sweet & sour

I try to be the person that finds the joys in life each and every day...

someone who counts my blessings instead of wishing for something else...

the person who always finds the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...

Well last week just felt "sour".  And at the end of all the madness we finally hit a "sweet" spot.  

Like packing a picnic and enjoying it by the breathtaking koi pond at Balboa Park...

There were a couple "sour" moments in my week...

I found out that a friend of mine's mother lost her battle with pancreatic cancer.

My family has been very fortunate to have stayed healthy, and death is something that rarely affects me.  The thought of a friend my age losing her mother, her closest friend, tore my hearts to pieces.

And all I could do was pray.  I felt helpless. 

I had been looking for a specific bookcase for my classroom and finally found it on Craigslist.  What seemed to be such a small task turned into a week long struggle.  We were fortunate enough to borrow my father-in-laws truck to pick it up.  As I went to take it to my classroom the next day the truck was dead.  It ended up being the battery but it took us three days to eventually get everything squared away.  

It just felt like one thing after another was ruining my week.  

It seems so silly to get utterly upset over car problems, or wanting something done on a certain day and having to wait instead. 

I was in a sour mood.  Everything just kept going wrong.  And as much as I knew I needed to change my attitude-I just couldn't.  That was the most frustrating part.  

Then we hit a sweet spot.  

We got the bookcase squared away, had a picnic lunch, grabbed dessert from Extraordinary Desserts, and headed to the sea.  

As we sat looking out onto the perfect, blue ocean all of the sour moments of the week seemed to fade away.  I was embraced in a gently hug from my husband and all of the worries, frustrations, disappointments, and sadness all seemed to melt away.  I love my husband so much because he gets me through those sour moments and helps me see how sweet life really is once we take a step back.  

I could've kept my bad attitude to myself and not blog about it, but I want to be as authentic as possible and be open.  Choosing joy is something I strive for, but we are sinners, we are human, we will have moments where we don't want to do the right thing.  And I think that through these times, I learn how to give myself grace.  

friday letters

Dear husband, thank you for calling me from Trader Joe's professing your love for me for doing the grocery shopping.  I was very delighted to feel so appreciated and felt really bad how overwhelmed you were by the immense amount of peanut butter choices.  Dear Costco, $10 for 20 glasses put the biggest grin on my face.  Take that overly expensive Crate and Barrel glasses that didn't last 3 years.  Now let's just cross our fingers we don't break one in the first week!  Dear week, you really were a doozy.  When it rains it pours!  Dear Pinterest, without you I wouldn't have been able to make all the amazing pillows sitting on my couch and this adorable soap pump. I still swoon over it when I walk into the bathroom.

 Dear San Diego, your beautiful weather is unbelievable.  Especially sitting water front, enjoying a delicious picnic with friends.  Sometimes I pinch myself when I realize that I live here.  Dear 1 Thes. 5:16-18, thank you for giving me encouragement this week and reminding me to pray and be grateful through the little storms that pass through our lives.  Dear husband, tomorrow you have the day off of work.  I fully intend to spend every moment with you, I miss you dearly, and I think we will start the day off with coffee in bed and then enjoy some rays at the beach.  Thank you for loving me so very much.

Lovely Little Things

Welcome to round two of lovely little things.  My heart has been very full this past week with all of the amazing people I've been able to see, fun things I've done, and projects I've created!  

One major blessing that the Mr. and I have is that we live very close to our family.  Both of our parents live 30 minutes away, and his brother and his adorable family are just 3 miles away!  With that, we are able to see our adorable niece and nephew very often.  I'm always amazed when little Calli shows me something knew she has learned, and I was in pure shock that at the ripe age of 2 she knows so many of her letter names and sounds.  The kindergarten teacher inside of me had her jaw on the ground.  Cameron is growing so much in just 3 short months.  I love that my sister in law is so in tune to all of the developments taking place, like rolling over, lifting up his head, and grasping for objects.  Most importantly, I love all the snuggle time I get with the both of them.  

 I finally made accent pillows for our little home!  You have no idea how long I've been wanting/planning/stressing over this.  Now that I'm finally feeling more comfortable with my sewing machine I decided that the pillows were the next step.  I pursued through my pinterest board, figured out which ones I wanted to make, made a little trip to JoAnn's with coupons in tow, and got busy.  I just love how they turned out.  When I finished the first one, the flower one, I literally was jumping up and down with excitement.  The bow one took me a bit of time because I had to pay close attention to where each part went, but now I think I could make the next one much faster.  

