This little place called camp

As many of you know, I spent last week in Eastern Oregon at Wyldlife camp. 

I am so thankful for all of your prayers and I just wanted to share a little bit about who you were praying for and the incredible time that they had at camp.

It was five unforgettable and life changing days for a lot of these kids.
So thank you again (times a trillion) for all your thoughts and prayers.

On a side note,

Last chance to enter this week's giveaway...click here.

Hope you're having a wonderful Friday!

Yours Truly,

Thoughts for Thursday...

 

And today, I am thankful for...
 

Parents who consistently let me know how much they love and care about me.

The opportunity to share that love with kids who don't know what that looks like.

A place where city, water, and mountains are all present. 

It's absolutely breathtaking. 

Eggs. They're cheap, versatile, and a good source of protein.

Friends that make me laugh so hard, my abs are sore the next day.

Robin Jones Gunn.  

Any other Christy Miller fans out there?

Fingernail polish.

The scary/exciting feeling that comes with having no idea where God will lead me each day.

A three day weekend in the very near future.

What are you feeling thankful for today?

Yours Truly,

Also, be sure to head on over to my lovely friend Michaela's blog Michaela Noelle Designs. She is posting about how to successfully decorate a dorm room today. 

And there just might be some pictures from the dorm room I had my freshman year...so go check it out! 

Movin' On Up

In the midst of packing, moving, and unpacking, I am slightly exhausted. I, therefore, will just leave you with a short post today. 

I am so excited to show you my new house and room! After some rest, I will be up for putting everything in it's rightful place and adding the finishing decor pieces.

So stay tuned... :)

Yours Truly,

P.S. - I'm guest posting about my favorite vacation over at Dreams in a Poppy Field. If you haven't seen  it yet, be sure to check it out here!

P.S.S. - Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway!!!! To enter, click here.
You won't regret it.

Tuesday Trends: A Subtle Pop of Color

Shirt: Forever21 Scarf: Forever21 Pants: Nordstrom Rack Shoes: Payless

A few things...

ONE, what do you think of my new blog design??? I've been working with Emily over at Oh Hello, Love! She is absolutely wonderful and I am so excited about the finished design she has created :)

TWO, my dear friend and roommate left for Israel this morning. She will be gone for the next four months studying abroad. It was a sad moment watching her go, but I know that she is going to have such an amazing time getting to be where Jesus lived and walked!

THREE, don't forget to enter this week's giveaway. To enter, click here.

I hope you are having a wonderful week so far!

Yours Truly,

Anticipation Design Giveaway!

Via

In celebration of reaching the 50 FOLLOWER mark, I'm giving away an original Anticipation Designs creation!

My sweet friend Taylor (check her out over at Anticipation) paints fabulous watercolor paintings. She is an incredibly talented self-taught artist who has been drawing and designing fashion illustrations since her early "tween" years.  Since opening her own Etsy shop, she has expanded to creating personalized work, stationary and invitations in addition to her fashion illustrations. 

Via

Today, I am giving away one of her Bon Voyage Notepads. And it might be the cutest notepad I have ever seen!

Giveaway winner will be announced on Monday, September 3rd. 

This girl is seriously talented and I hope you love her work at much as I do!

Yours Truly,

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Small Leave of Absence

This morning, I am headed off to Eastern Oregon for middle school camp! 

I lead Wyldlife (the middle school version of Younglife) here in Seattle and as a leader, I look forward to camp all year long. It is such an incredible time to get a way from everything at home and just play, eat, and spend time with God and one another. 

I will miss all of you sweet readers who I am very much enjoying getting to know! But in my absence, I would so appreciate pray for our kids and their time this week at camp. 

Have a wonderful week!

Yours Truly,

Thoughts for Thursday...

Sometimes, in all the hustle and bustle of my busy life, I forget to remember how blessed I am and how wonderful life is.

So...

And I am thankful for...

The people in my life who deeply care about me and make living each day such a blessing

A great job with wonderful co-workers

The opportunity to learn at such an incredible school filled with such genuine professors and students

A three month long break from school and homework :)

Finding a recipe for a "cookie in a cup" on Pinterest

My new camera, which I am slowly learning how to use

A beautiful camp where my middle schoolers can go for a week to escape the awfulness of their own lives and hear about Jesus!

What are you feeling thankful for today?

Yours Truly,

Oh, How Pinteresting!

Today, I'm linking up with Michelle over at The Vintage Apple for her weekly Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday.

If you don't know what Pinterest is, let me enlighten you :)

Pinterest: a social networking site that allows you to figuratively "pin" pitctures of your likes/interests in a simple,organized fashion.
Source: Urban Dictionary

With that being said, here are my pinteresting pins for the week!

Source
I love the colors in this picture. It's a perfect mix of black, gold, and neon.

Source

Source
Ok, I need to find these shoes!!! They are so fun :) Kind of a high fashion Minnie Mouse.

Source
Another inspiration picture for my new bedroom! I definitely think I will be incorporating gray into the vision.

