Joyfully Weary

I mentioned in last week's Small Graces post that Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger had become a recent favorite treat. I decided to mix it in with another one of my favorite treats - banana bread. I can't help but feel happy whenever I eat banana bread because it makes me nostalgic for some of my favorite times during high-school. Before every cross country meet my senior year, the team would get together for pasta dinners and banana bread was always the dessert. The evenings were full of encouragement, anticipation, and laughter. I attended three different high schools so by the time I was a senior I wasn't sure I'd ever find my "place" or my "people". These dinners changed that. They made me feel part of something bigger than myself, being part of a team, and I found friends I knew I'd cherish forever .  Ingredients 1 C sugar 1 stick butter (soften) 2 eggs 3 very ripe bananas 1/2 C vanilla yogurt 1 C all...

Last Sunday I met my family at church after being away at the women's retreat all weekend; Jeremy and I didn't discuss what we'd be wearing, but this still happened. We somehow end up unintentionally matching a lot. In fact, a couple weekends ago, when Jeremy was at the Men's retreat, we both showed up to church wearing orange . People are starting to notice...it's a bit embarrassing...it's also a lot of fun!  dress: c/o eshakti , shoes : restricted , cardigan: gap shirt : old navy , skirt: banana republic , shoes: thrift, necklace: gift We are experiencing a bit of a cold front in the midwest right now. It feels very odd to be out and about in July, in jeans and a sweater, and still be cold. I'm not ready for summer to be over so hopefully the weather warms up soon.  I'm cracking up in the picture below because despite how much I enjoy documenting my outfits I cannot deny the ridiculousness of it all. Sometimes when the ...

A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". "sometimes they slip by without notice sometimes they are very hard to see other times it's very clear when they are happening to me"    I was away from home last weekend at a retreat with the ladies from our church. Despite not seeing each other - and not discussing it before hand - Jer and I still somehow managed to match our church outfits! It can be a bit a embarrassing but, truth be told, I love "going with" him. While I was at the retreat Jeremy played in a basketball tournament. His team got third place and he brought home a trophy. Our boys were super excited to show it to me and tell me how amazing their dad is - I agree!

I spotted numbered steps on Pinterest awhile ago and quickly put the idea on my summer to do list. I figured it'd be a pretty easy and inexpensive project to complete since I could buy house numbers at our local hardware store for just a few dollars. But then Jeremy's work got a new laser cutter, which made me think a bit bigger - words! Jeremy and I tossed back and forth a few ideas and then one morning I read over Galatians 5:22-23  and decided the fruits of the Spirit were perfect. Not only would it add the whimsy I was hoping for but it would be a daily reminder of the way in which the Spirit of God wants us to live our lives. Jeremy used the laser cutter to cut the words out of chip board and then I used a couple different cans of spray paint (black, bronze, & gold) to achieve the antiqued gold finish we wanted. Since the chip board is fairly light weight we were able to us 3M strips to hold them in place. They've been up for about a week now w...

I think I've mentioned before that this skirt is an old one. I'm not sure exactly how long I've had it, but it was pre-babies so at least six years. In all that time my affection for it has never wained. So far it's held up shocking well. I don't know what I'll do if it every starts to show signs of wear - I'm certain there will be mourning.  shirt: old navy , skirt: gap /old, shoes: target My sister-in-law, Heather, did my hair for me the day I wore this outfit. I've been practicing but I always feel like my braids look a bit funny. Too bad three hours is a bit far to drive for hairdos.  shirt: anthropologie , shorts: thrift/diy, shoes : restricted This "skirt" is actually a dress . I was planning on wearing it as such when I tried it on and noticed the top is now a bit too big - why is that our bodies always seem to loose weight in the wrong places!  I've worn shirts both over and under this dress but t...

  A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". " these are the small graces, the little moments when the miracles come... they are a reminder to the heart there is more to life than meets the eye... ... sometimes they slip by without notice sometimes they are very hard to see other times it's very clear when they are happening to me"  1st camping trip in maca & papa's backyard marshmallows and the resulting sticky lips finding little lady cashed out on "the brothers" floor finishing silly little projects aunt heather and uncle kyle's new home's amazing tire swing we all thought it was tons of fun seriously, all of us In a few minutes I'm headed to our church's annual women's retreat weekend. I'm excited to get know the ladies of our church better, to hopefully grow in my relationship with the Lord, and to get in a bit...

A few worthwhile things I've stumbled upon on the internets. I wasted a bit too much time this week watching these Kids React videos on YouTube. Some are heartwarming/thought-provoking and some are just simply hilarious.  These portraits of fourth graders from around the world all answering the same three questions will also warm and break your heart.   This 100 Years of East London Style video is another current YouTube favorite.  I don't have $130 to spend on shoes but I've still had a lot of fun using  Liberty's art fabric to design  my own custom pair of sneakers What exactly modesty and purity should mean to followers of Christ is a question I've pondered for some time. While I believe both are important I think mainstream Evangelical culture has gotten a lot of things wrong. These two blog posts, How "Modesty" Teachings Hurt Men Too and I am Not a Sex Fueled Robot put into words, a lot more eloquently than I ever could, many of my ...

  A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". " these are the small graces, the little moments when the miracles come... they are a reminder to the heart there is more to life than meets the eye... ... sometimes they slip by without notice sometimes they are very hard to see other times it's very clear when they are happening to me"  homemade strawberry shortcake i like my couch neat - decorated with throw pillows and a blanket "casually tossed" over the back of one side. my kids, on the other hand, they prefer the couch this way. it drives makes me a bit crazy.  but this pictures also warms my heart and makes me laugh sweet red-headed nieces  times two *you can see more pictures from there visit, here brother team work... after about the sixth time helping them i told my sweet boys the only way they were getting back on top of the splash pad's giant bal...

This outfit contains many of my current favorites. The top is a recent "just because" gift from Jeremy's aunts, which already makes it special, but I also adore it's crochet details - unfortunately, the details are a little hard to see in pictures. The pants are also fairly new and are so comfortable that I find myself wearing them all the time. The shoes are a happy souvenir our from our recent NYC trip - I picked them up at a sidewalk sale for only $10!  shirt: gift/ jcrew factory , pant: loft , shoes : restricted , bracelets: old  shirt: target , skirt: vintage/hand-me-down, shoes: dsw , bracelet: diy 

My sister Sarah and her family came up to stay with us for the weekend of the Fourth. They only make it out to our house about once a year, so we packed as much fun as possible into the three days we had together. On the fourth we went to our town's parade. It's a bit of a crazy event - the parade lasted for over two hours! a patriotic little lady my niece isabelle watching little lady mother her baby dolls makes my heart feel as if it could burst