trick or treat!

happy halloween!

from my hands, to yours. 

haha

story {1}

"you have a knowing look about your face," james, a fellow barista, said to me today at work.

taken aback but certainly flattered,  i replied by saying, "i know things... i'm just one of those people that knows things." 

whether or not this is true, i've always prided myself on being able to read people in a unique way.  james and i had also reached a new level of friendship recently, over a few particularly fun shifts in addition to some dating advice and the graceful ease with which i obtained a certain girls name he had his eye on.  they smoked cigarettes together on his break, and he was happy. he had fed my ego, so i was happy too.  and we were bonding. 

later in the shift i caught him standing close to me with far away eyes and an unaware smile.

"where's your head? it's not here. what are you thinking about?" i asked. 

"what? no, i'm here..." and five minutes later i struck gold. he opened up:

while tidying up the espresso bar, he turned to look at me and said, 

"when i was 19, my cousin and i went camping at the bend.  you know the bend, right?  well it was nice outside and we decided we would barbeque, and we actually climbed up a hill in order to get to where we'd eat.  at the time, i was wearing shorts, sandals, and a short sleeve shirt, and the hill was a real mess. i mean, covered in brush, weeds, and thorns.  but i was like, 'you know what, i'm going to follow my cousin.'  and the whole way up the hill i noticed that when i was looking at where i was going, there was always enough room for a foot or a hand.  there was always a clear path.  it was only when i wasn't looking that i would get torn up.  and when we got to the top, and i looked down on the complete tangled mess that was the hill, it was the most beautiful sight i had ever seen. it was amazing."

he paused, then said, "there's always a way. when you asked me what i was thinking about earlier, that was it.  i've been thinking about that story all morning."

all i could say was, "i'm really glad you told me." 

we all have our hills with pathways that hide only when you're not looking for them. maybe the pretty girl that likes his cappuccinos and shares her smokes with him put that story into his mind... or something else.  who knows.  more often than not, i seem to pick the easier ground to BBQ on.  why fight an uphill battle with a hill when i can stay on the soft, even land?  because the view is up there: after the challenge, above the brush; waiting, with the prizes of perspective and fulfillment.  sometimes you just gotta climb, if only by one small foothold at a time.  the only dangerous force holding you back is yourself.  

here's to letting go. 

some needed inspiration

"whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it. 

boldness has genius, magic and power in it. 

begin it now." - goethe

"this is the true joy in life, the being used

for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; 

the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap;

the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish 

little clod of ailments and grievances complaining

that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

- george bernard shaw

{via}

perpetual paris

{via littlebrownpen}

from one of my favorite blogs:

a perennial calendar made up of photos 

she and he husband took around paris.

how cool is that?

i showed it to ross, and suggested we try our own version

with photos from around college station.

haha, what the heck. maybe we should. 

check out the how-to video.

homecoming

dear baylor,

thank you for having your 100th homecoming, and for welcoming me home with blissfully perfect weather for my first time as an alumni. 

dear friends,

thank you for sharing ninfaritas, good talks, baris, and reliving memories.  especially the stories about smiller & jeaux. can't wait to get back to you; you inspire me like nothing else in this world. 

dear smiller, the dude, & wade,

where were you guys this weekend?! o yea, across the oceans living your dreams.  we missed you, and my heart hurt when we drove down 10th street and you weren't there.  but you were alive in every corner & place we went, because you are part of our baylor. 

dear savs,

you made such a beautiful bride! thank you so much for letting ross & i celebrate with you. we're so excited for you! p.s. pat looked crazy handsome in his uniform. 

dear baylor again, 

you are the place where i met ross, fell in love, got engaged & married.  you are the place where i met my best friends, and came alive in a way i never had been before.  you will always be a special, beautiful, irreplaceable home to me.  and if i start to love my new home in college station, thanks in advance for knowing that i'm not replacing you. 

dear ross,

i love you.  thank you for loving me & for being the best husband in the whole world.  

dear blog,

we made it! one whole year! thanks for helping me do something consistently for a whole year. 

a lot has happened- and you caught it all.  here's to another year!

to me, he looks like a g.i. joe

today is such a good day to stay inside & read

all tangled up in warm, cozy blankets. 

tonight were heading down to houston,

then tomorrow were off to san antonio

to look into what life would be like

if ross joined the air force.

well see :)

hill country get away

it's starting to look & feel like fall.  

we spotted several trees with changing leaves.  

{and we caught some falling ones!}

we finished off our nice weekend with a

 double date to dinner & a movie.

where the wild things are is soo good.  

the kind of movie that makes you want to go 

right back into the theatre and watch it all over again. 

happy pretty friday!

test day power breakfast:

mini whole wheat bagles + cream cheese + red onions + basil + tomatoes+ lox =

perfect way to start a fresh new day.  best enjoyed with coffee and orange juice

 on a porch in the cool morning air. 

highly recommend it.  next time we will probably add capers & chives too. yummm. 

the weather today is so perfect my heart feels it might burst from joy! 

no work, coffee with a new friend, a skype date, and plenty of time to enjoy quiet time on the porch to read, write & paint make remind me not to fret so much on the rainy days. 

they always go away. 

