we have a winner!

It's the day you have been waiting for! 
The winner of the 3 adorable hoop wreaths is......

lucky number 14!  (random number generator from random.org was used)

So, Natalie!  You are the lucky winner.  I will be contacting you, so look for an email from me!

Don't be bummed if you didn't win...I have a feeling that more giveaways will be coming soon. 

Have a fabulous Thursday (that's really like a Friday if you are off tomorrow like me =)!!) 

Thank you everyone for entering!

friday, come sooner

I have friday off this week.
so of course, it's dragging it's heels to get here.

I have so much I want to do with a whole day off!
is it just me that plans time off?
someone, tell me it's not just me.

First, I want to make these kale chips.
Samuel and I both love veggie chips, and it would be so much better to make them and not pay for them.
and, I would know exactly all the ingredients that are in them. 

Then, I need to make a ton of rosettes.
Paint my nails like this:

make some handmade laundry soap and dish soap

and I am dead set on finding some good garage sales around Houston.  I want to get some cute stuff to add to my DIY projects. 

and if there is still time in this crazy day a little time by the pool wouldn't hurt.

pesto, pesto, pesto!

In the summer, I love pesto. 
Just kidding, I love it year round.
But I especially love it in the summer.
On pasta, fish, sandwhiches, you name it, I'll put pesto on it.

I got this easy pesto recipie out of a magazine last summer and it has been my go to ever since.  It's so easy and quick, and makes great great pesto! It only takes about 10 minutes and you will have extra that you can freeze for later.

what you need:
4 cups packed basil leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)  Walnuts are much cheaper...that's what I use!
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor.  (Or, if you don't have one, like me, a blender will work).

2. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped.

3. With motor running, slowly pour the oil into the feed tube. Or, if you have a blender and no feed tube; just add all the oil to the blender and blend.

Use immediately or freeze!!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway that ends this week!  Get your last entries in!  enter here!

I am thankful for

• new weeks
• bosses returning
• family
• coffee every morning
• Harry Potter books and friends that lend them
• our little family

 Happy Monday!

we have progress

ah Friday.

you hold the promise of so much.

a weekend with family, relaxation, and time with the hubby.

and this week; Friday brings craft progress.

um, yes.  we have rosettes everywhere. 

have a happy (and craft-full) weekend!

can you be in love with a craft?

because I really think I am.

I think about these little beauties at work.

and I just want to make them all night long.

In lots of colors, on headbands, on necklaces.

I think I'm in craft love.

 Um, yes, I did wear my hair to work curly today just so I could have more time in the morning to work on the rosettes.   And yes, I purposely cranked out my first headband so I could wear it.  And, yes, I am also very very happy because I have the cutest hair accessory at the office, why thank you.

 I will show the other fabrics from HL some love, but these are my favorites for now.

 =)

Don't forget to go win yourself a little something something over here.

crafting progress

i am in love with crafting rosettes....
and to think, my first ever was created on Saturday!

it's been a long time wish of mine to figure these pretty little flowers out, and put them on everything.
so now, I am doing just that.
well, as much as I can, at least.
but work, cooking, laundry, etc seems to be getting in the way.
if only I had a day off, I could get tons of these little babies made.
there's always saturday, right?

it's raining here today (like really raining) for the first time since January 23.
JANUARY.
I live in Houston.
Last fall, it rained once a week.
Now it never rains.
I love the rain--good excuse for curly hair, reading a book, staying inside, and crafting!!

I can't seem to upload photos at the moment....I want to show you the fun fabric I got at hobby lobby and the few rosettes I was able to get done.
alas, I will try again later...
to work, for now...

ah FINALLY....pictures for you to see!  There are the scraps I got from hobby lobby.  They were super cheap.  awesome.  thanks hl.  I have been trying to get lots of pretty little rosettes out--will be doing more this weekend! 

Successful Lunch

There is a hobby lobby 2.12 minutes from my work.
sometimes, when science gets the best of you
pretty fabrics make it all better.

so at lunch, I went over and found a wonderful clearance section of fabrics...
you know, those little odd sized pieces they have left over when they are done with a bolt (maybe bolt's not the right word, but whatevs) of fabric.

because i am still obsessed with rosettes, and will be making hundreds of them, i needed pretty fabric.
and hobby lobby supplied.



can you guess what I'll be up to the minute I am done with work for the day?

don't forget about the giveaway going on here

Weekend Recap

This weekend in our neck of the woods was hot.
Nice, but hot.
We are thankful for air conditioning.

