Happy Fourth!

Well, it's the fourth of July holiday and I happen to have a four day weekend.  Can't wait to spend the weekend soaking up rays, spending time with family and friends, enjoying margarita popsicles (more to come on this, KD is ingenius, my friends) and just having a weekend to rest.  Oh, and Brian may come to spinning class with me tomorrow.  This should be interesting.. ; ) 

Isn't this idea below so clever?  Well captured too..

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Weekend Festivity

Guess what we'll be making this weekend?  Friendship bracelets.  Brings me back to my childhood days - in a real good way.  It was only fitting that I listened to a Mark D. sermon on friendship on my drive home today.  Made me realize how grateful I am for good friends :-)

Awesome tutorial here

Appreciating Life's Little Blessings

{I lost the source, i'm sorry :( }

I'm finding joy in the beauty of today, friends.  So many exciting things happening lately - weddings, babies, community growing, church flourishing, people loving better, deeper and more. These are things we are to meditate on and cherish throughout our days.  God is good and His love is radiating lately in a big way (well it always radiates, but sometimes we don't quite catch the rays, you know what I mean?).  What are those special moments in your life lately?  A few years ago, someone told me to just stop.  Stop and appreciate each day's gifts and consider them blessings.  All of life's little gifts.   

Dark and Stripey

I'm liking black.  Let's be honest, I always love black - but the below images have my heart beating just a little bit faster.  Oh, and the striped headboard? I think I want to try it..

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Weekend Recap

Friends I had an incredible birthday.  Nothing over the top, just good old fashioned time spent with family and friends, eating delicious food, relaxing, shopping, baking, snuggling with Charlie..

I haven't put many pictures up of myself on the blog (remember my comment about back pudge?) but I decided since I took many on my phone this past weekend I might as well share.  The day started with breakfast in bed, then I was at the gym all morning planning for the massacre of food that was about to take place.  I took my first spinning class - no pictures of this event, but I'll be honest if I had taken a picture it would have been of the darn bike seat because my bum was in pain for days (it sure was an awesome workout though).  After spinning, I grocery shopped for a fun desert treat.  I'll post more on that later because it was that delicious.  Then, Brian and I had lunch at a local pizza place.  Later that day I got a haircut because it had just been way too long.  When you travel every week and are rarely home, you appreciate the days where you can just catch up, take life slowly and enjoy.  For dinner, Brian surprised me with reservations to Momocho.  Wowza I have to tell you it is that good.  We went with our friends Kim and Jordan (sorry to miss you, Katy and BJ) and enjoyed ourselves some deliciousness that included a guac sampler (goat cheese guacamole anyone?), butternut squash empanadas, margarita sampler (pomegranate, strawberry mint, blood orange, pineapple), and shrimp taquitos.  The celebration continued into the next day when my mom and b/f Katy visited with me.  Cake, lunch, coffee, pedicures and manicures later, I settled in for the night.  Thanks guys :-)

I also had a special treat from the Douglass' and Brian from this post (I got two of the clutches I was mini lusting after and was extremely excited and grateful).

Please don't forget to sign up for my first giveaway!! If it's mildly successful, who knows, maybe it will be a more frequent occasion?

It's Giving Time!

Hi lovely friends.  Today is a special day on this little blog because I am doing my first giveaway.  It may also be my birthday :-).  I wanted to take a moment (or a few days) to give back to you guys.  This blog is not all about me, it is also about you.  I want to celebrate you and bless you in a tangible way.  If you don't win the giveaway at least accept my gratitude for keeping up with me during a crazy time in my life. 

So here are the deats. Everything I'm giving away should be a fun accessory or pick-me-up to add to your summer wardrobe - I've been slowly and carefully curating this mini collection and each of the items are things I love. I will be giving away the following to one randomly selected person who comments below:
* Nice is Nice Essie Nail polish
* A set of carefully selected bracelets
* 1 Bow hairpin from Jcrew
* 1 Pelican hairpin from H&M
* 1 silver catchall tray (thrifted)
* Earrings from Francescas
* 1 green Moleskine (small, but perfect for jottin' summer notes)
* $10 gift card to Starbucks

(Everything I'm giving away is brand new [except for the silver dish] so no worrying!).

