the world fascinates me

waco weekend

2011-03-02T19:13:00.000-06:00

last friday,

ross, roux & i hopped in the car

and headed to one of our most favorite places...

baylor university!

we got to see sing, go to a dance party, drink sangria with best friends,

celebrate friends at a couples shower, stop by our favorite thrift store,

enjoy ninfaritas with more friends, drink common grounds coffee,

and even walk the bear trail.

...and the best part

(besides celebrating pi phi winning sing for the first time ever!)

was my little sister calling & saying that

she's going to baylor next year!!

we are so excited for the many, many waco road trips to waco in our future,

and even happier that emily is about to embark on the incomparable adventure

that is life at good ol' BU.

Simply Bloom Workshop Teaser

2011-02-25T09:12:00.000-06:00

Simply Bloom just posted a sneak peak from the styled shoot

we had the pleasure of participating in

during the conference last weekend.

It was soo lovely & I can't wait to share some of my photos!

This photo makes me want to fly back to Nevada

and camp out in the desert with Ross,

with a blanket made of sun and our love to keep us full.

away we go!

2011-02-18T09:56:00.001-06:00

Blogger does not seem to want to cooperate with me lately,

as it will not let me upload any pictures!

I need to resolve this issue, as a post with no pictures is no fun.

Suggestions? Anyone?

In other news,

Stancy & I are off to Las Vegas today for the Simply Bloom Photography conference!

Hopefully we will learn a TON, be inspired, and have fun on our first trip to the infamous city.

Can't wait to report back about our weekend!

hopefully with pictues...

the next thing

2011-02-17T16:22:00.000-06:00

“Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment my moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance, are given.
Fear not tomorrows, Child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, ‘DO THE NEXT THING.’
Do it immediately; do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His Hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ’neath His wing,
Leave all resultings, ‘DO THE NEXT THING.’”
--author unknown

via

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T13:06:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone thoroughly enjoys this day as much as I do.

What could be better than a day about love?

Especially when chocolate is involved!

{above photos via greenweddingshoes}

I made a few little treats for friends,

and found my favorite new treat.

Homemade chocolate peanut buuter cups!

Made in mini cupcake tuns, and individually wrapped in tiny heart stamped brown bags,

they are too cute to resist and too tiny to feel guilty about.*

*Note: I do not support feeling guilty about eating chocolate. Life's too short.

design*sponge featured the recipie last week, and it was too simple not to try!

i.love.this.day.

red hearts & brain waves

2011-02-12T09:31:00.000-06:00

Thursday night, a dream literally came true for me-

we had a Valentine's Party!

I know there are a lot of mixed feelings out there about Valentine's day,

but I am, and have always been, a HUGE fan.

Partly because I love hype, sweets, little crafts and gifts,

and of course, love.

Two of my good friends from work started planning this a couple of weeks ago,

and the prepping, baking & crafting side of this party

may or may not have been my favorite part.

Let get's real, those are the reasons I always want to have parties.

And my friend Kelley's love language is parties, so she totally gets it too.

strawberry cake balls by kelley

sugar cookie cupcakes

mason jar + burlap + lace +wooden heart = v-day vase

the cuuutest felt heart garland, also by kelley

please note Roux checking out the snack table...

This table was full by the end of the night,

so many sweet friends brought awesome desserts that disappeared quickly.

Ross even made pigs in the blanket for the first time!

empty tazo tea box + burlap + string + a doily = v-day candle holder

The Mexican Valentines flags were my absolute favorite!

Kelley simply folded tissue paper, cut holes, and then taped the flags to ribbon.

Super cheap & easy, and they were a hit!

Remember the hearts everyone wore in Julie & Julia?

That was my favorite part for sure.

Kelley's sister brought over this game...

it is so crazy...

you control the movement of this ball with your brain waves.

I'm still not sure I believe it, but everyone loved it!

It was such a wonderful night,

and we feel so blessed by our friends here.

Our hearts are full to the brim.

Looking forward to more Valentine's celebrating to come!

engagement video

2011-02-05T19:31:00.001-06:00

What you are about to see is my first attempt at something I've been wanting to make for a while:

the engagement video!

I was beyond excited to take some engagement photos of my friends from Baylor, Chad & Alise,

because they are so fun. Little did I know exactly how cute and in love they were until getting to hang out with just them for a couple of hours.

I love that with videos (in this case, stop-motion style) you get more of the story

of the day- wind blown hair, goofy facial expressions, and just straight up silly moments.

You can check out some of their engagement pictures on my other blog,

but while you're here, I proudly present you with

Chad & Alise's engagement video!

* please note this is my first attempt at anything like this- so it's sooo far from perfect,

but it was really fun to make, mostly because their pictures put the biggest smile on my face.

you're a peach!

2011-02-02T15:52:00.000-06:00

via greenweddingshoes

it's time for a blank canvas

2011-02-01T10:01:00.000-06:00

Ross & I are so ready to move out of the apartment.

Apartment living's been great and everything,

but we are ready for space.

Space away from our grouchy neighbor that lives uneath us,

(whose favorite hobby is banging on his ceiling/our floor with a broom)

backyard space for our puppy to run and play in,

and mostly (for me, anyway) a new space to set up house in.

Our colorful little first home has been so much fun,

but it's time for new paint, new colors, new arrangements, new fabrics...

and hopefully, not one inch of carpet.

On that note,

it's time to give this blog a little makeover.

o Christmas tree

2010-12-21T11:10:00.000-06:00

merry christmas!

We are headed to Tahoe today for some skiing & snowshoeing.

for the first time in my whole life i'll get to celebrate a white Christmas!

Soooo excited...

catching up: thanksgiving

2010-12-12T11:12:00.000-06:00

Okay, blog, I'm sorry for peaceing out on you for so long. I sort of broke up with blogger for a while I guess. We got into a fight, you see. I had this incredibly eloquent and interesting post (just kidding, but seriously...) in which I poured out my heart & shared what the Lord was showing me through Jack Kerouac and apple pie and pursuing a new career adventure. The post took at least a week to write, and when it came time to publish and share it with the blogging world... blogger failed to save the post...and failed to post it... so we ended our relationship on pretty bad terms.

BUT, I love the holiday season waaaay too much to not take some time and document our adventures.

I forgive you, Blogger. Maybe another day when I have more time to rewrite the aforementioned incredibly eloquent and interesting post I can share that story, but for now we will just have a simple and slightly cheesy recap of Thanksgiving.

Here are a few pics from our time with my family in beautiful San Jose, California.

I'm saving my favorites for another post, but this is a start.

{p.s. please excuse my extreme editing on some on these photos.

i like to get a little carried away sometimes}

Ross & my dad enjoying some cigars and manhattans while frying turkey # 1.

best.turkey.ever.

Our beautiful table!

JB being cool.

Fancy cheeses at the girl & the fig in Sonoma.

Wine cave in Sonoma.

Decorating for Christmas!

Some years we have over 30 people to celebrate Thanksgiving with. This year it was just the 6 of us and was so much fun. My dad planned out the whole well balanced week of staying home and cooking, exploring new parts of California, going out to eat, having an extreme bocci ball tournament, visiting my brothers new school, playing games, watching movies, and going on family walks. It was perfect. Ross and I were so grateful to just spend time together and take a much needed break from work.

Can't wait to fly back on Friday! How is Christmas sneaking up on us so fast?!

the few, the proud, the puppy class grads.

2010-10-27T23:29:00.000-05:00

We are such proud parents!

Our baby puppy, Roux Pinson, graduated from Puppy Training Class today!

(note: yes, I do realize how obnoxious we are becoming...

Lord help us when we have human children.)

On our way to the final exam & graduation.

Receiving his diploma bone

Proud dad.

Roux finished his diploma bone before the rest of the class even graduated.

"I did it!"

"Life rules."

Heck yeah we're framing this.

