Spring Style Inspiration

i don't know about you, but i'm starting to get spring fever…bad.  we had a few days of 50 degree weather last week and you would have thought it was summer!  this has been one of the snowiest, coldest winters on record in our area and i can't tell you how excited i am that tomorrow is march.  i know spring is officially still a few weeks away (and we're still supposed to get another foot of snow on monday), but i'm so so ready to spring ahead. 

which of course, includes finding spring fashion inspiration!  i'm pretty ready to put away the boots and (gasp!) chunky scarves and break out my statement necklaces, flowy tops, cuffed jeans, and skirts and dresses (sans tights!).  for whatever reason, i'm really favoring black right now…and i think it works for spring!  what spring pieces are you excited to dust off?

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If We Got Together For Coffee….

…i'd order a caramel macchiato.  yummmmmmm

…i'd ask if you want to split a cinnamon scone.  because i love scones.

…i'd tell you that i'm currently addicted to one tree hill.  i'm working through the entire series on netflix and it's ridiculous at times, but i love that nathan & haley relationship.  and i pretty much always root for brooke.  

…i'd tell you that i was in boston last week visiting aj!  we had a low-key week with a lot of card games and netflix because of rainy and snowy weather.

…i'd tell you that my puppy is growing like a weed.  he's only 5 months old and weighs 50 pounds.

…i'd ask you what your favorite part of winter has been…and if you feel like you've gained some guns because you've shoveled so much snow.

…i'd tell you that i'm fighting off an ugly cold.  my parents both had it last week and i thought i had escaped it by going to boston, but it seems that's not the case.

…i'd tell you how much i can't wait for spring to get here.  we had a few days of 40-50 degree weather last week and it was the perfect taste of spring!  i'm ready for sun dresses!  for flats and sandals!  to put away my winter coats!

…i'd tell you that aj & i are going to see one republic in june, and that i'm pretty excited.

…i'd schedule another coffee date with you soon because i love getting together with friends for a good warm drink and a good chat!

Overcome the Lie // Do You Really Deserve God's Best?

i dated this guy when i was in tenth grade, and early in the relationship, i distinctly remember thinking to myself that someday i would hold the title "ex-girlfriend".  the red flags were there…he wasn't a christian and the way we even started dating was too fast and kind of ridiculous.  but i was caught up in the excitement of having my first boyfriend and i was just living in the moment, knowing it wasn't going to last forever.  so when he cheated on me, it actually surprised me how much it hurt.

i didn't realize the insecurity that that hurt buried in me until years later, when i spent a summer investing in what i imagined would someday be a real relationship with someone i could potentially see a future with.  our would-be relationship crumbled under miscommunication and mixed feelings about where we were headed and i sank into a season of hurt, anger, and confusion about how a god who assured me to wait and hold out for "his best" could let me go through this.

can i let you in on a little secret?  insecurity reared it's ugly head and the enemy whispered his lies, and over time, i started to believe them.

lies that god didn't actually have a plan.
lies that he didn't really want to fulfill the desires of my heart.
lies that i didn't really deserve to be loved in the way that i wanted.

it took a while until i stopped listening to those lies.  even after i was in a relationship with a guy who is better to me than i could have ever imagined, i still questioned whether i deserved it.  i can't even tell you what i did to block them out.  i guess it was just a conscious effort to believe in the promises that god has made…and his plans to give me hope and a future, just like it says in Jeremiah.  

those lies still creep in once in a while, and it's not always easy to push them away.  sometimes, it's a daily, intentional task to remember that i am loved, and i do deserve it, and god does want what's best for me.  love can be tough…no matter where you're at.  it's tough if you're going through a breakup, it's tough if you're single, it can be tough if you're in a relationship.

friday is valentine's day, and while it's fun to watch romantic movies and eat those little candy hearts  and maybe even hand out valentines, i know there are girls out there who are feeling lonely rather than loved this week.  maybe that's you.  maybe you're succumbing to the lie that you don't deserve love.

but guess what, friend?  you're already loved.  you're loved by a savior who gave his life for you.  in the most intense and unimaginable way.  and he continues to love you day in and day out, a love so sustaining and fulfilling that a deeper one has never existed.  so take heart, and bury yourself every day in the arms of a heavenly father who loves you so much that he overcame the grave for you.

 this post was written in partnership with overcome the lie.  overcome the lie is a social media movement that exists to empower a generation of women to overcome the lie because jesus overcame the grave.  they encourage women and give them the resources and opportunity to walk free from the lies, using the authority that jesus hands them.

website // twitter // instagram // facebook // pinterest

Be Mine // Downloadable Valentine, Pt 3

today, i've designed another downloadable/printable valentine card and iphone background to share with you!

i've loved the lumineers for a while now…they're one of my favorite vinyls that i own!  their song "ho hey" was pretty big on the radio for awhile, and i just love the line "i belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart".  i mean, let's be real, who doesn't love that line?  so hopeless romantic….

so i created a fun little print using that lyric!  feel free to download, print, pin, whatever!  enjoy!

 4x6 card (download here)

iphone background (download here)

if you missed them, check out part one and two of my downloadable valentines series!

