oranges?

in the past month, i have found 3 different oranges in the oddest places. the first orange, i found on a drain at pike place. the second (didn't take a picture of it) i found on top of a trash can at 7-11. and the third, in the grass at alki beach. 

not sure if it's some kind of sign.. but it isn't an every day thing to find oranges in random places. so i looked up what an orange symbolized and this is what i found:

"'the perfect fruit of love, full of sunshine; just as if it had been picked fresh from the tree of life in all its glory."

"Orange trees are a symbol of love and marriage in many cultures. Oranges are sometimes found in Renaissance paintings of married couples. One of the most famous is Jan van Eyck's "Wedding Portrait of the Arnolfini"."

hmm... interesting.

Grace. It's an amazing thing.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. 

This morning I woke up and thought, "God. Thank you. Thank you for waking me up this morning. Thank you for life." And then I thought about all the times that I've been absolutely blessed by grace. Regardless of your religious belief, each and every person in this whole world right now has and is and will experience the grace of God. When you went through the intersection today, God's grace was that the oncoming traffic stopped. When you woke up this morning, God's grace was that.. well, you woke up. When you found out that your father was diagnosed with cancer, God's grace was that He still has a good plan for your dad's life. Grace is all around us. It's an unmerited gift to us. I sure don't deserve any of it. I'm entitled to none of His mercies on my life... but yet, He has looked upon me and decided, "That's my daughter. Whatever comes her way.. I'm giving her grace. I'm showering her with mercies that are unbelievable." 

And so... this morning, I thought about all the times I specifically remember God's unbelievable grace in my life. I laid in bed, grateful. He's been so good to me. No, my life isn't a walk in the park full of daffodils, roses & smiling every second of the day... but yes... my life IS lived with the full assurance that no matter what I go through, there is grace to get through it. 

Ah. I'm just full of gratefulness today. Take the time to remember every moment that's ever made you grateful. And then think... that was God's grace on your life. 

The newest members of my future home collection

1. Anthro Pillow. This thing is HUGE. And comfy. I bought it before I started work the other day (yay for shopping parties) & had to walk to the parking garage with it (way too big for a bag) after work. As I was walking down the street, some guy - about half my size - asked, "Hey... is that a pillow?" I looked at him like he was crazy and said, "Well, what else would it be?" (i'm sarcastic with captain obvious types) And then he said something even more stupid - "Well, can we rest our heads together on that pillow?" to which I responded in a loud, booming voice, "NO!" 

2. The Beekman Heirloom Cookbook - I am so excited about this! On every recipe page, it has a note section! So, yes, that means I can write all up in this book :) 

3. Menagerie is a book full of animal portraits done by Sharon Montrose! If I were you, I'd look her up! She has some pretty awesome portraits. 

MY DREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have found my dream home. It's seriously everything I LOVE and more! Dear future husband of mine.... I promise you - I am pretty simple and I won't ask for much.. but this house! 

I love looking for old homes for sale when I have time, and today I found this home online. It's located in Georgia and I just think it's lovely. Click here to read more about this home (and click on "Old Time Southern Charm"). 

I am in love. Look at that front porch. Look at all those windows. Sighhhhhh.

love is in the air.

i don't think i've ever been to more than one wedding in a month... or even in a couple months.. but this has been the year for lots and lots of weddings. this past friday & saturday, two of my closest friends got married! 

jeff & rose kline. - these two people are some of my favorites in the whole wide world. seriously. i'm so excited for whats in store for the both of them!!! 

jason & sydney yang. - wow. wow, wow, wow. my best friend of 22 years has gone off & fell in love. sitting at her wedding, i was balling my eyes out because i was so happy for her. we've been through a lot together and have spent countless hours with each other. our parents were pregnant at the same time with us, and so literally, since birth - we've been best friends. it's a bittersweet thing for me.. jason swept syd off her feet & now, they're both on their way to their new home in california (which leaves me here without anyone to buy target candy and play hide & seek in target with) but i know it's a good thing! 

two weddings. back to back. the best time i've had in awhile. but like i said on facebook, my diet starts tomorrow .. wait, today actually ;)

once upon a time, in photos.

once upon a california time, this was my room. and that was my dog, chase. 

once upon a time, we road tripped from seattle, wa to victorville, ca. 

once upon a time, i met a dog with a blue tail.

once upon a time, i ate yummy yummy sushi in LA.

once upon a time, i drove from victorville, ca to denver, co. 

once upon a time, i saw a cute little baby boy with glasses. 

once upon the time, i was bummed about the fact that i couldn't bring my pot bellied pig to the park.