Here's how to enter for a chance to win (each option gives you additional opportunities):
- Comment below sharing 1 thing that gives you joy today (the weather outside, your morning coffee, anything)
- Add this little blog to your reader or begin following and comment below telling me you did so
- Give something away to someone else, big or small and tell me about it below in a comment (hey I'll even count hugs and kisses)

In your comments please provide enough details that I will be able to decipher one person from the other.  So either your first name and last initial, or your email addy.  [If you are having trouble commenting, select the name/url option and just type your name.. it should work... if you are realllly having trouble, you can comment on my facebook]. 

Entries will be closed and I will be randomly selecting a winner at midnight on Friday July 1st, mailing out the gift soon after.

(A random thought that I probably don't have to say but will - the giveaway is limited to the United States [unless you're some awesome friend on summer project or stint or something and I can send it somewhere local for now])

(Another random thought: if you are a guy reading this blog, maybe you have a lady friend in your life who would appreciate?)

Tomorrow

My birthday is coming up and I am considering doing a giveaway (free stuff picked for a person from a random drawing)..  If I end up doing it, I'll explain more then why I want to do it.  Would anyone be interested?  I'm thinking of a few summer accessories/pick me ups that might brighten someone's day.  Let me know and I might just have some exciting things coming your way!

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P.S. If you are having trouble commenting, I apologize.  Try this: select either anonymous and type your name after your comment, or select the Name/URL option and just type your name (or URL if you have one!) 

Pretty in Purple

I'm sure this may not tickle all your fancies the way it does mine, but I am loving the amethyst trend.  Now, it's way too expensive and probably not wise to invest in something 'trendy' - but it is oh so inspiring right about now! 

Hope all your days are going exceptionally well.  I have a friend visiting in Pittsburgh with me this week and she has been a huge blessing - it's just so nice to have girl time, and someone to share dinner with, etc...  On a different note, God is doing some exciting things in our family that I am really jazzed about and may someday share (nothing like moving or pregnancy or things like that though).

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Clutch

Look at these little pretties:

 

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Dreamin'

I want to be here right now. Sitting on that couch.  Gazing at that light fixture.  Instead I'm chilling in an airport on a synthetic leather seat with swollen feet from lack of circulation (flying always does that to me).  Quite a visual, eh? Almost to believeland (Cleveland, for you non-Ohioans).

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Kitchen Happy

Thought I'd share this beaut with you.  Love it. 

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Faith.

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You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.

1 Peter 1: 8-9

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelation 3:20

Pretty

How does this work?  I am fascinated and aw'd. Does it make you crazy to stare at? Possibly. But it's still fascinating.  They are not videos, they are images.
   

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Lately..

What has been going on recently? I haven't shared much about my personal life lately so I thought I would give you a little sneak peak...

I volunteered with my coworkers this past week at a national park in NE Ohio.  We participated in "beautification projects", which included scrubbing chairs and little boogies off of walls. 

I volunteered to take some pictures that day:

We hung out with some great friends who recently found out they are expecting twins.  Oh my goodness, I cannot express how excited I am for them!  I have already started an inspiration folder on my computer for twins.  They are going to be incredible parents, simply awesome. 

Obviously, these are not their kiddos but how cute are they?!

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Hmm.. what else is going on.. A few months back I was pondering ways I could serve more effectively.  These past few weeks Brian and I have been digging into this deeper to align our passions and God-given skills with open needs in our church. More to come on this. 

I made a birthday purchase at Madewell and it was semi-fail, semi-success.  I did find an incredible pair of sandals that I'm loving, but the romper I wanted to work so badly just did not hit it off with my bod.  I don't even wear shorts so I'm not sure what I was thinking. 

 

 

Hope to have more exciting things to come later in the week!  

Gross People. Good People. How we React.

Mahatma Ghandhi said, "I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet"

{Warning: super long post - if you make it through to the end, here is a pat on the back}

There is a reason I am writing about this today and not some other day.  The main reason is that nothing has occurred today that prompted this. It’s a fresh morning, it is absolutely breathtaking outside, and I’m right with the Lord.  Any other day, I may have written about this and it would have come from a clouded mind with harsher opinions. 

I have been somewhat prompted lately to speak (or write) about the injustice I see occurring in our society.  This entire thought process could probably turn into a book, but I’m not a writer and haven’t the time or tenacity to pursue such an endeavor. 