Top three students :)

Roux, Rebel & Major.

Can't wait for the Intermediate Class!

simply bloom

2010-10-13T13:53:00.000-05:00

SimplyBloom Stop Motion Film from christine berry on Vimeo.

soooo cute.
stancy should this to me & i kind of want to be them :)

reminder

2010-09-25T08:52:00.000-05:00

{via}

Missouri

2010-09-20T20:27:00.001-05:00

this weekend, i had the blessing of

photographing a wedding

{with mrs. stancy higley} of two beautiful believers
in missouri

as they exchanged vows and began

a new life together.

it was so much fun,

{albeit incredibly hot & sweaty}

and I can't wait to share some pictures!

seriously- look at them.

don't they look like they're straight out of a magazine?

fall wreath 2010

2010-09-13T21:57:00.002-05:00

like any good DIY-er,

i can't just simply buy holiday decor.

it has to be original! it has to be crafty!

let's be real: it has to be cheap :)

i was happy with last year's

but wanted to go in a different direction this year.

anyway, here is this year's wreath:

to make it, i simply wrapped different colors

of burlap & fabric around a wreath form.

next, i cut strips of fabric and bunched them

into the form of flowers

and topped them off with shiny tacks.

the final touches were acorn bells

which wrapped around the wreath with twine.

of course, all fall crafts must be done

with a pumpkin spice candle

warming the apartment with it's familiar

autumn smell wafting through the air.

where are the kolaches?

2010-09-12T13:04:00.002-05:00

the start of this year has been so much different
from the beginning of last's.

we're a little more established
and are incredibly blessed with good friends.

we're parents to a great little puppy,
and i absolutely love my new job.

all that to say, this year we are truly happy
living here in college station.

(though, to be honest, i am still struggling with my road rage issues
due to the freakishly slow drivers in this city,
but that's neither here nor there.)

yesterday we ventured to a nearby city, caldwell,
for the annual kolache festival.

apparently, caldwell is the czech capital of texas.

and of course we brought the baby puppies :)

poor roux slept all day yesterday after we got home.
thankfully roux's best friend clive has a super cool traveling water bowl
(from REI, of course) which he shared with roux.

the only downside to the kolache fest. was the extreme heat...
we are so ready for fall to get here!

labor day: roux makes a friend and digs to china

2010-09-12T11:29:00.001-05:00

this is a story about a puppy named roux
and a slightly bigger puppy named nessie.

the happiest puppy named roux

met the prettiest puppy named nessie

and she showed him how to play in the pool.

she showed roux the way

so he gave it a try

and he played, and played...

and he played, played, played.

roux loved this pretty lady named nessie

so the played chase all through the yard.

yes roux is the happiest puppy

and he loves to play all day

and he probably dreams of going back to see

our friends on white rock lake.

bath time with roux man

2010-09-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

when we adopted mr. roux, a black lab mix, we naturally thought he would be a water dog.

you know, that he couldn't resist a good romp through the sprinklers or making a big splash in the pool. well, this silly little pup could absolutely do without the water it seems...

though he is getting better (i think?).

saturday is roux-gets-a-bath-so-he-doesn't-smell-like-a-lab-and-stink-up-our-apartment-day

and although these photos look like we are absolutely torturing him,

we really do give him perfectly innocent baths.

"daaaaad stop plllleeeaase!"

"i get no respect around here."

"i still really, really love dad!"

the new addition

2010-08-29T22:19:00.000-05:00

we stayed true to our plan:

wait until we've been married a year before we get a puppy.

so when an email went out on the med school list serve about a lab mix puppy needing a home,

we knew he was the one we had been waiting for.

enter roux pinson:

we LOVE this little guy!

hiatus over.

2010-08-22T11:46:00.000-05:00

aha!

apparently my blog decided to allow me to upload photos again.

we have a lot of catching up to do.

healing

2010-07-15T23:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

Thank you for taking such good care of me this week. I really don't know what I wold do without you. I promise I'll be more fun to hang out with from here on out!

Dear guy at Blockbuster,

Thank you for being so kind & relatable by talking to me about your recent sinus surgery. I felt like much less of a freak walking around with a puffy face and a bandaged up nose.

Dear Glee,

You are even better the second time around. I love you!

Dear Ross,

Come home already. I miss you. The flowers you sent are beautiful and look pretty in our apartment :)

Dear friends,

Seriously, thank you so much for the incredibly kind phone calls, texts, care packages, meals, and notes. I am overwhelmed with love for you and from you. Even with a puffy and stuffy face, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Dear little kid at Target,

Sorry if my face scared you!

Dear Gazpacho,

Why would I even eat anything else in the summer? You are the best. Seriously, try this recipe.

And speaking of cooking, I'm thinking I could muster up the strength & energy to try these (with moms help!):

Healthier Biscotti Recipe via Prudent Baby

(Don't judge me for reading a blog with a title like that-

it's not just about baby related things, I swear!)

Hoping to have some fun photos and projects to share on here as I lay low and heal for the next couple of weeks. I'm so happy to have my mom & brother here with me and I need to make the most out of my time with them! Especially since I was basically asleep for the first couple of days they were here... Happy Friday!

out of commission

2010-07-12T00:29:00.002-05:00

Dear blog friends,

I'm very sorry for the lack of posting. Between being out of town for an amazing friend reunion in new orleans, job training for my new job, getting ready for surgery, and just straight up enjoying summertime- things have just been a little busy. Though I've had time to post and even started several, these past couple of weeks too many thoughts bounce around my head and don't seem to come out clearly on paper. My surgery is tomorrow, so I will be out of commission for a little while. However, I promise to be back soon!

In the meantime, if you stumble upon this still un-updated blog, I would really appreciate a prayer for the doctors & my recovery. I never have had any surgery before, so I'm a little nervous. I've been so blessed by friends and family already and am so grateful for all of your prayers and comforting words. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you so much, Lauren, for sending me this:
"I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." John 14:26

Love,

Katie

Welcome to Holland

2010-06-29T23:25:00.000-05:00

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

anniversary

2010-06-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

warning: this post may be overloaded with gushing about ross pinson. proceed with reading at your own risk.

we woke up early & enjoyed a quick little breakfast of sliced cherry tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs at our kitchen table. the sun was just coming up on our drive to the airport; a brightly glowing grapefruit warming the cool blue sky and thin cotton candy clouds. we just couldn't stop looking at each other. thankfully, we'd both given up on stifling that pesky uncomfortable feeling in our throats last night and finally let it out; so this morning was calm and warm with love. until we got to the airport, that is, but even that wasn't so bad. i parked the car and got out with him, and we must have looked like a couple of high schoolers the way we were kissing and looking longingly into each others eyes. the whole goodbye scene was kind of silly, which was nice and it helped the tears go away. but hey, the longest we've been apart since we've been married is a whopping two nights, and today we embarked on our 5 weeks of long distance marriage- so i don't feel too bad about being cheesy or a little teary or anything else for that matter.

i know it's easy to say right now, since i was just in ross' arms a few hours ago, but i feel really good about this season. ross prayed over us last night and again this morning, and theres a peace in my heart about how sweet this time apart will be. the way ross and i enjoyed every little minute this past weekend proved that sometimes we need a deadline to stop taking our time together for granted. and speaking of this past weekend, i have to take a few minutes to gush & brag about how cool my husband is.

we got back on sunday from what seriously felt like a second honeymoon. ross planned every detail & kept everything as a surprise, and he completely swept me off my feet.

late friday afternoon we arrived in dallas and pulled up to an incredibly beautiful hotel, the adolfus. i fell in love with the gorgeous french style and had ross cracking up as i freaked out about all the beautiful furniture, mirrors, fabrics, etc. straight up swoon.

we quickly headed out to catch our dinner reservations at a resturant ross picked out for the evening, nonna. mouth wateringly-delicious. incredible service, atmosphere and especially food. the lobster ravioli is to die for.

