Trend Alert!!

Bold colors were all-the-rage this summer, but orange made an especially large appearance. In color surveys, orange is usually the least-liked color, but this summer I guess we all wanted a bit of change. There was some peach, some coral, and some bright BRIGHT orange.

I think Kim and Mila win – They both look absolutely fabulous. Mila looks smokin’ hot. I really liked this trend because it was different. I get so tired of red and pink. The orange was fresh. And hopefully it will carry into fall with some burnt orange tones… This summer I purchased the first two orange things in my closet… An orange romper from Gap and an orange Fossil cross-body leather purse. I love them!! I also picked up a pair of soft peach skinny jeans from H&M and a pair of orange earrings from Old Navy. I have so much blue and white in my summer wardrobe that these pieces were a welcomed change.

What was your favorite summer trend?

Toes in the Water

Family Vacation was FINALLY upon us.
The sun was shining, the car was packed, and our bathing suits were on.
Off we went… But we didn’t stay too long!!! We beached Saturday and Sunday, then came home for school and work Monday through Wednesday. Wednesday night we headed back down to finish our week and sadly we didn’t have as nice of weather.
But here’s a little peek into our week.

Also for the first time in my family’s history my mom, Kayla, and I ALL forgot our cameras. So here’s the pitiful pictures from our phones. I almost cried.

 

I love the beach and I love spending time with my family. Riding bikes on the boardwalk and getting Browns donuts was probably the highlight this year. The ride back down to the beach Wednesday night almost resulted in my death, so that was definitely the low. And everything else fell wonderfully in between. It was exactly what I needed after working crazy shifts all summer and then having my first few stressful weeks of a fulltime schedule. And if you were wondering, that was a picture of my dad considering a fedora.

What a weekend

I just had the most amazing four-day weekend.

I’m not sure if it was the change of weather that screamed FALL IS FINALLY HERE!! Or the fact that I spent it with my favorite people in the world. Or that God continued to show his goodness and grace and his promises to me over and over all weekend. Or if it was the combination of all three, but this weekend was out-of-the-park amazing.

Thursday I was at the beach with my parents and Sarah. We laid on the beach all morning in the glorious sun. Then headed back to our house once we heard the thunder. We watched the storm from our front porch – it was amazing! Then we went out to dinner to this Italian place my family has been going to forever. And then Sarah and I braved the wind and rain and ran up onto the boardwalk for ice cream. Totally worth it. Once we got back to the house we all snuggled in the living room to watch the Phillies and I called it an early night because I wanted as much time in that marvelous bed as I possibly could get :)

(Can you tell it’s torrentially down-pouring? Well it was…)

Friday when we woke up the storm was gone but it took the heat right along with it… We ventured down to the beach and it was perfect. The air was crisp, but the sun warmed you right up. The ocean was pretty calm so it reflected the sun so brightly. I may have been wrapped in a few towels because the wind made it a bit chilly, but I just couldn’t shake the perfectness of the day. I was surrounded by my family. And that was all that mattered. After a rousing game of Rummy 500 we had lunch and then I packed up to come home. I went to Mark’s house and then we went to his brother’s soccer game. It’s C’s senior year and he’s one of the best players on his team. Nane brought Philly Soft Pretzels and I brought a pair of Mark’s socks for my toes. Again, it was perfect.

(I’m pretty awesome at centering my phone for pictures, huh?)

After the game, Mark and I watched a few episodes of Keeping Up that he’d saved in the DVR for me and then ordered wings. Woo baby were they good. Afterwards we sat outside at the fire with his dad and brother and talked and made s’mores until midnight. We talked about life, work, school, family, friends, plans, dreams, hopes, favorite memories, lessons we’ve learned… everything. And it was so good. We kept adding wood to the fire until we were too tired to keep talking. No wake up calls. No interruptions. No sporting events on TV to watch. Just family.

Saturday started off with an everything bagel and then a trip to the gym followed by pb&j. Gosh, I forget how good that is! My parents went out for dinner for their anniversary and gave Sarah and I money to go out. We, of course, chose Saladworks. And then came home to paint our nails and watch Madagascar 2. I could do that every night, I’m pretty sure…

Sunday I got up and went down to Mark’s for church. The message was so wonderful. It was centered on a passage in Luke that talks about the second coming of the Lord and it reminded me of my freshman year when I sang in the University’s Chorale. One of my favorite songs was a prayer for Jesus’  return and it was the most beautiful song… After church Mark and I went to the Langhorne Coffee House and sat outside in the chilly fall air with our coffee. Brunch was delicious. As usual. Then we headed to his other brother’s soccer game, stopped by the mall for some pantalones, and then went to his cousins’ birthday party. After the singing, candle blowing, and the cake-face smashing of the 9 and 10 year olds, we headed home. And Mark’s mom proceeded to make Chocolate Chip Chocolate Chunk cookies that were out of this world. Mark and I then bundled up in cozy blankets on the couch and read side by side. I was reading for pleasure and he was reading for school, but it was still really nice. To be together but to not be watching TV or talking. Just to be.

