Decorating a Small Outdoor Space

April 27, 2014April 28, 2014Leave a comment

Cue the violins, I don’t have a yard just yet. Home ownership will definitely be in my future someday [Dallas needs room to run]; however, for the time being, I am trying to make the most of my little, cozy outdoor patio.

This weekend, I decided to do a little redecorating and planting. Here’s hoping that I might actually have a green thumb! So, looked through Pinterest for some cute designs for balconies and made a trip out into the wild blue yonder.

Home Goods is my go-to for awesome decorating ideas and affordable things. Why spend $300 on something when you can spend 1/3 of the price at discount store? That just seems like a no-brainer to me. I found a white lantern with a flameless candle, a cute blue pot, yellow chair cushions and a woven table mat all at Home Goods. Score and purchased.

My little bistro table and chairs was from Wayfair. You can order it here. It was only $89.00 + free shipping. I thought it was a very good deal, considering you can fold it up and store it very easily. It is super light and easy to clean too.

Trip two was to Lowe’s. There is something about fresh flowers – in bright colors – that really just gets me in the mood for spring. I got some wonderful purple and pink impatiens. Y’all they were $1.49 a flower – a pretty good price for such a hearty plant. Read about caring for them here. I also just had to get some marigolds [they are sentimental to me, remind me of my grandmother!].

And y’all the design in reality was better than the design in my head! Ha, it never turns out that way. I don’t typically post design blog entries. But, the result was exciting, and I just had to share.

If you are looking to redecorate your outdoor space or maybe just spice it up, visit Home Goods, Tuesday Morning or Lowe’s. Price is key and designing on a budget is truly possible. Just look at my little cute patio area! I cannot wait to eat dinner out there.

The Precious Gift of Peace

April 22, 2014April 22, 2014Leave a comment

Spilling coffee – black with hints of almond milk folded in the dark roasted waves. This is generally how my morning begins. A little bit of hurry with a whole lot of chaos. Trying to clean the stain from my white pressed shirt, all while sliding up that black pencil skirt – a little bit more snug than the week before. Thinking about the commute to my office, slamming on my breaks in traffic and the beautiful peppered noise of honking horns in the horizon!

Simply glorious. Mornings in the big city are idealized by most. But, take it from me – they are not that great. Happy Hours at local, niche restaurants and stiletto heels are awesome for a while until the novelty wears off. Give me a rocking chair and a rocky mountain view any day over the metal gridlock called your commute! Or better yet, an ocean view and the sound of the frothy waves.

Often times, I like to envision myself in a different setting – dressed in a white linen dress, frolicking on the sand with the sun hitting my exposed back. I think of that beach house I want to own someday – the one with the floor to ceiling windows that serves as my writing room. That old desk, glass plated with dried starfish lined under the clear top. Now, that is peace – or is it?

We often times idealize peace just like we can idealize the big city. If I am in this setting, I will feel that peace that passing all understanding. Only if I own a home will I feel free. Achieving motherhood will allow me to feel that peace that I so gravely desire. Not so. These are all wonderful things – but achieving them will not give you peace.

I absolutely love Jesus’ words in John 14:27. He says, “I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Peace is an inward triumph. And true peace is not from your doing – it is from God. You see, we can never attain peace on our own. No matter how many yoga retreats you go on overseas or stellar work goals you achieve, peace cannot be reached.

Sure, it may be great to free yourself from all worries and stress. Escape this world and live on a secluded beach somewhere. But, that’s not life. We can’t eliminate all the stress around us. We need to work in order to live and afford nice things. That’s the nature of life.

I like knowing that there is nothing I can do to attain peace on my own. It is a gift from the Father of all good things. I can pray for peace and seek his peace – these are things I must do. As Psalm 34: 14 says, may I “depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

5 Things That Will Make You Happy Today

April 17, 2014April 17, 2014Leave a comment

This is a given – Pharrell Williams – Happy.

Listen to this song. Watch the video. I mean, get up and dance to it. You are blessed! How can this not make you happy? if you don’t want to move to this song, smile or jump for joy – you are super lame. C’mon, move your feet and thank God for his beautiful promises!

