This season of life.

Let's start this post by saying my apartment smells gloriously like peanut butter because I just made a double batch of these peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Oh.my.word. SO good!

Life has been busy and calm all at the same time lately. And since a picture says a thousand words, I'm going to let my pictures speak for me.

My best friend got married!! Everything was absolutely beautiful- the bride, the ceremony, the marriage, and of course the bridal party ;)

So thankful for my daddy. 

The roomie graduated from SPU (oh, and she's TEACHING there in the fall) Ridiculously proud of this girl!

Mom and Dad came for a visit in June. It was great to spend time with them in Seattle.

I've been loving the Magnolia Farmer's Market just a mile or so away from my house. A few weeks ago I bought fresh raspberries and made yummy jam. Farmers market fresh homemade jam...makes me feel like the pioneer woman. haha

4th of July weekend was full of food, family, and friends in California. I'm SO glad I got to see these two wonderful women while I was home!

Flying back to Seattle from the Long Beach Airport. Seriously, my favorite airport ever.

Celebrating a new baby!! Loved showering this family and sharing this journey with them as they anticipate the arrival of their little girl. 

Another celebration! But this time for a birthday...half a century right, Meg? ;)

Less then a dozen pictures and so many important people in my life! Seriously, these are the people who have helped to shape me into the person that I am today. They have laughed with me, cried with me, and been there for me no matter what is happening in my life. I am truly blessed by the people I call friends and love being able to celebrate their weddings, babies, birthdays, and more.

It seems like everyone I know is getting engaged, married, having a baby, buying a house, or doing something else exciting and life changing. What am I doing you ask? Welp, I'm still trying to figure that out. I've been researching grad schools in California to get a Master's in Teaching and a teaching credential...So that's the current plan for next year-ish. I'm really excited about the idea of moving back to California and becoming a teacher there, but it also terrifies me. Seattle has finally started to feel like home and where I thought I would be for a while... and now I'm looking at changing ALL of that.

But isn't that what life is about? Get comfortable and bam! life changes! Through all these changes and unknowns I know that one thing stays the same. God is faithful. He will not leave me or forsake me. I know that his plans are bigger and better than anything I could come up with by myself. I am thankful for this confidence because I couldn't imagine going through life without knowing that there is a God who has taken care of everything for me. No matter where the future takes me, I am thankful for each season that the Lord provides.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

A Joyful Vacation

This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to take a trip back east and visit many people who are near and dear to my heart.

I started my trip in Boston with my bestie for life, Kayla. I can't believe we met so long ago and have continued to be such good friends no matter where life takes us. We could go months without seeing each other or even talking and when we're together again it's like no time has passed at all. She is a huge blessing in my life and I'm so sad there is a whole country between us, but I know we will always be there for each other.

From Boston, I traveled to Connecticut where I got to meet my sweet baby "niece" and spend the day with some family I don't see very often. Growing up we would travel back to New York/Connecticut at least 2 or 3 times a year to visit my grandparents and dad's side of the family. I remember loving these trips and now wish that we weren't so far apart. It's fun to hear stories of my grandparents or things that happened when my aunts and uncles were growing up. There's just something about getting together with family that makes my heart happy.

I ended my quick trip with a stop in Philadelphia where I spent the day with the Gupta family. This sweet family encourages me so much and I'm so thankful for their continued friendship even though we're far away now. The Guptas are always in my prayers, being on the move and with little Libby going through chemo. I wish I was closer to help babysit and get good advice (on just about everything) from Amy :)

What do you do on a 3 day weekend?

My weekend started out Friday night by going to see my brother and his improv  group at Seattle U. They really are quite hilarious. I was thinking of staying home because I was so tired from a busy week at work, but I'm glad I went to see him! Then Saturday was my super productive day. I cleaned EVERYTHING- bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, did laundry, changed sheets, put clothes away, dusted, vacuumed, and more. It felt so good to get everything cleaned up (and now I don't want to touch or use anything that would mess it all up!) The rest of the weekend included church, clearing up the DVR by finally watching the Grammy's and a few other shows, reading (Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark and Love Times Three by the Dargers), shopping, and sleeping! Saturday afternoon I turned to pinterest as I thought of what I should make for dinner and this is the result...

Recipe #1 Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

While this post is about the most recent weekend, I actually made this chicken last weekend. It turned out SO well. The recipe can be found here. It was super easy to just throw it all in the crockpot and let it cook for a few hours. When it was done I shredded it up and bagged it for lunches and put a few in the freezer.