Source
Anyone else wish their high school English teacher had been this attractive?

What kind of things have you been pinning lately?

Fashion? Recipes? DIYs?

Yours Truly,

Tuesday Trends: Sunny and Nautical

Shirt: TJ Maxx Sweater: NRack Jeans: Nordstrom Shoes: Sperry Topsider Necklace: H&M Watch: Marc Jacobs

As much as I love, love, LOVE the sunshine, I am a little excited about fall. There's something about wearing sweaters, jeans, and scarves that makes me feel cozy and myself. So, this outfit is my version of fall in the middle of summer :)

Two things in other news...

ONE, I took my very first cycling class today. And about 4 minutes into the class, I could no longer feel my booty or legs. So....probably won't be taking that class again.

TWO, I seriously cut myself shaving. Like, I pulled a sliver of skin out of my razor blade. SICK. And now there's a hole in my leg.

Hope you are all having a fabulous Tuesday!

Yours Truly,

A New Investment

 Bought a new camera ya'll!

After much research, I decided on the Nikon D5100.
So far, I love it! The pictures that it takes seem to be a millions times better quality than the ones my coolpix produced (nothing against coolpix...especially if Ashton Kutcher is the one using it). But I am incredibly excited about the upgrade. Now I just have to learn how to use it :)

I am currently in the process of choosing a camera bag. But I can't decide...therefore, I am enlisting help from you!!!

Here are my top 4 favorites. Help me decide!
Please? :)

1) Vintage Leather DSLR Case || source
2) Gray Theit Bossi Bag || source
3) ONA Camera Insert (meaning I could stick this in any bag I want!) || source
4) Small Retro Leather DSLR bag || source

Which bag do you think is the one?

Yours Truly,

Friday's Letters

Standing in front of my new house!!!

Dear sunshine, please never go away. I know Seattle is only where you temporarily vacation, but I am begging you to live here permanently. Dear work, I really do feel blessed to have you, but I NEED a vacation. This whole 40 hour work thing is wearing me down. Dear middle schoolers, I am so excited to go to camp with you next week! We have been looking forward to this all summer. Get ready for the best week of your lives! Dear new house, I am sooooo excited to move into you in 4 short days. I can't wait to decorate you and make you feel like home. Dear family, I miss you. But it was so fun to see you this week and we will be reunited again soon. Dear readers, thank you so much for all your support. I have loved meeting all of you and am so excited to continue building this wonderful community. 

I'm linking up with Ashley from Adventures of Newlyweds today :)

I hope you are doing something incredibly fun this weekend!!! Any big plans?

I would love to hear them :)

Yours Truly,

Three Generations...

Guess who came up to visit me today???

My sweet Mom and Grammie :)

I think they were sensing that I was feeling a little homesick and so they decided to drive up for the day.

It was SO great to see them and we had a lovely afternoon/evening. Sadly, they could only stay in Seattle for one night but one day with them is better than no days!!!

We saw some Seattle sites, went out to dinner, and spent some quality girl time chatting and getting caught up on life.

Don't chya love family?

Hope you're having such a great Thursday!

Yours Truly,

The Liebster Blog Award

It just so happens that my blog has been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by the darling Christianna from Dream On, Lovely.

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
The meaning: A German word meaning sweet, kind, nice, dear, beloved, lovely, kind, valued, and welcome

11 FACTS ABOUT YOURS TRULY...

1. I am majoring in communication. 
2. My closet is organized by color. 
3. I love the smell of laundry. 
4. I spent a good amount of my life wanting to be a librarian. 
5. I have a goldfish named Swimmer. 
6. I was sophomore and junior class president in high school. 
7. I ran for student body president and lost... 
8. I have a kitten named Ginny (after Ginny Weasly). 
9. My retainer glows in the dark. 
10. I love pastries and bread products. I LOVE them. 
11. I used to wear fake glasses in class because I thought it made me look more sophisticated.

Blogs I have nominated!

Beth from Dreams in a Poppy Field

Sarah from The Sweetness of Laughter

Erin from Streetlights to Stars

Lacey from Household Habits
Kaitlyn from Keeping up with Kaitlyn

To accept this fun award you must follow the rules below:

1. Each person must list 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the 11 questions that the tagger has set for you plus you MUST create 11 questions of  your own for the 11 people you will nominate with this award, which brings me to rule 3.

3. Choose up to 11 bloggers linking them to your post.

4. Go to their page and inform them of the nomination.

5. Absolutely NO tag backs.

6. Remember to ONLY tag bloggers with less than 200 followers

Questions for my nominees...

1. What do you order at Starbucks?

2. How did you spend your 18th birthday?

3. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

4. What's your go-to nail polish color?

5. All-time favorite movie?

6. Would you ever own a motorcycle?

7. What is your favorite pandora station?

8. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

9. What were you named after?

10. Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

11. Where were you for your first kiss?

So go check out these fabulous up and coming blogs! 
You won't be sorry ;)

Yours Truly,