This Banana Dog.

From the company, Home Grown Foods, this little guy is sure to put a smile on your face and add some fruity goodness in your hearts! He is super cute and reminds you to eat your fruits and veggies.

This gigantic human smile.

People joined together for one purpose – to form a smile! This is like the ultimate reminder to put on a happy face. You can listen to the song, here, if you did not get the reference.

Any type of bear hug!

From Teddy Bears to this baby sloth, we all love bear hugs. Maybe not in the wild, but look how cuddly and cute this little guy is giving his teddy a big squeeze!

Only the cutest Disney animal ever – Meeko!

You may not agree with me, but this little biscuit cheek cutie from Pocahontas is sure to brighten any day.

When Real Love Sets In

April 2, 2014April 2, 2014Leave a comment

Often times I feel society has a skewed sense of love. To the young, love is something magical – like fairy dust. It lifts you off your feet, makes life sunnier, brighter and heightens your senses. Everything has to be going right to feel you are wonderfully ‘in love.’

However, when these feelings no longer take root in our hearts and real life [rather real love] sets in, these feelings are cast aside and love is forgotten.

Did we miss the part in the Bible which states, ‘love is long suffering’?

Love has become more about the experience you have – rather than the commitment you make. To the world, it’s more about the happiness than the grief, the excitement more than the mundane.

But, love is not love unless it truly encompasses all those feelings. Love is not just a pristine vase full of sea glass hearts. It’s messy, yet beautiful all at the same time.

It’s grieving with your spouse when he or she has lost their job. It’s encouraging a child who is afraid to start a new school. It’s holding a wrinkled and worn hand and looking into the aging eyes of your loved one, or just sitting there, in silence, when a friend is in tears.

True love is the picture of Christ’s hands and feet nailed to a cross and blood flowing down from His divine head of thorns. That was not pretty – that was messy and real. It was not a storybook or an instagram moment. Rather it was heart wrenching, earth shattering and a long suffering moment.

Love is both pretty and sometimes tattered. How vain to walk away when the stitches are loose.

Like the Skin Horse said to The Velveteen Rabbit:

‘It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” [Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit]

Wedding Shoes – on a Budget

March 29, 2014March 29, 2014Leave a comment

View this set on Polyvore

If you have been married, I don’t have to tell you this – but the money adds up pretty quickly. You go from throwing a nice intimate gathering (so you think) to inviting the neighbor’s dog (kidding, but that is how it feels looking at the receipts!).

In order to be a savvy bride, you learn to save even the smallest amount of dinero.

One way you can do this is finding some budget friendly shoes. Now, I have not found just the right shoes – yet. So – warning (but my wedding is months and months away).

But there are some pretty cute options out there online. And, by the looks of the prices, they are pretty affordable.

I mean, if you are a Jimmy Choo name brand aficionado, these picks are not for you. But, if you are a savvy bride who realizes: you will probably just wear these lined lace babies once, this post is for you!

Learn to save in the tiniest areas. However, don’t sacrifice price over comfort. You want your feet to be comfy (as possible) as you dance the night away. As girls, we all know that heels are not ‘comfy.’ Read my previous post on high heel pain relief here.

Anyway, I tried to encompass a lot of different looks in these samples shoes: lace, pop of color, plain white, beach babe sandals, glitter princess, sparkle peep toe and kitten heels. The links are below and under the picture in a caption.

Lace Heels – Modcloth $40

Kitten Heel – Overstock.com $40

Sparkle Peep Toe – 6pm.com $22

Sparkle Flats – Accessorie.com $34

Pop of Color – Modcloth $33

Plain White – Dorothy Perkins $35

Beach Babe Sandals- JC Penny $40

Browse these choices – maybe you will find that perfect shoe for the best day of your life. Also, as a side note, Etsy has a lot of cute, unique affordable options too. Cute choices, here.

Are You Too Electronically Plugged In? {IF SO…} Some Great Ideas To Get You Living Again

March 26, 2014March 26, 20142 Comments

Are you a slave to social media?

We live in a generation of computer screens, iphone/pads, televisions, Netflix and Fitbits. And while I congratulate technology, I mourn real life experiences.

