Finding Cinderella's slipper

I cannot for the life of me recall just how we ended up on the decorating theme for Hope. Either I subconsciously love fairy tales or the universe does. Fairy tales (Oklahoma style) have been chosen for the theme of Hope mainly after we found that gorgeous gown and mounted it on the wall. One of our guests staying with us for a military graduation from Fort Sill inspired an awesome idea (thank you, by the way). The children were absolutely fascinated with the "Cinderella Room" of Hope. The fairy tale theme was then a done deal. I love it when the universe give clear signs. Now what's the story of Cinderella without the lost high heel? It turns out I have a hidden talent for shopping (or just spending money).

Greetings from the Stone Turtle,
Danielle

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!

Project Decorating Hope Continues

Happy Thursday!

We are loving July! It's been a super fun month filled with lovely guests at the Stone Turtle - Lodging. We're even getting a little break from the summer heat with a rainy week. There's nothing like a mandatory break from outside work to get the creative gears grinding.

Our rental cabin Hope has been in the cross-hairs of our decorating frenzy lately. As Ingrid and I were browsing through a shabby chic shop (yes, Lawton actually has one), we came to the conclusion that clothes can be used for decoration. More specifically fancy, schmancy dresses can be great accent pieces. So we rushed to a thrift shop to try our luck. As luck would have it, we found this amazing Cinderella type dress. We also picked up a Happily Ever After sign. Boy, do we love fate.

What makes you feel like you're in a fairy tale?


~Danielle

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!

Simplicity of Life

Ingrid and I have been discussing life a lot lately. As a matter of fact, we cannot talk shop without mentioning the greater aspects of life. It's impossible, actually, to not end in a philosophical discussion about life and what really matters in life.

Humans are funny creatures. We work, work, work and buy, buy, buy. We get so caught up in conventional things that we tend to forget that cell phones, internet, cars, designer clothes, and boats aren't what truly make us happy.

It's taking the time to treat oneself and just be in the present moment. To sit outside in the morning and listen to the birds sing while drinking a nice cup of tea. It's about reading to expand one's horizons. Enjoying coffee in the presence of friends (not friends on cell phones). It's about star gazing and enjoying a glass of wine or craft beer. It's about tasting the food we eat. It's about gratitude. Being grateful for today and yesterday even if it didn't turn out the way we hoped. It's about taking the time to learn something new. To be productive with the time we have. It's about using your time qualitatively and not quantitatively.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." ~ Leonardo da Vinci

At the Stone Turtle, we also find ourselves getting so caught up in our to-do lists that we forget to just take a break to enjoy the beauty of life. There are so many things we want to learn, yet always say "later." Enough with the "laters" it's time for some "nows."

We, as you know, love books. But, now I'm on the search of more workshop (learn it yourself) and inspirational type books. Why not be able to have your very own personal workshop while you stay in the Lawton / Fort Sill area? Aspiring writers, poets, painters, gardeners, bakers, bird house builders all have to start somewhere, right? Because as they say, Rome was not built in a day. Something I have to remind myself regularly.

Off to search for awesome, fun how-to books for our cabins Faith and Hope.

Some of Martha's books...and donkey mascot.

Have a motivated Monday,

Dani

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!! So come explore Oklahoma and stay with us.

Wall Deco

For those who have stayed in our cabin Faith, you've probably noticed all the photographs on the walls. It was really important to us that we use our own photographs and that they were mostly taken in our area. Yep, all those lovely spots are in our area.

So as we're getting our rental cabin Hope up to our colorful standard, it's back to the photograph drawing board. Almost all of the pictures are in SW Oklahoma. It just proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. See an interesting picture? We'll tell you how to get there!

Greetings from OK,

Dani
Wanderings of a Girl Ryder

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!

This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!