Recipe #2 Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Now anyone who knows me knows that I rarely follow a recipe exactly step by step. (I've inherited that trait from my mom. Love you, mom!) We'll start with the fact that I didn't do this in the crock pot, I did it in a soup pot on the back of the stove. I also omitted the bell pepper (because I don't like them) and used the shredded chicken I had put in the freezer last weekend. The real recipe can be found here. I also made the honey jalapeño cornbread, found at the same site. This dinner got a big thumbs up from Luke and I've got leftovers in the fridge and freezer to take for lunches this week!

Recipe #3 M&M Samoa Blondies

Naturally, when I start to make dinner my mind jumps to what I'm going to make for dessert. So I head to pinterest and look in my cupboard for what I can create out of the ingredients I have. I found coconut in the freezer and thought I remembered a recipe for samoa blondies on pinterest. SO good! Samoas are some of my favorite girl scout cookies and these cookie bars have a very similar taste. The recipe can be found at Six Sisters' Stuff (one of my favorite places to find new recipes!)

I really love to cook and bake and I love sharing the things I make with others. Pinterest is a great place to find new recipes to try and I find myself trying at least one new recipe a week, sometimes more. I'm thankful for friends and family who are always willing to help me eat the things I create. 

I'm especially thankful for this guy who always eats everything I make! This was taken on Thursday night before we went out for Valentine's Day at BluWater Bistro. I am a blessed girl :)

A few pinteresting recipes

A while ago I made a promise to myself that I would actually try more of the recipes that I post on pinterest (instead of just pinning them and letting them sit there!). The past two days I've tried two different recipes, both of which were very successful with my taste-testing crew.



Recipe #1 Monster Cookie Bars

Peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, reese's pieces (instead of m&ms)...what's not to like?? The recipe can be found at the Domesticated Duchess. Everyone has LOVED these. I can't get Luke to stop eating them :) Whenever I tell someone what is in them he always adds that they are 60% sin...haha.





Recipe #2 Slow Cooker Kielbasa & White Bean Stew

The recipe says to cook it for 8-10 hours on low but I didn't get it started until about 2 this afternoon. Instead of dry white beans I used canned and cooked it all on high for about 4 1/2 hours. I added a little flour/butter mixture to thicken it a bit and it turned out very yummy! Everyone gave it 2 thumbs up! Found at Kalyn's Kitchen.

Birthday Blessings

November always brings so many things to be thankful for and I think it's a good reminder for me to stop and take the time to remember all the blessings in my life. This weekend I was able to celebrate my birthday with some of the most wonderful people I know! Thursday afternoon Luke and I went to see Wicked and it was incredible! I have been listening to the soundtrack since July and it was so fun to finally see the production. Friday I went to work and had a class of two year olds sing "happy birthday" to me which was very fun. Little "J" kept telling me it was our birthday. I said no, its my birthday and he laughed and so noooo its OUR birthday. Well, I'm okay sharing with that sweet little boy. Then we had story time at church and the kids sang "happy birthday" and we had mini cupcakes to celebrate. One of the 2 1/2 year olds kept saying, "It's Emily's birthday! We have to sing to her!!" It was very cute. And then last night we went out with my brother, his girlfriend, and my roomie for dinner at Buca di Beppo and dessert at home (salted caramel pear pie- yum!) I'm so thankful for all these wonderful people who made my birthday a very special one.

November Blessings Part 2:
10. Productive days getting lots of chores done.
11. Peaceful Sunday mornings at KidTown.
12. Playing with a sweet 2 year old, reading him stories, and putting him to bed.
13. The warmth of a heater.
14. Kids who remember your birthday from last year.
15. Loving parents.
16. Flowers and sweet cards from Luke.
17. Going out to dinner with some of my favorite people whom I love dearly.
18. Children who are generous with their giving.

I am looking forward to a short work week and celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday with Luke and his family. I'm excited to bake cookies and make sweet potatoes, do a little shopping, spend time with people I love, and continue remembering all the things I have to be thankful for.

Mom's Visit

Thursday morning I picked my mom up at the airport for a weekend visit and  we've had lots of fun since she got here! We shopped and went out to dinner with my bro and then Friday we got a tour of Seattle U and got lunch on campus before everyone came over to my apartment for dinner. I made pork chops cooked with apples and onions, mashed potatoes, baked apples, salad, and bread and it turned out pretty yummy. I love to cook from scratch, especially when there are lots of people to eat after its all done!

Serving up dinner.

Love him.

The whole crew. I love having 6 people around our table!

And of course, we can't forget dessert! I was torn between making pumpkin chocolate chip bars and pumpkin spice cake but everyone was leaning toward the chocolate chip bars. SO in order to make it a little more dessert-like I added cream cheese frosting. According to my dad, cream cheese frosting makes everything better, and I tend to agree! They turned out delicious and, after being refrigerated overnight, taste even better. 