afterwards we headed to the big event of the weekend/year: WICKED! i'm afraid even my most eleoquent descriptions would fall flat & i would fail miserably at describing what was by far one of (if not the) most entertaining, talent-packed, captivating performances i've ever had the pleasure of seeing. my super high expectations were puny in comparison to the reality. we had a blast.

that night we also had the pleasure of celebrating one of ross' best friends' engagement with a whole house filled with baylor people. can a day get any better?

yes it can. when we got back to the hotel, there was a bottle of champaign waiting for us. i was practically get whiplash from all of the surprises my husband had up his sleeve. seriously, my husband is the man.

we snoozed & snuggled our way through our breakfast plans, but managed to get up & going in time to meet one my best friends for lunch before the next surprise: rent bikes & ride all around round rock lake. the weather could not have been nicer and i was very grateful to be burning off some of the calories from friday nights praline nougatine semifreddo with pistachios and acacia honey (basically a fluffy little white slice of heaven). we took lots of breaks to admire the views, and enjoyed riding by all the pretty houses an dreaming of one day (many, many years from now) owning a house of our own.

that evening we enjoyed a couple of drinks at the adolfus so we could walk around and admire it some more before our next surprise: dinner & dancing at sambuca. loved it. we definitely want to go back. for us, sambuca has it all: swanky atmosphere, great food, live music, and a dance floor. of course ross told the band we were celebrating our anniversary while i was in the bathroom. so they called us out later in the evening to dance to the song ross and requested: brown eyed girl.

and THEN, as if my heart wasn't already exploding with love and gratitude and shock, ross says to me,

"i know we said that the wicked tickets were are gift and we weren't going to do anything else, but..."

and pulls out from his pocket the infamous pretty little teal box with white ribbon and i couldn't keep from tearing up at the words that came with it, as he talked about this past year, our future, and especially the next 5 weeks.

it was nice coming back to college station yesterday and enjoying a usual sunday. unpacking, laundry, a game of tennis, a long walk and snow cones. spanish salad and garlic bread for dinner and then a movie.

ross said he wanted to make our anniversary weekend extra-special since we wont be together on the 4th, and he absolutely did. i am incredibly blessed to have him as a husband and best friend, and i'm also starting to feel pretty spoiled. the reason i wanted to write down all those little details is because i know in the next 5 weeks i'll be drawing from the fullness of our weekend and reliving it all.

i feel like shouting out elf-style "i'm in love, i'm in love and i don't care who knows it!" can't freakin wait to drive back to the tiny college station airport in 5 weeks and pick him up. thankfully, i have that long to try and plan a few surprises of my own. that ross franklin leaves a tough act to follow...

happy friday!

2010-06-25T12:39:00.000-05:00

here are a couple of the songs that have been on repeat in our home this week.

they are especially sweet on a lovely summer friday afternoon.

for our one year anniversary gift to each other- we got tickets to WICKED!

can't. freaking. wait!

...and some pump up music for tonight:

cupcake love

2010-06-24T21:49:00.000-05:00

i am dying to make these!

maybe for ross' 25th birthday party?

yes?

you know you want one.

forward thinking

2010-06-23T22:14:00.000-05:00

it's been a big year for my new little family of two. in a little over a week it will be our one year anniversary, which is as hard to believe as it is exciting. we've been so challenged, stretched, humbled, grateful and blessed this year. when i think about how dramatically different our lives were this year compared to the year before alone, i can't help but feel awe.

friends, though ross and i are still complete beginners at the whole marriage thing, i can't express enough how much love we have for this institution given & ordained by God. when i think about how ross loves me my throat instantly closes up into that uncomfortable i'm-not-going-to-cry feeling. i constantly go back to the same insecure-girl thoughts of "why does he love me?" but more questions than that bounce around my mind, like "how does he have to strength to serve me, day after day?" "how is he so quick to forgive?" "how does he choose to love me on the days i fail so miserably at loving him?" marriage is 100% humbling & eye-openeing. when i look at ross- my heart is moved in a new and powerful way, not because of his imperfect human love, but because of the powerful, heart-stopping, shocking love that Christ has for me. on my ugliest and darkest days the perfect Christ loves me. and because i'm so dense and forgetful of that fact, he gave ross to me as a daily reminder of the intimate love Christ has for me, for us. even when ross fails at loving me perfectly, i'm glad of it, because i'm reminded that there is only One who loves fully and flawlessly.

for some reason yesterday ross & i independently had the same thought and shared it with each other when we were hanging out on the porch yesterday afternoon. we were talking about our upcoming anniversary and all the ups & downs of our first year of marriage, and we both felt that sometimes we dwell in the past just a little too much.

ross admitted that he's all for nostalgia (he's mr. captain-of-the-high-school-football-team, after all. sidenote: i already know he's going to be one of those dad's that makes our kids groan from hearing the same high school/football/college/fraternity stories over and over [but they'll secretly love it, like me]) and i've never lived in the past so much as i have this year. seriously, i always thought those people who were obsessed with high school were so lame...and then i became one of those people who lamely obsesses about college being the best four years of my life.

obviously, we'll never give up on nostalgia, but as our one year anniversary approaches we're going to try and focus on the next year(s) more than looking back. we've done plenty of looking back. it's been a big year, but there is so much more to come.

so, in the spirit of looking forward, here are some of the big upcoming events happening in the pinson family:

* this weekend ross & i will celebrate our one year in dallas!
* on monday, ross leaves for five weeks air force officer training in alabama. welcome back LDR.
* next week i'm heading down to new orleans for the first official tribe (my college community) reunion...and my best friend, my other other half, sarah miller will return from spain. ummmm it makes me want to yell at the top of my longs in the rain on a cliff, garden state style, and that's an understatement.
* on july 12th, i'll be having some long overdue sinus surgery.
* in august, ross will start his second year of medical school & i'll start my full time job! Praise the Lord.

website update

2010-06-22T23:31:00.000-05:00

just updated the site with some fun photos of the one and only baby owen.

this is so cool

2010-06-22T09:25:00.001-05:00

i disapprove of graffiti as much as the next person, but this seems to be something entirely different.

my favorites are the space invaders & the pop-up dog.

found via.

b&a no. 4

2010-06-17T17:27:00.005-05:00

After years about hearing about the amazing antiquing trips my mom would take every spring in fall with her friends and sister, i finally got to go with her this past spring to Round Top. I went excited and with unintentionally high expectations, and was completely blown away. My mom warned me that everyone's first time to this antique far is overwhelming, and suggested not buying anything and simply trying to take in the miles, and miles and miles of tents filled to the brim. It was such a blast, and I kept feeling like I found this secret.

I kept thinking, "so THIS is where people get all the good stuff." And it's true; people literally come from all over the world to explore here. The cool coffee shop you like to go to with the amazing style? I promise you, whoever decorated went to Round Top.

Though I mostly just walked around and took in the sites of gorgeous antiques, fun flea market finds, and straight up weird stuff and junk- I did come home with a few fun little treasures. Namely: two lamps, a vintage pillow, a dress, a coupe sweet flower pins, and a giant metal letter "R."

It was love at first site:

After living with my college roommate Sarah-I-love-lighting-Satterlee for four years, I gained a love and appreciation for truly well lit rooms. So naturally, I did like any other crafty girl would do with a giant metal letter "R"- I spray painted it gold and put some lights in it.

Yes, we now have a giant glowing golden metal "R" in our apt, and we think it rocks. Now we just need to find a giant metal "K" (if you ever see one, let me know, please!). Also, there are now big plans in the works for the rest of that wall which looks a little naked behind all that giant golden glowy-ness.

