Open Up Some Happy

What makes a home?

I kinda think the genetics behind a house are quite different from a home.

A home is a place of happy at work if you ask me.

It's imperfections yet routines.

It's a common feeling for all.

It's teamwork and rest.

Laughter and music.

Love out loud.

It's forgiveness and feeling through frustrations.

It's order and belief.

It's togetherness., toughness, and tenderness too.

It's time used.

These are just some ideas that come to my mind when I think of our home.

My history with what makes a home is derived quite possibly the same ways in which yours was.

1. I think back on my own.
2. And, I remember other homes I have been to.

My home growing up was a sweet mix of antiques, Bruce Springsteen & Emmy Lou Harris, and clean sheets every Sunday fresh from the line.

It was my dad bringing home fresh cut flowers for no reason at all.  

It was family folding laundry evenings in the living room floor.

And, Dad's homemade pizza every Friday night.

It was the windows up and the smell of fresh cut grass.

Screened in porch playing and a front porch swing.

It was smells of sweet lemon in the kitchen and sun-made iced tea brewing on the front porch.

Ever noticed how everyone's house has its own smell?  So much that the minute you walk in their front door you are acutely aware of its presence and whether or not you are, in fact, pro to that aroma.

I loved the smell of my home growing up.

I can still smell it in my mind to this day.

And I learned a little more about this thing called home a little later in life too.

I became roommates with one of my dear friends just out of college.

She was a hairdresser, and had an already established home of her own.

I think it had to be the perfect timing in my life for these concrete notions of home learned from her to take up residence in my heart.

Being 22, and completely new to just exactly what "setting up housekeeping" would one day look like for me, I silently learned a little bit more from her.

I love how God orchestrates the "others" in your life just when you need them most. For my mom was not around for this stage of my learning years.

Little did I know then,  how much I would want and need mom when I was all grown up.

I am still reminded of the above statement.

My roommate, Amanda, kept a beautiful home.

You walked in and would immediately feel a sense of welcome.

She is a collector to this day, and somehow these collections of little happys make you want to sit down and stay for a bit.
Her home had a place for everything: orderly and methodical her layouts were.
There was always a jug of fresh sweet tea in the fridge.
Always little morsels in dainty glass dishes for tiny tummy treasures here and there.
Tablecloths and flower arrangements.
She even had the neatest wallpaper border of little shirts and pants hanging on a clothes line in the laundry room.
And the smell of her home was so inviting.
She was the one who gave me my love for candles.
Her house was a wonderful melody of scents that were never overbearing, but gently welcoming to your sniffer.
Amanda's house made me feel like it was my home too.

k.Mac's Sunshine for the Soul Home Goods is a place you can read more about here.

It is a segment of k.Mac I immensely enjoy.
Truly, I love making candles.
There is a rhythm to the process that is peaceful and inviting to my soul.
I delight in the diversity of each scent that I select to sell, as well configuring just the right smell status for a wonderfully profound and substantial aroma for the home.

These candles burn efficiently leaving no wax residue on the sides if burned correctly.
And better yet, a portion of the price goes to your choice of charity:

Susan G. Komen
Special Olympics

Making a house a home is a something I work on each and everyday.

Emmy Lou rocks loud in our kitchen most days.
Oh, and Bruce too.
$5.00 bouquets for no reason at all, totally.
Loving out loud, learning to loosen up, and letting go happens quite frequently.
And, smells of something happy are often a flicker.

For me, it's the little things intentionally done that make the most out of our memories.

Open up some happy in that home of yours.

.mac :)

***The k.Mac Facebook page has a candle giveaway today.  Enter your favorite  Sunshine for the Soul scent on the Facebook page for your chance to win.  Contest ends 6:00 EST today.