Singing Along

I love this song and recently heard it again on the blog Pure Heart.



What a wonderful reminder. God's love is strong and powerful. How blessed we are!

Apartment Tour

So far, today has been a lazy day, just me and the kitty. As I write this, Jupiter is trying to sit on my computer and nibbles at my figers every time I type a letter.

 I don't feel so hot today, so I thought that showing you the rest of our apartment would make me feel better.

Welcome! This is one of two "front doors" in our apartment.

A few shots of the living room. Notice that we still do not have pictures in our frames.

Our second "front door" is in a little hallway. It has now been taken over by crafts supplies and kitty litter.

Onto the kitchen.

I'm sure you're jealous of our awesome Chock-Full-O-Nuts utensil holder. I had to let Kyle keep a few things.

I found an unattractive shelf at Goodwill. A fresh coat of paint and a little decoration was all it needed.

A place for us to eat...

And a place for Jupiter.

Last stop...bathroom.

Click here to see the final spot, our bedroom.

Alright, now it's time to be productive (and clean because our apartment definiltey doesn't look like it did in the pictures anymore).

Laundry Day

Since tomorrow is laundry day, I thought I'd share a few pictures of what I hope to have some day...
a washer, a dryer, and a laundry room of my own!

my personal favorite

[photos from real simple]

Here's to dreaming...

Filling in the Gaps

I love how our new apartment is looking. We've really taken some time to decorate and make the new place a home (more pictures coming soon!).

There was a gap, however, in our living room that I didn't quite know what to do with.

So I pondered on our new picture (above the couch) and came up with an idea!

I found a couple of matching frames that we weren't using.

I printed out two different leaves on card stock, cut them out, and glued them to some pretty pieces of scrapbook paper. The card stock made the scrapbook paper a bit thicker and added a little life to the leaves (a.k.a. they didn't just lie flat).

I glued on some twine to make them look even more life like.

In the meantime, I raided the button drawer. You know when you get a new shirt or sweater and you get the extra button? Since high school/early college I've just been sticking those extra buttons in a pouch and keeping it in my sock drawer. I never really opened the pouch very wide. Just wide enough to add a new button to the growing collection. For this project, I decided to crack open the sock drawer and pull out my buttons...oh my gosh it was unreal. I have been saving extra buttons for years and I have never once needed a spare button. Not once! I took all the tiny buttons from their tiny bags and added them to my real button collection (mostly vintage buttons). Now they are pretty and there just in case I need a spare.

Anyway, I gathered some black buttons in various sizes and used them to embellish my plain black frames. I used some string and hot glue to hang the leaves and ta-da...

A perfect addition to the living room!

You Capture...Love Around Your Home

One of my favorite blogs I Should Be Folding Laundry hosts You Capture, a weekly photo challenge. I've enjoyed seeing and reading about all the beautiful photos out there...and this week I decided to join the challenge.



This week: Love Around Your Home

This was such a tough challenge. As I walked around our apartment, all I could find were signs, symbols, treasures, and memories of love. From wedding and family pictures, to cherished tokens, and new finds to old favorites.

When I really think about love, there is a love that transcends them all...the love of Jesus Christ for us. Kyle and I have tried to infuse our apartment with the things that we value and hold very close. We want visitors to feel comfortable in our home and know that we have built a home on God's love.

In our living room.

On my jewelry board in the bedroom.

On the bookshelf.

On the fridge. [The "cookie" was given to us in church as a reminder that God is real...like when we were little and "Santa" took a bite out of the cookies we left him to let us know he visited.]

In our dining nook. [This picture was made by our good friends Jackie and Emily. They glued scrabble letters to spell out important words to Kyle and I and then framed it for us.]

That's the love I found around our home. All the other things that I love in my home [my husband, our treasures, my students who live just feet from our front door] are proof of God's love.

Hosanna in the Highest

[source]



I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith

I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Meet Jupiter

The newest addition to our family... Jupiter!

Kyle and I have thought about getting a cat for a while. We are both a little afraid of cats (I know, then why are we getting one??), but we really wanted a little furry companion. We cat sat for a few friends over winter break and got much better at understanding them. I have been bugging Kyle about getting a cat knowing that he wouldn't crack, but a few days ago, while I was washing dishes, he came up and said "I think we should get a cat."

We found Jupiter yesterday at the humane society. They are keeping her over the weekend to spay her and give her some medicine for her kitty cold. We are bringing her home on Monday!

Crazy Love

Have you read this book?

We just started reading it in our small group and I am really excited to dive right in. In the preface, the author states "I grew up believing in God without having a clue what He is like. I called myself a Christian, was pretty involved in a church, and tried to stay away from all the things "good Christians" avoid- drinking, drugs, sex, swearing...In hindsight, I don't think my church's teaching were incorrect, just incomplete. My view of God was small and narrow." This really stands out to me and kind of resembles how I feel having grown up in the church. I always believed in God, but I've always felt like something else was missing.

I am excited to really learn what radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love is, and to see how my life changes when I really truly believe in a God who is capable of this kind of love.

In the forward, Chris Tomlin writes "Isn't it interesting that in Acts 11, at the end of verse 26, it says 'The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.' What I think is interesting is the simple thought that the Christians didn't name themselves. But rather, were called (or named) 'Christians' by those watching their lives. I wonder if it would be the same today. Could someone look at your life or look at my life and name me a Christian? A humbling question for sure." I pray that my actions, words, attitude, how I live, and what I do with my money show people my heart for Jesus.

Pretty Things

It's been a really long day. All I have for you is a few pretty things.

Don't you agree?

[source, source, source, source]

Bedroom

We're settled into our new home getting ready to start another semester. I absolutely hate moving and trying to find new places for all the stuff we own. What I have enjoyed is decorating our new place and making another hall coordinator apartment feel like home.

Here's what we've done in the bedroom. I really wanted a relaxing, calm space where we can go after a long day. I love the colors (soft beige, white, and green).

Our bed had to go in the corner since the room isn't wide enough for the bed to go anywhere else. We also put it on risers for maximum storage. I didn't think I'd like sleeping in the corner, but with the light shining through the windows (something we didn't have in our old place), I feel like a queen in my high corner bed.

This is opposite our bed. We finally have a place for my favorite lamp.

These have to be my favorite hobby lobby finds. We have a bird theme in our bedroom and bathroom. Yes, those are 3M strips holding them on the wall. Don't judge. When you live for free in a residence hall, you have a limited number of options.

I painted this bulletin board hot pink when I was in high school. It followed me to college, then to grad school, and until last semester, was in my office. I painted the border green and used tacks to attach pretty fabric to the cork board surface. Now it holds my growing jewelry collection (that's what happens when you make your own).

The pictures in the corner resulted from bathroom art screw up part 2. I redid them for the bedroom.

My finished artwork hangs on a long wall opposite the dresser. I love how it turned out.

I love our bedroom so much, I never want to get out of bed. Maybe I shouldn't have made it so relaxing!