Saturday morning we relished in our favorite relaxing activities--drinking coffee while the husband plays some video games; then a trip to the grocery store. 

We were also celebrating 6 months of marriage--it's gone so quickly so far and the husband bought me some absolutely beautiful peonies.  He knows how to speak my language.  No, those aren't a postcard.  They are sitting on my table.

Saturday afternoon he left me craft for a few hours.  I have been seeing a lot of fabric rosette headbands, neckalces, etc and I am in la la love with all of them.  But, the budge doesn't let me buy as many necklaces as my heart desires, so I decided I would try to figure them out.  After a few hours of work, and some patience...my rosettes went from this:

After 5 tries, I was satisfied..and moved on to the real fun--making the necklace.

I am so pleased with how it came out!!

It was a wonderful weekend.  How were things in your neck of the woods?
Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

Mazda 6 and a giveaway

Happy Friday everyone! 

and to answer your first question, no the mazda 6 is not the giveaway, it's the rental car we now have to use while our little civic is in the shop.  it's cute and fun to drive, but most of all it means I am not up at the crack of dawn!!!  horray.  

Now, for what you are all really here for: the giveaway. 

You may remember a while back, I talked about some fun crafts I wanted to do.  If you memory is failing you, see here for some help. Well, let me tell you hoop frames were a complete success and I am in la la love with them. 

If you love them as much as I do, they can be yours!  Yes, all three of them can be yours!!!  They are perfect for displaying your pictures--and the mini clothespins are beyond adorable.   If you have thousands of photos, like me, you can easily change the photos as you please!

Here it is: seek first's blog first giveaway!  

What you need to know:

Each person can have up to __ entries. You need to do a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address as a part of your comment so I can contact you when you win!!

1. The first and mandatory entry is to follow the blog =)  Leave me a comment below on this post telling me you are now a follower.

Additional entry:

• link this giveaway to your twitter, facebook, blog, etc and leave me a comment telling me that you did with the link. You can do this once a day/!!!! You just need to leave me a comment each day with the link.

The giveaway will officially end on June 30, 2011 at 8am. No more comments or entries after then.  The winner will be chosen using random number.org  The winner will be announced On Friday, July 1st and will  email them to give them their goods!  If the winner does not claim their prize within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen!

trail running

 I run.  it's my fastest way to burn the most calories way to stay in shape.
aka....I get it over and done with the fastest.

but...we have recently given up our gym membership.
so we run outside
in the summer
in Houston
(but later in the evenings)

maybe I will sweat off the pounds I want to lose.
it's been fun for us to do together.

tonight's mile and a half felt like 5.
but we're going to have some smokin' bods come fall.

Don't forget about the giveaway--you still have time to enter! 

More changes

Ah, yes, as you may have noticed, there have been more changes to the blog.

It was a bit to hard to read with the old background.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the grey...but this feels so much more ...finished.

I am in love with the grey/yellow combination right now and like that the links are so much easier to see.

Also, I have added pages to the blog!

You can now access the "Must Read" page and the "FAQs"

Also...the banner: yep, it's empty. I have a name for the blog, but am working on finishing the banner.You will be able to read the reasoning for the name change under the FAQs.

I hope you are enjoying the changes as much as I am!
  

Full of Grace

I want to be full of grace.  I want to be merciful.
My husband is wonderfully graceful and merciful. 
I'm not. 
Samuel sets a great example.  He forgives easily.  He has increcible patience.

In my human nature I want things done correctly, the first time.
I want to do it myself because it's easier.
I don't want to invest the time to teach others.

But my spirit longs for something bigger.
It longs for the hard work of becoming full of grace.
It has been my current prayer for the Lord to transform me into
someone more graceful.
Someone more like Him.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that God hears our prayers.
But He does.
And He faithfully answers.

Like, with two interns.
That test my patience and need a lot of grace. 
I have these two interns; whose summer experience will be shaped in large part by me.

and I want them to see grace; abounding grace.

What I love Wednesday

The husband got hit by a plank of wood while driving in the car yesterday.  Praise the Lord he is fine--it didn't come flying through the windshield or anything...just banged up the hood of the car.  It's in the shop now getting all new and shiny like. 

SO, that means the husband drops me off  at work around 7 and picks me up around 6.  We are praying it doesn't take long to fix the car.  While I am completely happy to just have a healthly unharmed husband and fixed car, there are a few things I can daydream about while all that mo la la goes to the repair shop.

