Last weekend, a great woman I’m getting to know at church invited me and my friend Sophie to ride horses at her farm! Up to this point, my horse experience consisted of multiple pony rides as a kid (you know, the kind where they walk you around in a circle – I enjoyed those) and one attempt to ride a skittish horse when I was eleven or twelve. So I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. I think horses are beautiful, but I have a healthy respect for them too! At first I was nervous, but once we got going, I felt very comfortable.
After the ride, we got to brush the horses and lead them back out to the pasture. They were very nice and sweet-tempered horses. I’m thankful to have had such a great experience! :)
5 Comments + Posted in: nature
Happy 11/11/11!
My biannual seasonal clothing switch is a big undertaking. I iron everything as I take it out, set aside items that need alterations, and even put a few things in the yard sale box. Normally, by switch time, I’m so tired of my last-season clothes that the sight of my next-season ones is thrilling. So I was bummed to walk into my lovely closet two weeks ago, after everything was folded and hung, and realize that I wasn’t very excited about it. My cardigans and pullovers seemed so boring. Also, I love the dark skinny jeans/tall boots/cute scarf look as much as everyone else, but I’m already asking myself, “Is this all there is?” How am I supposed to feel special and cute for a social event if my only option is the same combo I wear whenever I’m not at work? First-world problems, for sure.
After way too much shopping and pinning, I’ve identified a few courses of action:
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| Moorea Seal |
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| Moorea Seal |
 Banana Republic |
Statement accessories. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m accessories-challenged. I gravitate toward simpler jewelry and am generally afraid of belts. But I’ve collected a few fun pieces, so I need to use those more creatively, and maybe indulge in some of the above too. Accessories really are the key to livening up plain solid colors.
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| Elle by Kohl’s |
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| Forever 21 |
Cardigans with interesting details. For a while now, I’ve tried to choose solid-colored shirts with some sort of interesting details – ruffles, an embellishment, or just ruching (I’m a HUGE fan of ruched clothing). Now it’s time to apply that to cardigans (which are a huge part of my work wardrobe). A plain cardigan in a few basic colors is key, but I’d like a few exciting options too.
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| Gap |
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| Target |
Shorter winter-weight skirts and dresses. It took me a while to figure out that tights and tall boots require shorter hemlines, especially if you have short legs like I do. My mom is already hemming several nice skirts that I never wore last year because they just didn’t look right (thanks Mums!). Yay for more options! I love both of these skirts – one classic, the other fun. I’m also on the lookout for short corduroy skirts. I have a brown one and wear it all the time.
And now, some general inspiration:
These “looks” are from The Limited – I’ve loved most of their stuff over the past few years. Too bad it’s all so expensive. I love the lavender leather jacket! The orange look is kind of 70’s, but again, I’m a Fall and the colors of the 70’s flatter me. :)
2 Comments + Posted in: fashion
My personal Bible time is really inconsistent these days. My ESV Study Bible is wonderful, but it can be overwhelming. (Should I read the text and then the footnotes? Go back and forth? Read the footnotes before the text? Overload!) I’m currently in Hebrews, one of my favorite books – at chapters 11 and 12, my longtime favorite chapters in that book. Last night, the very first piece of commentary I read blew me away. I thought, a la my friend Casey, “Let’s close in prayer” (i.e., please disperse, nothing more to see here).
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1
By defining faith (Gk. pistis) as “assurance” and “conviction,” the author indicates that biblical faith is not a vague hope grounded in imaginary, wishful thinking. Instead, faith is a settled confidence that something in the future—something that is not yet seen but has been promised by God—will actually come to pass because God will bring it about. Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face of contrary evidence, not an unknowable “leap in the dark”; rather, biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy—the God who has revealed himself in his word and in the person of Jesus Christ, whose promises have proven true from generation to generation, and who will “never leave nor forsake” his own (13:5). Such faith in the unseen realities of God is emphasized throughout ch. 11 (e.g., 11:7, 8; cf. v. 3) and has provided confidence and assurance to all who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Faith and hope are hard for me to separate, which I guess is appropriate since Scripture often puts them together. I think the main difference is that faith is more about being – who God is, who we are as His children – and hope is more about doing – events that we wish for. Faith is the solid foundation of hope, the “substance” of hope. It’s only through faith that we can hope appropriately. I hope for many important things, and I believe it’s healthy to keep hoping for them even if they never happen. But if my hopes don’t come to fruition, I will still have faith – “settled confidence” – in the goodness of God and the steadfastness of His love for me. He’s promised never to abandon me, even when I feel abandoned. His character is true even if I can’t see what He’s doing and might never know the reasons why. Hope might let me down, but faith never will.
In the words of one of my favorite Paramore anthems, it’s not faith if you use your eyes. :)
PS – This post was also partially inspired by a recent post from Dana at The Abundant Life, which gave me some much needed hope and encouragement. She’s amazing!
Get ready for another exciting recap of what I’ve been up to! ;)
My mom and I did the True Blue 5K on the U of M campus last Friday. We usually walk these races, but I ran part of the time and finished in 39 minutes – six minutes’ improvement over my last 5K in August. That’s a laughable time to most people, but I’m thrilled! Before this year, I seriously couldn’t run more than a few feet at a time before getting winded, or comprehend that running could feel good. But I’m building up very slowly, like my personal version of Couch to 5K, and apparently it’s working!
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| Fulfilling a long-held dream of running through the tiger head |
Around here, the fall colors are peaking right now – I have a constant urge to pull over and take pictures of pretty trees. These are in my own backyard. I mulched up all these leaves with the mower on Saturday, but that work has already been erased. It’s a long and futile process, but I’m still thankful to have mature trees!
My car hit 140,000 miles! Most of the major parts were replaced when I got it in summer ’09, so this milestone isn’t as anxiety-inducing as it would normally be. I do have a list of random inconvenient things that need fixing, though. Once it gets cold, I’m really going to wish my lower air blower worked. :\
My cats remain adorable. Changing the bedsheets is Gandalf’s favorite activity. He loves to burrow under the sheet and have me peek in at him or “get” him from the outside. Peach likes this game too, but she doesn’t play with the same enthusiasm. :)
My friend Myla threw an awesome 30th birthday bash for her husband at The Brass Door on Saturday night. Everyone enjoyed great live music, great company, and the LSU/Alabama game. Myla and I made this party banner together using index cards, black scrapbook paper, twine, and punch out letters from the Target dollar spot. I can’t believe how well it turned out. Similar custom banners start at $20 on Etsy. Maybe I should start my own shop!
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| The talented couple performs together |
What’s new with you? :)
1 Comment + Posted in: life lately
This is me and my family on Labor Day weekend, when my sister announced via these T-shirts that she was pregnant! I’m going to be an aunt!!! :D Aunt B, to be precise. Debra is due on May 4. I know about ten other women who are due around the same time, so it’s been very hard not to chime in with their discussions, but now I can tell the world. I’m very happy and excited!
This will be the first grandchild in our family, and the second on her in-laws’ side. My gut feeling is that it’s a girl. We’ll know in December!
Any advice for me as a prospective aunt? :)