Trust

fearing what may be, trusting the lord with all my heart, & surrendering everything to him & his will is something that ive continuously struggled with. upon a closer look, what christian has this perfect all the time? at one time or another we all feel & struggle with these things. ive always strived to be as independent as i possibly could, careful not to depend on anyone else 100%..so that everything was in my control or atleast it seemed that way. truth is their is only so much i can control. the more i give my life to god the happier i am. im finding myself slowly letting go of these ridiculous standards i set for myself.

DIY

i diy-ed these paper straws for our engagement party that just passed. after practicing on a few i got my rhythm down & was able to churn them out pretty quick with the help of my sissy. their such an adorable way to customize any event!

2013 first post

happy 2013! my year began much like last years..sick in bed with the flu. after finally recovering, while out to dinner with a girlfriend, i suffered a severe allergic reaction to something i ate. i most definitely freaked out as ive never experienced a food allergy before, let alone seen my face riddled with dime size swollen lumps. i was horrified & scared to say the least. ive finally recovered & back on track.

today, i made my first attempt at project bridesmaid. it was a complete bust with my sugar cookies looking like they were decorated by a 5 year old. piping icing sure does skill! however, through my failure emerged the theme & the direction of how I'll be asking my girlfriends to be my bridesmaid. an idea that i'm happy with! brainstorming will now cease after months of ideas bouncing around in my head. it's time to execute.

with the extra cookie dough i had on hand, i made nutella stuffed sugar cookies & got the two thumbs up from my taste testers!

spend less & celebrate more

i don't mean to be a debbie downer but to be honest sometimes the holiday season makes me sad. maybe because i miss my family. maybe because i know their are so many out there struggling to make ends meet just so their loved ones can have a merry christmas. maybe because christmas advertisements & decorations flood places every which (a few months early at that) way we turn that it shoves the idea to buy, buy, buy so blatantly in our faces that it causes us to forget what that special day is truly about. sometimes i really hate the power of consumerism. the theory that increasing the consumption of goods is economically beneficial does not necessarily equate self happiness or contentment. in fact it leaves us wanting more. sometimes i hate that the meaning of holidays has become more about materialistic things than it has about the gift of time with loved ones & celebrating the birth of jesus.

brown apple betty

next to an apple crisp, my favorite apple dessert is a brown apple betty. it's a no fuss warm & comforting dessert that tastes such little prep time. its easy to throw together as their is little mixing & even less mess! i absolutely love the crispness of the bread & much prefer it to the crust of an apple pie. topped with whip cream or vanilla ice cream & you're not to far away from a wholesome goodie at your fingertips.

tea time

as a little girl one of my favorite play time activities was tea time with my cousin or stuffed animals. one year i was gifted a pink plastic tea set that once tea was poured, depending in the temperature, the cup would deepen from a pink to a deep red. it had matching butter knives & biscuits that magically turned colors when i would pretend to spread jam on it. id play tea time for hours & hours.

except for trading in my plastic tea set for the real one, not much has changed as now a woman in my late twenties. i still love tea time but instead of non living objects as guests that don't talk back...i can enjoy tea time with the great conversation in the company of great girlfriend.

his love

God's love is...

a source of healing
a ray of hope
a place for comfort
a gift of grace
a powerful reminder of true unconditional love