I have to give a lot of credit to little miss Lindsay.  She came over and helped me with the pillows.  This included patiently watching me measure not once, not twice, but three times (sometimes four), ironing flower petals, pinning material, and keeping me sane.  Lindsay has always called my hair "pageant hair" ever since her wedding day.  Basically, once you curl it, it will do whatever you want with it and stay in place.  She decided to see how big she could get my hair, so we grabbed the comb and get to work.  I sat on the floor of my living room while she teased my hair like crazy.  I was laughing so hard afterwards, then we smoothed it out, and it was definitely pageant hair.

This past Saturday the Mr. and I attended the SD Brew Fest with a good friend of his from college and his girlfriend.  It was pour first ever brew fest and it was quite a treat.  The weather couldn't have been better, and there was a huge selection of breweries from SD to OC.  My favorite part was the mini beer mugs that you used for your tastings.  

On Sunday my heart was overflowing with joy as I joined up with Meg, Katie, and Kasey.  These girls are true gems.  I was thinking on my way home how lucky it is to find other girls, that have a heart for God, and are full of grace.  They are such an encouragement, and to get to spend the day with them was a true treat.  

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I've been trying to give my hair a little bit of a break since it's summer and have been just blowdrying it, then throwing it back into a ponytail.  The bangs always make the simple ponytail look so polished, I love them.  Well, I came across this cute little hair style and tried it out this morning.  I thought my hair would be too layered for it but it totally worked.  The only exception was I didn't have a whole lot of time this morning so I wasn't able to do it as well as I would hope-hence no pictures.  So I'm going to give it a go later this week and show you how it turned out!  

What is something that has been making your heart full lately?

if you really knew me

I wish I could take credit for this post but it all goes to the lovely Ashley and Kasey...

If you really knew me:

+ You'd know that I love God with all my heart, but sharing my faith is something that still intimidates me.

+You'd know that cheese, bread, and wine are the bee's knees for me.

+You'd know that my dream us to live in a small, quaint town just like Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls.

+Speaking of Gilmore Girl...my mom and I are a good match for Lorelei and Rory.

+You'd know that I desire to give my friends so much of me, but pains from most relationships make me guarded at first.

+You'd know that I wanted to be a mom like yesterday.

+I LOVE coffee!  And sitting in a coffee shop drinking it is my joy.  The smell is amazing to me.

+You'd know that I love food.  Like a lot.  I love making food.  Eating food.  Finding new restaurants.  And I basically work out so that I can still keep eating good good.

+You'd know that cooking never came naturally for me, and when I got married I decided to be the best wife ever and learn to cook-let's just say I have a very good friend on speed dial to answer my cooking questions.

+You'd know that I always wanted to be a dancer.  Jazz dance in tons of sequence costumes doesn't really count when you were little.  My dream was to be an amazing hip hop dancer of some sorts, and just be break it down.  I also love to dance, all by myself, in my car, in our living room.

+You'd know that decorating my house intimidates me.  It's very hard for me to commit to something because I second guess my style.

+You'd know that my downfall is thinking less of myself too often.

+You'd know that I'm a sheet hogger.

+You'd know that my hope is for people to think of the words grace and class when they think of me.

+You'd know that reality TV is not my thing with two exceptions: SYTYCD and the Real Housewives.  But since we don't have cable I just do without.

+You'd know that I abhor cleaning greatly.  I'll do laundry and dishes all day long, but as soon as it's time to get that broom out I try to make every excuse in the book.

+You'd know that I fell in love with my husband while we were at a high school Christian camp.  Oh Forest Home :)

+You'd know that I'm a morning person, and can wake up at 4am to write a paper versus staying up late.  Hence, waking up last week at 6am to sew a table cloth for my classroom.

+You'd see all my flaws (and my control-freak tendencies) and love me anyways :)

friday letters

Dear Friday, you snuck up on my for a second.  For the first time this summer my days blurred together and it feels as though you snuck up on me.  I'm not complaining because we have a very fun weekend planned.  Including a brew fest with the Mr.'s college friends, and a blog date with some beauties.

