Busy.

It's been a busy (but amazing) December.
I graduation from college.. Matthew and I got married... we moved to Texas.. and we celebrated the birth of Christ.
So much to catch up on and to share. I'll start off with a few pictures.
These were taken by our photographer Sara Renee! You should check her out.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! 

Winter.

So most of you know that Matthew and I are getting married this weekend!
5 days from now to be exact.

The week has been busy.. ya know.. packing to move to Texas.. Thrift store shopping for awesome tacky Christmas Sweaters for our family dinner Wednesday, and going out for fun mini photo shoots.. its no exaggeration the shoot was 'mini' given the fact that it was 20 degrees and wendy outside.
Most of you also know that my brother and his wife are photographers. They took our engagement pictures in Texas this summer (you can see that post HERE) and you can see the new pictures from yesterday HERE.
Its been colder here than it normally is.. it even snowed the entire day Sunday. Sadly it didn't stick. Nothing new to Alabama. Ice forms on the roads more than it ever snows. Hopefully next Sunday it WILL snow and not ice.. just enough that it wont be a problem to drive up to the mountain to where we are getting married.

Change.

First of all... I knew I would change my header again. And there we go I already did. I like it MUCH better than the last one.
Secondly... Im done with College! I took my last test last night. It feels really nice... now what to do on my last two days in Tuscaloosa?
I need some fun in my life.

New.

With alot of change about to happen in my life why not start it off with changing my blog header? I was getting tired of the last one and in my boredom today i made this one. Im not sure how i feel about it yet. Kinda boring? too simple? Who knows. It may change again in a week but in the meantime it satisfies the change need.

Today is Monday and here is the rundown on the countdown.
(not meaning to be cheesy and rhyme)
Matthew will arrive FRIDAY (so in 4 days.)
I graduate from the University of Alabama in 5 days.
We tie the knot in 13 days.
and in 14 days i move my life to Texas.

Needless to say... I feel... happy inside :)

(here's a picture from this time last year (Christmas break) crazy what changes in less than a year huh?)

Moose.

I saw Leah Duncan today on Etsy.
LOVE everything she makes.
ya know wedding presents from here are always acceptable ;)

Outfit?

Im posting a picture of my outfit today. I don't normally do this but decided to today because of how much i liked it. I always enjoy other girls posts about their outfits so thought i'd give it a try.
(please excuse the 'photo booth' quality to the pictures)
First off brown leggings, layered with tall wool socks that stick out from my boots, a button up tunic, and my favorite navy winter coat. Oh and my hair in a side braid.
Simple yes.. and nothing new.. but its most importantly COMFORTABLE. The way to go.
p.s. the 2nd pic's just because :)

I started off my Saturday morning with some coffee, going to Hobby Lobby to get some ornaments, and now Im going to spend the rest of the afternoon/evening watching movies and working on some book arts. Happy Saturday!

Coldplay.

I've always liked Coldplay. Not only because (in my opinion) Chris Martin in fine... But ive always appreciated their music.. their thoughtful lyrics.. everything. I appreciate that they always come out with some sort of Christmas song.. whether its a cover of a Christmas song or its just a song about snow and Christmas time. This is their new song that just came out. Its not a warm cozy Christmas song by any means but i like it.

"Those Christmas lights
Light up the street
Down where the sea and city meet
May all your troubles soon be gone
Oh Christmas lights, keep shining on"

Hipster?

Painting.

Today, in between packing and cleaning my room, i spent my sunday afternoon painting. I have not painted since last spring. It felt so good to do so. Here is one of the paintings i did (out of the three i worked on) its a smaller version of a bigger one that i did. You can see them both in this picture.

*If interested in purchase just let me know ;)

One.

Today is the one month mark. The semester has gone by so quickly!

I've been convicted about my un-thankfulness lately... It's so hard to get caught up in the little things. Getting down about things that don't matter or things that, on a different day, wouldn't bother me. I watch the Duggar's on TLC every Tuesday night. I watch them because they encourage me so much. Anna, one of the women on the show, told a story about how she had a miscarriage and the first advice from her family was to always be thankful.. even when it's hard. "In everything (or always) give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" 1Thes5:18. It doesn't say when times are good.. or in times when i have nothing to complain about... it says in EVERYTHING. One month seems like nothing to everyone else but in the midst of it, it seems like an eternity to me... especially since I've done this long distance thing for 2 1/2 years. Instead of holding on to the negative side of things i want to BE THANKFUL.

Things I am thankful for right now: I am thankful its only a month.. I am thankful that i get to marry Matthew in the first place. I am thankful I only have one week of classes left. I am thankful that Jesus died on a cross for my sins and by his grace He opened my blind eyes to see his goodness.

It's been an interesting semester. Traveling every weekend. Hanging out with the same 2 people (who i love) the entire semester. And getting ready for a wedding along with packing up my things to move 10 hours away. If anyone knows me then they know this is a hard process. I like to keep things... too many things. Matthew and I are moving into a decent size apartment but cabinet space/storage space is minimal. So this thanksgiving break (which started today for me) Will consist of downsizing and packing.. and finishing up my 2 final graphic design projects. I want to get this all done before guests arrive the week before the wedding. It will all get done this I know and if it doesn't then oh well.

On a random note here are some Texas pictures i said I would post a while back. Today also marks a month and 1 day till i move to Texas. This I am also thankful for.

Rainy.

1. It rained the entire day today and it was awesome.

2. I love Tiny Desk concerts by NPR.

3. I've listened to this band a lot lately. They totally my day today.

I now present to you Horse Feathers...

