the favorites of 2015 // new year's eve!

this year was huge. i started my second year of teaching, we went to washington state, we traveled to a wedding in north carolina, i tried a few recipes and lots of crafts...

and we found out some exciting news that changed our lives. (too dramatic? the baby kicking me in the ribs right now says otherwise).

here are some of my favorites, in no real logical order:

1// we announced that i'm pregnant!
2// we traveled to north carolina where i tried this updo at a wedding. 

3// i got a little defensive when i chopped off all my hair at the end of the summer. 

4// i started doing these silhouette pictures...

5// we visited washington state. 

6// lisa and i camped out and saw bands. 

7// these meatballs were suuuper easy to make. 

8// i opened up about why getting married at 20 wasn't that weird. 

9// i tried my hand at ombre wall art. 

can't wait to see what God has in store for 2016! (besides diapers and potentially not sleeping for longer than 3 hours at a time. i'll keep you updated on that.) 

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because isn't amazon the best

this isn't a sponsored post. it's just me getting really excited about something. 

devin accidentally signed us up for amazon prime a few months ago....BEST MISTAKE EVER. the 100-something dollars up front kinda hurt, but we've probably already saved half of that anyway by being able to get free shipping. plus all the shows you can watch.

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links i love // vol. 6

it's been a while since i've posted a roundup of my favorite things that are floating around here on the interwebs, and as i sit on a fur-covered couch (thanks to our dog, don't think for a second we have a mink couch) with rain pounding on the front steps i figured now is as good a time as any to share my current faves.

stephanie's post on 20 blog posts she'd love to read had me laughing out loud in line at the UPS store. (sorry to be redundant for my 3 twitter followers out there who already saw me tweet about it.)

this song by evan craft (it's in spanish, but it's so pretty.) also lauren daigle's loyal--she just has one of those girl-voices that doesn't make ya crazy (sorry, trisha from superchick).

robyn's homemade cinnamon sugar donuts are now on my list of things to try making before school starts and i lose all free time/will to bake/etc.

anybody down to try this slip-n-slide kickball idea? (next summer, i mean, when i don't have a child growing inside me. duh.)

sarah made me want to throw a bridal shower...or at least, attend this one. it looked so fun, plus all her helpful tips. gah.

what are some of your favorite links as of late?

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five twitter favorites

i follow a lot of bloggers on twitter, and i love getting reminders of all the cool posts out there! but, to mix it up, i also follow these twitter accounts which are as entertaining as me trying to eat a salad neatly (read: very entertaining). some of these are fairly obscure #sorrynotsorry and maybe you'll read these and be like...womp womp, i should have spent that time tweezing my eyebrows instead. and if that's you, leave a comment with suggestions for who else i should follow! :)

@ christian hipster
all that ironic christian subculture wrapped up in one satiral twitter account. if you know who sufjan stevens is, coffee/chaco sandals are your favorites, and you can sing a few veggie tale songs, this is for you.

@ church curmudgeon
curmudgeon was just a vocab word for my students--and basically it's a bad-tempered grumps. i picture an angry old man. and this twitter is focused on church humor. (should i start apologizing now for how much i love christian culture jokes?)

@ why kids cried
some of their tweets are stupid spammy retweets, but definitely scroll through and favorite all the ones about things kids have said/reasons kids have cried. this is one of my favorites.

@ andy mineo
he's a rapper, but he's also really funny.

@ you're a relient k fan if
in case you haven't noticed how much i love relient k--although i'm a lot more chill about it now, and less stupid-crazy-teen about it--they're my favorite band. and this account perfectly captures obscure references to songs, band member bdays, and upcoming concerts. (i'm partial though, because it's my sister who runs it. also here is how she got asked to prom:)

what are some of your twitter favorites?

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links i love: music edition

it's been a while since my last roundup of links i love, and this time it's what i've been listening to lately:

in the sun, by joseph arthur, which is from the episode of scrubs where dr. cox's kid gets baptized.

great are you lord and oh how i need you by all sons and daughters (if you're in the philly area they're coming to the university of valley forge in march!)

i will follow and i'm going free (jailbreak) by vertical church band (vertical worship?).

what have you been listening to recently?

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liebster award

dear readers, go hop over to morgan's blog, the yellow door diaries.
she has graciously nominated me for a liebster award, and below are the rules + my answers to morgan's 11 questions!

Who in your life do you most admire? Why?

gary haugen. he started international justice mission and is making a difference for Jesus. also i read his book in a literature of human rights class. 

Name one new skill you'd like to learn.

i reaaaaaallllllly want to play the guitar. i've tried before, but i gave up too easily. i can do the G-D-Em-C fingering, but can't do strum patterns.

What is your all-time favorite book?

(besides the Bible, #obnoxiouschristiananswer) one of my favorite books is redeeming love by francine rivers. 

Do you have any siblings?

yes! i have 3 awesome younger siblings who are way cooler than me. you can read more about them here!