Remember when you actually took a walk through a park and did not immediately think of taking a picture of flowers with your phone – or posting your pondering to Facebook? Sadly, it’s hard for me to remember a time when social media was not in the equation.

Facebook has been around since I was a freshman in college. And, social media has escalated from that point on really. It has skyrocketed. I am not going to complain about this burst of new media – because partly, it encompasses a lot of what I do in my daily job.

Yet, it is sad to think that my kids won’t know a time when a flower was just a flower and a hike was just a physical experience, not one that you share with the world. There is something peaceful about ditching the hyper media scene and just breathing air – listening to sounds and being comfortable in your skin without virtual accolades.

I made a list of things (below) that I miss the most about real, tangible life– and need to remember to do and reflect on –especially with social media now pervading our world. I hope this list encourages you to leave that iphone at home when you are on a nature walk. Or simply listen to the stillness instead of automatically clicking on Pandora.

Life is real. It is tangible. People are not icons on your screen. Embrace feelings, emotions, facial expressions and the magical sounds of laughter over robust coffee. It’s your choice to live in a virtual reality or really breathe in the full, bodily life. You only have one life. Live it.

Try to soak in these things. Swap the screen for a real scene.

Human Touch – we are so used to looking a pictures on the computer and feeling the keys on our keyboard. Go out with a friend and give them a big bear hug. Hugs are underrated. It’s said that you need at least 8 hugs a day and that’s no joke. So give a friend, your partner, your mom a hug. Hugs create a happiness your computer screen cannot generate.

Read Good Books – what happened to the days we read before going to bed? Now, we are caught up in Dancing with the Stars or whatever junk show is on television. Get lost in a good book. Use your imagination and expand you brain power. Cry over the pages of Wuthtering Heights because you feel the printed words in your soul.

An art journal is always a good idea.

Listen to the Song of the Birds – there is something about nature that soothes the soul. Take time to listen to nature. Lay out in your backyard and listen to the chirping of the birds. If you are in a tiny apartment, take a blanket to a park – lay out and just listen to the music in the trees. Digest real life.

Handwrite a Poem or Anything for That Matter – buy a journal and jot out your thoughts on paper. Bleed your heart through pen and ink. Write a note to a friend or your grandmother and send it via snail mail. Penmanship is really being lost in this age of the computer. Exercise this talent. It;s not old fashioned. Written words have endured for centuries or more.

Create an Art Project – that’s right, make an art project. Don’t look at your phone for inspiration. Create something from your heart. Paint with messy colors, clip pictures out of magazines – to construct a collage. The sky is the limit. Let your amazing creative juices flow free.

Throw a Tea Party with Friends – have a basket at the door ready to collect everyone’s phone for just 30 minutes. Drink strong tea out of fine china and talk. Connect with one another. Talk about books, your kids, whatever – just don’t use social media. Think of yourself in the time of Little Women.

Book Review: Bittersweet – Shauna Niequist

March 19, 2014July 7, 2014Leave a comment

I have wanted to read this book for quite some time, and I finally got the opportunity to do so on a long plane ride to Texas over the weekend.

This book kept me company, along with my cute tumbler of Southwest airlines hot tea.

The cover was the first thing that drew me to this book. The vivid picture of a chocolate surround by sky blue was enticing to say the least. Yet, the fervent summary caught my attention as well.

The author writes, ‘Bittersweet is the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a moment of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak, and that rejoicing is no less rich even when it contains a splinter of sadness.’

This book reads more like a journal – every few pages, a new story would emerge. However, each story fit together like a brilliant, cozy patchwork quilt. It’s definitely the kind of blanket that hugs you and keeps you warm on those snow days.

Niequist is open and honest with her readers touching on topics like loneliness, miscarriage and the feeling of being broken and hopeless.

Though she talks about motherhood quite a bit in this book, it’s not just for new moms. All you single ladies will read and enjoy ‘Bittersweet’ as well.

Friendship is also a central theme. She loves to host parties and her love of wholesome food, laughter and camaraderie is weaved throughout the pages.