"Look to me continually for help, comfort, and companionship. Because I am always by your side, the briefest glance can connect you with Me. When you look to Me for help, it flows freely from My Presence. This recognition of your need for Me, in small matters as well as in large ones, keeps you spiritually alive. 

When you need comfort, I love to enfold you in My arms. I enable you not only to feel comforted but also to be a channel through whom I comfort others.  Thus you are doubly blessed, because a living channel absorbs some of whatever flows through it. "

-Jesus Calling, Sarah Young

life here; an update

sarah called me today.  

just typing that i get a little choked up.  

she called right as i went on my ten minute break and it was so wonderful and refreshing to hear her voice, even if it was just a short tease.  it's hard when your friends are all far away; especially when your best friend chased down her dream of living in madrid. 

 i've been a little absent from the blogosphere (wow, that's really a word) lately and it's because sometimes talking about what's going on in your life is difficult when your heart is missing the things you aren't doing... namely, living with & close by best friends.  

i miss you so much it hurts, smiller.

  friends, i miss you so much that sometimes i feel like i can't breath.  

ok, enough of the emo drama queen bit.  

life here lately has been good.  we're young and we're just trying to have fun with the stage in our life... even though the transition had bee pretty touch & go.  

ross has been my rock. 

 my silly, cooking, dancing, singing, joking, snuggling, 

hard-working, rock.  

after a loooong day or work & studying, we actually went out

 and had good time.  

this past weekend was especially great, but for some reason i sadly did not take any pictures! chuval stayed with us for three nights, or in her words, "for like eighteen years."  

red beans and rice, tiger football, crafts, shopping, big, rainy weather and lattes made for a fantastic little bryan weekend.  

ross & i even celebrated our 3 month anniversary by seeing the bryan community theaters production of guys and dolls. sooooo good!

 {sit down, you're rockin', rockin' the boat}

it turns out the theatre is tucked right behind the 

golds gym, HEB, and joannes fabric which we always go.  who knew? hidden gems...

lots and lots of rain.  like, almost everyday.  so when it's sunny, and we're free, 

we take advantage by partaking in some poolside reading & studying.

and by that i of course mean napping. 

snapped this while driving to work the other day (not too safe).

i really do have a pretty commute. i'm thinking about video taping it or something, 

because it really is nice. 

and sometimes you just need to be really grateful about the little things 

that make you smile.  because even when i miss my friends, ross is here.

and when i miss my mom, she sends me a card in the mail.  

and when we're lonely, sad, or happy we have music. 

and when it rains we have blankets.

and when it's cloudy we know the sun is just waiting to come out,

to warm our skin again and kiss our cheeks. and because even when

 we feel hopeless we know that Jesus doesn't think so at all.

  and then life once again seems full and beautiful and precious. 

because it's all gift. even the hard parts. 

grace

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, 

and his grace toward me was not in vain.  

On the contrary I worked harder than any of them, 

though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me."

I Corinthians 15:10

happy weekend!

my most favorite picture of all time.

tried it. liked it.

3 peaches, sliced

1 cup dry red wine

2 tsp sugar

 soak for 30 min at room temperature

enjoy.

only 2 weight watchers points, which means its a good way to be bad

on a tuesday afternoon.

angel in sbucks {part deux}

{photo by phil christensen * the swiss alps,  fall 2007}

we see many international students everyday in sbucks, and as someone who is fervently praying to live in europe one day, i have a very hard time understanding what on earth would bring a european to college station, texas.  is it just me, or is there something truly bizzaro about that? anyway, today i met someone from switzerland.  switzerland.  the fall before last i fell in love with that country (which is undoubtably the closest glimpse of heaven on earth) and only a few days of breathing the freshest air & drinking the purest water (not to mention literally  pushing my stomach to the limit with cheese & chocolate fondue) left me mesmerized to this day. college station... not so much.  but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

so, enough with the bcs bashing.  promise.  especially because today at work, the angel i met in sbucks a couple of weeks ago came back!   after thanking her, we got to talk for just a few minutes between americanos & carmel macchiatos, and it turns out that it really is a small world after all.  she lived in waco the past two years, worked at baylor in the dorm where i started my BU life, and recently moved to college station to help start a church plant.  and she just so happened to wander into my store.  

today was a good day.  

there and back again

this past weekend, the Lord restored my soul

through a quick trip to waco, texas 

& a couple nights in dallas.

ninfaritas, common grounds, kevin the sugarglider,

a 'frat lap' around campus & some favorite friends 

made our brief stop in Waco a perfect evening.

friday night & saturday we enjoyed friends in dallas,

a stay at ross' old house, a night with mrs. k,

a beautiful wedding & a BU victory:

just like the good ol' glory days. 

on sunday we returned to our home in bcs,

where i was met with an awful shift at work-

thanks to an overflow of customers, one badly made soy cappuccino by me,

 ...and a broken. air. conditioner. 

anyway, all that to say i went from 

overflowing with joy to tired, sad, and drained in a day. 

but it's okay... God is continually reminding me that

He is the only true source of joy. 

not where i live or who i'm with;

or whether or not i'm playing with a sugarglider

 outside my favorite coffee house with best friends & my husband.

it's hurts being refined, but this old lump of clay 

needs a lot more shaping. 

...and it doesn't hurt to know well be back in waco

in just 3 weeks.  pigskin tickets arrived yesterday. 

fresh air is green and gold.