Chocolate or Vanilla?

neither! fruit-flavored. strawberry? sour apple?

 If you could meet up with anyone for coffee, living or deceased, who would it be?

winston churchill or william wilburforce. some BA, culture-changing men. 

Describe your perfect Saturday.

wake up early. run. play with our dog jake at a park. picnic lunch. evening with friends around a bonfire. 
bonfires are the best. 

What was your first email address or screen name?

amerigurlzrock. don't judge. 

Name one item you carry with you everywhere, all the time.

wedding rings! i can't say my car keys or my phone because i constantly lose them.....

Do you have a guilty pleasure? If so, what?

the bachelor. i wait til the season ends so i can watch the whole season through on ondemand/netflix. who wants to wait a week at a time for a new episode?!

Why do you blog?

because i like writing. because it's a fun way to document things. because it's a community. 

and my nominees are.......
olivia @ lil gunnell family
robyn @ robyn's nest
sarah @ sparkling crane
victoria @ through*for*by
bethany @ the southern couture

ladies, here are the (10, not 11) questions i'd love to hear your answers to! feel free to tweet my your post link if/when you answer them :)

1. When did you first start blogging, and why do you blog? 
2. What would your ideal vacation include?
3. What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
4. What's your favorite book?
5. Describe yourself in 3 movie titles. 
6. What advice would you want to share with your readers?
7. What is the most memorable place you've been?
8. What is your favorite meal?
9. What would your ideal date night include?
10. Are you a morning person or a night person?

mane message headbands: my new favorite

a few weeks ago, i discovered mane message and immediately realized this company was perfect for me. its a small business that is really committed to customer service, which i found out right away after adding and deliberating and removing and re-adding things to my cart (#indecisive). when i had a few questions, their customer service rep emailed me back right away, and i finally settled on the marilyn headbands.

//top right and logo photos taken are from here

definitely the right choice! i wore one of the headbands when i went on a christmas shopping marathon, and the headband did NOT give me one of those headband-headaches. (although the crowds and the tinny christmas music sure did.)

sidenote: devin and i first met in 9th grade english class, and what he remembered me for were my headbands. and being a teacher's pet. :)

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links i love // vol. 4

it's been a while since i've posted some of my favorite links that are floating around the interwebz, so here we go:

//1//
one of my favorite bloggers, robyn, who's also an accountant, posted a really funny and very insightful list of accounting-finance tips. my favorite one: "when a guy asks you to marry him, ask to see his credit report."

//2//
danielle burkleo's post that keeps it real about insta.

//3//
i've been listening to taylor swift's 1989 (along with half a bajillion other people, yes i know my music taste is unoriginal), and it was so interesting to read this article from time magazine! in it, she answers a lot of questions about her music, and one of the questions was what her goal was for the album. head over to the site and read for yourself what she has to say about her new sound.

//4//
this relevant magazine article is on relationships, and it deals with the overused Christian phrases. i almost laughed out loud on the train when i read the article because i'm pretty sure i've used all those before (insert laughing-crying emoji here).

//5//
this poetry video is also on dating. it starts off funny, gets so serious, and ends funny again. also the literary elements in there? makes my english major heart skip a beat.

what are some links you've been crushing on recently?

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links i love // vol. 3

happy thursday, friends! while i'm off at creation, i put together a mini list of a few things i've enjoyed recently on Le Internet. 

an interesting comparison between the independence of being a woman and the self-centered attitude of being a girl: women, not girls

my husband posted this on my facebook wall on his lunch break (cute, i know) and it has some pretty sweet (along with some pretty strange) ways to improve my bin of 230493 old tshirts. 

summer-ready diy t-shirts

and finally, here's a video i found on pinterest. i plan on trying this on myself for my sister-in-law's wedding in july. if it goes well, maybe i'll post my tutorial of it (since this wonderful blogger has shorter hair...the processes might be different!). 

 

any favorite links (or blogs!) that you've been enjoying recently?

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links i love // vol. 2

devin and i about died laughing at this poop quiz. i mean, it starts off with the question "how experienced in pooping are you?" so how could it not be funny. and ever wonder what state is the best fit for you? yeah, i never wondered that either. however, it's only 8 questions, and i got south carolina. i would say yeehaww, but that seems a bit more texas...

happy wednesday, y'all.

{that's south carolina-esque, right?}

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links i love // vol. 1

my husband and my sister have recently shared some really cool articles/videos with me, which i want to share with you! so, here ya go. 

here's jon foreman and his deep thinking and sophisticated writing, along with an insightful perspective on loving others. 

"why i refuse to protest protestors"

{p.s. jon foreman has successfully written songs for switchfoot, fiction family {a side project}, and his own solo albums...and apparently he is a freelancer for the huffington post. also has anyone seen the cinematographic wonder that is band's feature length film, fading west?}

a 96-year-old man wrote beautiful lyrics for his recently deceased wife, who he was married to for 75 years, and here's the radio host who put his words to music:

"a letter from fred"

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