10 Things.

1) If I could eat anything right now, it would be... salt water taffy. 2) If I could be anywhere right now I'd be... walking on a beach. 3) When I was younger I used to love... to sit on the top shelf of my closet, surrounded by pillows, and read a book. 4) Someone I love very much is... leaving work early tonight so we can watch a movie and snuggle on the couch. 5) Today, I felt... motivated to work on my to-do list. Editing pictures for scrapbooking- check. Ordering prints- check. Running Jogging Walking- check. Making dinner- check. 6) People would describe me as... smiley. 7) I think I'm good at... having meaningful conversations and staying organized. 8) One day I would like to... be a mama. 9) In ten years, I hope that I am... a homeowner. 10) My dream is to one day... make a living being crafty.

Spontaneous.

Last Friday night, JD and I decided about half an hour before the BYU game started that we wanted to see the cougars play in person. We didn't have tickets to the game and we didn't know anyone with extras. We searched KSL and called a few people with listings, but all the tickets were sold. Despite our lack of tickets, I grabbed our BYU blue apparel and told JD to meet me out by the scooter. We hopped on and zipped over to Provo, hoping we'd find someone to buy tickets from. We circled the stadium, confident we'd find scalpers. After no such luck, we waited awkwardly outside the gate to the stadium. About twenty minutes into the game, we were pretty discouraged and I felt really stupid for encouraging such a spontaneous trip. Then, a security guard walked up to us and asked if we were waiting for tickets. We told her we didn't actually have any and were just hoping someone would come by wanting to sell them. She then pulled two tickets out of her front pocket and offered them to us for free. Wahoo! We made it into the stadium by the start of the second quarter.

It was an absolutely perfect night for football! The weather was wonderful, the company was better, and the cougars came out on top.

I think I like spontaneity.

Together again.

My old roommates and I were finally able to be together again last Sunday. It's been a long time since all six of us were in the same place at once! Kasidy's been gone for a year and a half on her mission and just got back (she served in the same area my little brother is going!) Steph's been gone in California all summer for her internship doing economic consulting. Cory has been busy courting Sean (see cute picture below) and rockin' her new job as a party planner. Stefanie lives in a house with her husband of over a year, works with the young women at church, and travels around the state for her job. Kylie's been applying for dental hygiene schools and preparing to move to Vegas in a few months.

It's freaky to me that half of us have already graduated from BYU. It seems like only a few weeks since we all lived under the same roof a few blocks from campus. We've since seen all different parts of the country (and the world!). We're getting grown-up jobs. We're learning how to support and take care of ourselves. We are accepting change and trying to listen as the Lord directs our lives. In many ways, things are very different than they were when we lived together. However, there is one thing I'm sure won't change. . . we are forever connected by a strong and abiding friendship.  No matter where we live or what we do, we'll always love eachother. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

L to R: Kasidy, Stefanie, Kylie, Me, Cory, Stephanie

Kylie, Stephanie, Cory, Sean

Cory and Sean, Stefanie and Jeremy



Blogging.

Blogging has been on my mind a lot lately. I keep asking myself: Why do I blog?

I blog because I want to document my life. I blog because I think words are important. I blog, sometimes, because I want to show off the crafty things I've made or done. I blog because I know, at least, my mom and sister check this URL to find out about my life.

My mind sometimes wanders and I think about the possibility of blogging to promote a business, gain a following, and make money. I have so many questions surrounding this take on blogging. It would be super cool to make a little extra money doing this thing that I genuinely love doing, but I have no idea how the "monetize" tab at the top of my page works (In fact, I just looked up the word "monetize" at dictionary.com to double-check it had something to do with money making).

Speaking of cool things to do. . . I would love to start an etsy shop and keep a blog to direct readers there. I find a ton of joy and satisfaction in making things and can't think of a neater way to help provide for myself and family than being able to sell the things I make.  However, as they say, "comparison is the thief of joy" and I'm always comparing things I make to other people's work. I can't make anything that someone else isn't already making. My ideas are not original. Why would someone buy this, when they could buy that? etc. etc.

The other day, when I was reading a magazine about artful blogging, I read the words of a featured blogger, who essentially said, "People go to blogs for the pictures. Be careful not to use too many words." Gasp! How can you use too many words if you are telling the story of your life? And I thought to myself, "How can I be an etsyshopowner-promotemybusiness-makemoney type of blogger and still be a tellmystory-recordforthefuture-documentmoments type of blogger? Is it possibleto be both? How do I do this? How do I keep a blog people actually want to come back to?"

So here's my questions for you, readers, whoever you are:

What do you like to read about on the blog?