DIY: desk organizers

2010-06-16T07:13:00.002-05:00

here's the easiest little craft on the block:

if you love organization & the container store as much as i do, you probably also have the problem of parting with anything random box that could be used for more storage. when i worked at starbucks, almost every week i would bring home a box of tea- which then gave me the happy problem of many empty starbucks tea containers lying around. unable to just toss them in the trash, i knew i had to do something with these cute little boxes.

...so i scrounged up some fabric scraps,

cut them to be the right size

got the hot glue gun out,

and voila!

could not have been any easier to make, but they really brighten up my desk and do a great job holding markers, colored pencils & other random little supplies.

summer days

2010-06-15T23:41:00.004-05:00

kebobs on our porch are our new favorite thing.

especially when enjoyed with friends & followed up with cranium.

when we got married, we started our quest for recipes that were easy, cheap, healthy and good- and since last night's dinner fits the bill, i figured it might be worth sharing on here:

our kebobs were inexpensive, easy to make, and surprisingly filling. we just used mushrooms, onions, green & red bell peppers, pineapple, tomatoes, and chicken. to season them we just threw on some salt & pepper, lemon juice, soy sauce on some, and of course, tonys. next time we want to find a good marinade (any suggestions??), but our make shift flavoring worked out pretty well. for sides we grilled some deliciously sweet corn on the cob & christa made some awesome rice with lime that i might have had three servings of.

i only have two weeks left with ross this summer before he leaves for 5 weeks of air force officer training, so we hope to enjoy the heck out of our time together. heres to more grilling, time with friends, little adventures, and time with each other. he's my favorite.

late night driving tips

2010-06-14T04:18:00.004-05:00

shot two weddings in norman this weekend with stancy

& drove all the way home on saturday night

from 11-4:49 a.m.

{don't freak out mom!}

i was planning on stopping whenever i got tired-

but the tiredness never came.

i feel like i could run a marathon now with all that mental strength & focus.

{that's probably how long it would take me to run a marathon, too}

the only problem is, i can't pull all-nighters like i used to-

my sleep schedule got totally thrown off and now it's 4:22 and i'm

wiiiiiiide awake.

so, i thought i would share

'katie's tips for staying awake & alert for long late night drives.'

they are as follows:

1. diet dr. pepper

2. pumpkin seeds

3. new moon audio book

yes, that's right: twilight on tape. no, i'm not a twilight fan. but you can rent audio books at cracker barrel, and new moon was the longest one i could find at a whopping 15 hr. length.

and the thing is, it kept me entertained & awake for my drives to and from norman. in my experience, the lighter the book- the less likely you are to get sleepy when listening to it.

and now i kind of want to drive around for a few more hours and finish it...

kianga photo shoot

2010-06-07T16:07:00.003-05:00

we've been in and out of town all week;

it feels good to be home today.

on our way home from dallas we stopped in waco yesterday

and spent the day with friends

and worked on a little photo shoot for

a super cool business some of my friends are starting.

click here to see more

& find out more about what the kianga project is!

weddings are the best

2010-06-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

Megan & Mihir Sunday Wedding 8mm from A Bryan Photo on Vimeo.
">Megan & Mihir Sunday Wedding 8mm from A Bryan Photo on Vimeo.

via snippet&ink

sarahsatterlee.com

2010-05-28T14:35:00.000-05:00

my college roommate is such an incredible artist,

and now has a great site to showcase her beautiful work.

check it out!!

www.sarahsatterlee.com

p.s. this one was her wedding gift to us:

the light, colors, motion,

and quote from a favorite book (sex god by rob bell),

brighten up our home like nothing else.

how to have a perfect day

2010-05-28T00:10:00.006-05:00

step one: begin the day in your favorite city with some of your favorite people

step two: big brek. freshly brewed coffee, homemade crepes, fresh fruit, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs and plenty of sunlight.

step three: go kayaking on town lake to burn off big brek and work on tan.

step four: afternoon snack. mighty cone & daily juice = perfect.

step five: walk around fun streets & stop in interesting shops.

step six: play with puppies.

start serious discussion of when you can adopt some puppies of your own.

step seven: watch your true love fall in love with puppies.

step eight: afternoon work out with jillian so you can better enjoy

step nine: enjoy incredible food with even better company.

step ten: finish the meal with some happy birthday creme brulee.

final step: go out. dance. listen to live music.

feel the fresh night air & be grateful to be alive and loved.

the architects house: austin, tx

2010-05-27T22:25:00.005-05:00

ross & i love to get away and stay in a nice hotel on occasion as much as any couple. who doesn't love the tiny bath products, white robes, and fancy lobbies? but, for our most recent trip to austin we rented a house with some friends and were blown away by the experience. to all my friends that read this blog, i have to share this info with you!

this past week ross didn't have class, so we wanted to go on a fun trip with our good friends blake & stancy. we looked into everything from beach houses in galveston to lake houses on lake travis, but blake found the ultimate getaway house by simply googling "austin vacation home rentals." lots of options came up, but the architect's house was the winner.

the pictures don't really do the house justice, but they give you an idea:

we fell instantly in love with the house and had to pretend we lived there

every little detail was thought out and super cool

true life: i want these chairs

please note how intense this door is.

perfect balcony for good talks, wine & board games

...and here's my true love looking handsome & at home in the architects house in austin.

i love him. and austin. and adventures.

we feel so blessed that we got to spend time together during the week

with great friends in such a unique house.

next time you go to austin, you have to look into this house!

there and back again

2010-05-25T00:55:00.004-05:00

{bread pudding @ gumbos}

{round rock express baseball game}

{our view from abel's on the lake}

dear round rock,

we love you & your little baseball stadium. thanks for providing such a great date night. you could be a really great home for us in a year, right?

dear gumbos, trudys, hula hut, abels on the lake, kerby lane, koriente,

yummmm. ross and i were good about rarely eating out this past year- but we made up for time fast because of you all. worth it though; no hard feelings. well, my waistline might feel differently.

dear garmen,

are you mad at us? why do you lead us astray? is it because we call you grimlen...

dear anthropologie,

thanks for the shockingly low sale find today! you might have won over my husband once and for all. but maybe your prices should always be just a little lower, true?

dear texas heat,

you seem different, out-of-control almost. i used to look forward to your arrival & love being outside with you, but you've changed. please, please, just take it easy. if you could stop making me feel menopausal that would be great.

dear allison, tyler & louise,

we had so much fun with yall this weekend!! thanks for hanging out with us.

dear austin,

can't wait to see you again tomorrow.

off to austin

2010-05-22T11:00:00.003-05:00

ross finished his last week of class of his first year of med school!

to celebrate, we're throwing together a little overnight bag & heading off to our favorite city in texas (besides waco, of course)- Austin! even though i've been absolutely dying to add a puppy (or two) to our family, it's pretty great to just be able to pack up & peace out on a whim since it's just the two of us.

happy weekend!

lately

2010-05-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

when ross & i stepped outside the morning i was absolutely filled with joy:

it finally really feels like summer. in the best way possible.

not the oppressive heat so familiar to us in texas,

but instead this morning offered up instead a refreshing warmth with crisp, cool air.

the kind of weather you only get to enjoy after a summertime rainstorm.

the kind of weather that whisked me through time...

seconds after my first breath of fresh air this morning i traveled back

to mornings at camp olympia, leading a whole cabin of silly little girls to the chow hall.

to the mornings that were a little too cool to go out on the boat,

but we couldn't resist jumping in the lake anyway.

i woke up in a morning after a sleepover with stephanie, where we would sit in her backyard

and plan out the next bike rides and pool parties.

i fell back into leisurely breakfasts at my old home in kingwood; the kind with lots of coffee, the houston chronicle comics section, and my dad's homemade pop-overs.

so excited for summer to be here again.

i feel like i dived into a pool of excitement & zeal for life!

here's a little list of what's been going on with the pinson family lately:

* lots of guitar playing & singing on the porch

* homemade southside burgers with l.beck & satt pack

* wine & pasta at cafe capri with melanie & alise

* planning upcoming mini vacations to austin with good friends

* finally watched an education with carrie

* playing photographer with stancy higley

* continually falling in love with glee & parenthood week after week

* waaaay too much ice cream: spoons, ben & jerrys, you name it...

oooo summer i love you so

happy day!

