Random Photos of the Day

Just drivin' on 101..

Hills of Morro Bay

Driving to Los Osos..

The beautiful west coast

Morro Bay

Enough of the beach pictures... I miss my backyard in California. Early morning golfers..

Lasting Promises

"But Mary treasured up all these things & pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:19

Learning to treasure up His promises and remembering in my heart. And in case you weren't aware.. His promises are lasting. I spent some time this morning re-reading what God says in His word - His promises to me. Refreshing. 

late nights..

drinking tea & looking up recipes for what i'm making on easter. 

what are your favorite easter foods? comment & give me some recipes i should try out :)

Yumminess.

Yep. My niece is the cutest thing ever. And so yummy. Look at her! Sofia, my dear... you're precious.

Click the picture to check out Elena's photography site. She's awesome!

what inspires me.

You have probably already figured out what inspires me. The home. The feel of the home. The look. The smell. The atmosphere. Everything about the home... inspires me. 

I think the greatest upset in my life right now is that I don't have my own home. Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic. It's not an upset, but it would be very, very lovely to have my very own blank canvas to "ruin" with the things I love. 

I'm collecting things for my future home. Whenever I walk into a store, someone's home, a coffee shop, a restaurant... I'm always looking for things that I believe would be lovely in my home. I nanny for one of the display coordinators at Anthro and she told me, "Start collecting things now. It's never too early and by the time you get married and have your own home - you want to have some things to start your life with." 

And so, I get inspired by repurposed furniture, bright colored accents, flowers on the kitchen table, fireplaces, fun pillows, lovely candles, beautifully made throws and the front door you walk into. 

be inspired. 

i miss you.

Dear care packages,

I miss you.

Sincerely,

Anthea

*i loved receiving care packages when i didn't live at home. now i'm here.. and everyone thinks i don't need any love/caring anymore. ;)

we don't all have our %$!* together... but that's ok.

It's been 8 months since I've moved home and to be honest with you, I don't feel like a lot has happened in my own personal life in that long period of time. 8 months. Roughly 240 days. About 5,760 hours. That is a lot of time. It's never taken me this long to transition into something or to try and find my place. 

Before I moved back to Seattle, I had this perfect plan in the back of my head of what I thought my life would look like once I got home. Needless to say, it didn't really end up that way. 

And so.. in the past 8 months, it's been the hardest thing to live every day with drive, passion and the knowing in my heart that I'm right where God wants me. There have been days when I've been so stressed to the point of feeling physically sick. Sorry to be dramatic, but it's what happened. I so beat myself up about not being where I thought I should be that I became physically sick & tired. 

But that's not how it should be. Ever. Life isn't a can of peaches. And the sun doesn't alway shine around these parts. But the fact of the matter is... God's promise to my life:

"`For I know the plans I have for you,` says the Lord, `plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.`" 

These past 8 months have gone by in a blur. And there are times when I wish I could go back and re-do some of the days. But thank God that He already knows the plans of my life! Family, friends, strangers, whoever is taking the time to read this blog... God knows you. He cares about you. His plans for your life are good if you let Him in. There is nothing like knowing the God of the universe.. the one who spoke things into being... cares about us. 

listen to one of my favorite songs. a-ma-zing.