boo!

found this old picture of a blond me

with some of fellow RAs in college at a party we threw on campus

{seems like forever ago . . . }.

check out 'quail man'- best costume EVER.

today is an especially crazy sunday

{2 church services, a potluck, small group prep and a church stage breakdown . . . phew!}

but i think i'm going to try to squeeze in a little time to watch

hocus pocus

and bake some caramel apples.

happy halloween!!!!

plane

it totally stinks to be long-distance from mr. wonderful.

like, really really really terrible.

to bridge the gap between me in new hampshire and him in nashville,

we've started this little game over the last few months

of sending each other pictures during everyday activities that

we might be sharing if we were in the same town.

it's certainly no where near as good

as doing things together . . .

like grabbing coffee

{oh, how we love it . . . }

searching for light flares

and shopping for for clothes . . .

okay, i love this more than he does, but he humors me.

maybe we're super corny,

but i'm absolutely tickled by it.

{doesn't help that he's so handsome, huh?}

such a sucker for this mraz song . . .

fun new toy!

i have something new and it is delightful!

welcome,

little macbook pro.

you are the sun to my morning stall, my evening kill-time and weekend procrastinate.

ichat, for the record, must be the most amazing thing

ever invented.

i have been on it almost 24/7 since i got it!

{and now i can make cool andy warhol-esc pictures like everyone else!}

oh the weather outside is frightful.

do you like it when it gets colder?

i do.

{i mean, i complain, but i'm only kidding . . .}

it's right about this time of year that i start to hear

'jingle bells'

in my head . . . constantly.

i even toyed with the idea of loading

some good ole' mariah carey christmas tunes

onto the ipod.

mother and i have definitely discussed potential presents

for sister and brother

and i've begun to grill mr. wonderful

on his wishes for this year . . .

i realize it's only the last week in october,

but the cool, windy weather

and dark days

are food for my holiday bug!!!!

{via garance dore}

fantasy shopping

i am in love with all things

shimmery, sparkley and pretty.

they make me happy on cold days like today.

happy monday!

{dress via net-a-porter, shoes via piperlime & jcrew}

the twins, judgement and grace

disclaimer:

this may seem worse before it gets better.

the thought of judgement always makes me

fear/despise/crumble/cringe.

if i'm really being honest.

judgement from family, friends, maybe colleagues . . .

we all have comebacks for situations when we're feeling judged.

here are a few of my faves:

"it's not their place to judge."

"who are they to tell me what is right and wrong?"

"thank you, mr. or miss holier-than-thou."

sometimes, these statements are perfectly appropriate

and other times,

we {i} need to shut our mouths {my mouth} and take a good look inward, right?

but what about God?

it IS His place to judge. He IS "holier-than-thou."

and because of that,

the thought of His judgement makes me want to crawl under a rock and die.

i'm just being honest.

"for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ,

so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body,

whether good or evil."

1 corinthians 5:10

gulp.

thank goodness for grace.

grace is amazing {that's why it's a song, right?} . . .

it's by grace that we receive forgiveness when we repent of what we've done wrong . . .

no matter how rottenly we've behaved.

"but to each one of us grace was given according

to the measure of Christ's gift."

ephesians 4:7

and we get it!

how often do we freely receive something so easily after just ASKING?

no begging or pleading required!

so, it suddenly occurred to me though . . . without judgement,

there would be no grace.

grace and judgement are kind of like fraternal twins-

they look very different and yet work perfectly together.

without the pit-of-my-stomach-guilty feeling i get when i know

God is convicting me of something i've done,

i probably wouldn't turn to Him for forgiveness.

and in return, i could never receive the grace of forgiveness that was provided to me

when Jesus died on the cross and covered my sin.

"truly, truly, i say to you,

whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life.

he does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life."

john 5:24

God's judgement is His was of correcting me,

the same way a parent disciplines a misbehaving child.

He does it because He loves me and wants to draw me closer to the things of Him.

closer to the right way to do things.

when i repent and receive His grace, I'm blessed by stepping closer to His ways.

it makes me fear His judgement a whole lot less

and worship Him a whole lot more for

being my loving, disciplining Father in Heaven.

don't you agree?

{via tumblr}

things that make the weekend happy.

reading and journaling.

church.

gazing out the window.

coffee. 2 cups.

wearing cozy things.

happy weekend, everyone!!!

{via tumblr}

meet the new couch!

i've been posting about my love for green couches and my first big furniture purchase

for a few months now . . .

and yesterday,

the sofa arrived!

it was horrible torture waiting all day to get home to see it {worked late for manchester's trolley tour,

which hits up all the downtown artsy hot-spots.}

how happy was i to see the new sofa safe and sound

in my living room?!

i commented to someone the other day that this

sofa might be a gateway drug,

and i think that may have been a good call-

i'm already scoping out an ottoman to coordinate . . .

i think it would be a great addition to the living room. thoughts?

{ottoman via west elm}

a key to free

TODAY IS OCTOBER 21ST.

today,

i'm wearing my key to symbolize freedom to the millions

bound by modern day slavery.

~~~

almost 2 years ago,

i went to india as part of an anti-trafficking mission trip.

i met children and women,

all at risk of being sold into slavery,

who changed my life forever. ~~~

at catalyst 2010,

tears streamed down my face as i listened to

christine caine from A21

and i cringed in fear as i watched this movie preview.

