100th POST!

Happy 100 Posts Everyone! To celebrate...free Starbucks for everyone!

I wish. I seriously tried to find an online coupon or something to post here so you could all get a free drink. But alas, I could not. But we're still going to celebrate! :)

First up: Top 10 one-liners from the past 100 posts!

10. If you don't know what propagated means, you should look it up before you ever try to use it as a synonym for "advocated." :)

9. My brother is in Canada...Why, oh why can't I go to Canada? Eh?

8. Home is the place where you get better!

7. During this crazy time of the semester, I need to pick up an extra job to support my coffee habits. Yes, it's that bad.

6. You know how sometimes Thanksgivings are kind of a let down because you just sit around all day and watch your older brothers play video games? Well, this year was definitely NOT like that! It rocked!

5. Christmas is my favorite. Break out the Elf DVDs!

4. Maybe instead of blogging, I should be cleaning the kitchen...wait...nope.

5. PS I ate dinner at 3:00 AM last night. Wow.

2. It just hit me that I am so freakin' blessed to have had the Lord throw this photography opportunity at me. Seriously, it feels like he threw it at me. In my face. :)

1. I'm definitely feeling the holy fear in me just thinking about it.

2. Then Meg and I stayed up til 3 being dorks again.

3. Someday when I get a laptop, I'll be able to blog during boring classes *evil snicker* Just kidding...who does that? I take my education seriously! :)

4. How can you go from 11 years old and wearing socks that don't match on purpose, to being 30, flirty, and thriving (with a killer sweet loft) in one day? I don't know...and I'm neither 11 nor 30. So...alright.

5. I just loved it and wanted to show my 21 year old enthusiasm towards this movie made for 9 year olds. :)

6. (AH!!! World famous photographer on the phone with me!!!!! :))

7. Today my dad is 55! My awesome grandparents with an awesome sense of humor came by the shop today and brought us McDonald's "Senior Cokes" - for only 32 cents - claiming he could get them now since he was a senior! Isn't that just great?

8. Sounds like broken nose fun! And it was! No one broke their nose, but we had several elbowings and lots of tackling.

9. I'm really curious about what's making this clatter under my desk. It's only every few minutes and it sounds like someone is shaking a tin can with a button in it. Where did that analogy come from? The 1800's?

10. Besides who wants to watch the outside of someone's house for 15 hours? What a party.

11. I need to get a laptop if I'm going to blog. It's much more exciting and romantic to blog in a coffee shop or out on the porch or anywhere else but my room.

12. I know I'm weird, but when houses flood, I always get excited.

13. There is a rubber duck on my desk...not sure how it got there.

So, okay the numbering got a little messed up, but you get the picture! :)

Who doesn't love Anthropologie?

...And it's cold here again. Man, I was loving that little taste of springtime weather we were enjoying. I confess, I've fallen prey to the marketer's schemes of "promote the next season 4 months before it actually starts." Swimsuits, sandals, and airy decor already? Bring it. I'm excited about Spring! I love the colors, the warmth, the life. Getting outside on that first day when you can smell that it's really Spring...nothing beats it!

I think I'm also super excited about the season's change because so many good things will be happening this summer: Emily&Josh's wedding, Amanda&Kyle's wedding, Trips and such with friends and family, Photography second shoots and jobs, and Pine Cove just to name a few. Usually summers come and I "relax." No more of that! I'm ready to go. :)

Oh! And I have found my new favorite musician (until next week, when I find another ha!). It's One Cell in the Sea by A Fine Frenzy. This girl is delightful! Self taught pianist, sweet soprano vocals, and extremely chill/beautiful/artistic songs.

And here are the "Of-the-day"-s. :)

Quote of the Day: (by my dad) "It's as easy as falling off a log." :) gotta love it!

Funny Thing of the Day: I looked and looked and couldn't find a picture, but Chick-fil-a's new breakfast advertising cracks me up! As a self-proclaimed cereal addict, I just couldn't stop laughing at their fake cereals like "Frosted Monotony" and "Stale O's." Phrases like, "Free block of wood inside!" and "Mmm...Cardboard." and "Now with HALF the flavor!" and "Explosion of Tastelessness!" made me almost fall out of my chair laughing.

Pretty Picture of the Day: Some Pottery Barn green to happify your wintry house, perhaps?