Dear Katie, Meg, and Kasey, I cannot wait for Sunday!!!  My heart has been doing summersaults in anticipation and I'm truly looking forward to spending time with some beautiful women inside and out.

Dear Handsome, I love that you call me "gorgeous" even when we are out in public.  Thank you for helping hang some shelves this week, you are such a stud when you're working on our little condo.

Dear sewing machine, thank you for being ever so faithful.  I mean, a 6am wake up call the other day was pretty early, but you were ready to get to work and that we did!  I hope you're ready for another round today as I finally make some decorative pillows for my classroom and the house.

Dear Trader Joe's, your sunflowers are the largest ones I have ever found.  They are proudly standing tall on our kitchen counter just beaming "hello summer".

Dear Seattle, for some reason I would really love to visit you.  I've never been but you just sound lovely.  I really hope a vacation can happen soon!

disappointment

It seems that the word of this month has been "disappointment".  Let downs.  Could've beens.  And it seems to be a theme for not just the Mr. and I but also those close to us.  Family members losing their jobs, grieving over the loss of a loved one.

There are big disappointments in life and then there are small ones.

Like the cleaning lady canceling on me, the only cleaning lady I've ever hired in my life, and she bailed.  Like not receiving the scholarships I applied to last Fall.  Like an appointment you scheduled a while ago not being on the books.  Like the dishwasher not starting when you could've swore you pushed the start button.

At the beginning of the summer I was dealing with some heavy anxiety issues, and these disappointments only seemed to add to it.  It was like one little let-down would send me into a dizzy.  It seemed like the end of the world.  And although I feel crazy for actually saying it, I know that I'm not the only one.

Fortunately, God intervened in a might way with me.  I've been doing the SheReadsTruth devotionals and the Surrendered Life immediately spoke to me in a way I desperately needed to be spoke to.  On day two I read, "Disappointments should be a stepping stone on our path with Jesus-not the anchor that drowns us".  I also read that when rejection happens, it means it's not God best for you.

Wow.  These simple words mean so much to me.  Our attitude has so much to do with how we view our disappointments.  I can either begin crying and think it's the end of the world or recognize that God has a better path for me.  When these let downs happen I have to remind myself that God ALWAYS keeps his promises, I have to trust in His timing, His plans, and in Him.

The cleaning lady cancelled, so that just means I actually have to clean my house and God just saved us money.  My appointment wasn't on the books, that just means now I get an extra hour to myself to rest and find peace in my life.  It's easier to see God's better plans in these little situations.

Losing a job.  I thank God everyday that neither one of us has been in the this boat, but knowing that God has a better plan for you is something you have to believe with your whole heart to get you through.

God has something better for you!

P.S: No matter how many times I try to spell disappointment I always get it wrong!  Is it two S's or two P's?

summer pasta primavera

I am someone who loves structure, schedules, check-lists....

ahh, just the thought of taking my pen and checking off or crossing off something on my to-do list makes my heart swoon.  

Some may think I'm crazy, but then I'm sure there are many of you that agree with me 110%.  

That's why when summer hits I feel like a fish out of water.  No specific time to wake up for work?!?  No set place to be at 8am everyday?!?  No class to rush off to after work?!?  It teaches me to become more flexible and relax, which I still get antsy over.  Relaxing is something that doesn't come natural to me.  Meal planning is something I really love to do, but not having a set schedule or plans throughout the week can really put a kink in that.  

This past Saturday Kylee and Steven were out visiting friends, the Mr. was at work, and then there was me.  Just little old me.  And I though to myself, "what are you going to do with three hours all to yourself?".  Myself answered: "You're going to cook!".  And that I did.  

I started with a basic pasta recipe from the one and only Giada De Laurentiis and then went grocery shopping in my produce bin in the fridge.  I basically pulled out a ton of veggies and decided they would all work together in unison.  Sadly, I didn't take many pictures in the prepping area because all my mind could think about was cooking just to cook, to relax, to free my mind, to find enjoyment, and to love my "me" time.  