This navy tree is an 8.5 x 11 print.  I love trees and navy..this perfectly combines them. You can find it here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68428802/navy-blue-tree-vintage-woodcut-graphic?ref=sr_list_32&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=navy&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

I have a perfect place for this in the kitchen...if only it could be mine.  You can have it here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61784563/sale-a-sort-of-dream-fine-art-carnival?ref=sr_list_2&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=dream+print&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade but then I would have a real bad case of jelly.

Adorbs.  Etsy is like crack.

This is a set of postcards with peony prints that you can get for only $15 for 10 cards.  And they are 5" x 7".  I want to frame them.  Maybe if we have no more car issues.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/66617612/set-of-10-peonies-blank-cards

Happy hump day!

Why I blog

Mr. Battershell thinks blogs can be a self-righteous way to attract attention and just talk about yourself.
and sometimes, he's right.

So why blog?

Why do I want people to read and comment?

Why do I do this thing if all it amounts to is a glorified way of saying "look at me?" 

Because I want people to know and see that it's Christ to be glorified.  Christ is glorified in my marriage, in my daily struggles, and in the small things that are really big things that make up my life. 

I blog because I want to remember.  Years down the road when our first year of marraige seems like a distant memory, I want to remember how Christ is faithful.  I am so quick to forget all the good the Lord has provided; I write all these things so I can look back and remember. 
I blog because God is faithful; and I need that reminder sometimes all the time.

This verse has been on my heart lately
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

My God is faithful, and I want my blog life to be a reflection of that.

So you will hear about the small things. The bookstore trips; the intern struggles; the day to day stuff.  Because I have a wise Mom who taught me that it's not the big things in life that are big.  It's the small stuff.  And I fear that I will forget these small things, so I blog them.  

My Mom taught me something that I think is so wise.  She said, "Don't save the fine china just for Christmas."  We used the china at my house growing up.  Often.  And I plan on using the china I have with Samuel.  My mom is a wise woman.  She understood the imporance in the mundane, everyday things.  And I want to be like her.  I want to remember. 

what I'm looking forward to this summer

Houston has record setting heat.  Repeat: Houston has record setting heat.  Oh my goodness we are going to die.  Summer's here.  This is what we are looking forward to:

• Enjoying long evenings at our favorite trail.  Once the temp drops below 90, of course.
• Pool time!
• Visitors!!!  We love visitors!!!  Our friend Michael is going to be our first summer visitor this weekend.  We are pumped. 
• Reading.  Yes, we can read what we want year round now (Hallelujah for being out of school!) but reading in the summer seems so sweet. 
• Cool things to eat: ice cream, popcicles, strawberries.
• Maybe a trip down to Galveston.  Good seafood. 
• Celebrating being married 1/2 a year!!!!!  Oh my goodness. 

What are your summer plans?  Big trips?

Barnes and Noble and other traditions

I am blessed to have a husband who comes from a family of traditions.

As a kid, sometimes his parents would take the fam out to barnes and noble on a Friday night.
When we were in college, Samuel started taking me to b&n.
It has become one of our favorite things to head to the bookstore, pick up 3 or 4 or 5 or 9 of our favorite magazines and find a corner to enjoy.

This past Saturday night my man took me on the date of our lives. 
We ate dinner at Chick fil A and then spent 2 hours reading magazines at b&n.

At our wedding, Papa talked about making sure to establish traditions early in marriage that we would use as a foundation for a family.  I think we'll take a cue from the Battershell family and make b&n a part of our traditions.

music

Ah, summertime.
windows down, music blasting summertime.

Or, if you live in Houston, TX; it's an air-conditioned keep all the windows closed summer.
but you can still play some pretty sweet jams.

If you ask my husband I have poor music taste. 
But since I know you will all take my side,
I will let you in on some of the best jams you should use to fill your summer.

Best of James Taylor. You can't argue "Sweet Baby James" and "You've Got A Friend in Me"

Dave Barnes album "You the night and candlelight"...5 sweet songs to listen to with the one you love.  It reminds me of summer nights outside.

Greg Laswell "comes and goes in waves"....yes, it might be the only song I know by him....but absolutely a must listen. 

Hem: album "Rabbit Songs".  This was my go to album for the drive from Austin to Tyler when traveling to Pine Cove--it's a perfect way to relax.  Pair it with a scenic drive, you won't be disappointed.

Radiant: album "We hope you Win".  My husband, when he was my boyfriend introduced me to Radiant.  I am thankful for that gift.

The Rocket Summer: album "Do you Feel?"  This album is the essence of summer.  As in, I listened to it every day on the drive from Fort Worth to Denton for a whole summer.  Yes, the drive there and back.

There you have it.  A few new jams to spice up your summer.
You're welcome.