Describe Your Dream Job:

Thanks Kati  (check her blog out!) for this blog post idea!

My dream job.
You walk in and you're greeted with with lots of natural light and the smell of fresh brewed coffee. It sort of feels like home but all at the same time, it's not.  You came in to escape your normal world & just wanted some time away. You came here because you knew that you needed some time in the art studio - paint a little, draw a little or even to put an unfinished project in the kiln. You came in to meet up with a friend you haven't seen in awhile - catch up over some coffee & a homemade pastry. You came in because you needed to buy a pack of handmade birthday cards and a little gift for your mom. You came in because you needed some encouragement from one of the lovely staff - who have quickly become friends, confidants, people you trust. You came in because you knew we love having visitors and love having people hang out. You came in to inquire about playing some live music on our stage Friday night. You came in to check on the art you recently put on our walls.

My dream job consists of sharing all the things I love with the people around me & gaining a couple new friends along the way. I imagine my children running around the shop and greeting the customers. I imagine that my family and friends play a great role in the shop. I imagine it being more than a shop, but a place where people know they can do life - no matter you're age, color, shape, size, etc. everyone is welcome.

that's my dream job.

WDYW - Wednesday Edition

this outfit is the definition of deals. whole thing (minus necklace) = less than $25. yep. 

run, run, run.

i'm SOOOOO incredibly excited for this! the color run!

one of the butterflies..

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

wow. there has been a lot going on in my life - major adjustments, changes, up & downs, etc. it's been a season of extreme change & though it can get uncomfortable - it's been GOOD. 

one of the many changes:

for the past two months i have been looking for an office/receptionist position. in praying for a new job, one of the things i specifically asked for was a job that would be great for when i went to school - flexible & a laid back environment. long story short - i applied for a position on craigslist that described itself like this:

"local family owned business in west seattle looking for a receptionist!" 

having no clue what business it was, i applied anyway. it's close to where i live and i'm all for small businesses. i literally got a phone call from the owner within a couple hours of sending my resume. next thing you know, i'm sitting in a tanning salon getting interviewed. within a couple hours of that - i was hired. prior to the interview, i was complaining to my parents about how i could never see myself in a tanning salon... i mean, c'mon - i'm already tan! my parents encouraged me to go to the interview anyway and just see what they were offering. 

god definitely has a sense of humor. this job is actually such a blessing to me. it's exactly what i prayed for... in a very different package than i imagined it would be. my boss is such a sweetheart and she "sold" this job to me by telling me, "we have wifi... you can bring your laptop, homework, a book... whatever you want, as long as customers are first!" 

so.. here i am. sitting in a tanning salon. drinking a coffee. eating a muffin. reading my bible. journaling. blogging. and loving this change in my life. 

mr. sun, sun, mr golden sun..

one thing i miss about cali: driving along the coast.

since i've moved back to seattle, i think i've forgotten what the sun is. what does it look like? what does it even feel like? yeah. i was completely spoiled by the sunshine when i lived in california. and i miss it. god, please oh please, send the 70 degree weather up here! 

love days off!

so thanks to me for not looking at the right schedule, i went into work this morning. got there, sat in for morning meeting, and then when it was store open - looked at the zone chart & realized, "what the heck am i doing here? today's my day off!" sometimes you just gotta laugh at yourself. and that's what i did. laughed and got back on the bus and headed back home.

and yay. on my unexpected day off, i made a nice little lunch. homemade orange chicken stir fry with some sweet potato wedges {and of course, some sriracha on the side}. then my little niece lala & i went on a date to old navy, world market & trader joes. the whole time she kept saying, "shopPIN'" - i think because i told her we were going to go shopping at one point. starting in old navy until we got home she would sing, "shopPIN, shoppinnnn, shopPIN!" 

that's lala. she decided to kneel down & sing in the middle of our walking around. isn't she cute?! 

