The Whole Gang!

This weekend we went to the Lake with all of the Garcias!!
It was so much fun having everyone there together!

The weather was gorgeous! We swam and relaxed on the boat,
made smores by the bonfire, sipped coffee, played games,
sat under the stars, built tents, and enjoyed dinners off the grill :)

I wish I would have taken more pictures but here are a few:

etsy friday!

{$25 Lumbar Pillow}

{$34.50 magazine rack}

{$28 vintage skirt}

{$24.50 vintage set of bowls}

{$340 Barcelona Bag} - ha- crazy price!

Think Big!

This fall, adorn yourself with the biggest necklace you can find!

Here are some of my favorites:{banana republic}

{urban outfitters}
{last two from anthro}

hmmm...

I need your help.
The wall behind our bed is quite empty.
It is the first thing you see when you walk in the room.
At first, I wanted this picture printed on a canvas:

but I just can't handle the price right now.
(let me know if you know of a cheap place to have this done)

I love these simple mirrors from Pottery Barn:

3 hanging above the headboard would be perfect
but they are more expensive than the canvas :)
so I am searching for look alikes...

Here are some other options for above the bed
that I found on DecorPad:

I think this one may be my favorite:
(it reminds me of the pattern on our bedding)
but I have no idea where to find it!

So please tell me what you think?
What is hanging on the wall by your bed?

talk away.

I am so thankful that God allows me to talk to Him.

I sat in Old Testament Poetry class today and loved what my professor said.

"If you want a bad marriage, one thing you can do is not allow one of you to talk.

A marriage means that you not only share joy, but also sorrow with each other."

The book of Psalms includes many words from David to the Lord.

Psalm 150 shows his absolute joy, while chapter 42 is absolute misery.

God allows in scripture both expressions of the heart.

He wants you to share your heart with him.

Thank you Lord that we are allowed to speak to you about life.

Thank you that you listen to us- joy and misery.

Yet, as quickly as we run our mouths

may we rest and listen to you.

Help us to be quick to unleash our happiness

as we contemplate on You throughout our day.

{flickr- linked to its source}

CHB Lesson #5

-Love and Marriage Section-

“Marriage demands a great deal of you – a willingness to bear, sacrifice, and give. There is no use trying to build on a weak or rotten foundation. Remember it takes years to build a perfect marriage. Mark Twain said, “It takes years to produce a perfect love”. Love deepens with the years. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen is not a young couple holding hands but an old couple. It is a sweet sight in the evening of life when they have loved each other and have stood together for all the years. Therefore, to make a perfect marriage you must have a right beginning, not merely infatuation.”

The following quote Nana wrote is from a book called "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis.

“There is nothing sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing broader, nothing more profound, nothing fuller, nothing better in Heaven no upon earth; for love is born of God. Love gives all things for all things and has all things in all things. Love feels no burden and takes account of no labor. It never complains of the impossible but regards itself as mighty to do all things. Love wakes and sleeping, is not asleep. Love is wearied, but not weary, and when affrighted, is not troubled. Love is sweet, pure, holy, merry, strong, patient, true, prudent, long-abiding, and never seeking itself. If any man seeks himself, he fall from love. Love is discreet, meek and right, not soft, nor light, nor given to vain things; sober, chaste, steady, and respectful. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand at the will of his beloved is not worthy to be called a lover.”

coffee shop car :)

I love coffee and the smell of coffee... as you know.
So I made this little craft to help my car smell like the local coffee shop :)

I took an empty container- peanuts I used for trail mix...

After I washed the inside and let it dry really well,
I peeled off the old label and glued on a page from a Pottery Barn magazine.
(You could also use scrapbook paper, fabric, or tie ribbons around the can)

Then I filled the container with coffee beans
and cut slits in the lid to smell the yummy aroma!

Now I have a nice container to hide under my front seat
or place in the cup holder that will make my car smell like Starbucks!

Oh- this has nothing to do with coffee or my car...
but I came into our bedroom yesterday
and found Vali reading the Bible:

This was NOT posed!
I was doing my devotion that morning and didn't put my Bible away.
She always lays down and chews on her squirrel
(the nasty gray thing in her mouth)
and she ended up resting in front of the Bible...
how hilarious!
Of course, when I went to get a second picture, she jumped right up!

