Engagement Photoshoot... 'Nuf Said.

A couple weeks ago Loverboy and I headed over to Eau Claire for a quick afternoon photoshoot with the talented Megan Nicole Photography. I lived with this lovely lady and her family while on staff with Navs, so it's always a joy to get to spend some time with her and her younger sister, Emily. 

On this particularly beautiful day in June, the sun was bright, the sassy comments abundant, and the love tangible. What follows is the combination of all three. Enjoy! 

P.S. There's lots more where these came from... maybe they'll be popping up on the blog every now and then. Keep an eye out! :)

Interior Inspiration: Dreaming

Loverboy and I have spent more than a few hours lately working on our wedding registry and dreaming about what our future place will look like. I must admit that it gives me strange kind of butterflies toward this man when he expresses how excited he is to see how our place will be decorated and that he's pretty sure we'll have the coolest apartment/house ever. Major points right there.

Today I read an article about defining your style. It was interesting because I don't know if I've nailed mine down yet. I so often feel torn between modern and vintage, sparce and cluttered, color and black & white... that I'm not really sure what my style is. As we have been registering there has been more than one occasion where Loverboy just laughs at me because I can't decide, or because I simply love two things that are so completely opposite. 

But regardless of what my style is, there's just something in me that loves pretty things! I love when a room is beautiful and welcoming, when there are so many things to look at and appreciate, but also a balanced simplicity. I delight in patterns and colors, florals and geometrics. I guess it's just the design nerd in me, but when this part of me is encouraged, I start to dream. I dream of ways that I can make my current space pretty. I dream of future blank walls and empty shelves, just waiting to be covered and filled. So dream with me...

#mancrushmonday

So there's this thing teenage girls do called man crush monday... basically they throw a photo of Ryan Gosling [or insert other "dreamy" celeb here] with the hashtag #mancrushmonday onto their instagram to prove to the world their undying devotion and love for him. 

So I figured that if they're allowed to do that, then I should be able to do my own man crush monday, with the one man I'll be crushin' on til the end of my days. 

Meet Loverboy. 

I am marrying this man in NINETY-FIVE days you guys!!! That's less than 100! And let's just say that I am pumped out of my socks about this fact (that's a thing, right?).

Here are a couple little tid-bits about my Mr. to-be. He genuinely cares about how people are actually doing and is a listening ear to many. He is a constant learner and teacher, always trying to figure things out and then sharing his new-found knowledge with anyone with two ears and a brain in-between. He works hard and seeks the Lord in all his endeavors. He serves tirelessly, loves fiercely, feels deeply, and seeks to know me endlessly.

So my man crush for this Monday, and Tuesday, and every day from now until we meet Jesus is this patient, kind, good man who I get to walk alongside for the rest of my life- this man who is too good for me and who the Lord has abundantly blessed me with. He's a keeper.... so I'm gonna!

P.S. Enjoy the sneak-peak of our engagement photos, captured by the ever-lovely and talented Megan Nicole Photography! More to come, loves. 

P.P.S. Who even posts man crush mondays at 8 o'clock in the morning?? I guess grown ups who have to go to work. Toodles!

Transition

I've become convinced that in the blog world time moves at a much faster rate than in the real world. It feels almost unnecessary to comment on the fact that it is somehow late May and once again the space between my last post and this one is far greater than I would have hoped, so maybe this is just my new normal. Yeah, we're gonna go with that- a new normal.

So, transition. What a crazy concept. Change, movement, different, forward. These are things that can be welcomed or very much resisted. When the transition is good, we often look forward to it with much anticipation. When it's not so good, we tend to dig in our heels and want to stay put. But no matter what, transition is hard. It takes work and is usually outside of our comfort zone. 

I'm undergoing quite a bit of transition right now. With living in a different city (living in a city, for that matter), experiencing apartment life for the first time, being done with full time ministry and moving on to 9-5 kind of work, being engaged and living in close proximity (finally!) to loverboy, and having a new sphere of people to interact with, life looks a whole lot different today than it did a couple weeks ago. 

But this transition I'm going through is thankfully the kind that I'm willing to greet with arms open wide. It's softened by loving family, friends, roommates, and a certain man who all make life a little more normal feeling amidst all the change. Plus, the whole time I have my ever-constant, never-changing, forever-faithful God by my side. He has carried me through transitions before (ones much more difficult than this one) and I have no doubt He will do it again. He remains solid when everything around me is moving, He stays the same when everything else changes. 

So even if this transition was the kind where I wanted to run away and hide under the covers, He would still be there, ever present, by my side. My job is just to trust. To choose to believe that God is constant and good even amidst transition. To trust that His grace is sufficient, that He is sufficient.

Transition pushes me to trust God more, to rely on His sufficiency. And that's always a good thing. Here's to transition!

Weekend Wrap-Up [Sorta]: Kindness Leads to Repentance

Oh my lanta, guys! Remember when I said I was going to get better at posting more often like FOREVER AGO!? I can't believe that we're already into mid April... 2014 is whizzing by! A lot has happened in the last month. So instead of doing my usual "Weekend Wrap-Up" I'm gonna call this one a "Lastcouplemonths Wrap-Up."

I celebrated my 24th year of life [can I get a "woop woop" for the mid-twenties!?].
I spent a week in sunny [and slightly rainy] Florida.
I got engaged [to "loverboy" as my mother has so affectionately called him since practically day one].
I got my first big girl graphic designer job.

Possibly our very first selfie? This was taken the day after our engagement and I think it accurately portrays our excitement. Please do not attempt selfies and driving at home. Stay safe kids.