2010-05-19T23:48:00.003-05:00

friends, thank you so much for your encouragement on the new site.

i appreciate it more than you know- but i am even more grateful for you.

maybe it's just the fact that it's summer time,

but i've been feeling so full & happy lately.

here's one of my all time favorite songs to get you in the same mood!

here's to a happy thursday!

blogging slump apology

2010-05-17T13:57:00.004-05:00

ok, this blog has been a total failure lately

{insert lame excuses for blogging slump here}

but i promise to revive it, mostly because of my desire for my friends to snap out of their blogging slumps...so there's that whole 'practice what you preach' thing.

in the meantime, if you're interested,

i can share with you one of my excuses for failing to blog:

click here!

encouragement

2010-05-10T20:29:00.001-05:00

happy mothers day!

2010-05-09T12:01:00.004-05:00

dear mom,

thank you for always giving us a pretty home, food to eat,

overstuffed christmas stockings, perfect easter baskets, brown bag lunches,

and chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school.

thank you for always feeding & walking freckles,

even though we promised you would never have to.

thank you for providing such a great example for emily & i.

thank you for loving dad and being a faithful wife for over 25 years.

thank you for your paintings and sketches that now hang on the walls of my new home.

thank you for being the nicest & cutest mom in the whole world.

you are the best!

goodbye swoop

2010-05-08T22:49:00.003-05:00

so for as long as i've know ross, he's had a certain signature look. his look includes polo shirts, sperrys, large aviator-style sunglasses, and his crowning glory- the 'frat swoop.'

it turns out that ross was rocking the frat swoop long before his days of kappa sigma. in fact, he had never had a buzz cut in his entire life. there was even a point in high school when all of his best friends agreed to shave their heads on a particular night. the next day everyone in the group came to school with freshly shaved heads...and ross showed up with a mere trim...and his vanity intact.

when ross found out he would for sure be going to officer training this summer, we decided that it might be the right time to get his first new hair style. so, without further ado, for anyone who is interested to see, may i present to you...the haircut of ross franklin:

just moments before the big hair cut. trying not to act nervous.

cutting the first snip.

a new man!

ross' first words when he saw himself in the mirror were, "i look...mean."

i think he looks like a g.i.joe, which will be perfect for when he heads off for the air force officer training this summer.

we both thought it would be way weirder than it actually was, and i actually really like it.

with that said, i'm still really looking forward to the swoop's return :)

fro yo

2010-05-08T22:28:00.003-05:00

true love is

finding someone who can agree that frozen yogurt is a perfectly good dinner

and who couldn't be happier cuddling on the couch

with popcorn & a harry potter movie

on a saturday night.

i love you, ross franklin!

le sigh

2010-05-06T11:18:00.000-05:00

i'm dying to have a pretty little summer party,

with lovely invitations.

{invites by zed & bee via design*sponge}

does anyone else every have parties

just for the fun of putting together the fun little details?

heart melting

2010-05-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

{all via hello!lucky}

...and we're back

2010-05-03T09:32:00.000-05:00

it's official: i am back online.

this weekend ross & i left little ol' college station and headed to the familiar city of houston. friday night we celebrated my cousin mary catherine's birthday at a swanky mexican restaraunt downtown with a marathon-long table with seats filled with family and friends from every corner of the country (and a little ways out of it, too). margs, chips, guacamole, laughs & stories were shared for hours, and the party continued on at my uncles house nearby, where we celebrated with pretty cupcakes and an a good time.

we woke up early saturday morning to share a incredibly tasty breakfast at the hotel with my parents, and made room at our table for more as other family members trickled in... and we might have scared away a certain celebrity with our excited whispers. several cups of coffee later and with fully satisfied appetites, my amazinghardworkingdiligentmedschoolhusband studied in our room at the houstonian all day saturday and i got to spend the afternoon with my parents wandering around the galleria.

thanks to an incredibly generous gift from my dad, i am now blogging from a shiny new computer. to say i am grateful & excited is a severe understatement- not just for my parents giving hearts and generousity, but for the way they always believe in me. they are brilliant examples of the kind of people and parents that ross and i pray we'll become. but the best part of the shopping trip was when my mom and i walked out of j.crew to find my brother brother sitting on a bench, his leg acting as a pillow for my very asleep dad.

that evening we attended the wedding of my uncle kent to his finace sarah. once again, we spent an entire night enjoying beautiful food, wine, and company. one of my greatest joys in life is when the whole crazy family is together, or at least most of them, and we can talk about old memories while making new ones. toward the end of the night, ross, my cousin william and i straight up crashed the other two weddings that were going on at the hotel. our criteria for wedding crashing evolved into several must-do activities: walk around the reception, get a diet coke, make small talk with the photographer & get your picture taken, and finally leave- with a wedding favor in tow... all in good fun.

it was such a happy weekend. one of the sweetest parts of being married is seeing your spouse with your family. ross and i are a family now, and it's so fun to see how much the rest of my family loves him too. he's the man.

anyway, i'm officially back to trying to be a graphic designer & photographer through this rockin new computer, but more on that later. in the meantime, here's some inspiration i found while soaking up my long-lost friend, blogosphere... don't even laugh- you're obviously friends with it too.

{above 3 from marina at makina, found via ohjoy!}

{via design*sponge}

haiti poster project

2010-04-12T17:43:00.002-05:00

{haiti poster project}

inspiration

2010-04-07T09:34:00.001-05:00

me likey.

all from lucky luxe

too full

2010-04-04T18:29:00.008-05:00

this easter,

we were so grateful to spend our first holiday all on our own,

to get to give little baskets to each other,

to enjoy a picnic in the park with friends,

and for the reminder of Christ's deep, passionate, crazy strong love for us.

"We now have this light shining in our hearts,

but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing

this great treasure.

This makes it clear that our great power is from God,

not from ourselves."

2 Corinthians 4:7

this easter left us feeling very full of love & gratitude,

a sense of renewal,

and horrible stomach aches.

i never could control myself with easter candy.

darn you, cadbury eggs...

happy easter!

2010-04-04T08:21:00.003-05:00

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life

to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11

He is Risen!

on cupcakes

2010-04-03T14:42:00.008-05:00

beautiful. and perfect.

2010-03-31T22:40:00.003-05:00

{via}

my friend katie emailed this blog post to me,

which she found via donald miller's blog,

and it is by far the most honest & moving story i've ever read.

i couldn't get through explaining the post to my mom without crying.

truly beautiful and perfect.

the man in the red hat

2010-03-23T22:22:00.004-05:00

see that man with the little red hat?

his name is gusto, and sarah & sergio took us to see him last week.

a long time ago, he felt that God called him

to build a cathedral... by himself.

he knew nothing about building/architecture/art,

so he bought some books and got started.

so for the past 49, he has spent every hour of everyday building

this house of worship.

the building is funded completely from donations,

and he does everything from the stained glass to laying bricks.

now that he is in his 80s, he accepts help from just a few people.

we definitely felt like we were in the presence of

a modern day noah,

and were especially touched by his humbleness

and obviously, his conviction.

heartbeat of madrid

2010-03-22T20:30:00.005-05:00

clicking boots on cobblestone

metro swooshing by

sipping sangria, puffing smoke

dancing through the night

spanish rolling off the tongue

paella, tortilla, y jambon

sunny mornings, bright street lights

life floating in the air

floating, floating, floating

like a dream we're floating

moving through

picasso's masterpiece

glowing

lovers kissing lovers

the beating heart of madrid.

we fell in loveeee with madrid and had the most incredible week.