Wedding Bells and Baseball Fields

Luckily, our school was located directly across from Seneca Park. On weather permitting days, our little first grade class lined up like sardines, waiting quite impatiently to adventure off school property. The boys gleamed with delight, for they knew this was their chance to get dirty. Baseball fields were the perfect spot for making mud pies. The boys lined the bases and wiped their fingers through the dust, but on days following a rainstorm, this dust turned into a squishy mud mess.

We were a little wiser, or so we thought, in our recess location and opted to run through the never-ending fields and amuse ourselves with our imagination. The oak trees were not just the homes of squirrels on squirrel day, but they provided heaps of acorns to collect for our pretend pets. Our teachers always brought toys, like hoola hoops, for us to use at the park. We connected the hoola hoops with rope and used them as carriages that led us off into a world of "happily ever after". Depending on the latest Disney movie, we chose which princess we wanted to become for the afternoon.

While several girls read in the shade or practiced secret handshakes with a friend, the majority of us had a special pastime. We loved to compose weddings! Not just a typical wedding; these were extravagant! Beautiful flowers filled the park along with Cinderella's carriage, but we were always missing one key component-- a groom!

All of us knew there would be no wedding without a groom, so we selected our crush, the cutest boy in high school, as our groom. He was an obvious choice as our prince, although even in our immature minds, we knew he was truly unattainable. The first-grade girls squabbled over who was to be the bride every afternoon at Seneca Park. Those who were not chosen acquired the duty of drawing the carriage or being the audience. Our invisible groom waited for us at the end of the aisle, and the music played in our heads, but very rarely did we make it to this point in the wedding. All too soon we heard, "Girls, it's time to line up, Recess is over!" It seemed like every day the wedding was cut short, all because we spent so much time arguing over who would be the bride.

It seems ridiculous, now, that we would waste so much time arguing over a little recess fun, but not much changed from first to twelfth grade. Even though we no longer venture to Seneca Park, our lives are still filled with little disputes that drive away our precious time. There are still dreams I want to accomplish and grooms some need to meet, but most of the time, these goals are left untouched because, time and time again, our focus is blurry. I wonder how different things would be if we had looked at it all in a different light-- If we had known in the first grade that all we needed to do to find our own groom was run to the baseball field and grab a muddy little boy.

as the weather cools...

it's time for fireplaces to warm...
here are some beautiful mantels to frame the fireplace:

{decor pad}

{Better Homes & Gardens}

{my sweet savannah blog}

{Michael Grimm Photography}

fall... are you here?

Is it too early to decorate for fall?

I'm so ready to sip on spiced apple cider,

have a picnic on a quilt,

and cuddle up in a cozy sweater.

Am I the only one anxiously awaiting this wonderful season?

{flickr- all photos linked to source}

Sweet Thing

My sister, Sadie, and I went to see Keith Urban
in concert at the Kentucky Fair on Saturday night!!

The concert started at 8 and we left home with plenty of time to kill...
(or so we thought)

We waited in traffic for well over 2 hours...
after 9 we really started freaking out
and were afraid we would miss Keith!!

after a LOT of running in uncomfortable cowboy boots,
we made it to our seats and only missed a few songs!
He was amazing.
He ran all throughout the crowd!
At one point, he came singing down the front aisle
and I booked it down there and touched his arm... :)
Sadie and I had a blast! (Thanks Sadie for going with me!)
and it wouldn't be a concert without a stop at Krispy Kreme on the way home :)

CHB Lesson #4

My Nana wrote down many quotes in her notebook under
"Love and Marriage" on a day in October in 1954.
I wish I could have been a fly on the wall that specific day.
There are so many inspirational quotes but here are a few:

"Remember when choosing a husband that you aren't
choosing for yourself alone but for your children too."

"Never look down on a man. Always look up.
If you can't look up to him willingly--don't marry him." "When you have wept together, laughed together,
and prayed together love takes a deeper meaning.""Popularity comes from pleasing people but greatness comes from pleasing God."


{flickr}