What I Wore Wednesday {12}

Today I’m linking up to Lindsey’s What I Wore Wednesday blog series! Every Wednesday she (and 150+ bloggers) post their outfits from the past week to show off your style to all of your blog readers. Many of my blogging friends (Gussy, Kim, Moriah, Lisa Leonard, and Lindsey) also link up, so I’ve decided to participate as well.  I’m not the type of girl that is going to post outfits every week, but it’s fun to do every once in awhile.  I hope you enjoy!

          

{Outfit specs}

{Lavender shirt- JCPenney}

{Jeans- American Eagle}

{Brown flats- Rack Room}

{Silver Branch Earrings- made by Bojangles Jewelry}

              

Happy middle of the week, friends!!

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” -Deuteronomy 31:6

“Make it last for a hundred more years…”

I’m a little girl at heart and I’m pretty sure that I always will be. I’ve very spontaneous and I love adventures.    I love enjoying the simple life around me because I know that I only get one life to live. Why not live life to it’s fullest while you can, right?    Well, I’m taking advantage of the beautiful weather we’re having this afternoon… …complete with blogging, sitting on our yellow and white picnic blanket in the green grass, iPod on random shuffle (currently playing Adele for those that want to know) and of course, my camera is very close by. {Pictures of me taken by Andrew}We’ve made a lot of sweet memories with this yellow blanket over the years.  Going on homeschool field trips and taking a picnic lunch, camping as a family in the mountains, going to the beach, and many times this blanket would find it’s way outside in the backyard as mom would read us Little House on the Prairie or several chapters of science or history…   Days like these make me miss being a little girl, but I cherish all of the sweet memories I have made in the past and I hope that one day, I can make many more memories with my own kids on our own little picnic blanket.

InstaFriday {3}

Happy Friday, readers!  I'm linking up with Jeanette for another week of InstaFriday tonight!

The weather has been SO nice, so I've been trying to stay outdoors as much as possible whether it be reading something for school on the deck, eating lunch outside, or taking random pictures in the backyard...

Although, the pollen is really bad here and I am currently dealing with allergies.  I have tissues nearby at all times right now. :)

Another highlight of the week? We got our first thunderstorm of the season!  Look at those dark clouds in the background... I love this time of year.

I've been working hard on some items for my Etsy shop lately after school is finished.  I want to open up shop again soon and I have lots of new items that will be available.  Stay tuned for more updates!

The backyard is so beautiful right now!  I love waking up and seeing this pretty view from the kitchen window.  His creation is so incredible...

October Baby.  I went and saw this with some friends this afternoon and it's so good!  I hardly ever cry in movies, but I did shed a tear or two during the movie.  It's a great story and my money was definitely well spent.  

~~~

Before I close, I just want to apologize for the lack of posts lately.  I'll try to post something a little more interesting soon.  I know the "Hello Monday" posts are getting old without anything else during the week.  I'm really behind on posting, but I hope that next week will be better.  Have a lovely weekend, sweet friends!    

Hello Monday {24}

{Hello Monday}

{hello early wake up time and pretty weather}

{hello breakfast and cleaning up my room}

{hello Bible reading}

{hello productive school day}

{hello lunch and texting Caroline}

{hello snack and sewing in the sun room with the door open}

{hello afternoon chores}

{hello quick grilled cheeses for supper}

{hello longer days and an extra hour of daylight}

{hello running out to Sam's Club and Lowes with Daddy and Andrew}

{hello having three different conversations with friends on chat late into the night}

{hello sweet bed}

This post was inspired by Lisa Leonard. If you want to participate in {Hello Monday} too, then please give credit to Lisa in your post. She is the first one to start this weekly blog series.

A Glimpse Into My Hope Chest…

What is a hope chest?  What is it's purpose?  What do you do with it and what does it look like?  Some girls aren't sure about the meaning of a hope chest, so I have decided to write on the meaning for those of you to understand it a little better.  I hope post is an encouragement to you and maybe, if you haven't already started one of your own, then you will be inspired to begin the wonderful adventure of starting a hope chest.

"A hope chest is a special box that you put items and things you might need or want for your future home when you get married.  They have been around for a very long time, and back then it was a chest made of wood that young women put linens, quilts, china, kitchen utensils, or anything they could use for their future households."

Some people might think it's a little weird for girls in "our time period" to still have hope chests, but I personally think that it's just a unique way to save things for your future home.  What’s the harm in that, right?  I don’t have an actual wooden hope chest like many young ladies do, but I do have a big box up in the attic where I keep my items.

~~~

I’ve wanted to do a post about what I have in my hope chest for awhile now, so this afternoon I asked Andrew if he would help me get it down from the attic.  It was so much fun to sort through all of my stuff and take pictures for this post!  I started my hope chest in the summer of 2009, so I had forgotten about some things that were buried at the bottom of the big box.  I absolutely love shopping for new items to put in it and I will definitely keep shopping in the coming years as I prepare for my future life as a “Mrs.”  (Lord willing of course!) :)

Here are some of the items I have stored so far:  

I found this lovely blue set at a thrift store for only $4.00!  I couldn’t pass them up… :)

Also, over the years, I’ve been trying to complete this lovely tea set.  I don’t know what the name of it is, but I absolutely love it.  It all started out by receiving the tea cup as a birthday party favor and then, when my dad’s grandma passed away, I was given the creamer and four plates that she had in her china cabinet.  Such a special edition to my hope chest. 

