{life lately}

As you know, my camera hasn't been getting out much.  However, my phone has been stepping in when the need arises.  Here's some snapshots from the last few weeks.

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

This is what lies at the end of my friend Emily's street.  Is she lucky or what?

I've been doing some car shopping.  This is the Kia Soul...what do you drive?  Do you like it?

This is my new teacup from Anthropologie.  It's beautiful, and makes me want to drink more tea than I already do.

{P.S. I have way too much fun with camera apps on my phone!}

Wise words of wisdom.

Is that redundant?  Maybe.  But I stumbled across this word of encouragement today on Stuff Christians Like and my goodness...it just hit the nail square on the head and I couldn't help but share.

I think the Israelites were right when they said “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”  But here’s a critical truth the Israelites missed, something that trips me up sometimes too:  God never said to do it alone.   

God never ordered the Israelites to take the Promised Land with their power and their wisdom and their ability. Not at all. In fact he promises just the opposite in Exodus 6:6-8 ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”   

Look at what he says:  I will bring you out.  I will free you.  I will redeem you.  I will take you as my own people.  I will be your God.  I will bring you to the land I swore.  I will give it to you.   

Seven times, in three verses, God reminds the Israelites and us that he never calls us on adventures alone.There’s a long list of things you can’t do. You can’t fight giants. You can’t find a new job. You can’t fix relationships. 

You can’t. You can’t. You can’t. But God can.

Oh boy.  I love Jon Acuff for his satirical, hilarious, and humble take on the kitschy things that Christians' often do (like his posts on Chik-fil-A, intentional community, and getting connected at church).  But this post, and the truth that it holds, makes me want to read this blog on a daily basis.  Because I'll be the first to admit, I need to get "You can't. But God can." tattooed across my forehead.

The wonderful world of interior design

We're in the process of redesigning the lobby of our youth center at work, and along the way, I've found myself hooked on design blogs and interior decorating.  Here are some favorites!

these two pieces are from Anthropologie

I'm loving stenciled patterns on walls.  Check out stencil designs from Royal Design Stencils on etsy!

Design*Sponge is an awesome blog, and they have tons of great DIY ideas, like these Secret Storage Books, and these tips on refreshing old bedlinens

If you can't tell, a favorite color palette for me right now is yellow & gray.

whats even better is that this color scheme works out pretty well for me, since my room is unfortunately adorned in the yellow walls and purple carpet that my parents let me pick out when I was 13.

For example, I love this pillow from Target:

And lastly, I'm a little bit in love with this bedding:

that's all. :)