The newest issue will be live first thing tomorrow! Please check back for lots of inspiring goodness.
In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at the new cover photographed by the talented duo at Pictilio.
Home Tour: Marcus Design Inc
Today I have the pleasure of sharing Nancy Marcus' lovely home and with you. See the full feature in the spring issue of Delighted. And stop by her blog at Marcus Design Inc. for more of her decorating finds.
I've really embraced the term 'Young Traditional,' I adore the traditional look with a modern twist, a room that has been curated over time, a good mix of old and new, with a touch of Hollywood glamour.
What do you love most about decorating?
I think my favorite part is visiting the wallpaper & fabric stores. I'm like a kid in a candy shop and it gets my wheels turning about the direction of a space.
Where do you look for design inspiration?
Nowadays it's so easy to find inspiration, I subscribe to several print magazines, I read countless online mags and blogs, and I'm constantly re-visiting my favorite designers’ websites for updated projects in their portfolios. Oh, and let's not forget Pinterest; inspiration abounds!
What room in your home is your favorite?
My current favorite room is the living room, the place where my husband and I relax after work, entertain our guests, and snuggle up with a throw and a good movie on weekends. I love that it's a calming space with a bit of color thrown in to spice things up.
What is your favorite piece of furniture or artwork?
My favorite piece in my home is a white mirrored cabinet I found for a great price. It's pretty to look at and it's currently housing many stacks of magazines that I can't bare to part with - storage is always a bonus!
What pieces do you splurge on? Save on?
Splurge on items that you use daily. Things you come in contact with all the time need to hold up to wear and tear; like a sofa, your bed, or an office chair. Save on accessories that you know you may grow tired of, like tabletop trinkets and pillows, trendy items or colors to switch up by season.
You've been redecorating your home, room by room. What room did you start with and how did you decide on it?
I think we come back to my favorite space! The living room is the largest space in the house; it's where people quickly gravitate, so we knew it needed to be welcoming and inviting. We changed lighting and floors immediately, and later added millwork on the walls for an added layer of interest.
What tip would you recommend to someone wanting to update the look of a room without redoing the whole space?
I would suggest first trying to re-think the space; can the furniture arrangement change to better suit your needs? Could items from elsewhere in your home be brought it? And then of course, accessorize. It's amazing what the addition of artwork, fabrics, books, and other inexpensive items can do for a room. Accessories are like jewelry to an outfit, they'll bring added interest through color, texture, and pattern.
Follow Nancy: Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Summer Sandals
Summer is fast approaching and if you're looking for some neutral sandal options that will work with just about anything, here are some of my favorites. The best part? They're all under $50!
Havaianas / Oasis flat shoes, $32 / Beaded gladiator sandals / Gap sandals / ASOS flat soled shoes / Mossimo sandals / Nine West shoes / GUESS ? sandals / Mango patent shoes
A Mother's Story: Suffering by Grace
Happy Monday! I hope all of you moms had a great mother's day weekend. It is my first year being a mom and my husband did a great job spoiling me. How fun to have an extra day each year to be celebrated!
Today I'm sharing a mother's story from my sweet friend Rachael. She is a smart, kind, and down-to-earth kind of friend who makes those around her want to be better people. She started a blog a few years ago when she was going through an awful heartache during her third pregnancy. It's a sad but hopeful story that is so worth reading. You can read the whole story on her blog, Suffering by Grace. The first post starts HERE. I cannot deny that it will make you cry; but it's real life and I believe that reading true accounts of the hurts people have experienced can make us all a little more sensitive and gentle to those around us. It's worth the tears.
This is the story of David Nathaniel Watson, the baby boy who changed our lives forever.
Tom and I were married in the year 2000. Lucky Tom, he got off easy with the wedding anniversaries since it’s always really easy to remember how many years that we’ve been married.
In 2004, our son Benjamin was born, while I was working full-time and in law school at night. Yes, I am crazy, in case you were wondering. So, I decided to leave my full-time job and “just” do law school. I graduated and took the bar exam in 2007, just a few months before our second son Caleb was born.
Things were moving along pretty smoothly until we got the bright idea that Tom should go to seminary full-time in the fall of 2007. Let’s just say that the years 2007 to 2009 were some “refining” years in our marriage.
Just as we began to come out of the storm, we were hit with the unexpected news that we were having another baby. I walked in and out of the drugstore three times before I could get up the nerve to buy a pregnancy test, and much to my surprise, the test was instantly positive! Since Tom was in a remote part of Kenya at the time, I was left to myself to absorb the news. “Surely,” I thought, “God must have a very special plan for this baby’s life.” And He did.
On October 12, 2009, we went to the doctor’s office for a routine ultrasound where we discovered that our baby boy was not growing as he should. In fact, at twenty weeks, his measurements were seven weeks behind schedule. I left that appointment with my head spinning.
After driving home in the pouring rain, I immediately starting googling the only information that I had: small ribcage and short limbs. My search returned the dreaded word…LETHAL.And I knew in my heart that it was true.
