat & Beans
*% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Weekly Outlet Deals!




















The Abingdon Rattan Caddy is not available in our Spring catalog, but you can order it today at a savings of 75% (only $19.96, reg $79.95) from my outlet store!  I love this piece for entertaining.  It lets me easily organize my plates and flatware and napkins so beautifully while providing more room on my table for the food.  It is also great for keeping your home office or vanity organized.


darlenesdesigns.willowhouse.com

Are We People Who Care?

In the fall of 2008, there was an unusual high school football game played in Grapevine, Texas .  The game was between Grapevine Faith Academy and the Gainesville State School .  Faith is a Christian school and Gainesville State School is located within a maximum security correction facility. 

 

Gainesville State School has 14 players.. They play every game on the road. Their record was 0-8. They've only scored twice. Their 14 players are teenagers who have been convicted of crimes ranging from drugs to assault to robbery. Most had families who had disowned them.  They wore outdated, used shoulder pads and helmets. Faith Academy was 7-2. They had 70 players, 11 coaches, and the latest equipment. 

 

Chris Hogan, the head coach at Faith Academy , knew the Gainesville team would have no fans and it would be no contest, so he thought, "What if half of our fans and half of our cheerleaders, for one night only, cheered for the other team?"  He sent out an email to the faithful asking them to do just that.   "Here's the message I want you to send," Hogan wrote. "You're just as valuable as any other person on the planet." 

 

Some folks were confused and thought he was nuts. One player said, "Coach, why are we doing this?" Hogan said, "Imagine you don't have a home life, no one to love you, no one pulling for you. Imagine that everyone pretty much had given up on you. Now, imagine what it would feel like and mean to you for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you." 

 

The idea took root. On the night of the game, imagine the surprise of those 14 players when they took the field and there was a banner the cheerleaders had made for them to crash through. The visitors' stands were full.  The cheerleaders were leading cheers for them. The fans were calling them by their names. Isaiah, the quarterback-middle linebacker said, "I never in my life thought I would hear parents cheering to tackle and hit their kid. Most of the time, when we come out, people are afraid of us. You can see it in their eyes, but these people are yelling for us. They knew our names." 

 

Faith won the game, and after the game the teams gathered at the 50-yard line to pray. That's when Isaiah, the teenage convict-quarterback surprised everybody and asked if he could pray and he prayed, "Lord, I don't know what just happened so I don't know how or who to say thank you to, but I never knew there were so many people in the world who cared about us." On the way back to the bus, under guard, each one of the players was handed a burger,  fries, a coke, candy, a Bible, and an encouraging letter from the players from Faith Academy . 

 

What an incredible act of Christian witness and kindness and goodness that was.  Proverbs 11:17 says, "Your own soul is nourished when you are kind."  Proverbs 3:27 says, "Do not withhold good when it is in your power to act." 

 

Be kind to someone this week. Be kind to every person you meet. You might be amazed at what God will do with a simple act of kindness.  

Wednesday Words

Before the Morning

Josh Wilson

from the album Life is Not A Snapshot

 

Do you wonder why you have to
Feel the things that hurt you
If there's a God who loves you
Where is He now

Maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday somehow you'll see you'll see

Would you dare would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming
So hold on you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling
It’s just the dark before the morning

My friend you know how this all ends
And You know where you’re going
You just don’t know how you’ll get there
So say a prayer

And hold on cause there’s good for those who love God
But life is not a snapshot
It might take a little time but you’ll see the bigger picture

Check out KLove.com for the rest of the song, and have a Wonderful Wednesday!

10 New Weekly Deals!

Our beautiful hand-painted Gail Pittman Bountiful Urn is only $16.96! (reg $89.96) and the Abingdon Wine Rack (seen here) is only $19.96 (reg $79.96)! Go to my website, click on "Shop Online," and then "Weekly Deals" to see these and more before they are gone!

darlenesdesigns.willowhouse.com

Awesome Discount Today!

Gail Pittman Handpainted Pots & Stand - Siena

One of my customer favorites is now discounted over 70%.  This piece is so fun to use in any room of your house.  Use it to serve veggies and dip to wow your guests or as an organizer to brighten your office!

Order it today for only $19.96 (reg. $69.95).  Check out my online outlet darlenesdesigns.willowhouse.com to order.

What's Great About January?

It is the beginning of a new year and a new you...give yourself the gift of becoming a Willow House consultant.  Only $99 for 9 great products and the supplies you need to get started.

If not you, who do you know who could use some extra income or even a new career?

Contact me for more details!