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Tuesday, September 27

winning at pinning

i've been going a little pin-crazy on pinterest. 
but i've decided to actually start doing/making/creating some of them, rather that just pin them on my super awesome boards and forget about them.
{{it makes me sad just thinking about it.}}

so here are a few of my most recent attempts at active creativity:

[1] 

i've tried it, and love it! 
but i haven't completely nailed it yet, 
so don't make fun of the awkwardness por favor.


please and thank you. :)

[2]

so good, and so easy to make.

[3]
this site has great recipes for homemade coffee creamer.
i love it because it's organic, fresh, and yummy! :)
so far i've only tried the pumpkin spice,
but next up is french vanilla,
and then [someday....] when it's cold,
i wanna try the peppermint mocha.
yup.
i want them all.
i know, i'm super needy.

you can find my boards here:
pin with me

what have you been pinning and creating??

Friday, September 23

rain and rainbows

every time i start to write a favorite things post, i end up with a post full of food and coffee. 
but this time,
i've got rainbows.
yup. that's right, i said rainbows.

i love rain and rainbows!
and this week on the drive to college station,
i was lucky enough to experience both.
{{don't hate....i would have shared if you had asked!}}



our God is so big and so beautiful.
how can anyone look at a sky like that and not be blown away??

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
      The skies display his craftsmanship.
 Day after day they continue to speak;
      night after night they make him known.
 They speak without a sound or word;

their voice is never heard.
 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

      and their words to all the world"

psalm 19:1-3



p.s. my first ever guest post is up today on faith village!
see what the Lord has been teaching me

Thursday, September 15

for the love of coffee

[me, my crazy eyes, and my coffee cup.]

i'm thinking about writing a song,
because i can't think of any other way to fully express my love and appreciation for this wonderful part of my morning.

folgers, columbian, medium roast kcup
+
a ridiculous amount of half and half
+
one french vanilla creamer cup
+
1 splenda
the perfect cup of coffee

i'd like to thank stephanie for teaching me how to make my first cup of love, i mean coffeeand the sweet secretary that sat next to me at my first job for introducing me to half and half.
i couldn't have done it without cha!

oo coffee. 

don't worry, bryce is fully aware of little love affair, 
and even, for some silly reason, 
finds it completely ridiculous.
[[the nerve...]]

praise our wonderful Savior and his wonderful creation. :)

what makes your coffee wonderful??


Monday, September 12

fun with felt flowers :)

i went a little fabric flower crazy.
a tutorial on making fabric flowers popped up on my google reader, so i made one or two...or 6.

i stuck one of them on a headband, and i'm in love!!


i didn't have enough felt in my scraps drawer, so i used regular printed fabric, and just doubled up on the number of layers to fill it out a bit more.
i'm thinking of making a baby flower for some bobby pins.

[[yay for flowers!]]

it's super fun and peppy, and i can't wait to wear it to work tomorrow! :)

check out the how to on brittany's site!

any fun how-tos you have to recommend??

how not to make friends after college


A few of the most uncomfortable experiences in my life have occurred outside the doors of young singles Sunday School classrooms. I’ve spent many a Sunday morning sitting in a service, plotting my escape to avoid getting sucked in to yet another singles group activity.  It’s exhausting, and super discouraging, to have your idealistic perspective on fun and friendship ripped to shreds with the announcement of another activity that may “result in meeting your future spouse”.

I loved the church I attended in college.  It was a great group of people, great music, fabulous teaching, and it felt like home.  I remember the feeling of walking in on the first Sunday of college.  It was such a comfort to know that I was going to have a home and a family away from home.

I guess you could say I was looking for this feeling after I graduated from college and made the move to the real world.  I wanted a group of friends I could call family.  I started my journey and quickly realized that the real world was light years different from college.  I was overwhelmed by the number of churches, the number of young singles groups and the different personality types of the people I was coming in contact with. God is quite the creative person; it’s amazing how many different types of personalities he’s been able to think up!

In my head, I had decided what type of person I wanted to be friends with, and I didn’t leave much wiggle room.  I was looking for people I could make instant connections with.  I had this idea in my head that the people I met would instantly become my best friends; we would have everything in common, have dozens of inside jokes, know each other’s secrets and everything would be perfect and simple. I just assumed that we would click and things would be easy.  