AND

What would you be willing to buy if, hypothetically, someone around here started a business?

Sometimes I just blog to get answers. ;)

How does He do that?

I know that prophets and apostles speak today. I'm a big believer that they know God's will and I try really hard to honor and follow their teachings because I know it comes directly from our Heavenly Father. The Mormon church, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, puts out a monthly magazine, The Ensign, which prints the words, counsel, and stories of Church leaders and members all over the world. Every article is intended to draw readers closer to Christ and encourage them in their daily efforts to live by His teachings.

I was reading September's issue and came across an article by M. Russell Ballard. This is what I read:

"My counsel to you is do not lose your faith. Go forward with faith. Faith is a principle of the gospel. Faith is one of the greatest powers that you and I have in this sojourn of mortality. Fear is one of those principles that the devil uses. He likes to seed in your minds and in mine doubts and questions. He's the father of all lies; he lies to us, and he can confuse us if we allow ourselves to be caught up in fear. So replace any fear or apprehension you have now with faith- faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. . ."

As I was reading these words alone in my living room, I felt an overwhelming sense of comfort and an assurance God knows me. Although these words are generic in nature, they are personal to me. I have no doubt the Lord wanted me to read and hear this message. In His omniscience, He has a complete knowledge, awareness, and understanding of what I need and what I'm feeling in my life right now. I feel as if God was talking directly to me, answering the prayers in my heart I've been too afraid to even say out loud, whispering:  

Child, listen to me. I told you I would provide and make the way. I love you and I promise I will buoy you up when you need me. You only have to ask. Just have faith, little one.

Seriously, how does He do that?

Our God is an awesome God!

Dancing in the parking lot.

Last night, while JD was filling up with gas, I got out of the car and danced in the parking lot. I couldn't help it- I was in a dancing mood! It may have had something to do with the cool nip in the air and the pretty new boots I had on. EG (my grandma) sent me a gift card in the mail for my birthday specifically instructing me to buy something I wanted- not something I needed.

Did I really need these gray beauties? Probably not. But they make my feet so happy that I just start dancing. . . and I think that counts as a definite want.

Weekday date.

I don't go to school anymore. I sit around at home (working at the storage unit) and go to work (working at a residential treatment center). I don't get out all that much. . . so honestly, I don't get dressed up all that much. Lately, I've been all about jean shorts and t-shirts. Because JD's schedule is really busy right now (school + internship + work), we don't see each other a lot during the week. So two Wednesdays ago, on a rare night JD didn't work, I put some real clothes on and we went out to dinner.

Sometimes it feels good to break up the ho-hum of everyday, even if that just means splitting an avocado, bacon burger on a weekday :)

Picture wall: What we did.

Step by step, here's how we did it:

Tip 1: When you are picking picture frames, look for ones with detail or depth. Some of these stand out more from the wall than others and the variety gives the collection some character. Also, don't be distracted by the ugly pictures in the frames at the store or the unflattering color of the original frames. You can change all that stuff!

Tip 2: When you are deciding what pictures to hang, try to stick with a unified color group. I picked pictures that had some teal and or green to tie in the color of the wall (JD's stripe on his shirt in the upper middle picture, my jacket in the center picture, or the trees in the berry and snowboarding pictures). Picking pictures with colors similar to your home decor will really help the space feel cohesive.

Moonlit Surf.

So, when we first moved into our little basement apartment, the living area was painted a deep, dark red. It was pretty, but definitely made the room feel a bit claustrophobic because of the small size. In order to brighten up the room, we (and my momma) painted over the red walls with a creamy white. While we were painting, my mom mentioned something like, "Maybe eventually you could do an accent wall in here."

Because the red walls were so dark, we had to use primer and two coats of paint in there. Not to mention, we later repainted our bedroom, bathroom, and my craft room. I figured I shouldn't push my luck with JD and waited a few months before mentioning in casual conversation, "Hey, we should paint another one of our walls." He agreed we could paint one wall.

I mostly wanted to paint because I had my heart set on a picture wall with white frames. I wanted the frames to really pop against a bright color, rather than sit boringly on the creamy walls.

So! We painted! We chose Moonlit Surf by Valspar for the wall and I'm happy, happy, happy with the results. Look at that contrast between the wall and the frames!

Note: I think JD has mostly accepted the fact that once I get an idea in my head. . . I pretty much can't get it out. Usually, this results in some type of manual labor for him (whether it be sanding, painting, moving furniture, making more nail holes, etc, etc). He joked this week about how he must've missed the memo when we were dating that he was going to essentially become my personal workman once we were married. Sorry, lovie! Thanks for all your hard work!

Our living room is so much brighter and happier and lovelier now. :)