I’m always on the lookout for more pieces to add to my collection!  I hope to complete the set someday.

I also have two lovely pink and white china plates for “tea time”…

I have quite an assortment of other “nick nack” items that would have looked pretty junky if I took pictures of all of them together, so this picture just gives an idea:

           

I found this white teapot at an old antique store that was closing with my mom and Katie right after I started my hope chest.  Also, just in case you haven’t noticed, I love teacups and teapots!  I have a dream of opening up my own “tea room” one day for mother’s and daughter’s…

You can never have too many aprons, right?  :)     I also have a pretty Christmas tree glass plate that my mom and I found at a thrift store, a mini spatula (perfect for cutting brownies), and a fun yellow and white tablecloth.

Over the years, I’ve collected extra hand towels, sheets, washcloths, and pillow cases from when we’ve cleaned out our closets.  My grandma gave me a few of those as well.    

Here is another very special item in my hope chest.  My sweet friend, Moriah made me this pillow many many years ago for my birthday and at the time, it matched my bedroom, but since my bedroom is different colors now, I decided to keep it safe until I have a house of my own and can use it to decorate a room or the front porch.  I am so thankful for sweet reminders of how much my friends love me.  I can’t wait to fill my house up with pretty items that mean so much to my heart like this lovely pillow!

                              

         I also have a quilt that was my own as a little girl to add to my hope chest.  It’s a size twin, but it’s still in great condition and I hope one day that I can use it for my own little girl’s room or a guest bedroom.  I love the pretty green, pink, blue, yellow, and lavender fabrics against the white.

A friend of ours crocheted this little pink blanket a few years ago and mom gave it to me since it was pink.  Another friend just recently gave me the pretty white pillow sitting in the chair too.  It’s just perfect to sit in a chair for decoration or in the middle of a bed or something.  :)

Last, but not least…I have two vases and my old jewelry box that I hope I can give to a daughter one day.
       

That's pretty much everything...for now.

For those who may have a hope chest now, what other things have you collected?

"You can do a lot when you've got such a happy working tune to hum..."

I'm in a spring cleaning...

{via}

window washing... 

organizing... 

{via}

...and de-cluttering type of mood today. 

Watch out people.  It's time to take advantage of this lovely warm weather we're having this afternoon and cross off some projects on the "to do" list!

What are YOU doing this afternoon?  

Hello Monday {24}

{Hello Monday}

{hello waking up too early and then falling back to sleep}

{hello sunlight pouring through the blinds and the birds chirping}

{hello breakfast}

{hello chilly temps in morning}

{hello schoolwork}

{hello lunch break and checking email, etc}

{hello running errands with Katie and Andrew}

{hello short visit at grandma's house}

{hello Chick-fil-A for supper}

{hello talking with my dad for a few hours about numerous things on my mind}

{hello bed and much needed rest}

This post was inspired by Lisa Leonard. If you want to participate in {Hello Monday} too, then please give credit to Lisa in your post. She is the first one to start this weekly blog series.

it’s the little things:: {link up #2}

Confession time!  I didn’t take any Instagram pictures this week!  Okay, I took maybe two pictures throughout the entire week, but neither one of them are worth sharing on here.  So, I’ve decided to link up with Lindsay tonight!

Won’t you join me as I reflect on the little things that happened in my life this week?

...an unexpected phone call from a sweet friend! 

...rainy days and reading in bed.

…getting a package in the mail when I wasn’t expecting it until next week!

…online window shopping with my sister late into the night.

…productive school days.
...working on sewing projects after supper and listening to Pandora in the background.

...surprising a friend for her birthday by going to a movie and getting frozen yogurt.

...warmer days & cool nights.  I love it when I can go barefoot during the day and then snuggle under the covers at night.  

...late night texting with friends.

…pretty sunsets and flowers starting to bloom in the backyard.  

Happy Friday readers.  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

For the Love of Paper: {Product Review}

Every girl loves to have cute stationary at her desk, right?

{Check out her Etsy shop HERE}

Naomi from For The Love of Paper has something in her Etsy shop for every girl who still loves to send old fashioned snail mail.  She sent me a lovely set of yellow cards to review the other day…

I absolutely love my new stationary!  I will definitely buy more stationary sets from her shop too.  They are printed on high quality paper and she can pretty much customize any of her cards to fit your personality.  You can’t find gorgeous stationary like this at Staples or Wal-Mart, I promise.   I’ve been looking for several months and I still haven’t seen any that I would actually spend my money on. 

I’m so excited that I found For The Love of Paper while I was browsing on Etsy!  P.S.  Naomi even included some surprises in my package!  That just shows you how awesome she is… 
Thank you!!