now... lets go have a bachelorerette party for one of my favorite people in the whole world! craziness.. my best friend of 21 years is getting married. oh boy! 

i love my future home.

yesterday, i found myself with a full afternoon/evening to do whatever i wanted. seriously the best thing ever. it hardly ever happens because i'm either working or babysitting. so what did i do with my time off? scrounge around thrift stores, of course, to find household items for my future home. {where the house is... i have no idea. i just like to imagine it.} 

here are some of my finds:

this cute vintage, floral hot plate. made in italy! 

huge, wide mouth mason jars for drinking glasses. 

and this little guy. isn't it cute? a milk jar. i have no idea what i'll do with it - it's so miniature.. but it was the only one on the shelf, and i couldn't let it stay there. 

mini mason jars for water/juice glasses. 

finally got around to getting binders, sheet protectors & a couple food magazines to start on my recipe binders!!! :) super excited about this! 

and so there you have it folks. a little peek in what i come out of thrift stores with. happy thursday & happy thrifting.

another hawaii sign..

i just got off of work... and look what i brought home with me! i was ringing up a customer and she sounded like she was from hawaii.. and so of course, i asked & sure enough, she lives in oahu. sooo.. we go to talkin' and we exchanged our info {she knows an owner of an esthetics school in oahu} and then about 30 minutes later she came back and handed me those lovely chocolates. she went back to her hotel to get them for me. sweet, right? 

so.. yes. i'm taking this as another sign to go to school in hawaii =)

anywho...

like i said.. just got off from what it seems like a longgggggggggg morning {feeling under the weather, grrr} & decided, i'd have PB, strawberries & apples for a midday snack. andddd now, i need to figure if i'm going to try and eat a late lunch or just wait until dinner. oh the dilemmas i have! ;) 

don't forget to spring forward...

happy weekend!

the mom in me

i get to spend my thursdays with this little munchkin - jasper. cutest little baby boy in town. we went on our morning stroll, and as i looked down i thought - "man... i look/feel like a mom." and so, i had to capture the moment. just pretend that ring on my finger is a wedding ring.. and that baby in the stroller is brown. yeah. mom, right? hahah.

and here's a picture of my mom outfit. 

and then a picture of a random pink garage. 

things to do today:

watch jasper

hit up value village/goodwill to look for some home goods {one of my favorite things to do}

update tabs on my car

hang w/the ladies!

happy thursday to you !

Oh you sweet recipe book..

 

I was going through some of the books on my mom's bookshelf at home, and found this thin, green notebook. It was my mom's from back in the day - when she lived in Samoa - and she would use it to keep track of the tithe money at her church. She only used a couple of the pages and the rest were left blank.

And so... what better way to put it so use than to make it into a recipe book?! Yes! That's what I'm doing. It's my new project... the first recipe {as you can see from the photo below} is for the best oatmeal cookies you'll have, ever. Or at least, I think so. 

My idea for this recipe book is to just write down recipes that I come up with, recipes that have worked for me or recipes from my mom/aunts/etc. I eventually want to paperclip pictures of what the recipe should end up looking like :) 

And here's one of my favorite recipe books right now. It's fairly old, and belongs to my mom - but it's so good! It has yummy savory appetizers/starters, as well as really good sweets! 

Here's one recipe for you that caught my eye. I love how each recipe in this book has a little quote/story about the recipe! It makes that certain recipe so personal & I love that! 

Happy cooking! 

a couple great things this morning..

Love Is Magic - Drew & Ellie Holcomb

love is magic, makes you wanna dance, wanna laugh, jump around and make you wanna sing. 

that's been in my head all morning. love. love is magic. regardless of what our culture today says - there is a love that will give you true joy. and there IS a love that no one, that nothing can ever take from you. & thank you jesus for that sweet, sweet love. 

look at those two cute children! that's my niece lala {or lei} & my nephew amare. i love them. they never fail to crack me up. this morning i was deep cleaning the kitchen and those two little guys walked in wanting to eat breakfast. after all my hard work, i'm sure the kitchen is a mess by now =/ *sighh... oh well. they're cute. i'll let it slide this time.