People can be mean – they can say harsh words, make jokes that are “meant” to be funny, but the truth behind them stings like a bee.  It’s odd to write about this now because I’m not saying it with a certain story in mind of how someone hurt me and I’m writing from a place of vindication.  I just feel that someone may need to hear this, or read it.  If even one person finds comfort in these words, then this is worth it.  Or if maybe someone realizes that they have caused iniquity in the life of another – maybe they can seek forgiveness. 

I know that this world is broken and there will be hurt and pain. It’s the fall of man, and it is understood.  But, the way we react to this, and the way it affects our life is somewhat our choice.  We can take persecution and whimper away, or we can take it and stand up for a cause, share our story, and change the lives of others.  Like I said, I’m not here to share my own story (right now) – I’m actually oddly prompted to share a story from my other night of watching the Bachelorette. 

I haven’t watched that show in a long time – probably 4 or 5 years.  But as I was flipping channels in the hotel room Monday night, it decided to give it a try.  I know it’s a somewhat terrible concept, and kissing 20 men all within a few weeks is not really cool. But alas, I was glued. 

{Spoiler Alert – I am sharing a lot of the 2 hour episode below}

In this episode, the cute bachelorette Ashley is completely manipulated and torn apart by this guy – Bentley.  What basically happens the entire show is [a] Bentley will appear to the camera independently (during those interviews) and talk about how he knows that he has no attraction to Ashley, that he wishes it was the second place contestant in the Bachelor, and that Ashley is basically an ugly duckling that doesn’t deserve his attraction, then [b] he basically manipulates Ashley to fall in love with him, consoling her when she is sad, telling her how much he cares about her, kissing her to woo her, etc. At one point in the show he admits that he saw her sitting in the corner of the room crying and decided he would “play with her head”. 

Now I don’t think that he deserves anymore publicity on this blog, so I won’t digress with the story, but the point to it all is – people can be mean, manipulative, and deceitful.  Now, I’m sure he has been hurt in the past, or maybe he was raised poorly, or something else.  I have no way of knowing what happened to him.  We’re all broken in one way or the other.  But, what I saw in the show was deeper than how he treated her.  It was how broken she was from being treated that way.  Later, she allowed someone who completely bastardized her publicly to stay on the show. In fact, the two people who screwed her over the most – she “fell for”.  This is not the first time I have seen this.  Not the second.  Probably the 10^th or 11^th. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a choice.  Not always, but in cases like this we do [sidenote: I am not currently talking about marriage – that is another conversation for another day].  There are good men and women out there.  There are men and women who care about you, and will love you.  There are genuine people who want to treat you well and serve you and lead you.  Of course, there is also Christ who will actually love unconditionally.  But, that’s not actually all I am here to share.  I’m also talking about people who walk on this earth presently.  Don’t let people abuse you, manipulate you, or deceive you.  Yes, there is repentance and forgiveness – but there is also a clean cut and a fresh start. 

Also, in the case of being hurt in a non-relationship type interaction, we have a choice to how we react.  Whether it is in the workplace, at school, at a bar, at church.  Something I am struggling through and working very diligently to pray for is not letting the world's pain and hurt affect me in a way that I am not glorifying God anymore.  If someone wrongs me, I don't want to complain about it or gossip, or react harshly.  I want to love more, learn from it, and grow closer to God through it.  {This is something I find hard, for women especially. We are sensitive by nature.  Also just a quick disclaimer that I am absolutely not good at this.  In fact, I am extremely sensitive - this is why I'm writing about it.}

Now a quick note to publicly thank Brian for never being the kind of person who would manipulate intentionally – thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be with someone wonderful, pure and good.  Amen. 

June

It's June - hooray! This is one of my favorite months.  The weather is my favorite, it's my mom's birthday, father's day, my birthday..

I love this set of photographs. It encompasses my mood right now (which is awesome, because last week it would have been rain, dreary clouds, etc.. [I was grumpy..]). 

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Life of Love.

These images below continue to capture my attention, and keep it.  Stunning.  Makes me want to have a dinner party - tonight. 

I hope that all of your weeks are rounding out well.  Its crazy how quickly the week passes us by isn't it? As I'm coming out of the slump of winter, I can't help but think that I let life pass me by for just a few short months.  This Spring and Summer I truly want to embrace life, with loved ones, friends, family, God. I don't want there to be this chasm of separation between work / life. Between God and "real life".  One world, living for Him, always.  My prayer for me, and my prayer for you. 





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"So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God." 

Philippians 1:9-11