I could scarcely believe what was happening. I cried and cried until I could not cry anymore. Two days later, we went to see a specialist. The doctor confirmed our worst fears. Our baby’s condition was fatal. I was completely stoic. Our baby would most likely be carried full-term and be stillborn, or more likely, be born alive only to die within hours of birth. I did not understand. How could this be? Our baby was perfect in every way, except that his bones were too small. Outside of a miracle, he had zero chance of survival.
We were given two choices: terminate the pregnancy or continue on for another twenty weeks with no light at the end of the tunnel. We knew that there were no such “choices” for us. We did not choose when this life began, and we would not choose when it ended. Hopeless or not, we would continue on by the grace of God. After all, the next twenty weeks would probably be the only time that we had to spend with our precious baby boy.
Five months later, on March 1, 2010, just three days before his due date, our son David Nathaniel was born at 11:00 p.m. He cried when he was born. It was a weak cry, but the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. He cried and cried until Tom was finally able to calm him. Around 3:30 a.m. David lay on Tom’s chest and slept peacefully. Even though he was sleeping, I could not rest my eyes. As he slept, I stared intently at him, watching David’s every breath. I was afraid that if I took my eyes off of him for even a second, he might stop breathing.
Around 4:00 a.m., the nurse came in to check David’s vitals. His heart was still beating strongly, and he was still breathing, though his breaths were labored. I asked Tom if I could take a turn holding David for a while, and he gladly handed him to me. After I laid him on my chest, I was finally able to close my eyes to rest. We fell asleep together in the stillness of the night. It was so peaceful. I woke up about 6:00 a.m. and looked down at him. I questioned whether or not he was still breathing, but I was not sure that I wanted to know the answer, so I closed my eyes for a few minutes and tried to go back to sleep. I did not want our time together to end. It was like waking up from a good dream and trying desperately to fall back asleep ... I did not want it to be over.
A few minutes later, I woke up Tom, and we could not find David’s breath. I started to cry. We called the nurse into the room, and she could not find his heartbeat. Our hearts broke as we wept together in those early morning hours. We did not want to let our baby go.
When it came time to leave the hospital, I held David close as the nurse wheeled us toward the exit. I could not look up. I wept as we moved down the halls and out the door. The time had come. The funeral director was waiting in his white van to take my baby away.
I hugged and kissed him and handed his small, fragile body over to the funeral director. That was the hardest thing that I have ever done. The memory of that moment is still almost too difficult to bear. As Tom and I walked to our car and the white van disappeared into the distance, it took every bit of strength that I could muster to hold myself back from chasing after that white van. I knew that I could not keep him, but the pain of letting go felt unbearable.
Somehow, by God’s grace, we made it through the next few days, weeks, and months. Our Heavenly Father was faithful to help us endure those grueling hours and sleepless nights. God glorified Himself in David’s life and in his death. David’s little life served a great, big purpose. He touched so many hearts. David was and always will continue to be an indescribable gift to our family. We are forever changed.
As God would have it, the 1st of March is “St. David’s Day.” As I am reminded of this each year on David’s birthday, I smile at the sovereignty of God. He never ceases to amaze me with His involvement in the smallest details of our lives.
Written by Rachael Watson
Photos by Oana Hogrefe
As seen in the Spring Issue
Today I'm sharing a mother's story from my sweet friend Rachael. She is a smart, kind, and down-to-earth kind of friend who makes those around her want to be better people. She started a blog a few years ago when she was going through an awful heartache during her third pregnancy. It's a sad but hopeful story that is so worth reading. You can read the whole story on her blog, Suffering by Grace. The first post starts HERE. I cannot deny that it will make you cry; but it's real life and I believe that reading true accounts of the hurts people have experienced can make us all a little more sensitive and gentle to those around us. It's worth the tears.
This is the story of David Nathaniel Watson, the baby boy who changed our lives forever.
Tom and I were married in the year 2000. Lucky Tom, he got off easy with the wedding anniversaries since it’s always really easy to remember how many years that we’ve been married.
In 2004, our son Benjamin was born, while I was working full-time and in law school at night. Yes, I am crazy, in case you were wondering. So, I decided to leave my full-time job and “just” do law school. I graduated and took the bar exam in 2007, just a few months before our second son Caleb was born.
Things were moving along pretty smoothly until we got the bright idea that Tom should go to seminary full-time in the fall of 2007. Let’s just say that the years 2007 to 2009 were some “refining” years in our marriage.
Just as we began to come out of the storm, we were hit with the unexpected news that we were having another baby. I walked in and out of the drugstore three times before I could get up the nerve to buy a pregnancy test, and much to my surprise, the test was instantly positive! Since Tom was in a remote part of Kenya at the time, I was left to myself to absorb the news. “Surely,” I thought, “God must have a very special plan for this baby’s life.” And He did.