we felt very blessed to get to spend time with my best friend in such a remarkable city,

and for the chance to get to know her true love!

thank you smiller for sharing your city with us- can't wait to stay with you again!!

bits of my childhood {pt.1}

2010-03-08T19:43:00.004-06:00

a couple of weeks ago i was looking for something in our "closet of death,"

(our one crazy jam-packed closet that required constant reorganizing)

and pulled out the big red box that holds an edited down collection of special toys/notes/pictures/awards/random stuff from my childhood.

during the weeks between graduation & my wedding,

i helped my mom clean out & pack up our home of 20+ years.

i tried my hardest to fit into one box all the things i absolutely could not toss out,

and simply hold on to the memories associated with everything else.

the light was really nice that day, so i thought it would be fun to snap a few photos of the different things that made it into the box.

what better way to start of this 'series' with some of

my most favorite {tiny} treasures:

how can these little tiny treasures not steal your heart?

i've always made a point not to buy this stuff,

as i'm afraid it would open the floodgates to a wallet draining addiction,

but here is my small collection of tiny things

that will someday decorate the dollhouse i will hopefully build

for a daughter ross & i will hopefully have

{in the way, way distant future!}

p.s. the lamp really lights up- how cool is that?

kinda cool, right?

logos and photos

2010-03-08T19:20:00.004-06:00

dear friends,

thank you so much for your opinions,

advice and encouragement!

i'm still working on them, and trying to find the perfect one

for mrs. higley.

and speaking of stancy,

here are some more of the amazing photographs

she took of over valentine's day weekend.

she is so kind, generous, encouraging,

and talented.

we will treasure these always.

thank you again for all of the logo input!

help wanted

2010-03-04T10:21:00.012-06:00

dear friends,

i post these in extreme humility.

i'm new to the graphic design world (can you tell?), and i'm trying to make a new logo

for the incredibly talented stancy of stancy higley photographie.

any thoughts/commets/criticisms on these {rough} drafts would be very, very welcomed and appreciated.

once we decide on a logo concept, we will create variations for her business cards, website, packages, etc.

gratefully,

katie

p.s. there are still a couple more in the works that i may post later

waco restores my soul

2010-03-04T09:59:00.006-06:00

last weekend, ross & i were able to sneak out of town

and bask in the glory that is baylor

during the last weekend of sing.

don't worry that my husband bought tickets literally

the minute they went on sale. he's so "over sing." haha whatever...

we felt very blessed that so many of our friends

made time to hang out with us, drink coffee, eat froyo,

cook 'big brek,' give us a place to sleep (thanks roommate!),

and talk about sing for hours and hours and hours.

in fact, after watching sing for 6 hours,

we went back to sarahs house with a bottle of andre

and talked about sing until 4 in the morning,

just like the good ol' days.

snow day!

2010-02-23T19:02:00.006-06:00

a real live snow day!

to do lists were put on hold,

and ross and i threw snowballs while our

bodies froze and faces went numb.

praise the Lord for reminding us

how foolish it is to think were in control of our days

and what a blessing it is to spend an afternoon together

with snowflakes, hot chocolate, and a warm nap.

snow is perfect in 10 min doses.

lala

2010-02-20T17:11:00.002-06:00

i realize i'm probably extremely behind the times here, but just in case:

my dear friend susan came to visit this week and mentioned lala.com,

a website where you can listen to entire songs/cds

for free.

perfect for the days when you wish you could control pandora and the itunes previews just aren't long enough.

on love

2010-02-17T08:08:00.003-06:00

"Have you ever met someone who was utterly and desperately in love with Jesus? I have. My wife's grandma Clara.

I spoke recently at Grandma Clara's funeral, and I could honestly tell the mourners gatherers that I had never know anyone more excited to see Jesus. Every morning Clara would kneel by her bed and spend precious hours with he rSavior and Lover; later in the day, just the sigh of that corner of her bed would bring joy-filled tears and a deep anticipation of the next morning spent kneeling in His presence.

Grandma Clara acted toward God the way we act toward people we're madly in love with.

When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You'll drive for hours to be together, even if it's only for a short while. You don't mind staying up late to talk. Walking in the rain is romantic, not annoying. You'll willingly spend a small fortune on the one you're crazy about. When you are apart from each other, it's painful, even miserable. He or she is all you think about; you jump at any chance to be together.

In his book God Is the Gospel, John Piper essentially asks whether you are in love with God:

The critical question for our generation-and for every generation- is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

How many of you will read those words and say, "You know, I might be okay with that?" If you are as deeply in love with Gad as Grandma Clara was, you know you could never be satisfied in a heaven without Christ."

- Francis Chan, Crazy Love

love love love

2010-02-14T23:48:00.004-06:00

{stancy higley photographie}

ross & i had a completely wonderful valentines weekend-

which left me feeling full of love and incredibly blessed.

friday afternoon i surprised ross by telling him we would be going away for the weekend.

almost 2 hours of driving and extreme glee soundtrack sing-a-long-ing later,

we arrived in austin, and check into a fabulous hotel (thanks, mom & dad!).

that night, we headed out to catch our dinner reservation downtown, and to ross' surprise (and loudly expressed delight) we met up with our dear friends from bcs- the higleys!

after a swanky mexican meal, we hit the town for some salsa dancing.

(note: salsa may be our achilles heal in the dancing world. so fun, but so not easy)

it wasn't until we were absorbing the coolness of austin in the elephant room filled with jazz

that i told ross the next surprise: a photo shoot with stancy higley!

all day saturday was dedicated to enjoying the long lost sunshine. we had so much fun working with stancy and taking pictures all over congress street. at the end of the photo session, we even got to enjoy a mighty cone (freakishly good) & a cupcake. there's just something about eating food out of a cool silver airstream in the sunshine on a street filled with people walking their dogs & having fun. and now we're praying that it will be in accordance with God's will that ross & i can move to austin next summer.

anyway, saturday night ross and i enjoyed a nice meal to celebrate our first married valentines day & pray that we will have many, many more together. and then decided it would be in the best interests of our waistlines to lay off the nice dinners for a while.... but we are so grateful that that we got to spend away with friends and quality alone time.

here's to sharing the love & loving salads from here on out.

puppy love

2010-02-11T18:38:00.003-06:00

{via}

excuse me, where is that tiny dog from? i would like it when you're finished with it.

little bits of pretty

2010-02-05T00:50:00.002-06:00

beautiful works of art made from maps

found via lanalou

i feel a diy project coming on...

it's coming...

2010-02-03T15:24:00.002-06:00

{via design sponge}

soooo pretty!

best part: the design is free to download

so you can share the love come v-day.

ahhh valentines day is the best!!

i maintain that Jesus really likes it too-

it's a day set aside celebrating love.

i mean, hello.

plus, there's lots & lots of tiny tasty treats.

tiny texas town

2010-02-01T22:56:00.009-06:00

we heart old town bryan.

good thing he loves aviators

2010-01-30T14:57:00.000-06:00

pretty pretty paris

2010-01-29T12:03:00.002-06:00

{via littlebrownpen}

true of false:

paris is the most wonderful city in the whole world.

crafts galore!

2010-01-28T23:46:00.005-06:00

just found out about this

& that i's coming to austin may 15th.

yahoo!

should probably start saving now...

dog lesson

2010-01-28T14:03:00.004-06:00

After reading an absolutely adoring review on The Art of Racing in the Rain, I immediately added Garth Stein's novel to my mental list of books to read. The book especially jumped far up on the list when I realized it was written from the perspective of a dog (i mean, hello), and was compared to Life of Pi and The Alchemist. Currently only about 1/3 of the way through it, but I'm already in love and inspired.

"When I was nineteen," Denny said after a moment, "at my first driving school down at Sears Point, it was raining and they were trying to teach us how to drive in the rain. After the instructors were finished explaining all their secrets, all the students were totally confused. We had no idea what they were talking about. I looked over at the guy next to me- I remember him, he was from France and he was very fast. Gabriel Flouret. He smiled and he said: "That which you manifest is before you."