On a slightly different note, while we were shopping this weekend my mom bought me a crock pot for my birthday!! I'm so excited to get started cooking things in it. I've been researching tons of healthy recipes to stick in it, so if you have any I'd love them. So many crock pot meals contain cream-of soups and packaged dip mixes, and I'd prefer not to add extra sodium or unnecessary preservatives to my meals. I'm thinking of trying a lamb stew on Monday night. We'll see how it goes!

company=cupcakes

Last night I was babysitting two boys from church, age 5 and 2 and it was so fun listening to all the things they had to say. The older boy told his mom, while at the grocery store a few days ago, that since I don't come over all the time that means I'm "company." And when you have company over that means you should have dessert after dinner. SO he succeeded in getting his mom to buy yellow cupcakes at the store. Can't disagree with that "company's coming over" logic now can ya? Also, the two year old boy was convinced that his mom and dad were out eating ice cream for dinner, no matter how much I tried to tell him they probably weren't eating ice cream he kept saying "ice cream! dinner!" and then laughing like he knows all the answers :)

My newest Halloween rearrangement.
Thanks, Luke :)

In other news, I'm going to the pumpkin patch today and am very excited! I've been praying all night that it doesn't rain on us while we're there. Then tonight we're carving the pumpkins and making a yummy dinner. It will be a very festive fall day and I can't wait!

My 3 favorite "F" words...

Family. Friends. Food :)

Tonight my brother and his girlfriend came over for dinner and it was so fun! I love to cook and its always so much more rewarding when I can share the final product with people I love and care about. I decided I would make something from Pinterest, to further work on my goal of actually making the things I pin, and I landed on a Cowboy Casserole found here. I mean, helloooooo it's got tator tots on the top! What could be better? It didn't look super appetizing all piled on the plate, but it was a hit- especially with Luke and Bob. We sat around the table chatting for a while and then dug into dessert that Cassie and Bob brought- harvest plum walnut crumble pie from high 5 pie and it was incredible! I'd take pie over cake any day and this one was so yummy. I don't think I've ever had plums in a pie before, but I'm a fan!

I love that my bro is going to school just a few miles away and I get to see him so often. We always connect Sundays at church and if it works in our busy schedules we'll hang out during the week too. Not all siblings get this opportunity to spend time together (or even like spending time together) and I feel so blessed by the relationship that we have. I loved hanging out as a foursome too- no extra family members or friends, just some siblings spending time together. Can't wait for more times like tonight in the future!

An evening of plaid

This weekend one of my {newly married} best friends made the trek from Idaho to Seattle so we could go to the Carrie Underwood concert, continuing our tradition of wearing plaid and attending country concerts together. Now, I'm not exactly a cowboy boots and short-shorts kind of girl, but I do love country music. And the concerts are usually pretty great too. Carrie was no different! She had a handful of surprise entrances including the fact that part of the stage got lifted up at one point and was hanging over the crowd on the floor. She also changed her clothes at least 5 times- a girl after my own heart! I love her voice and am so impressed by the talent that she has as a performer and singer.

Spending time with Hannah was wonderful as always too! Even though it was just for a short amount of time it was so great to see her and get to catch up a bit. The past week or so I have been missing my friends even more as it starts to sink in that we really are spread all over the country now! Life goes on, things change, and sometimes friendships fade. But I'm thankful for those that will last a life time even though we may not see each other or talk as often as we'd like, I know we will always be there for each other.

The Last Few Months...

My computer is working again!! I have the best boyfriend in the whole world. He took my laptop apart and fixed it with his magic technology fixing skills. I am now backing up my files (after a slight panic that I would lose everything in my computer) and enjoying being able to do all the things that a smart phone and iPad cannot do. The last few months have flown by with a whirlwind of activities, everything from graduating and weddings to beach trips and working full time. Here is a glimpse at life lately for me...

Ivy Cutting with President Eaton, followed the next day with graduation at  Key Arena - 6/8/12

4 years and 2 degrees later, I am officially an SPU alum!

I spent my summer Fridays at FFMC helping out with "Mom & Me" story times. So fun to spend time with these little ones and their moms!

Wedding #1 Hannah & Nate's lovely wedding in Sandpoint, Idaho - 7/14/12

Luke and I had the opportunity to go to the Mariner's game and sit in the owner's booth with Mr. & Mrs. Davis! Mr. Davis threw out the first pitch to celebrate the Mariner's 35th anniversary.

