Very First Apartment!

YOU GUYS. Loverboy and I just signed for our very first apartment last night!!! And it was super scary. Not gonna lie- I may have had a slight melt-down at Applebees afterward. (Not that that's anything unusual... I wrote a blogpost yesterday about these leaky moments when I don't feel in control... keep an eye out for it).

The whole process was super-duper quick (like less than 24 hours quick) and the timeline of all our apartment hunting was just a little crazy-feeling. We missed out on two apartments we loved by that much and then got notified about 30 minutes after we signed for this one that we were accepted for another one we had applied to. Huh. Funny timing. These kind of things wreak havoc on a girl who is prone to second-guessing and regret. Yikes. [Insert lesson about learning to trust God here]

So a couple words on our new place. Sun room. Hardwood floors. Claw-foot tub. Extra bedroom. Built-in buffet. Living space that seems to go on for miles. Adorable neighborhood. These are the things that sold us on the place. I won't list for you the things we were not-so-sold-on, because I'm practicing dwelling on the positive and we are going to totally rock those things anyways.

Here are a couple sneak peaks from the Craigslist ad. Don't worry, there will be lots of future blog posts with pictures as Bri moves in in like 10 days and you know that even though I'm not moving in for another two months I'll totally have my hands all over this place!

We are super excited that the sunroom will make a beautiful office and that leaves us with the extra bedroom (that we would have used for an office in any other place) to play around with. First thoughts are a project and DIY room... we have lots of fun ideas that we can't wait to get working on and this extra little room could be the perfect place.

Also on our big-fat-excited list is the amount of space we'll have to work with! This place is a great blank canvas and with the wood floors and beautiful dark original woodwork there's lots of potential here. Let the furniture-hunting, decorating, and DIY-ing commence! 

Phone Dump [AKA thank yous galore]

1// Invites! It's been a long process... and the saga is still continuing... but we're getting there! (Thanks mom!)

2// My seriously adorable niece. HOW has she not shown up on the blog before?? I think I had a 6-month-long lapse of judgment or something. We got to hang out with her for awhile on Saturday afternoon after the shower (thanks Danielle and bridesmaids and everyone!) and got to witness her first crawl... watch out world. Not only is this baby the most adorable one you've ever seen, she also happens to be a genius and leaps and bounds ahead of any other baby in every category possible. Biased? Me?? Noooo.

3// Ohhhh man. He had to know this would show up somewhere on the internet. Loverboy decided he wasn't quite hipster enough for The Oh Hellos concert we attended on Friday night so he decided to add a lil somethin'-somethin' to his outfit. [Actually it was a dare that he valiantly saw through and got us free drinks! Horrah! (Thanks Kate!)]

4// We attended an Imagine Dragons concert on Saturday night (that was about 100% less hipster than afore-mentioned Friday night concert). I had never been at the TCF Bank Stadium before so it was a pretty sweet experience. However, we were so high up that it kind of just felt like we were listening to really loud radio in a really big crowd. Nonetheless, Imagine Dragons. For free. (Thanks Hedbergs!)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Friday! The work-week is over, so let the weekend fun begin! This week I think that these things are...

PRETTY. That couch. (Well, really that whole room). I've been a bit of a craigslist-crazy lately looking for couches. I love the look of these lower, mid-century couches. And the fabric on this one is to die for.

CLEVER. Not only is this display of test tube flower holders clever, it's also oh-so-cute. And as a bonus I think that Loverboy would probably be swooning over this scientific decor as much as I am. (However, I don't think he would call it swooning. Geeking out? Yeah, let's go with that.)

THOUGHT-PROVOKING. The church we've been going to here in the Cities never fails to serve up some hard-hitting truth.

He must crucify our pride so that we will humbly praise the crucified One alone.

—Pastor Jason Meyer, Bethlehem Baptist Church

THRIFTY. Turning an old dresser into a spruced up bookshelf? Yes please!

INSPIRATIONAL. So good, so true. It can be easy to trust God when things are going our way, but what about when they're not? Don't give in to the temptation to doubt when you believed it when things seemed better. (Amen, sister! Preaching to the choir right here.)

This weekend holds quite a bit of excitement for me as I look forward to not one, but TWO concerts, my first bridal shower, the possibility of apartment hunting and some DIY projects, and a fancy date to celebrate my awesome hubby-to-be who just scored an engineering job!! Go him! (But mostly go God!) Have any fun plans for your weekend?

[1. via flickr, 2. via sunset.com, 3. via Etsy, 4. via Kristen Delap]

Freedom Friday: Round-Up

It's been awhile since there's been a Freedom Friday around here, but I found it only fitting [and just a teensy bit cliche- but who can't resist that??] to do one today, on the day that we celebrate freedom as a country.