Eve stuck out her lower lip and squinted at Denny.

"And then everything made sense," she said jokingly.

"That's right," Denny said seriously.

[...]

She went off into the kitchen; Denny and I continued watching the cars on the video as they drove around and around the circuit drenched in darkness.

I will never tire of watching tapes with Denny. He knows so much, and I have learned so much from him. He said nothing more to me; he continued watching his tapes. But my thoughts turned to what he had just taught me. Such a simple concept, yet so true: that which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through invention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves."

- Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain

a tuesday picnic in the park

2010-01-26T21:34:00.004-06:00

the sweetest thing happened today.

this morning, i was overcome with the thought of how blessed i am-

lucky to be head over heals for the most incredible man,

who for some reason is crazy in love with me too.

anyway, i got home from running errands after work,

and what did i find?

ross had packed us a picnic lunch

so we could go out & enjoy the beautiful weather with

pb&js, fruit salad, chocolate chip cookies-

mixed with sunshine, good books, and a brief nap.

i love this man.

books, food, and true love

2010-01-26T19:46:00.004-06:00

what do these three books have in common?

a. they rock

b. they've made my january lovely, despite the lame weather

c. they are each uniquely addicting & inspiration

life of pi has been out for a while, so i realize there's really not much for me to say about it that hasn't already been said. if you're looking for a book with a beautiful story that leaves you wanting to really live, this is the book for you. this novel is particularly hard to put down, and it provide a refreshing and somewhat unique perspective on religion.

now, onto food. ross gave me the sweetest christmas gift this year: a copy of mastering the art of french cooking, the paperback julie and julia, and the dvd- all tied up with string. actually, i watching julie and julia right now. it's so sweet, and i'm starting to love meryl streep almost as much as i love tom hanks. the books is pretty different from the movie, but very enjoyable. her honest humor & cooking mishaps are addicting. and of course- my own copy of mastering the art of french cooking now seems to be calling my name.

while i'm still just a little too intimidated to start mastering julia child's infamous cookbook, i have fallen head over heels for great food fast. it's perfect for the girl (like me) who hasn't yet cultivated culinary skills through years of practice, but wants too. even better is the fact that all of the recipes are even tastier than they are easy and fast. best of all? not only is the book divided by the four seasons, but every recipe is complete with a gorgeous photograph. what's not to love? so far ross & i have enjoyed:

- pureed butternut squash soup

- sloppy joes

- chicken curry served with red potatoes, rice and raisins

- crispy apricot pork chops served baby broccoli with orange sauce

- potato and onion frittata

- cranberry upside-down cake

ooo i really can't say enough about this fabulous cookbook. most of the dishes are made up of budget friendly elements as well, which allows us to try out at least one new recipe a week.

confession: when ross & i first got married, i didn't put in that much effort when it came to preparing meals. i was so concerned with not being little betty homemaker (despite my [somewhat annoying] natural instincts) that when i did cook, the meals generally comprised of frozen veggies and just sticking some salmon in the oven for 10 min with some lemon juice (if i was feeling fancy). BUT- i recently discovered what millions of men and women have known about for years- the true joy of cooking. seriously- it's wonderful. and the only greater joy than that of creating a wonderful meal with gorgeous aromas and the symphonic sounds of sauteing is the fulfillment that comes with serving your husband (or wife). i really don't mean that in the sense of "i am a woman, let me cook and clean for you, a man." rather, i mean the gag-worthy, "i just freakin' love you, and i love lightening your load, and making your day just a little brighter (and tastier) by cooking for you...because like i said, i freakin' love you. " obnoxious, yes... but true.

and just incase you weren't sold on the whole loving through serving bit, here is even more motivation (if you're even looking for it [whoever the you is i am so frequently referring to]): giving leads to more giving, and good cooking yields to better cooking. what i mean is this: if i cook a particularly scrumptious meal on tuesday, ross will be even more inspired to cook and equally (or surpassingly) wonderful meal on wednesday. who wouldn't love such a cycle? not that ross needs inspiration to be awesome, but more on that later.

"julia, you are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life. i love you, darling girl."

- julia's husband, paul.

cooking is the new love language.

when i grow up...

2010-01-23T18:01:00.004-06:00

{via etsy}

true story: i want to be a graphic designer.

which is great because:

a. i have a dream to chase

and

b. blog & internet surfing is now

researching & gleaning inspiration.

ending the dry streak

2010-01-23T16:23:00.002-06:00

haven't been here in a while. i've had some serious 'bloggers block.' (is that a thing? whatever.)

not sure why. several unfinished posts seem to be stuck in drafting form, and my track record lately would suggest that the same fate will become this very one.

i've been a little distracted lately. not so much distracted as suspended, like a tiny ballerina in a jewelry box, waiting for the crank to be turned again and the music to play. like standing on the tip of the diving board, still undecided as to how i should jump into 2010. i keep thinking back to new years eve and the feelings i had that this year was going to be a great year: the year i would figure my life out. the wonderful sensation of a fresh start is the best part of every new year, and it's always accompanied by several (usually way too many) resolutions. here's the line up for this year:

* make 2010 a year of action. actively pursue the Lord through the Word, a mentor, consistent quiet times, service, and our community.

* find a dream job, and chase it hard. this is the year for that. it's happening.

* be a better friend. true, i'm terrible at talking on the phone. also true, most of my friends live far away. make more of an effort, and especially explore other methods of communication (who doesn't love receiving a card in the mail?)

* focus on my marriage. continue to find more ways to love, serve, and support ross. he's the best.

* try a couple new recipies every week.

* make a serious commitment to a healthy lifestyle. less pizza. run a half-marathon.

some of these are going really well. others seem to be already forgotten.

how is it already almost february!? and i'm just now posting about new years resolutions...

so 2o10 might have gotten off to a slightly slow & distracted start over here, so it's time to kick life into high gear.

sidenote: just got back from my first ever baby shower. ross & i are nowhere near that season of life- but it was super cute, and it's so great to see happy couples in the baby stage. i am, however, losing my resolve more and more each day to wait to expand our family- with a puppy, i mean! but we've only got about $15 saved up, so... here's to patience!

ben and katie in haiti

2010-01-15T12:20:00.005-06:00

via ben & katie

sometime last year, my dear friend katie started itching to pack her pretty home in dallas, leave her wonderful job, hop on a plane with her husband, and go. go somewhere with needs that they could help meet through God's infinite love. she and her husband ben spent hours praying and searching for where they would go: no boundaries. this summer they felt a call to Haiti, in september they were hired to work at a Christian school. just a few days after Christmas, they flew to that little third world country and starting calling it home.

their first few blog posts after arrival noted all the incredible fresh fruit, the struggle to get clean water, school daily schedules, and the love they had for their new community.

it goes without saying that now their life in haiti is beyond what they could have ever anticipated. haiti clearly needed them more than they knew. their school is miraculously still standing- the only one in the city that didn't collapse. they are fully devoted to helping the wounded, giving aid to the school nurse, and comforting anyone and everyone.

you can follow them at their blog. thankfully they still have some communication with all of us here. we are praying for ya'll, your ministry, and haiti.

three wheelin'

2010-01-10T21:00:00.005-06:00

allison came to visit this weekend!

we were back on the tricycle & rollin with our third wheel.

{miller, allison wants you to know that she know has a signifiant leg up in the third wheel competition-

mostly based on the fact that she lives in the same country as us, hehe}

good meals, a trip to messina hof, cowboys game,

scrabble and avatar.

2010 is off to a good start!

first married christmas: check!