I guess nothing really spectacular happened this weekend. Besides the fact that I ate a TON of food. Yikes. HAH! But I just felt so content and so totally happy. I was surrounded by my family. I got to spend hours with someone who loves me. I got to shop, read, watch some soccer and football, and listen to an incredible sermon in church. And everything just kept filling me up. I thought at some point it would stop and I’d deflate and be totally let down, but that never happened. This past weekend was absolutely fabulous. I am so thankful for my parents and my sister. I am so thankful for Mark. I am so thankful for Mark’s family. I am so thankful for the ways that God has blessed Mark and has given him the positive attitude towards his school work. I am so thankful for the way God provided a job for me. I am so thankful that I can live at home with my parents and can come home to them each night. I am so thankful for an omniscient God, who has a plan. So that nothing is by chance or out of control. I am also incredibly thankful for Fall :)

I might have deja vu this weekend

And it might look a lot like this…

Aren’t family vacations the best?

Bike riding on the boards in the morning.
Laying on the beach all day.
And dinner, rides, and ice cream on the boards at night.

Birthday Part IV

**I guess I never set this post up to publish… so here it is. Better late than never.**

On Tuesday, my dear friend Catherine came over after her night class to eat some cake and catch up. She sent me the MOST BEAUTIFUL flowers on my birthday. I am seriously in awe of them. They are the most gorgeous arrangement I’ve ever seen. On my 18th she gave me yellow roses. Isn’t she the best?? It was obviously a little bright out :)

But she came over and we laughed and vented and ate and it was wonderful. It was so great to see her on my birthday because it was such a typical get-together for us. She is always popping in and lounging on my couch like  Kardashian, or discussing Sarah’s justice wardrobe, etc. She’s apart of our family :)

Thanks for my flowers Cat!!

Wednesday Night Mark came up after class and took me out to dinner for my birthday. It was freezing and rainy so we decided to go to Starbucks afterwards. I got my pumpkin spice after all :) He gave me another bead for my Chamilia bracelet and I LOVE IT! It’s black with white and turquoise sparkly flecks all through it. It’s gorgeous. It was a lovely date despite the rain. And since I’m on old fart nowadays, I kicked him out at 8:45 and was in bed asleep by 9:03. Crazy right? yes. And I slept through the thunderstorms that kept my mother up all night. AKA – my birthday and my new job tuckered me out.

And speaking of that new job – it’s going really well. My days fly by. I have enough time to finish what I need to do, but before I know it’s lunch time – which is a great feeling. The worst part of the day is 2:00 when I get sleepy and get really tired of saying the same thing every time I answer the phone :) But I leave after 3:00 so it’s perfect timing anyways :) My co-workers are super nice and we get along great. I really couldn’t have it any better and am SO thankful for the opportunity to have the full-time position.

Happy Hump-Day!!

Photo Diary

Greetings loved ones. Let’s take a journey.
OK Snoop Dog in California Gurls. Let’s Go!!
Totally creepy and very random but I do enjoy saying that every now and again… so here ya go… a little look back at life through the lens of my android.
HAPPY TUESDAY FRIENDS!

 

 

a. sign at LCH
b. preshh
c. the end of summer is sad… so long till next year
d. “Mom… I think your butter is softened…” “OH CRAP I FORGOT ABOUT THE BUTTER”
e. summer sunset
f. messy messy basement
g. dropping my childhood off at the thrift store
h. coolest balloon ever. my co-workers rock.
i. CAKE! Everybody likes cake.
j. beautiful flowers I got from a co-worker. she’s the sweetest.
k, more…cake…
l. Mark giving a CPR demonstration. at dinner. in the middle of a restuaraunt.
m. Mom and dad stretching after their walk. Dad refusing to be in the picture because
”You’re on facebook and other internet things and I don’t need you and all of captivity making fun of me.” Too bad.
n. Dad and Sarah duet-ing at the piano <3

Sea Foam Green

That’s the color I wanted when I walked into Lowe’s (with a confidence I’ve never had). I walked right up to the paint swatches. Studied them for 3 seconds. Grabbed one. And it was a perfect match for the $4 shower curtain I had just purchased across the street at Ross. Yes ladies and gents, the bathroom got a makeover. And it was a cheap one that ended up looking mighty fine if I do say so myself. Which is comical because the only credit I can really take for the whole thing is picking out the paint, shower curtain, and floor mat and helping my dad hang the lights and ceiling vent back up after all the REAL work was finished. Be amazed. Aka don’t take this too seriously. It looks more blue than green. And it’s definitely more green. Very serene. Very spa like. Very clean.

BEFORE

There used to be a border around the top of the wall that matched the shower curtain but that had already come down before I thought to take a picture. We loved this bathroom. One afternoon after Sarah had been born, Kay and I came home from school and bounded into the house to find that we weren’t allowed upstairs. Dad had taken a half day at work and he and Mom re-did the whole thing for us. We were shocked. We loved it. But after about 10 years it was looking pretty gross.

DURING

He conquered this bathroom in an hour. And was whistling.
It was a home-improvement first in our household.
But it was preceded by dropping screws down the sink and having to take all our girl crap out from under the sink to take about the pipes under the sink to get the screws back. So definitely not the smoothest project ever, but all in all, I’d say it was a success :)

AFTER: THE REVEAL

Oh we got a new toilet seat too… It’s nice to sit down and not slide all over the place :)
My dad and I make a pretty good team…

I think she cleaned up nicely… and she’ll serve her new purpose wonderfully.  The best part about this project was that it was super cheap, but turned out looking nicer than it did before. What do you think? Do you like the new bathroom better or the old?