It's been a pretty crazy season with lots of big and exciting things happening. God's been like "oh, here ya go!" and I've been like "Whaaaat?!" so it's been fun. :)

During my time with a lovely college lady this week I was shown Romans 2:4... "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" 

I feel like this verse totally blows the whole "prosperity gospel" idea out of the water. Maybe the whole reason God is being kind to you isn't because you're following Him and being a "good christian," maybe it's because He is a kind and loving and good God and wants to draw you back to Himself. 

The best way I can think of it is when you've been a big jerk to someone and they return it with a loving act or word. You don't think to yourself "wow, way to go me! I must have done something to really deserve that nice response!" but rather you think "oh man, I totally messed up! I was such a jerk to them but they were kind back to me!" and that often leads to repentance. To admitting that you were wrong and hopefully restoring right relationship with that person.

So as I'm enjoying this season of seeming blessings, I don't need to feel good about myself or anything that I have done to "earn" them. Maybe God has given them to me to draw me to Him. To show me how good and kind He is. To show me how utterly undeserving I am as a human being who sins, and how merciful and gracious He is to bless me nonetheless. To remind me of the gospel... that God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Thrifting 101: Five Tips

I would say that about 90% of my closet is thrifted. Clothes, accessories, and all. I've been told that I have a knack for finding good deals and awesome finds, and people are always asking me how I do it. Well, I'm here to tell all you fine people that it's not much of a science, BUT lucky for you there are some simple tips you can follow to make your thrifting more successful!

Go on sale days.
My favorite place to thrift is Savers. It's not so classy that it's as expensive as shopping new but it also has a ton of gems. One of my favorite things about Savers is their sales! Every Monday the whole store is 25% off and on holidays that fall on Mondays (Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, etc) their clothes, accessories, bed and bath, etc. are 50% off! If I can, I try and hit up their 50% sale days and get there right when they open since it can get super busy. Also, if you get there in the afternoon everything can be pretty picked over.

Have a plan.
Just like how most things in life go more smooth if you have a plan, it's always a good idea to have some kind of strategy in mind when you head out to go thrifting. What will you be looking for? If you have a short time what is the most important thing to look at? You can waste so much time just aimlessly wandering the aisles of thrift stores if you don't know what you are there for. [Which is fine, by the way, but only if you have the time for it!]

Try on a lot.
If you're going to succeed at thrifting, you're just going to have to accept the fact that you will need to try on A LOT of clothes. I pretty much go with quantity for the first round of trying things on, and if something looks even slightly interesting, I'll put it in my cart to try on. This is how you find those items that you might not have bought at an actual retail store. Plus, since everything is different brands they will fit differently so I usually look in sections that might be a little smaller or bigger than I normally wear. You never know what you might find since the sizing is done in the store and might be a little bit off.

Have a pattern.
Pretty much every time I go to Savers I always check out a few key areas. For me that's books, home goods, shoes, purses, and most recently, skirts. Oftentimes I won't even go through any of the shirts, pants, or other clothes if I'm just stopping in for a short trip. I just look at the things I'm most interested in and know I can find the best buys in.

Try out different things. 
I see thrifting as a way to try out different things that I might not choose otherwise. Go ahead! Try on that 70s style dress! Spot a leather fanny pack? Try it on! Some of my coolest finds were things that I wouldn't ever think I'd wear, but once I tried it, I liked it. Plus, it's all about confidence! Chances are, if you think you can rock it, then you can!

Bonus tip!
Sometimes thrift stores will give you a discount if you bring in donations! Check out if your local thrift shop offers this promotion... if so, it's a win-win! Spring cleaning to make room for more AND a sweeter deal! Happy thrifting!

Catch-Up

Wow! It has been absolutely FOREVER since I've posted on the blog. I guess life just got really busy and blogging took a back burner. But I'm back! I've got a couple posts up my sleeve and am excited to share life with you guys again. But for now I thought we could just play a little catch-up on how my "14 in 14" is going- the 14 little hopes and dreams [maybe even sorta goals] I have for myself in 2014. So thus far I have completed or made significant progress on five out of the 14!

#1. Run a 5k
I signed up for The Color Run in EC on April 27th! This run is known as the happiest 5k on the planet so I figured it would be the perfect one to start with! [I've also heard that there is a lot of walking due to the nature of getting colored chalk thrown at you... so let's just say it's a very good one to start with.] :)

#2. Learn a new song on the guitar
One of the lovely ladies I live with recently showed me how to pick "Counting Stars" on the guitar. I might not be a pro yet, but the fact that I know how to pick anything definitely warrants bonus points. 

#3. Live on a budget
It's happening! Since the beginning of the year I have been keeping a budget and it's actually pretty neat. Of course, I'm only in my second month of it, but it seems to be working well and actually giving me more freedom with my moolah.

#8. Make [at least one] art journal, mini-album, or scrapbook
A couple weeks ago I purchased a Project Life core kit along with some Sn@p products and started a 2013/2014 super easy scrapbook. I'm excited to continue working on it throughout the year... now I just need to remember to take and print photos!

#9. Wear my hair in a style I've never done before
Funny story. A few weeks back we had a Navigators conference in my hometown. This is literally the only place I will get my hair cut because the lady there just knows my hair so well and I haven't had an awkward cut since I started going to her years ago [prior to her I had a pretty long string of unfortunate haircuts]. So of course I made an appointment since I'd be in town and after she got done cutting my hair she asked if she could braid it and I told her that she could do whatever she wanted. So she did! And I ended up going to this conference looking like I was headed to prom- poufs, braids, twirly bun, the whole nine yards. It was pretty excellent.