~~~ and just last weekend,

pat manzo

spoke to my church about his organization,

run for freedom

and how their combating human trafficking within

the united states.

~~~

this is something that goes on every day.

kids and women

sold into the most horrific circumstances. it makes my skin crawl and stomach turn

and yet it's not something

any of us should turn away from.

i don't know too many things,

but i know the Bible says,

"He has showed you, o man, what is good.

and what does the Lord require of you?

to act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God." micah 6:8

we're called to action;

we're called to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves.

i don't know how or what this looks like for me,

but i know that i'm looking . . .

i know that we all should be.

{via tumblr}

some women have all the talent.

seriously,

what on earth enables these women to ride in

THOSE HEELS??!!

scooter riding in killer heels and a skirt is

DEFINITELY

on my bucket list now.

{via tumblr, the sartorialist, & designlovefest}

smitten as a kitten . . .

a very special package is coming to me very soon . . .

can you guess what it is???

{hint: it is NOT my cool green couch that comes tomorrow!!!}

for the record,

i think cats are pretty much disgusting creatures . . .

and i'm allergic to them anyway,

so all you cat-lovers can just calm down.

wink.

{via tumblr}

i have an obsession with straws.

it's true.

a few months ago,

i gave in and bought a bunch of plastic, candy-colored swirly straws . . .

and i think the obsession has become worse since.

mr. wonderful grabbed a fist-full of

eco-friendly suckers during a stop at

ted's montana grill in nashville

before he came to back NH for a visit . . .

and i must confess i became embarrassingly excited

over them.

i've never been to the grill,

and i'm not sure it would be the best spot for me

{considering my vegetarianism and all}

but i'm exceedingly impressed with these little babies.

i'm also peeking at a few other straws online . . .

stripes, anyone?

awwwww . . . the weekend.

sorry.

i just had no other title.

lame, i know.

~~~

images like this just make me melt.

ugh,

sometimes i die over how much of a sap i am . . .

speaking of being a total gushy girl,

here is a sweet little vid

that mr. wonderful

sent along not too long ago . . .

{yes, that is his diana camera!}

how lucky am i that i get to open my inbox

to fun things like this?

he's going to be in town over the weekend

and i may just be a

liiiiittle excited to see him.

happy weekend, all!

{via tumblr}

oh, to frolic in a cornfield!

my new job is ridiculous amounts of fun.

i mean,

who can say they get to go to work and spend time

with great artists

and

fab people

every single day?

well, i am definitely that lucky girl.

~~~

the boss and i recently ventured outside

to take some new portraits for me

{the last time he photographed me,

i was sporting a blond pixie cut . . .

sliiightly outdated, no?}

and this is what he came up with:

we definitely had a blast creating these.

his sweet 11 year old daughter came to assist

{she is fierce with a reflector panel, let me tell you} . . .

we got lots of dirt in our shoes while tromping around

the corn and sunflowers

and laughed the whole time.

can't lose when your bosses are awesome folks

and also

killer artists,

right?

apples to apples

gotta love fall apple picking in nh.

a huge group of us

from church

went to gould hill farm on sunday after service

to grab a ton of apples . . .

i ventured along,

despite being plagued with the most terrible cold

{i swear i have cleared an entire

forest with the number

of tissues i've used!}

to enjoy the gorgeous afternoon with my

lovely friends.

don't be fooled by the face!

it was a delightful time,

but let me tell you,

i was whipped afterwards . . .

i took a nap for an hour and a half!!! stay tuned-

we're holding an apple bake-off during a bonfire/camp-out

this friday night.

can't wait!

{thanks to miss lauren and apryl involuntarily allowing me to snag a few of their

apple picking images to add to my own!}

winter where?

wouldn't this be pretty . . . with a bright red apple in hand?

{ruffle coat}

the fall cool is even more shocking

after hanging out in atlanta

for three days

and it reminds me that

winter is not far away!

since i'm beginning to freeze, i'm on the hunt for

pretty warm things,

including

mittens

a matching knit pom-pom hat

and a pair of new wellies.

i do love coats

and warm/functional accessories . . .

not that i'm trying to rush through to the frigid cold,

but the cool seasons are rather delightful.

especially with lovely layers.

beautiful things

"you are my Lord;

apart from you i have no good thing."

psalm 16:2

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

all around

hope is springing up from this old ground

out of chaos life is being found

in You

You make me new

You are making me new

~ "beautiful things" by gungor

{via tumblr}

darkness to light

since i'm away for a few days,

i thought i would leave some inspirational verses

behind for your reading pleasure.

"you, o Lord,

keep my lamp burning;

my God turns my

darkness to light."

psalm 18:28

{via tumblr}

we're off!

we're taking off today for atlanta

to catch

the catalyst conference.

this is my 3rd year

attending and each experience has been inspiring

and refreshing in it's own unique way.

it's a wonderful time of

worship

study

and leadership training . . .

it's an onslaught of information that takes

weeks to process,

but so incredible.

super psyched.

please pray for a safe and blessed time.

{here is a neat little image of our group from last year that i found on

the catalyst site a while back . . .

wow, was my hair orangey or what?!}

"paris is always a good idea"

i'm aching for a little travel to a far off land . . .

can you guess where i would like to go?

~~~

well, i may not be going to the city of light,

but i ammmm going to

catalyst conference

in atlanta

this wednesday with a huge group from church.

has anyone ever been/going this year?

{via tumblr}