girls' day out

the girls (squinty-eyed, I should have busted out my shades)

I do have the world's best mother in law. Sorry. She's taken! Every year Ryan's mom takes his sis, Rochelle and I on a little day trip. I think this year may have been my favorite thus far. We met last Friday at 9:30 and headed to downtown Rockford, a little gem of a town about 15 miles north of Grand Rapids. Again, my state pride continues to rise this time of year, there are so many great places in Michigan that I don't even know much about!

We spent our morning wandering in and out of boutiques and crafty stores, along with a resale shop where I eyed a pair of Gap jeans and just knew they would be perfect. So for $23, they were mine! When does that ever happen with jeans? The 3 of us tend to get a little goofy together and there was a lot of laughter packed into the day including the time when I spilled on myself over our lunch at Arnie's and asked what a bib for adult would be called. Rochelle's response: "an apron". oh. haha. that one really got us. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering again and capped it off with frappes from McDonalds....ahh
so nice to stop and smell the roses sometimes:

state love/ all things local giveaway

I love Michigan. understatement. How many other states do you know where people know the state motto and several websites by heart?
Such as my favorites:
michigan.org, Pure Michigan, Great Lakes, Great Times..and the new revamped one. Smitten with the Mitten including it's own brand found over at Michigan Awesome:

I have truly come to appreciate the little lake towns and wineries and coffee shops that have become favorites in many places this side of the state. Like the Holland Peanut store where I took these girls when they visited last summer, or the little shops that we strolled through when we stayed local for spring break.

Something that I have really come to look forward to is the local farmer's market that sets up shop 2 days a week right down the street from my office. And it was there, at that very market last fall where Ryan and I discovered this:

Only the best bag of granola ever. And the people were really nice at the booth too, letting us take 2 samples of it because we came as they were closing. There is such a tasty sweetness and crunch to it that after we bought it on Saturday morning...I think it was gone by Tuesday of that week. It found its way into muffins and parfaits and I think mostly just our bare hands shoveling it into our mouths. Neither of us have confessed yet to finishing off the bag. I was at JP's the other day and there it was again. So...being the little local cheerleader that I am, I emailed the Good Life Granola people about my happiness with their granola...and they are giving a bag to you.

In turn, I want to know your favorite local places to go wherever you live. Is it a particular coffee shop that makes you feel cozy or a local market or pub around the corner? What makes you love where you live?

Share your thoughts until Friday night @ midnight because Saturday morning someone is going to wake up one step closer to a bowl of granola in their belly...

celebration

just a pic from last night, a celebration of 2 families coming together. And even though I was dateless (hubby was at a retreat this weekend up North), I huddled around tall tables champagne in hand and compared cupcakes and discussed wine and laughed about how old we are since we didn't know ANY of the songs that all of the high schoolers rocked out to. You better believe we were out there when YMCA and Love Shack came on.

got stuff?

I like decorating. As mentioned here and here and many other places around here. And one of my favorite things about decorating is using the things I already have, recreating new pieces and mixing things up. So when I saw this post on one of my favorite decorating blogs, the Nester, the only one I really read, I started planning my own "swap meet" in my mind immediately.

The idea is that if each person brings a few items that they can't get rid of yet can't find a place for, we can all shop from one another's items to get some new inspiration without spending money. Fun right?! So here is that inspiration in action:
I am going to be having a swap at my house next Saturday, February 6 and have about 8 decorating divas planning to be here. According to the Nester it is ideal to have about 15 people for maximum swapability (my own word). If you live in the West Michigan area and want to come hang out, please let me know so I can include you in the details for the event. I'm looking forward to hanging out with Jodi & Amber, and wishing desperately that all of my out of town friends could be here because I love your style so much too.

Here are a few examples of my own swapping things out in my home to get your feet wet:
I love dollar store candles & filling jars with simple things I already have...and the bookshelf, that was being used for storage in our basement for the past 2 years. I literally forgot about it as a piece I could use. Kind of glad because then it felt so new.

starting anew

We are headed on a few little journeys in the next 7 days and I am ever so excited about getting away with my hubby while he is on the last leg of his "Christmas break" from school. Later today we head to Atlanta for Passion and will be on a bus...overnight...with 40 college students. Feeling old in the sense that I am really hoping we get some sleep. I think it will be a great time to get away and enjoy some worship, good teaching, and just hanging out. There are some places in my walk and in my own life that I am glad for the time to reflect on and part of that is going to be leaving my computer behind for a few days. No facebook, no blogging, not even email while we are there, in hopes that I will pick up my pen and my journal to reflect.

We come back LATE Tuesday night and I am going to try and work a few days in there before we head out Thursday again for time with just the 2 of us. Even while Ryan was working a lot, we have always been good at getting away for the weekend because we realized early on in our marriage what a difference it makes. And as much as I am looking forward to Atlanta, I am looking forward to 3 days in Traverse City with just Ryan even more. Usually our weekends away consist of finding new little places to eat, window shopping, watching lots of TV in bed in our hotel room. Here's to hoping there is a Law & Order marathon on sometime next weekend!

Christmas: the aftermath

The presents are opened, the goodies eaten and eaten some more, the miles traveled and the carols sung. And I am at home, exactly where I love to be. I am going to leave my tree up until New Year's day to enjoy the light of it in the mornings when it is still dark and too early to turn the rest of the lights on.

It is going to be a busy week of work but a slow week of evenings at home to continue the rest following the wake of Christmas. This year's Christmas Eve was especially sweet as my brother Erich wrote a poem 4 pages long, chronicalling every step of our annual evening together as a family. Christmas day and yesterday were full of more parties and the older we get, the more grateful I am for the gifts we recieve and time with those we love.

