Interior Inspiration: Basket Frenzy

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I've really been diggin' baskets lately. There's just something about the textures that they bring into a room that I love. Whether they be wire or woven, big or small, rectangular or circular, I'm drawn to them all. [I could write a Dr. Seuss book about baskets!]

Plus, I really enjoy the versatility and utilitarian nature of baskets. From baking supplies to magazines, blankets to toilet paper, these babies will do just about anything for ya! I scored some sweet finds at Goodwill in Milwaukee last weekend that I'm pretty excited about. Best part? They were all new with original tags! I'm especially excited about the light tan one that was $1.99 originally made in the Philippines. Score!

And NEWS FLASH! We moved all our furniture and all of Loverboy's belongings into the apartment! I am jealous that he gets to enjoy the place for the next month and a half (44 days til wedding bells, guys!) but if the last couple days have been the judge of anything, I'll probably be over there a lot anyway. :) I'll be posting soon about the new place... I have some sweet $10 photo projects for ya, as well as some furniture revamps and thrift store finds!

Make Them Feel

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. 
// Maya Angelou

Let's stop focusing so much on what we are saying and doing and start focusing more on how we are making others feel. I find it doesn't matter if I'm eloquent or extravagant—more often than not it's in the small, simple things that connections are made and feelings are created.

//via pinterest

Stylin'

Happy Thursday! I'm headed to Wisconsin tomorrow for the weekend for a friend's bachelorette party and wedding... so much excitement! And if everything goes as planned Loverboy will be moving into the apartment on Sunday and I'll be back Monday with a van-full of my stuff from EC.

So needless to say it's feeling pretty weekend-y around here, which I thought called for a little bit of fun- if someone handed me a couple of Benjamin Franklins and said I had to spend it on clothes and accessories, here are a few of the things I'd pick up (a girl can dream, can't she??).

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I know that's it's the middle of summer so the socks and scarf don't really make a whole lot of sense, but we live in Minnesota, so you never know! Gotta keep those winter clothes handy! Plus, who can resist that much lovely pattern and texture? 

I'm especially diggin' the bracelets [// 3] that are from The Shine Project, a blog I've been enjoying lately. Purchases of their jewelry and apparel employ first generation college students, which I think is pretty neat. 

So what about you? If you were unexpectedly gifted with some cold hard cash that had to be spent on pretty things, what would you choose?

Springs of Life

I want springs, rivers, oceans of life to flow from my heart. But to be honest, I haven't been real vigilant with my heart lately. I haven't been filling it with what it needs for life to be flowing out of it. I haven't been guarding it against apathy, busyness, and distractions. 

Jesus is life. Spending intimate time with Him and in His Word is what will cause these springs, rivers, and oceans to flow. It's what will make me a loving friend, roommate, co-worker, fiance, and child of God. It's what will grow in me peace and patience and self-control. It's what will create in me a deeper thirst for more of Him.

It just isn't cutting it to get convicted by a sermon I hear on a Sunday or a cutesy Bible verse I see on Pinterest. I need to have a vital, continuous love relationship with Jesus. I need to be VIGILANT to keep my heart. To guard my heart. The NIV states it this way—

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Everything I do flows from the state of my heart. So if I'm not filling my heart with beautiful Truth, then what's going to flow out? I don't want to stick around in this non-vigilance to find out, because one thing I know, is that without Jesus, things get down-right ugly. Can I get an 'amen?'

//image via etsy

Kitchen Creativity

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A lot of meals this summer have looked like meat, vegetables, and carb/starch. It's easy, requires few ingredients, and quick. However, I'm getting a little tired of singing this song and need a little more creativity in the kitchen. Plus, this girl isn't the hugest fan of chunks of protein (although Loverboy can't get enough). So I did a little Pinterest round-up of my recipe board and decided that I'd like to try these recipes sometime in the next couple months.

I'm pretty excited about the edamame since it's definitely our vegetable of choice right now and if the pizza rolls turn out we might have a stay-at-home option for the Old Chicago Sicilian Pepperoni Rolls we drool over. If I remember to snap some pics and document the process you might get to see some Pinterest fails (let's be real- stuff never turns out this pretty), and why don't you let me know if you try any of these before I do!

The Painful Best

“We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be” —C.S. Lewis

Control. It's freaking hard. Most of the time I don't even realize when it's rearing it's ugly head. Most of the time I think I'm being a responsible adult and planning ahead and having my ducks in a row. But usually it all boils down to wanting to be in control of "my" life.

And then I get reminded. Reminded that it's not really my life after all. Because when it doesn't work, when there really is no way that I can be in control, I start to leak [check out this sweet post by a lovely lady about when your eyes leak]. I come apart at the seams and start to crumble. Honestly, you might even be able to call it a temper tantrum (I bet my mom would never believe that... ha!). 

Because when I'm reaching for control, I'm really just wanting things to go my way. I'm wanting things to be easy and smooth and not cause a lot of ripples. I want what I want. Mature, I know.

But thankfully I have a God who loves me too much to let me stay where I am, and a man who likes to partner with God in that daunting totally doable task. And honestly, I think God gets a little chuckle out of my tantrums when I can't control things. I think that every once in awhile He chooses to put things in my life that I have absolutely no control over so that I can be [once again] reminded who's really in control of this life I am living. So that I can be reminded to trust Him, the only one who knows what the future holds. 

And yeah, that future might be difficult and ripply, and even painful, but at least it will be for my best.
[Photo via Pinterest, design mine.]

Thrift Store Finds & Pretty Plants to Boot!

I am one happy girl! Today marks one year of choosing to live life and see if we want to do it permanently (btw, we did, on March 29, when he put a ring on it) with Loverboy. So this morning I went out to my car and what do I find? That sweet man snuck a box of plants as well as a cute tape dispenser and photo of us that I could spruce up my office with. I've been thinking about getting some plants or decor of some sort to make my little cubicle more homey and that boy's been listening!

I also went to Savers today and scored this great mid-century side table for $5! So I was feeling pretty inspired by all this new fun-ness and had to do something about it!

The mug that I put the cactus in was $1 from Salvation Army... the handle creates a heart with the etched in design on the mug. Plus who can resist white and mint??

My sweet friend Kate gave me this print, which is really a card, for my bridal shower! I picked up a frame from the dollar store (score!) and threw 'er in!

Both the Pride and Prejudice and Pies and Cakes books were from a 10 books for $2 sale at Goodwill a couple weeks ago. Not only are they pretty, but they are also practical! I got the gold polka-dot journal for a few bucks at TJ Maxx a couple years ago.

All these plants go so well together... and I'm super excited to finally own my first succulent! Now hopefully I don't kill it. :)

I hope you're inspired to make some space in your home beautiful. Maybe you even need a little more green in your life!