2009-12-29T13:44:00.006-06:00

christmas shopping in the galleria

{moments before being yelled at for taking a picture- worth it.}

present wrapping & christmas movie with my family at our apartment

dad's annual christmas cd

complete with ridiculous cover art {but quality music}

christmas eve dinner @ pappasitos

my family's tradition for about 15 years...

but our first time with ross!

{our first} christmas morning at the lake

emily looking like christmas morning

candy canes!

crazy christmas pug

{not ours...but we had fun playing}

more christmas pug

and more

and finally, christmas ducks.

we drove home from our holiday excursions feeling

overwhelmingly blessed and full of love.

we are all so grateful and blessed.

homemade marshmallows

2009-12-18T21:51:00.002-06:00

i've heard about the glories of homemade marshmallows

for a couple of years now, but was too intimidated to try...

which was totally silly because they were pretty simple!

{albeit sticky!}

the best part: they are made with inexpensive ingredients,

most of which most people already have at home.

sooo good in hot chocolate.

free wreath!

2009-12-14T14:02:00.003-06:00

the other week mrs. frazier

posted about her amazing DIY wreath.

using just a hot glue gun, an old book, some paint & cardboard scraps

she created an eye catching and free holiday wreath.

so following her step by step guide, i made one of my own.

super easy to make & even cuter to look at.

all our nerdy med school friends especially liked the fact

that the pages were from a lord of the rings book

{don't worry, we had two copies}

so, if anyone out this is reading this,

you should check out mrs. fraziers how-to and make your own!

first annual christmas party extravagaza

2009-12-14T13:14:00.005-06:00

tacky sweaters + white elephant gift exchange + {melanie's} wassail + snacks =

huge success!

best part: friends from baylor driving from all over

to celebrate the season with us.

whenever someone asks my boss how he's doing,

he usually replies by saying "better than i deserve."

that pretty much sums it up for me too.

dear christmas time, i love you

2009-12-14T09:15:00.005-06:00

ross & i had our first married christmas tree decorating party

a few weeks ago, complete with hot chocolate

and christmas movies.

but i'm happy to report that we still haven't stopped

trimming, lighting & celebrating!

this past week we enjoyed a few momentous occasions:

1. buying our first real christmas tree

2. hosting our first annual christmas party extravaganza

3. cruising through our christmas movie marathon

{love actually, elf, christmas vacation, christmas in connecticut, white christmas, home alone, the santa clause 1,2,3, jouex noel, etc.}

4. loving the community theatres production of "It's a Wonderful Life"

5. making our own christmas cards

anyway, the moral to this post is:

if you're in love with christmas, marry someone who is too.

seriously, it rocks.

feliz cumpleanos to me!

2009-12-08T11:17:00.005-06:00

dear riverwalk at christmas time,

you are truly breathtaking! can't tell you how much i love all your lights.

dear market street,

i've never wondered "who would buy this stuff" so much on one shopping trip before. maybe ditch all the airbrushed hat & shirt stations...

dear design*sponge,

thanks for your city guide on san antonio. our weekend was full of new & interesting places thanks to you. {we especially loved mad hatters & the guenther house!}

dear my birthday,

i'm starting to feel weird about you.

dear college station friends,

thank you for celebrating!! hope you liked ross' first cake! i'm down for more taboo when ya'll are...

dear ross,

thank you for being the best husband and friend i could ever imagine. you made my birthday weekend so special.

dear family & friends from afar,

i freakin miss you, but thank you for all the wonderful calls & happy birthday wishes. you mean the world to me.

dear birthday cake ross made for me,

are you a good option for breakfast? lets see...

all dogs go to heaven

2009-12-04T10:46:00.007-06:00

every year, for more than half of my life, my parents would see two recurring desires listed on my yearly letter to santa: 1. a puppy and 2. snow.

in fact, even after the kids at school told me santa wasn't real, i still wrote letters wishing for a puppy so that my parents would see it and feel moved to make my one true christmas wish come true.

but chasing the dream of owning a family dog wasn't limited to christmas time. desperate measures were taken. once, i cut out a picture of a dog and taped it to a large, framed family portrait in our hallway to show my parents what we were missing.

mom was always hesitatnt, though she loves and grew up with dogs & horses. dad was different- he was interested but had never had a dog before. when he was growing up, his mother refused request after request my dad and sisters made for a puppy of their own. her answer was this: "we can't have a dog, because he will know i don't like it, and when you kids are at school, he will kill me." my dad realized there was no arguing with this logic, and was happy enough with a turtle for a pet.

finally, one weekend during 7th grade, my mom and sister went away on a girl scout camping trip. dad, john byron and i went up to the town center to check out "dog days in the park." shelter representatives and vendors lined the area, and there were puppies everywhere. i can still remember seeing a tiny, fuzzy, speckled puppy at one shelter's booth with a bright red balloon tied to his collar.

we approached the lady holding his leash, and she let us walk him around the park. the next thing we knew, we were driving home with him for a "trial weekend." imagine my little sisters delight and mom's shock when they came home that sunday afternoon.

ten years later, freckles has become an irreplaceable member of our family. he is by no means a perfect dog. i like to say he's more of a free spirit than 'well trained.' he ran out the front door and back gate more times than anyone can remember. he's petrified of fireworks and hates the chinese delivery guy, trash-men, and UPS trucks. time after time my parents threatened to send him back to "the slammer" (the shelter) because of his relentless escapes.

but he loves us, and especially adores my dad. my brother and parents love taking him on long walks in their new neighborhood, and he even has his own stocking on the mantle for christmas. he is happiest when the whole family is together, particularly eating dinner and sending scraps his way. and we love him.

and now it's time for him to leave us, all of a sudden. we could tell he was sick over thanksgiving, but we never thought cancer, especially not an advanced form. i wish i could be with my family, especially this morning, and say goodbye to him, and hug my mom, sister, and dad while they deal with the hole in their hearts that i'm feeling now. i'm just grateful i got to pet him & hold his paw one last time before we flew back to texas.

ross mentioned tonight at dinner that he's scared for us to get a dog because of the loss and sadness we will inevitably feel someday. but we both agreed thats just the chance you take with life and love, and that's it's always better than never loving at all. especially with dogs, because all they do is love you back.

can it be thanksgiving forever?

2009-11-30T13:34:00.005-06:00

still basking in the warmth of our amazing thanksgiving week, and devouring the images we captured. when i'm in a particularly beautiful place or happy moment, i try and hold onto it tight & store it up... like a squirrel with acorns (did i just compare myself to a squirrel?). whenever work gets monotonous or college station is gray, these mental snapshots & videoclips get me through. and having actual photographs doesn't hurt either. seriously- how beautiful is northern california?

my family moved to a gorgeous city named, of all city names, pleasanton. bless her heart, this cheerful name only fed the cynical fire that was stirring up in my 17 year old sister's soul. who would want to move for their junior & senior year of high school? understandably, she even briefly changed the title of her blog {gasp} from life in technicolor to life in exile. but honestly, the city really is beautiful. drastically rolling hills straight out of a dr. seuss book & gorgeous vineyards line every road and neighborhood. my dad's taken to pointing out all of his 'vistas' and the 'real ducks' in the pond at the entrance to their neighborhood. {not pretend ducks?}

these past several months, every member of my family jokingly adopted a new motto: no sympathy. moved to a new city? have to make all new friends? miss your old home? "join the club," we say to one another. "oh, you didn't want to move? guess what: you get zero sympathy from me." it may sound harsh, but it helps us laugh about the inevitable struggles that come with change & transition. the "zero sympathy" attitude is also a great reminder of how lame self-pity is.

anyway, i'm happy to report that my family is taking all the challenges in stride. my sister already has a great group of friends. even though she would rather be back in kingwood with her beautiful community, she's in pleasanton for a reason and i think she knows that. hopefully she'll be back in texas as a proud new baylor bear in just a couple of years. but until then, i hope she knows that i don't feel sorry for her in the least. but i am mega proud of her.