All of that said, I am ready to return to quiet winter days and enjoying our little home and time with Ryan while he is on his semester break until January 12 (which happens to be his 27th b-day!). We are headed out on Friday to PASSION: TWENTY TEN in Atlanta with 50 college students from Grand Valley as leaders with some good friends of ours. I am so looking forward to a few days full of being with students and from what I am learning, Passion is all about encouraging college students to live out their faith so there will be thousands and thousands of young people who are part of campus ministry in their universities represented there.

On top of that, I simply cannot wait to hear and be challenged by people like Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love), Beth Moore, John Piper, and participate in worship led by David Crowder Band, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, Chris Tomlin...the list goes on. Feeling really blessed to have this opportunity and looking forward to the time away.

gobble gobble gobble...

already thinking turkey but thought I would jump on tonight and share the new lucky fashionista who will be rocking one of Abby's cowls!
I will give you a clue...she is in the picture below:

Mandii, Suzie, Emily and I at her rehearsal dinner last year.
I bet the anticipation is killing you so here it is....Suzie it's all you girl! Can't wait to see what you choose! Thanks everyone for your participation.

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

it's been awhile

...since I have done a giveaway! And I LOVE the blogger and the handmade item that she will be giving away to one lucky friend. Curious yet?! All I can say is that you will love it too. No more clues for now about who she is and what you will win...until Saturday.

I will tell you though that I will have a partner in crime on this giveaway. So while you anxiously await more info...I invite you to check out Alicia's blog here in the to get to know her a little better. She & I met about 4 years ago or so...her mom & dad photographed our wedding and her mom is good friends with Ryan's mom. Let's all sing "its a small world after all" in a round, shall we? I think you will see Alicia's fresh perspective on life and the journey God has her on. So we will make a fun pair for this little giveaway for YOU. Blessings! It is almost Friday!

late night date night

last night was a gift. I can't remember the last time we were the 2 crazy kids pulling a late night mid-week and it was a celebration of living it up. Despite my ever present runny nose this week, it was glorious. Ryan pulled out the entertainment book (a mature piece of the crazy kids evening) to find out where we had buy one get one in GR and gave me 3 choices. I settled on what seemed the obvious, Old Chicago because I knew that pizza is always a happy default. I ended up ordering the Oriental Chicken:
Teriyaki chicken over spiced, chilled noodles, crisp greens, carrots and red bell peppers with our house Italian and sweet chili dressing, green onions, wonton strips and toasted sesame seeds. (as taken from the website menu). yum. He got a bacon cheeseburger and both parties were happy.

From there we froclicked aimlessly around the mall, stopping to debate if I am too short for the over the boot jean look:

these were the particular pair in consideration and in retrospect, I think part of me was just excited that they fit over my calf because that NEVER happens. I didn't get them. not sure if I will.


We also saw a late night movie @ the $3 Celebration Cinema @ Woodland. Which is amazing because we have stopped going to movies as often anymore, due to my redbox obsession but I do still love sitting in theater. We went to see the movie 500 Days of Summer which "is not a love story. It is a story of boy meets girl".

It features these 2

...and I loved Zoeey Deschanel's captivating beauty and Joseph Gordon Levitt's hipster style. Along with the chalk wall in his bedroom, which we spent a good few minutes whispering about in the theater.

It also rekindled my lost love for Regina Spektor with her enchanting voice and beautiful piano skills. All in all, the night was a 2 thumbs way up, a night to remember and a welcomed break in the constant push and pull of life.

in less than a week....we are going to see him:

Perhaps an unlikely looking worship leader. But aren't we all treasures in jars of clay? I don't know any other band that continually leads me to a place of worship and understanding my relationship with God in light of normal everyday life like David Crowder's music does. That being said, this is our third DCB show in the past year so I think we both kind of like him. alot.

I invite you to check out the band's website at the link above for a preview of their music if you haven't heard them before. Here is a snippet of the lyrics of my current favorite:

OH HOW HE LOVES US:

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

I LOVE FALL. Can you tell by my obsessive mention of the pumpkin baking, the red tree, the necessity of gourds? All of it. We have had some awesome weekends with friends enjoying the traditions of fall and before I tell you in about this weekend's events, I have to go back a few weeks and tell you in pictures about when they came:

We were so excited because it was the big ArtPrize opening weekend that I wrote about here and even though they are the type of friends that you can stay in your comfy clothes and drink coffee all day with, we wanted to share the adventures of our city. We spent the day Saturday downtown checking out a bunch of different venues and made our 2nd trip to Hopcat



I think my hubby was inspired...this was his artsy pic of the day of muah.

Recessionista

I was reading an article online that discussed Hope College & campus slang from current day back to 50 years ago and it cracked me up. I have to agree that part of campus life comes new verbage and some of the
things that I remember from our days at TU were that everything was “random” and people who were really great were deemed “quality” by our definition. Anyone else, any other throwback terminology you want to get nostalgic about?

One of the terms they listed in the Holland Sentinel article was “Recessionista”

A Recessionista is a fashionista who clips coupons; she looks good but she got it on sale. love it. That is my shopping mantra this fall on a new and improved budget to incorporate tuition into our cash flow. Here is what this Recessionista is loving this fall.

Scarves- again, really? Yes! I just can't seem to stay away from them and have already started obsessively wearing my orange scarf from last year' trip to India because it is all things fall and makes me happy.

Bubble Rings! My sister-in-law Rochelle is so talented and this is her latest creation. Check out more of her jewelry here (or on me because she lets me be a walking sales girl for her goods.

Dark nail polish-which my friend Michelle pulls off really well and I think I may have to indulge in it soon. Here it is on Fergie Ferg- she is a fashionista and I seem to continue to be drawn into the beats of Black Eyed Peas again this fall. Heard his rendition of their latest last night and the song will never be the same.