On October 12, 2009, we went to the doctor’s office for a routine ultrasound where we discovered that our baby boy was not growing as he should. In fact, at twenty weeks, his measurements were seven weeks behind schedule. I left that appointment with my head spinning.
After driving home in the pouring rain, I immediately starting googling the only information that I had: small ribcage and short limbs. My search returned the dreaded word…LETHAL.And I knew in my heart that it was true.
I could scarcely believe what was happening. I cried and cried until I could not cry anymore. Two days later, we went to see a specialist. The doctor confirmed our worst fears. Our baby’s condition was fatal. I was completely stoic. Our baby would most likely be carried full-term and be stillborn, or more likely, be born alive only to die within hours of birth. I did not understand. How could this be? Our baby was perfect in every way, except that his bones were too small. Outside of a miracle, he had zero chance of survival.
We were given two choices: terminate the pregnancy or continue on for another twenty weeks with no light at the end of the tunnel. We knew that there were no such “choices” for us. We did not choose when this life began, and we would not choose when it ended. Hopeless or not, we would continue on by the grace of God. After all, the next twenty weeks would probably be the only time that we had to spend with our precious baby boy.
Five months later, on March 1, 2010, just three days before his due date, our son David Nathaniel was born at 11:00 p.m. He cried when he was born. It was a weak cry, but the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. He cried and cried until Tom was finally able to calm him. Around 3:30 a.m. David lay on Tom’s chest and slept peacefully. Even though he was sleeping, I could not rest my eyes. As he slept, I stared intently at him, watching David’s every breath. I was afraid that if I took my eyes off of him for even a second, he might stop breathing.
Around 4:00 a.m., the nurse came in to check David’s vitals. His heart was still beating strongly, and he was still breathing, though his breaths were labored. I asked Tom if I could take a turn holding David for a while, and he gladly handed him to me. After I laid him on my chest, I was finally able to close my eyes to rest. We fell asleep together in the stillness of the night. It was so peaceful. I woke up about 6:00 a.m. and looked down at him. I questioned whether or not he was still breathing, but I was not sure that I wanted to know the answer, so I closed my eyes for a few minutes and tried to go back to sleep. I did not want our time together to end. It was like waking up from a good dream and trying desperately to fall back asleep ... I did not want it to be over.
A few minutes later, I woke up Tom, and we could not find David’s breath. I started to cry. We called the nurse into the room, and she could not find his heartbeat. Our hearts broke as we wept together in those early morning hours. We did not want to let our baby go.
When it came time to leave the hospital, I held David close as the nurse wheeled us toward the exit. I could not look up. I wept as we moved down the halls and out the door. The time had come. The funeral director was waiting in his white van to take my baby away.
I hugged and kissed him and handed his small, fragile body over to the funeral director. That was the hardest thing that I have ever done. The memory of that moment is still almost too difficult to bear. As Tom and I walked to our car and the white van disappeared into the distance, it took every bit of strength that I could muster to hold myself back from chasing after that white van. I knew that I could not keep him, but the pain of letting go felt unbearable.
Somehow, by God’s grace, we made it through the next few days, weeks, and months. Our Heavenly Father was faithful to help us endure those grueling hours and sleepless nights. God glorified Himself in David’s life and in his death. David’s little life served a great, big purpose. He touched so many hearts. David was and always will continue to be an indescribable gift to our family. We are forever changed.
As God would have it, the 1st of March is “St. David’s Day.” As I am reminded of this each year on David’s birthday, I smile at the sovereignty of God. He never ceases to amaze me with His involvement in the smallest details of our lives.
 |
| Rachael today with husband Tom, sons Benjamin and Caleb, and daughter Esther. |
Written by Rachael Watson
Photos by Oana Hogrefe
As seen in the Spring Issue
Wardrobe Wish List
Post pregnancy, I'm feeling a serious need to purchase a some new clothes, if not an entirely new wardrobe. Here are a few things I'm currently loving.
Thai Chicken Rolls
Recipe and Photos by Nicole Alesi of Happy Pretty Things
See feature in Delighted's Spring Issue
INGREDIENTS
Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
Rolls
4 whole wheat wraps
4 stalks of romain lettuce
1 lb of grilled chicken
1 red pepper
1 cucumber
1 carrot
cilantro for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Dipping Sauce
1. Combine vinegar, brown sugar, and coconut milk in a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, curry paste and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring often about 3 minutes or until the the sauce is thickened and reduced.
3. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
4. Transfer the sauce into a small bowl, garnish with chopped scallions and set aside.
Rolls
1. Slice chicken, red peppers, carrots and cucumbers into thin strips. Set aside.
2. Spread a tablespoon of peanut sauce evenly on top of a wrap.
3. Place one leaf of lettuce on one end of the wrap. On top of the lettuce, add two strips of chicken, red peppers, carrots and cucumbers.
4. Carefully roll the wraps starting at the filled end.
5. Using a knife, slice the wrap into two-inch rolls and secure each with a toothpick or bamboo skewer.
6. Serve with peanut sauce.
