Inspirations! Kareem Iliya, J. Crew, and Across the Universe

I've decided I want to start sharing things I find that inspire my artsy side with all you blog readers out there. First up, this is a little random, but I found that I really enjoyed looking at all this cool, silhouetted, fashion art by Kareem Iliya. Definitely not something you'd see everyday. I also loved that her website is so simple and you can look at everything without having to click millions of buttons and wait for load time :) Check it out!!



Second is freaking J. Crew. I'm in love with them. Too bad I can't afford 'em. But if you want some free inspiration, sign up for their catalogue! Seriously awesome photography, amazing locations, sweet fashion ideas...perfect. Not to mention, did you know J. Crew designs wedding dresses?! When I get married, I want one!


Third and last is the movie "Across the Universe." Wow. Ok, so just know it is a little trippy and weird so if you're not up for that, wait til you're in the mood. But the music and cinematography is SO FASCINATING! And...be warned...you will need the soundtrack. :)

That's it for the inspirations this time! Enjoy the end of October! Hope you have a great day. :)

It's COLD outside, so take a dare!!

OH BOY! It's COLD outside! Cheers to winter coming!! I double dare you to do one of these today to enjoy the wintery weather :)

1. Put your pants in the dryer before you leave the house to warm them up!! I'm doing it now!!...come on, seriously, yes I have pajama pants on.

2. Skip class. No wait, bad idea...don't do it (or at least don't tell anyone I told you to).

3. Warm up with some souuup. Megan called me during lunch with the most brilliant idea of getting some hot soup to have with our sandwiches. Delicious.

4. Go to Starbucks!!! Obviously...Hot drinks only.

5. Listen to Christmas music (like Bing Crosby's stuff!). Yep, doing that one right now too :)

6. Don't turn on your heater. Dance around the house instead. Enjoy the novelty of cold weather and save money. You can turn it on when it's REALLY winter!

7. Try to roast marshmallows over your stove. Hahaha.

8. Take a nap with a bunch of blankets. Mmmm.

Have a great cold day!!

Hmmm...

*PHOTO POST!!*

Apparently I thought I was done being sick...but I'm not. This week has been the most off week ever for me; it has NOT been fun. Aside from randomly having a fever every other day and being behind in classes, my purse got stolen on Friday which kinda pushed me over the edge stress-wise. I'm not sure why stress is getting to me this much this year since I usually have a pretty easy time handling it...And also, if you are a girl reading this and struggling with insecurity, know that you are not alone at all. I've definitely had one of those weeks. Sometimes it's just good to know your not alone.

Some good things this week though: I got to have lunch on Wednesday with my BFF Emily :) She's engaged and just so beautiful! It was WONDERFUL to see her and get to catch up. Going to different colleges means we hardly get to see each other, but when we do it is so great and I'm so thankful for her! Another good thing: I had two photoshoots this week where I actually got paid! My first ones! And they were lots of fun. Photography has been the greatest gift during this stressful, not-feeling-good-enough time because it's something I know I love and can do successfully. Yay! One more good thing: On Monday, I got to hang out with Christina and Cara, some of my most precious friends from HS. They wanted to have a time when we could just get together and seek the Lord and pray for each other. Not an official Bible study or anything like that, just 3 girls wanting to encourage each other and make sure we are all being encouraged. What a blessing it was and will be!

I haven't gotten to spend much time in the Word this week, but one verse that has been stuck in my mind all week is Jonah 2:8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." Wow, what do you even say about that? In those times when we don't want give up whatever idol we are using to make ourselves feel better, we don't realize what we are forfeiting...the grace that will bring peace and true life. Mmmmhmmm.

So, here are some of the pictures from the Aeschliman family photo shoot!! I found this sweeeeeeeet vintage couch and we headed out to First Baptist on Saturday to snap some family pictures for their Christmas cards. Jennifer goes to school at HSU, but her mom and brother drove in from Dallas for the shoot! Whoo!! It was really fun :)

Aren't they the most beautiful family you've ever seen?!

I hope you all have a great night. Much love.

Weekend in Pictures

Guess what?! I found THE cowboy boots for me at a garage sale on Saturday!!!


I'm not sure if you heard me right, I FOUND THEM!! What does this mean? It means that my years of searching are officially over. I've been looking for amazing cowboy boots since high school, and I've gotten pretty dang close, but THESE are THEM!!! Wahoo! Other exciting part: they were only $10!!