...and, i wish i could be doing this right now. last night, it snowed. yep. snow. in march. yeahh.. i'm complaining. i guess i was spoiled when i lived in cali because now, i can't take this cold weather! lord have mercy! 

Today in short.

Today felt like the longest day ever.. Just getting home from work, laying in bed... Starving. But the dilemma is that I'm just way too tired to eat. Which... I guess is good anyway because it's not the best to eat this late. (welcome to my train of thought)
Today I saw some funny things I'd like to share with you:
1. This morning my uncle Sam & I dropped my sis Lily off at work, but first we stopped by Trabant (really great local coffee shop). As I was sitting in the car waiting for her.. I saw this man walk past the shop w/his Starbucks in hand. He looked back towards Trabant, stopped, looked at his Starbucks, back at Trabant, looked around, found a trash can, dumped the Starbs & walked right into Trabant. I wanted to applaud him for making that decision this morning ;)

... Um, there were a lot more funny things I wanted to share, but you have to excuse me - when I'm really tired, I tend to forget things...

..to be continued (if my memory of these funny happenings ever recovers)

Photo: someone lost an orange at pike place today...

questions for me!

well.. after my much needed nap, i'm wide awake & ready to party! {definition of word 'party' here: lay in bed, blog & then watch netflix} had a long day today.. started at 6 this morning and didn't really end until 7:30 tonight. anywho... a random post for your reading pleasure.

random photo: that beautiful ring there is missing. so, so SAD because i loved it A LOT. 

1. What's your favorite drink?

Probably coffee. I seriously love it. And next to coffee, I love water! Lots and lots of water. 

2. Would you consider yourself shy or outgoing? 

I think I'm a lot shy-er than I'd like to admit. Well... actually, in certain situations I can become shy but for the most part, I'm pretty outgoing. 

3. What's your profession?

Soon and very soon, I will be working towards becoming an esthetician... so all my friends, line up for your facials, waxes and all your skincare needs :) 

4. How would you describe your style? 

I would definitely have to say playful & laid back. I don't think you'd ever look at me and say, "Wow.. she looks really uncomfortable in what she's wearing." And why am I sure of that? Well... when I put an outfit on, one of the first questions I ask myself is, "Will I be able to wear this all day without fidgeting, fussing or wishing that I was in something else?"

I also think I'm a woman of many hats when it comes to my wardrobe. Sometimes I like to dress it up, sometimes I like to be cozy or sometimes I just like to wear old jeans, a cute hoodie & some toms. It just all depends. 

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My ability to budget. Oh Lord Jesus have mercy on my soul... and wallet... 

6. What's one makeup product you can't live without?

Mascara. I can go days with just wearing mascara and be totally fine with it. But without it.. I feel like my eyes aren't open. Mascara definitely helps to wake up my eyes & keeps me feeling ready for the day :) 

thanks colourful palate for the survey idea! 

perfect house vs. comfy home

If you haven't flipped through this book, actually sat down & read it or heard about it... please do yourself a favor and get it; go to Anthro, pick it up, take a seat on the couch {trust me, we love when people come to just hang out... it's all about the experience/your time in the store} & read it; etc.

A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life. I'm not a particularly "spotless, everything must be sparkling all the time" type of person... but I am a clean person and I like to stay on top of my cleaning. Dishes in the sink? Can't stand to look at them {i get it from my momma}, so I wash them right away. If I walk into my room and I just feel like I don't want to be there.. there must be something wrong with it, so that's my queue to start reorganizing, cleaning or moving things around - and normally that takes all day & night. And there are tons of other cleaning type things I do.. and after reading this book, it made me think about when I have my own family and own home.. am I going to be that person who strives so hard to keep a spotless home that they don't actually get to relax, live & breathe deeply in their own home?

Oh God please.. NO. That's the last thing I want. haha. One of the ladies in the book said something to the effect of, "I want my home to be my children's favorite place to be... I want them to bring their friends here and I want this home to be their friend's favorite place to be." I want that. A comfortable, livable not unkempt home. 

For those of you with your own home, family, etc. take some time to relax. Leave the big cleaning jobs for another day and spend time with your loved ones. Don't get so wrapped up in the perfectionist upkeep of your home. Afterall... your home, most likely, will always be there... but moments become memories in a second - so cherish them :)