I thought I would do a round-up of all previous Freedom Fridays here at The Things That Make Us Tick. Check them out, get educated, and take action! And remember, action can be as simple and powerful as prayer.

Stop the Candy Shop
An initiative by Street Grace Ministries, an organization out of Atlanta, GA (the 3rd top trafficking city in the WORLD, by the way) that fights against the exploitation of children in the sex trade.

Sold
A novel by Patricia McCormick- a quick and life-changing read.

Krochet Kids Intl.

A company that empowers people to rise above poverty by creating sustainable economic development programs that support holistic growth of individuals and communities within developing nations and inspiring the knowledge of a generation about their ability to bring change to a world that is in need.

IJM Eau Claire Just Us Run
A run in Eau Claire, WI sponsored by the International Justice Mission. All proceeds go to IJM. This year it's on July 9th... so coming up quickly! Register here if you like!

Love 146
An organization fighting to end child sex slavery and exploitation.

Reject Apathy Magazine
A magazine [both online and in print] shoot-off of Relevant Magazine focused on social injustice, poverty, violence, the environment, etc.

Human Trafficking Stats
Stats and images on human trafficking from the CNN Freedom Project.

Nefarious
A hard-hitting documentary that exposes the disturbing trends in modern sex slavery. 

Freedom Friday Intro
The vision and hope behind Freedom Friday.

Happy Fourth everyone! How will you be enjoying your freedom today?

P.S. Did you see you can get The Things That Make Us Tick straight to your inbox now? Just put your email in the form on the right of the page under 'subscribe' and you'll be all signed up!

[image via Pinterest, typography mine]

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Coffee Date (Round II)

If we were having coffee, I would totally get an iced chai, duh.

If we were having coffee, I would let you know that life feels like one never-ending adventure right now with all the newness that's going on, but that's ok because I really like it and I have lots of familiar people to travel through these not-so familiar seas with.

If we were having coffee, I'd want to know what fun things you like to do in Minneapolis. I'd ask you your favorite places to eat and shop and walk.

If we were having coffee, I would share about how I've been dreaming a lot about the future lately. The design nerd in me has just been having too much fun dreaming about having our very own apartment. And being that there's a wedding drawing ever closer, I'd say the future has been a pretty wonderful place to have my head.

If we were having coffee, I'd let you know that even though I've been future-dreaming I've also been soaking up every minute of the present. With roomie nights, travel, family, and time with my man I have been savoring the season of life God has placed me in.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that trusting God with an unknown future is hard. But I would also tell you that God is more-than-faithful in the ways and timing that He reveals things. To say that my future is much less unknown now than it was a few months ago is a huge understatement.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you about your pyramid that you want to build. I would listen as you shared your passions and then maybe I could share some of mine.

[image via big girls small kitchen]

Pyramid Builders

Do you believe this? That lots of small things add up to great things? You know, they say that Rome wasn't built in a day. And the pyramids are simply composed of bricks stacked one on top of the other, day after day. Sometimes really great things take time. Time and energy and lots and lots of planning.

I think oftentimes when we have hopes, dreams, or goals, we tend to get overwhelmed. We see what we are reaching for as way higher than we could ever reach. We look at our awesome, unique, totally-us ideas and see the end result- the pyramid. And then we run away. Farrrr, farrr away. Because really, who want to tackle that job??

But what if we began to see our dreams and goals in terms of the bricks that make them up, rather than as the completed pyramid? In terms of the many small things that will be brought together to form the great thing? I believe that when we view our big ideas through the lens of lots of small ideas that will get us there, that's where action takes place.

So how do we do this? How do we build brick by brick? We start day by day. Throw the phrases "someday," "when I get around to it," and "when I have time" out of your vocabulary. Let's be real—someday is always in the future and you're most likely never going to "get around to it" or have more time, if your life is anything like mine.

So think about your pyramid. That great thing. That one [or two or three] idea that is maybe always at the back of your mind. That one thing that makes your heart beat faster just thinking about it. That one hope you have for your future, dream you want to see fulfilled, or goal you can't wait to meet. Now break it down. What are a few [or hundreds] of little things that you can start doing now to work toward that dream? What are the bricks you can begin laying now?

Then start today. Do one small thing today that will eventually be brought together to form that great thing. Yeah, it might be a month from now, or 10 years from now when that great thing is finally formed, but at least you are taking steps now. And when all those small things turn into that great thing, you will have built a pyramid.

Yes, it's going to take work. Yes, it's going to take planning. But it's a whole lot easier to be a pyramid builder when you have those small bricks you can start laying. So go out there and start building your pyramid! Oh, and P.S....

[1. via Kelli Trontel, 2. via Pinterest]