it's time for a blank canvas

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.

sarahsatterlee.com

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.

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.

b&a no. 3 (for you, mom!)

also per request of my mom, here are some b&a pictures of the study makeover that took place last week. it's been really grey and rainy here, which makes for great staying-inside-and-working-on-projects weather... and i only took one before picture for fear the photos of the awful red would break my camera...

{before}

{after}

some cape cod artwork & a baylor bear = instant happiness

the paper clip sketch on the left is my mom's from a college art class. 

she got a B+... but tina, i would give you an A!

handmade pillows, inspired by chuval, are my new favorite hobby.

fun, easy, unique, pretty, and cheap.  so long, pre-made pillows. you are too lame. 

ross doesn't love the tiny flags. but they make studying more fun, right?

literally stole that clock from my parents house before they moved.  like, i packed it in my suitcase in between layers of clothing. sorry mom! kind of, hehe

b&a no. 2

when my parent's moved out of the kingwood house after living in it for over 20 years, there was much to be sorted and cleaned out. every closet, cabinet, and corner had to be emptied, and even the buildup of clutter that defined our attic had to be reckoned with.  since i was usually off galavanting around texas working on wedding plans and moving out of waco and into bcs, i just got to play with all the salvaged treasures.  old frames, my mom & grandpa's long forgotten paintings and sketches, and even furniture are now valued and showcased in our tiny first home.  art work aside, everything else we found & inherited was in major need of an update.  which leads me to my second official before and after (as requested by my silly mom), the chinese screen: 

{before}

{after}

people are starting to make fun of me at work for always having paint somewhere on my body. 

haha; such is my life.

dream come true!

{hudson's colored chalkboard paint}

colored chalkboard paint.

can't resist...

but who would want to?

there. just ordered some.

can't wait until it comes in!!!

d.i.y. map

1. get a map

2. put it on some foamboard

3. mark where you've been & where you want to go

4. go there

{d.s}

what is it about moving into a new place?

wandering thoughts...

{from here}

michelangelo explained that when he carved his infamous masterpieces out of marble that he believed they already existed inside and that he was simply letting them free. i've always felt the same way about writing papers... the paper already exists, i just have to free the words.

anyway, what i'm trying to say is that i believe my silly 7 page paper will write itself eventually. my mind is wandering to sweet and simple delights of the future home i will share with a boy. namely: pretty green, yellow, and blue walls for light to bounce off of & a fluffy cozy bed to never leave on saturday mornings.

discipline

it's funny how God seems to convict you & instill ideas in you through every aspect of daily life. like when you've been thinking about one thing, and on Sunday morning that's the very topic the preacher talks about- as if he's speaking directly to you from God.

lately, God has been challenging me again and again to exercise discipline. it's my last semester at college, and senoritis keeps creeping in. why study when i can just coast? why go to class when it's perfectly sunny outside? why workout when i can hang out? well, because we are called to live responsibly, which takes discipline.

"If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom." James 3:13


this past sunday our premarital counseling class discussed finances. talk about discipline. ross & i calculated a budget based on an estimate of my future salary...scary but really good. times will be tight, but ross always reminds me that we don't need much and that we are not of this world. i agree, i just hope we can pay the bills! our class was so enlightening though because we looked at finances from a biblical perspective, which is not always my first instinct. for example, borrowing money is absolutely not biblical. verse after verse point out why we should not do this.

"owe nothing to anyone- except for your obligation to love one another. if you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law." Romans 13:8


which brings me to my biggest struggle with discipline of the week: ross and i are trying to figure out where we will live next year. with the market the way it is...it's so tempting to try to make buying a house work. whether or not we do, i am completely obsessed with our future home. not only am i fully addicted to design blogs and before-and-after pictures, but i can't stop researching terms, listings, forclosures, etc. the sooner we find a place, the sooner i can start planning how to decorate, right?



the truth is, today i am not in college station. i am still here in waco, a Baylor student involved in organizations, a community group, classes, and everything else associated with this season of life. while it's good to research, plan, and dream, i need to exercise discipline and live in the here and now.

"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog- it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If they Lord wants us to, we wil live and do this or that.' Otherwise, you are boating about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil." James 4:13-16

i am very excited to see where the Lord puts us all in the next year. until then, i am praying for discipline to focus on today!

neinei

i'm by far not alone when i say that neinei is my absolute favorite blog. the most recent post mentions that cookiemag.com voted her home one of their most favorite homes of the 2008. she prefers hand-made over store-bought, and vintage over new.


what makes her home so appealing is the way she lives. she loves her husband and four kids beautifully unabashedly. her blog is filled with beautiful pictures and thoughtful words. in fact, she is currently recovering from burns she sustained in a private plane crash earlier this year, and her blog is kept alive by her sister and her readers. she and her story are very inspiring.

no place like home

approaching the 'real world'

i'm actually starting to get excited for next year...
i can't believe i'm saying that, but it's true.

it's all pretty exciting, really. especially when i focus on the fun parts. like a new place to live and a new space to decorate.

i love this wallpaper for the perfect accent wall:


{please note the tiny sheep on the windowsill}



more importantly, i love the idea of
[financial] independence,
of new faces and new friends,
new coffee shops to read in,
new parks to run through,
a new church,
a fresh start.

yes, all this change is good. but for now, i am enjoying my current situation immensely.

embracing fall

"The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on."
- Emily Dickinson


{our roommate + friends thanksgiving feast}


mashed potatoes

{holiday desserts!}


real simple's 5 easy thanksgiving desserts

{fall crafts & decorations}



from m.s. herself

{and leaves are finally falling}


from my weheartit album