I also got my hair "glazed" this weekend. It's not dye but it makes your hair look different all the same. The top is a little lighter ("cinnamon"...yum!) and the underneath bottom is darker ("espresso"). I'm in love with it! As far as my hair goes, I never like to do drastic things, so this slight change was great for me. Also, my hair is basically straight again. No more 3 year old perm...apparently it's all grown out! Yesterday I was randomly sick with a fever and all that no-fun stuff. My roomie, Megan, got me a daisy and made my day! I'm all better today :)

Not sure if you really want to see this next picture...our kitchen is a freaking mess!! Meg and I just keep sidestepping the kitchen so we don't have to deal with it. We just keep lighting that big blue candle there to mask the smell. Maybe instead of blogging, I should be cleaning the kitchen...wait...nope.

So this weekend is SING! and homecoming at HSU! I'm taking pictures for SING! all weekend so that should be fun. YES! I am an official photographer now. SING! is the first job where I'm getting paid! And I have a family Christmas portrait session that I'm getting paid for this weekend! Ahh I love photography! If you're a senior in high school and you're reading this, PICK ME for your senior portraits! I'm getting ready to launch the senior photo season "Venture" complete with amazing free T-shirts! We will have oh-so-much-fun!

Love to you all.

Sweet Surprises From the Lord

Hi friends!

The Lord blessed the socks off me tonight! Tonight was "Fields of Faith" a sort of huge youth rally out at the football stadium where bands play and stuff like that. I wasn't planning on going, but on my way home from my parent's house, I decided to just drive by and see if I could hear the music. I'm kinda a dork like that, I know. Anyway, I realized Branch was playing so I stopped the car and got out to just stand at the fence for a minute. Everyone else was on the other side of the football stadium so I was by myself.

Then this dad and two little kids walked up to the fence because I guess the kids were curious as to what was going on (they were riding bikes around). I could hear the dad explaining was going on and reminding the kids about Jesus. I figured the kids were so young that they hadn't accepted Christ yet, and it was like you could see the love and joy this dad had in training up his boys to love the Lord. Plus they just looked like they were having a fun bike ride anyway. It was so encouraging and wonderful. Plus Branch had just started playing a new favorite song of mine...so yay!

I decided to go ahead and walk around to the side of the stadium where all the youth kids were and watch the show for a bit. That was a blessing too. I always have moments with God when I show up to something I wasn't planning on going to, or something I'm not really a part of. I guess that's just because it's like I sneak in the back and surprisingly enjoy it with my God...it's just me and Him for a little while no matter how many people are around. Hope that makes sense.

Also, I got to get Branch's new CD which is incredible! Since their CD release party a few weeks back, I've wanted to get that CD but they don't have it on iTunes...and that's pretty much my only means of music...CDs are so old school :). But I bought it! The one single time I have a check with me!! NEVER EVER EVER do I carry checks or cash...I guess cause I'm a poor college kid who carries the tiniest purse you've ever seen; but I definitely had a random check with me tonight! YAY!

So, good surprise blessings tonight. God is good.

P.S. Today it actually felt like Fall outside!!!!!!

Just writing a 10 second update here so you know I'm still alive:

Exciting things are happening!

I got to go to the most amazing piano recital EVER last night. Great job, Lisa!! Pretty sure when I have free time, I'll be trying to get all my high school piano skills back! I love being inspired!

I'm taking some h-o-t senior portraits this week!

I'm also taking sick band press shots for Look to the Sky. Two words: Bubble Wrap.

I love my friends!

Ok, I promise there will be a legit blog entry soon PLUS some stellar photos! Keep watching!!

Peace:Love:Friday

Whew! I crammed all the fun of my weekend into last night...and I'm tired. :)

I got off work and went to buy the much anticipated, saved for, straight leg jeans! Probably a week ago, I thought they were the worst looking things on the planet. But then something happened and all of a sudden I thought they were awesome! So I rocked 'em last night with full confidence. Haha. Anyway, then I met up with Jen at Tuscany's to do a bit of "homework"...which really meant talking.

Later, JJackson and I went to the Lindsey Kane concert up at HSU which was WONDERFUL and refreshing! She's so awesome and man, she has a killer voice! Then we met up at Chase's with a rather large group to play Catan. We had so much fun and it was so great to see all those people I hadn't seen all week. They are crazy! Can I just say that I probably played the best two rounds of Catan I've ever played last night?! The first game I had 8 points and the second game I had 9!! So close to winning (at 10 points)! I love my friends. So blessed.

Hope you have good Saturdays!

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