I spent the first few weeks visiting different churches in my new neighborhood, each time evaluating the pros and cons of who I met, things I observed, what activities they had for people my age, but was never able to feel satisfied enough to make a commitment.  The cons list always beat out the pros, sending me to a new church each Sunday.  I was determined to find a group of people who were “just like me”.

One night, during a phone conversation with a sweet friend, I felt an aching in my heart.  This friend is one of the greatest and most encouraging people I know, and is the walking definition of intentional behavior. I am so blown away and inspired by her honesty, vulnerability, and the way she demonstrates the love of Christ in our friendship.  I know that even if I don’t see her for weeks, or don’t talk to her for a few days, she’s praying for me, and that she’s got my back.  I found myself aching for this type of connection and for the intentional relationships that I missed so much. 

I had so many great girl friends in college, I was surrounded by girls with such a passion for life and for our Savior, and these girls inspired me with their love for others.  I had grown so close to these girls and I missed the connection I had with them.

My heart was longing for more intentional relationships.  What set these friends apart from the others I had been meeting was that I knew her heart, and she knew mine.  Our friendship was based on the love and the beautiful grace of Christ.  And these friendships were built over time.

And then it hit me: I’m the reason I’m friendless. 

My unrealistic, selfish, judgmental expectations of others were keeping me from connecting with people.  Instead of searching for people who looked like the type of person I could be friends with, I should have been getting to know their hearts.  Surface level friendships are fun for a short time, but quickly become exhausting.  Always trying to impress, always trying to have it all together, always having your guard up, I’m just not good at that kinda thing.

I like to think I’m a pretty open person, that I give people the benefit of the doubt, that I don’t judge immediately based on looks or appearance, but sometimes, I’m not the best version of myself.  I should have been taking the time to get to know the hearts of these people, rather than taking a quick survey of the room, making a vain judgment, and bolting out the back door as soon as the teacher said “Amen”.

It breaks my heart to think about the sweet friendships I have walked away from because of vain judgments.  And so now, I make this my prayer: that God would give me the strength and patience to learn the hearts of the young people I am blessed to meet.

Real life is busy, and it is impossible and exhausting to try and become everyone’s new best friend.  Building a real friendship takes work, and it requires intentional behaviors and actions.  It also takes a lot of time.  True, real, friendships must be based on intentional behavior, honesty, trust, and the love of Christ, because without him, it’s just not worth it.

a charming date night :)

my fiance is quite the charmer.
and my super duper smooth talking fiance took me on a date saturday night.
[[[yayyyy!!!]]

i mean he and i hang out quite a bit.
we even go to dinner, see movies, go on walks...
but there is something special about calling it a date night.
and this time, he pulled out all the stops.

yummy dinner at pappasitos,
[where i ate my weight in fajitas and queso...because i'm super attractive like that.]
sunset walk through the park, including a reenactment of his beautiful proposal,
[[[and i only teared up a little...]]]
and a movie.

oooo.....but i left out the best part.
yup. hoops and yoyo.
does this man know my heart or what?



super duper night with a super duper guy. 



Thursday, September 8

embrace the photobomb : )

there comes a time in every girl's life where she realizes that she's in love with a goofball.

[or, if you're bryce: a ball of goof]

photobomb courtesy of the hubby-to-be.

i'm so grateful God blessed me with my handsome little ball of goof
: ]


Wednesday, September 7

so many wants

i have so many things i want to do,
so many things i want to see.
i want to explore and create.
i want to travel and be adventurous.
i want to stay up too late.
i want to laugh and cry with my friends.
i want to be free from fear and insecurity.
i want to live passionately.


i want to live the life my Savior has created me for.
i want to live confidently in the love and grace of my Savior.
i don't want to be afraid anymore.

Monday, September 5

a house divided

the engagement party finally arrived!
this was such a fun, wild and crazy weekend, and i loved every moment of it.
nothing beats being surrounded by friends and family.
we got so many great photos in, and here are a few of my favorites!

[bryce, granny, grandpa robert and me eating our hearts out at babes! 
yummmm!]

[friends+roomies=froomies!]

 [a house divided! that cake was sooo yummy!]

bryce's mom did such a great job with the decorations!
the cake was so yummy! and not to brag or anything, but the red raider half of the cake was by far the favorite.  


[red raiders reunited] 

[bryce with all the ladies!]

[the bridal party!]

[probably my favorite of the evening. gotta love the photobombs]

i have so many stories to share, and so much to be thankful for.
bryce and i are so lucky to be surrounded by such loving and supportive family and friends.


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