Summer Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:

3 carrots, peeled

2 medium zucchini

1 red bellow pepper

6 asparagus speers

1 ear of corn

1/4 c. olive oil

1 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning

2 tsps. salt

2 tsps. ground black pepper

1 lb. brown rice farfalle pasta

15 cherry tomatoes, halved

3/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cut the carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, and asparagus into thin 2-inch long strips.  On a large heavy baking sheet, toss the vegetable strips, oil, dried herbs, and salt and pepper to coat.  Arrange the vegetables evenly over the baking sheet (you can use two baking sheets if you need to).  

2. Bake the vegetables, stirring after the first 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the other veggies begin to brown, about 20 minutes total. 

3. Meanwhile, bring two large pots of water to boil.

4. Once one pot of water has come to a boil, place the corn inside, cover the pot and took off of the heat.  Leave the corn in the water for 7 minutes.  Cool and cut off of the cob.

5.  Add the farfalle pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes. 

6. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. 

7. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the cooked veggies to combine.  Add the cherry tomatoes and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten.  Season the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste.  

8. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

I grabbed a fork, sat on the back porch, and enjoyed a nice little dinner all to myself.  

Bon apetit! 

the adventure run

Thursday night I participated in my first ever Adventure Run and had the time of my life!  If you live in San Diego and enjoy running, you have to put this on your calendar.  So Road Runner Sports, the most amazing running store ever, puts on an Adventure Run the 2nd Thursday of every month.  My friend Coleen has done it a couple of times, and this time I was able to tag along.  It is a free run that lasts one hour, and right before it starts they post a map of locations you can run to.  The point of this run is to go to as many locations as possible, collect raffle tickets at each one, and then run back to the store for a big raffle and a beer garden.  Oh, and it's free!!  (My mother would say, "Oh that's my favorite 4-letter F word" right about now.)   Locations that are farther away give you double raffle tickets, and some spots had you do an exercise move for an additional ticket as well.  They also email you the map right at 6pm so you can look at it while you run.  

 

Before the run they had some booths set up for you to play games and get additional tickets.  Asics had a booth there that let you wear a pair of their new shoes!  I decided I needed to add some color to my outfit and try out a new shoe, so I jumped on the opportunity.  Overall the shoes were very comfortable and had good stability.  

The run was so fun!  Colleen runs a lot faster than me but I did my best to keep up.  We hit up almost all of the locations and it was the most fun I have ever had running.  One checkpoint I had a little mishap.  I had to climb a fence because we took a shortcut and ended up cutting my hand at the top.  First, I climbed a fence!  Say what?!?  I'm a truly girly girl, and I felt pretty proud of myself afterwards. Then cutting my hand and having to keep on running, that was another biggy for me.  I'm not a fan of blood.  

Once you get back from the run you separate your raffle tickets into two piles, kiss them for good luck as you drop them in the basket, and head over to get a nice cold beer. 

I seriously can't wait for the next one.  Sadly, I'll be out of town for the run in August but September's is already on my calendar.  If you want to join us let me know!!!

friday letters

Dear husband of mine, thank you for picking up coffee creamer yesterday.  My eyes were twinkling with joy when I opened the fridge this morning, you sure do know a why to my heart.  Dear green jeans, I love you so much but I think that I've worn you at least three times this week.  Is it acceptable if they have all been different outfits?  I think we might need a break, but let me find another cute pair first.  Dear Forever 21, thank you for providing a nice bit of laughter with your fashion sense.  Overalls???  Really?!?!  I mean, if I wanted to feel like I was in middle school all over again and rehash awkward memories then I might wear you, but I don't see that happening any time soon.  Dear Kylee, I have loved every morning that we tiredly say "good morning" to one another, sip our coffee in a daze, and I pack you a lunch as you rush off to work.  Must you really go home on Sunday?  Dear RoadRunner Sports, your Adventure Run is amazing!!  I may have cut my hand jumping a fence and I didn't win anything from the raffle, but it was literally the funnest run ever.  Dear Insanity, must you be so insane?  Thank you for knowing how to make this girl have a good ol' sweat and for making me feel sore all over every morning this week.  Dear husband, I can't wait to spend all day with you today!  What shall we do?  Maybe a bike ride???  The beach???  The options are endless and I can't wait to make memories with you.  

Love,

Jamie

happy organized home

I'm pretty good at some things.  Making the bed.  Cooking scrumptious meals.  Crying at the right moments in sappy movies.  