I love that she offers her readers hope in her beautiful book. She truly hits on the topic that ‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair.” {2 Corinthians 4:8}.

God is in control and he makes his children, cracked pots, into beautiful serving plates full of an abundance of fruit. We are patched up cisterns full of wine and the Lord’s goodness.

Thanks Shauna for this heartwarming, honest and poignant book.

Check out the author’s additional books, here.

Tips for Morning Workouts

March 10, 2014March 10, 2014Leave a comment

Let’s face it – dieting is B-O-R-I-N-G. I mean, I do not look forward to limiting portion sizes and forsaking that lovely glass of red wine after work. It stinks. But, you know – the results truly makes you happy and healthier.

So, I have a little more than 6 months until my wedding day. Yikes. The time has flown by so fast. And, what girl doesn’t want to look good on that special day? Looking good = discipline. Ugh, I hate that part.

I work at a desk. Yep, it’s a 9am-7pm – sometimes later job. That’s a problem. Like when do I workout? The hard truth is – I need to workout in the mornings. Yuck. Habit – I need to get into the habit of making this a priority.

So, I put together a little list of tips (in the infographic on this post) that should help ‘us’ get to moving in the morning. When that alarm clock rings, you’ll be ready to conquer that early morning cardio.

Now, I am not perfect – so will be attempting the early morning workout with you. And, will report on my progress.

To start, I am going to attempt to do this 3 days a week. I am going to try these tips – so I can look great for that wedding day, and of course, nurture this body God has given me.

Maybe this little chart will make the tips look more fun! Fingers crossed.

New Testament Bible Reading Plan: Giving & Gaining for Lent

March 5, 2014March 5, 20141 Comment

Lent. I hate to admit this; but, I’ve never really stuck to my lent promises. I have lofty goals and ambitions. Like last year, I wanted to give up Facebook {epic fail} and the year before, I think it was coffee. Yeah right, I gave in.

The practice of giving something up for God was not commonly talked about in my southern Baptist church in Texas – especially during this season.

We talked about fasting and other things like that. But taking these 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday never resonated with me until now. The meaning really did not set in my spirit until this moment.

This year – I feel like it’s time to stick to my promises to understand the true meaning of lent. It’s time to meditate on what Christ suffered and endured for me. It’s time to think about his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. I can lay aside one of my world indulgences for the one who bled for me.

That should not be hard. Yet, it is- because we are human.

So, my mind is made. I am giving up something for my King and reading through the New Testament these next 40 days. My church passed out a reading plan last week that will be extremely helpful in accomplishing this goal.

It takes 30 minutes a day. I should spend that time already in prayer. But, God’s still working on me. Childhood anyone?

{You can check out the awesome reading plan here.}

And a big shout out to NCC for putting this together. The goal is this – to give something up and replace it with the Word of God. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. –John 3:30

So, what are you giving up in order to come closer to the throne room of grace this year?

Dogs Make Life Better

February 28, 2014February 28, 2014Leave a comment

Dallas – my lovebug.

I’m a dog lover. Plain and simple. My cocker spaniel snuggles up next to me at night. He lies across my lap in the evening. And, I kiss his sweet head often. Animals can bring us so much joy and security.

They are that little silent {sometimes not so silent presence} that looks up to you and loves you without limits. When you get home, they wiggle their bodies with joy. They wag their tails with severity just to be in your presence. They follow you around – just to be near you.

Animals heal emotional pains and unbearable, invisible scars. I stand by that comment.

They are steadfast companions until the end. Animals are not for the lonely. They are for everyone – kids, business executives, military men and women, the elderly…etc.

Did you know that dogs help overcome depression?

Web MD reports that dogs offer: uncomplicated love, responsibility, activity, routine, companionship, social interaction, touch and better health.

It has also been reported that dog owners tend to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, possibly thanks to regular walks with their four-legged friends.

If you don’t think you can handle the responsibility of a pet at this point in your life, visit places where dogs are present. Visit a close friend who has pets, offer to walk them. Visit a pound or humane society – and pet the sweet animals. They need your love too.

Surround yourself with this unconditional love. You won’t regret it.