Giveaway Winner Announced! // These are a Few of My Favorite Things

update:  kara stone…you're the winner!  i'll be contacting you today to get your info!  congrats!

february is here!  and to commemorate this month of love, i thought it was high time for a "i love my readers!" giveaway!

i'm so excited to be giving away a few of my favorite things to you, my lovely readers!

i've been gathering things to include in this little box 'o love for a few weeks now…gift cards (can you say starbucks??), some trinkets, some favorite office supplies (like my favorite markers for calligraphy & hand lettering), favorite beauty supplies (unless you're a guy…then i'll keep them…and find you something my boyfriend loves maybe?), you know…

so enter away!  there are a few things you have to do to enter (like follow this blog via gfc), and then there are a bunch of optional entries!  the giveaway will be open until february 9th at midnight and the winner will be announced on monday, february 10th.

love you bunches!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

update:  kara stone…you're the winner!  i'll be contacting you today to get your info!  congrats!

The Date List: 20 Date Ideas That Aren't Dinner & A Movie

dates can be expensive, and valentine's day is definitely no exception.  aj and i are kind of running into that problem this year…we both have a little less money than we'd like and that makes dating tough some times.

actually, to be quite honest, we've never gone out on valentine's day at all.  two years ago, we weren't even dating yet.  i cooked him dinner and we spent our first night as boyfriend and girlfriend sharing youtube clips with one another.  last year, we were both sick, and that made for a night spent on the couch watching tv.  this year, he's away at school and we're both busy and figuring out this long-distance thing, and so valentine's day will probably be non-traditional once again.

whether you're planning on going out or staying in, v-day doesn't mean just doing dinner and a movie (though there's nothing wrong with that plan either!).  but it's fun to shake things up any time of the year, so here are a few date ideas that aren't the traditional dinner and a movie…

1.  have a cook-off, cook together, or create a fancy dinner at home
2.  go stargazing (if it's cold outside where you are, bundle up and take some hot chocolate with you!)
3.  go out for breakfast (at any point in the day)
4.  go to an arcade and challenge each other at skee-ball (talk about a cheap date!)
5.  do a scavenger hunt (like this one that aj & i did at walmart)
6.  go for a drive or a walk…take random turns and explore together
7.  do a craft together…paint mugs or create something for your home
8.  teach one another something
9.  read a book together (this summer, aj & read jim gaffigan's dad is fat out loud…it was super fun!)
10.  start a fire (inside or outside), and curl up and just chat or roast marshmallows
11.  go to barnes & noble, grab a cup of coffee, and flip through some magazines
12.  visit a museum  (check for free admission days!)
13.  play a board game or cards
14.  go to a concert (there are some pretty cheap options out there)
15.  go out for dessert
16.  pick a new tv show that neither of you have seen before and watch it together
17.  go shopping…pick out crazy outfits for one another to try on and model them for each other
18.  go to an open mic night at a local coffee shop
19.  have a photoshoot done…ask a friend or use that trusty self-timer!
20.  be a tourist in your own city

so what would you add to this date list?

Be Mine // Downloadable Valentine, pt 2

today's valentine is a quote that i just adore…"i love you to the moon and back" is something aj and i say all the time and it's even painted on a couple of canvasses in my room (check it out here).  i actually created a valentine card and gave it to him in our first year of dating that said this exact quote on it!

so here's your printable & iphone5 background!  happy valentine-ing!

4x6 card (download here)

iphone 5 wallpaper (download here)

tell me how you use them by leaving a comment!

Be Mine // Downloadable Valentine, Pt 1

valentine's day is just a week away and i can't help but remember last year.  i was student teaching and picking out spy-themed valentines for all of my 3rd grade kiddos, which was so much fun and a total throwback to my elementary days.

so in the spirit of exchanging valentines, i'll be posting a few of my own downloadable (and printable!) valentine designs for you to use as you please!  these are a little more grown-up than your boxed sets that you handed out in fourth grade (not that i'm knocking those!), but hey, we're a little more grown-up now too, right?

so here ya go….download, print, use however you like! happy valentines day from me!

4x6 card (download here)

iphone 5 wallpaper (download here)

comment and let me know how you use it!

Ice, Ice, Baby!

well, after an eventful week here in pa…10 inches of snow on monday and another inch or two followed by an inch or two of ice yesterday…the sun has finally shown it's face!  i have to say, i'm a bit jealous of those i know who are vacationing in warmer weather at the moment.  we were without power from yesterday morning to today (which is far shorter than our usual 3-5 day outages with a storm like this, so i'll take it!), but despite that, i couldn't help but be amazed by the beauty that this storm left behind.  

the temp didn't get out of the twenties today, so that meant an extra day of enjoying the sparkle that the ice-coated trees gave off on my drive home.  it truly is a winter wonderland right now, and while i'm sooooo ready for spring, i just had to take advantage of this weather and snap some photos.  

ollie tagged along with me, but he was more interested in finding and chewing on frozen sticks than he was in my photography.  but of course, that also meant snapping a few photos of that cutie.

if you haven't yet, make sure to enter my current giveaway, ending this sunday, february 9th! 

Olliepup

in november, we gave my dad a goldendoodle puppy for his birthday.  (you can meet oliver in his first introduction here)…he was 10 weeks old and a perfect little 10 pounds at the time, and now he's over 4 months and 40 pounds!  he's still cute and cuddly and even a little naughty, but he's so smart and really, overall, such a good little pup!  so here are some recent pics of our little olliepup!

he loves sticks

and the snow

and being bundled up after being out in the snow

and he turns into a white pup when he's out in it for too long