And then there are things that I'm not so good at.  One of these is organizing my home.  For some reason I just don't have a knack for it, so one of my goals this summer was to better organize our house.    We also have a large armor in our room that was left by our previous tenant that we finally decided we need to get rid of, but it houses all of our towels, linens, candles, and socks.  (Random, I know!)  Knowing that we hopefully will have it off our hands soon made me realize I need to figure out where to put all of those things!!! 

I thought we could put them above our washer and dryer, but there just isn't enough room so I made a trip to the Container Store.  (Side note: The Container Store and I are just now becoming friends.  Whenever I would try to go I would just get so overwhelmed, then I'd buy something that I thought would be amazing and never knew where to put it.)  Luckily, I found three large bins that were on sale!  I went home and got busy.  

I'm a terrible blogger and forgot to take a before picture.  But through the process of cleaning our and organizing the armor and all of its items we filled three full bags of clothes and linens to take to Goodwill.  All of our beach towels, candles, and linens are in those bad buys in the top of our closet.  I put the sheets and pillow cases in clear plastic boxes that will keep them from getting dusty.  It was the best purchase ever made! Our closet is still an area I'm trying to organize, but for now it does the job well. 

One of my finds was a three-compartment organizer for my bathroom drawer.  Again, there's no before picture, but I wish there was!  I was just on a roll and it complete skipped my drain.  This drawer of mine was out of control!  I cleaned it out and organized all of my hair ties, headbands, and makeup that I use on a daily basis.  All of my brushes are in a cup under the sink.  

All of my make-up that I have but don't wear regularly is inside a bin under our sink.  I've now fallen head over heels with the Container Store and feel much better about my organization skills.  

summer bucket list revisited

The bucket list.

I thought I was doing pretty well, and then all of a sudden I went to revisit my summer bucket list and realized that I have some catching up to do!  I should cut myself some slack because I have accomplished some items on my list.  

One of the most important ones was doing quiet time daily.  When we were housesitting it was so nice to sit on the back porch and read in their beautiful backyard. Unfortunately our back porch is minuscule and not very private from the other tenants in our condo complex.  I have been reading everyday and am so thankful for She Reads Truth, I'm currently going through "Living the Surrendered Life" and have been thoroughly touched and amazed.  

Another big project for me was to get more organized.  That has slowly, but surely, been happening and I'm saving up for an upcoming blog post.  I wanted to share with you today two projects that have finally been completed that I am fanatically in love with.  

The first one wasn't on my summer bucket list because I started it two months ago.  Yep, you read that right!  The Mr. and I saw some chevron canvases in our friend's home and he thought I could make them for our house, and our guest bathroom was the perfect spot for them.  They were pretty easy once I got all of the taping down, but it took the Mr. almost a month to finally hang them.  They're now proudly adorning the walls in our bathroom and I love them dearly.  

Funny story: We couldn't decide on what saying we should paint.  I also was making the stencils using my Cricket machine.  The first saying just looked awkward, and I kept going back to the verses of one of my favorite songs.  So I repainted, made new stencils and got to work.  Well, the stencils sat for too long and then paper stuck to my canvases!  I grabbed a q-tip and a small paint brush and got to work to clean up the lines and from far away you can't even tell!  I love all of the little imperfections though, they fit nicely into how much God does really love us.  

Speaking of organization and bathrooms I wanted to show you guys one of my favorites.  I picked these up from Ikea and headbands fit perfectly in them!  I like having my headbands out so I don't forget about them.  My blow dryer also fits perfectly and is easily accessible. 

I can finally cross off making my first maxi skirt!  Being me, it didn't go as planned.  After I got busy making cute baby shower gifts for Heather I decided to be ambitious, wake up one morning and make a maxi.  Well, I used this tutorial and I didn't have enough fabric, I didn't have a surger, I am still a fairly new sewer, and the thing wouldn't go past my lovely lady hips.  So, I called my sister in law and had her try it on, hemmed it to fit her, and now we have matching skirts!  To make my maki skirt I used this tutorial.  It's still a bit too big because I made sure I had plenty of fabric but I've worn it countless times now and am in love.  Now I've been on the hunt for lighter weight jersey knit fabric that has a cute pattern so I can make another one!