No summer would be complete without a trip to the beach with these lovely ladies. So glad we were able to do this while I was home!

Wedding #2 this summer :) Esther's beautiful wedding in San Diego - 8/18/12

Love this girl!

Janelle and I got to practice our cake cutting and catching skills. We're going to see how many weddings we can cut the cake for :) I love that I get to have this girl as my roommate once again!

Last but not least, I came back from a vacation at home to a week of VBS- my first at FFMC. Such a fun week! Here are some of the highlights...

All in all, life is grand. I'm excited for this next season of life. Post-college with a great roomie, a wonderful man in my life, and not just one but two jobs I thoroughly enjoy. The best part is that it's all happening during my favorite time of year. Bring on the scarves, boots, and pumpkin spice lattes!

Last paper ever!

[almost.]

Move-in day last September. So blessed
to be living with this girl again!

I'm currently writing my last research-style paper where I have to use citations. This paper is for my Christian Doctrine: Holy Spirit class and I've actually really enjoyed it. We are a class of about 10 students (on any given day- there are always people absent!) and it's mostly discussion based on different readings. I like that we have gotten to the point that we can just discuss without people raising their hands. And most everyone always has something to say. Discussion can be painful when everyone sits there silently staring at the professor. All that to say, I am almost done! Once I finish this paper tonight I will have 2 other essay-type papers to write, 1 book to read and a poster to make for it, and 2 finals to take next week. CRAZY! Just a small puddle to jump over after considering where I started this quarter!

I'm not stressed about finishing school or finding time for everything because I know it will all get done. More of my stress is in the direction of finding a place to live! Janelle and I toured an apartment last night and it wasn't the nicest place in the world. They were replacing the floors, painting, and cleaning, but we still didn't have the best feeling about it. We have a tour at another apartment complex on Saturday morning and I am really praying that this one will work out perfectly. So far it all sounds good- its just a matter of visiting and then figuring out when we could move in! We have to be out of our current apartment by the end of next week, so we are running out of time. Sigh. It will all work out- just gotta trust God and keep searching!

Are we there yet?

Everyone has memories of sitting in the backseat asking their parents if they have arrived at their destination yet. As an adult this is a very "duhhh" kind of question that I want to respond with, "If we were there, the car would be parked and we'd be getting out of the car!" All that to say, I feel like I keep asking my imaginary driver- "Am I there yet?" There are only two more weeks until graduation, but I will be done with school a week from tomorrow. ONE WEEK of school left. ever. for the rest. of. my. LIFE. [or until I go to grad school- whichever one comes first]. I am ready to be done, but I am still nervous about my future. Part of me seriously wants to crawl into a hole or maybe run away to a deserted island somewhere and escape the responsibilities of life. But we all know that isn't an option. I know that I am ready for new challenges and that the Lord will provide all that I need, but it is still scary to think of what is ahead. I have a unique situation, different from most those around me. I will be graduating and starting a full-time position at the day care and working 10 hours a week at the church. So I will be very busy! I'd rather be busy than bored any day, but it's still a little overwhelming to think about tackling these new roles and responsibilities. 

This weekend was a wonderful break but now I'm easing back into reality. I "surprised" my parents and came home for a long weekend. It has been nice and relaxing to be removed from my every day environment, without much homework to work on (I couldn't escape it completely!). Today my wonderful best friends came over and we laid out in the sun for a few hours. And after a small glass of wine at dinner I am just about asleep! [I'm pathetic. haha] I love seeing them, but am always a little sad when we must separate. I often wonder what life would be like if we were all in the same place at the same time; if we got to be roommates; if our boyfriends were all friends; if we went to the same college...etc. etc. Even though we are often apart I know they are always there for me, and I'm so excited to see where the Lord will lead us.

But still, I often wonder, "Am I there yet?"

Bridal Shower #2

Bridesmaid dress for Esther's wedding!
(But in plum instead of this red color)

I think it's official- everyone and their brother is engaged and getting married in the next year! Every time I go on Facebook someone else has an updated relationship status! However, two of my closes friends are in this bunch of engaged people, and I am so happy for them. A few weeks ago we had a shower for Hannah and then this past weekend we celebrated Esther with a shower for her as well. This time we had a smaller group of people (I think this was because we inadvertently planned it for Mother's Day weekend) but we still had a great time. Friday night we purchased bridesmaid dresses for Esther's wedding as well and I can't wait to wear them! I told her that even if she picked a different dress I was considering buying this one for myself just to wear some other time anyways! All in all I am very excited for all my friends getting married. It certainly makes me wish I was part of the process too, but I also know that when the time comes for me it will still be just as special. Maybe even more special because it will be my turn :)