Hope you all have a lovely day!

Cool Phrases to bring to America!

I watched the movie "Once" last night, and really enjoyed it! Notwithstanding the fact that they drop the f-bomb about 400 times (mostly at the very beginning), it was a refreshing change of pace in a movie. Un-Hollywood style. And I like it. Be warned though, I'm not exaggerating about the language. Be ready to tune it out.

The most valuable lesson learned, however, was all the cool Irish/England phrases. :) Let's all get together on this and bring these phrases over to free-town USA! Phrases include: "That's brilliant," "Cheers," "Delightful," putting "Yeah" at the end of every sentence, and unfortunately that's all I can remember.

In other exciting news, I bought Photoshop CS3 & Lightroom!! Finally! I can't wait to start playing around with it! I already use Lightroom and love it, but I'm so excited to see what Photoshop can do. Man, it's an extensive program...

A much smaller purchase, but still exciting: I got the Norah Jones piano sheet music book! I'm so glad to be playing the piano again!

School starts soon. Oh boy.

Free Rice

Short post, I know, but you need to check out this website! FreeRice.com is a place where you can learn new vocabulary words (which I am always up for) and play their little vocab game. Here's the deal: for each game round you win, they donate 20 grains of rice through the United Nations to help end world hunger! How sweet a deal is that? Play free games AND get smarter AND help end world hunger! I love it. The grains of rice really add up. Go play!!

January's Top 5!

Enjoy the lineup!

1. Have you been introduced to Etsy? "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade." Don't let the "handmade" part make you think "frumpy"...no, no this is where you can find some of the coolest and trendiest art , decor, and even clothing! Shop around a bit. It's cool to know you are getting something handmade, original, and one-of-a-kind. Great for gifts!

2. Redecorating! January is so fun because everything is on sale and the new stuff is rolling in! I've been secretly redecorating my bedroom at the flat. The coolest thing is that I hardly spend any money! I more or less just rearranged and brought in a few old movables. Although I did get a new mini chandelier from IKEA! I'll post some pics of the room soon!

3. Spring clothing lines are already peeking out! My personal favorite right now is at American Eagle. Sweet warm-weather sweaters, delightfully floral tanks and tees, Bermuda shorts, and cute flats! Shop now.

4. Buffalo Exchange is the coolest store I've ever seen! I went for the first time ever this past weekend and it was awesome! Full of vintage and second hand fashion, it is the place to find completely unique looks! Not to mention crazy expensive brand names for cheeeap! Next time you're in Dallas or Austin, you should stop by! Check 'em out here!

5. Art by yumiyumi. She's an artist I found on Etsy and she's actually the one who created the art on the Under the Canvas Sky banner! She's also having a New Year's sale right now! Check her out here on Etsy!

I'm back!

For the last 3 days I've been in Dallas visiting my brother and his wife! I love going to visit them! It was such a delightful trip and just getting out of town for a little while was refreshing. It always is. And in case you were getting ready to rile me about not running the past 3 days...well that's why. But I did do a large amount of walking around, shopping and such, with my mom Daniel, and Cassidi. :)

Get ready for January's Top 5 coming up.

Get used to writing 2008!

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I've been reflecting tonight, thinking over this past year. SO MUCH has happened and changed. Attitudes, relationships, career decisions...I can't even begin to get that personal on this blog (ha!). But trust me, the Lord has done some miraculous, as well as quiet, acts in my life since 2007 started. 

Isn't it amazing to look back and see the Lord's hand carrying you and leading you, even during times when you felt as if He'd left you? I love that, as years pass, we can gain a bigger perspective on our lives. We can truly see the hand of God at work. It's like we are writing our own story, and we can look back on it and be encouraged. 

Looking back is great, but looking forward is another thing. The uncertainty of the future can be burdensome. I just want to encourage you, with whatever you are facing come 2008, you may not know exactly what is going to happen next, but if you're a believer in Jesus, you know where your story will reach it's climactic scene: before the throne of God in heaven where you will hear the sweet voice of our Savior saying, "Well done." God has given us this great climactic scene for our stories...and we take that scene and we get to be creative with the journey on the way to that scene. We live our lives in light of the climactic scene. 

So...two verses that sum this up:

1. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)

2. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Phil 1:27)

Hope you all have a delightful January 1, 2008!