39.

I left my camera in Decatur so my plan for uploading Texas pictures/recent pictures has failed. I don't have much else to share but what's going on. Im getting married in 39 days! meaning I move to Texas in 40 days! Time is going by fast. With that are always mixed emotions.

Im pretty ready though.

Im really ready to be done with school.

Im ready to be able to spend time with Matthew for more than a weekend.

Im ready to go on new adventures in a new place. Dallas is a big enough place i think we should always be able to find something new and exciting.

Im ready to see where God would have us serve.

And ready to meet the people He already has for us to be friends with. I've seen His faithfulness in this area time and time again.

Im ready for Christmas.

Im ready for Christmas lights around the city.

Im ready for Christmas music to be on the radio.

And i'm ready for our honeymoon in British Columbia.

So many exciting things going on. And so many things to be ready for.

In anticipation/since I have no new pictures: Here's a picture from last Christmas of my siblings and me! (don't i have good looking brothers and sister?)

(this Christmas we will be able to add not one but TWO new kids to the picture)

Pyro.

So i said i was going to post pictures from Texas & i still am but here is a little update from the trip... In a brief summary.. My time in Texas was spent spending time with Matthews's wonderful family, going to the biggest flea market I have ever seen with his mom & sister, riding our new mountain bikes, and walking around furniture stores dreaming of our future life together.

One of my favorite parts about the trip was driving around the Dallas metroplex with Matthew drinking coffee and listening to new Kings of Leon. We played this song on repeat because we liked the vibe it gave off so much.

My other favorite songs from the new album? Pickup Truck, Birthday, and Back Down South.

Its not like i doubted it.. but i have a feeling im going to love living in Texas with Matthew.

Color.

Wow. Saying the past two days have been dark and rainy could be an understatement. The cold weather really is trying to make its way here.

In contrast to that.. Look at these colors!? Saw these today on Oh Joys blog by the australian artist Dale Frank. Thought a lot of color would be good for this rainy day. They are kinda mesmerizing.

The weekend in Texas was wonderful. Better than i could have dreamed.

I'll post pictures when i upload them on my computer.

Happy Wednesday!

Long Stitch.

Wow it has been a while since i have posted. A ton has gone on. Life has been going 100mph lately. Ive gone home the past few weekends and will go home or out of town every weekend until dead week of school which is the first weekend in December. Last weekend my friends and i had my Bachelorette party at Ross Bridge in Birmingham.. If you live in the Birmingham area i highly recommend getting away for at least just one night there. It will make you feel as if you were tucked away in the mountains of Colorado. I love it. The party was perfect.

THIS weekend i will be flying my last time alone to Texas to visit Matthew. It not only is my last time to fly alone but my last time to see him until we get married in December. Crazy huh? Feels weird that i'll only see him one more time.. but knowing thais means the journey of a 2 1/2 year long distance relationship will be over very soon.

Im pretty excited.

In other news school has been good. Busy. But good. I just finished these Long Stitch journals yesterday. My favorite is the one done with water color paper. I made/painted the paper last year sometime for a different project. I love BookArts.

Have a happy weekend! xoxo

special.

Tomorrow is a special day. It's my beautiful best friend Jessica's birthday!

She is turning 23!? It does not seem like we should be that old. We are spending the evening going to dinner with some of our closest high school girl friends, their moms, and Jessica's Aunts.

I cannot even explain how excited I am.

I have mentioned this before (here) but Jess and I have been best friends since 10th grade. We don't ever plan on not being best friends. Jess put it perfectly in a text she sent me the other day...

"I have daily epitomes about my life and what I want. You as my best friend always trumps."-j

I couldn't ask for a better best friend. She's a beautiful person in every way.

Have an awesome weekend! x0x0

Binding.

Aren't these books beautiful!?

Im thinking about using one of them for the guest sign in at our wedding.

They all fit the colors I'm using perfectly :)

Today I'm spending the day running errands and working on my own hand bound books. We have to do 2 Ethiopian Style Bindings by November 1st (looks kinda like the 1st picture). I'm hoping to make a few extras so I'm getting started now. Im pretty excited about it.

Happy Wednesday!



SHOP on Etsy!

Musical Tuesday.

Well so much for keeping up music posts on Mondays but hey its ok.

Here are my music loves lately. Again some old, some new.

1. The Weepies new albumn: Be My Thrill.

Favorite songs so far: Be My Honeypie, Please Speak Well of Me, and When you Go Away

2. Joe Purdy song: He said She said.

3. My Morning Jacket song: Wordless Chorus

4. Mumm-Ra song: She's Got You High

5. Joshua Radin: Brand New Day

6. The Avett Brothers: Ten Thousand Words and The Perfect Space

7. Josh Pyke song: Beg Your Pardon

8. The Low Anthem song: Charlie Darwin and To Ohio

9. She & Him song: You Really Got A Hold Of Me

10. Iron & Wine Song: Faded From The Winter

To end here's a Joe Purdy Song from his most recent Album.

Joe Purdy - "Troubadour" (Live) from Plays Well With Others on Vimeo.

Friends.

There are many things that come to my mind when i think about moving to Texas.

One of them.. is how I'm going to be miles and miles from my best friends.

Im going to miss nights in Tuscaloosa hanging out with Gabrielle & Davis Ann. Saying dumb things & laughing at ourselves.

I've avoided thinking about the comfort that I have in them here. How just in one day it will be taken away. My college life will be irreplaceable. (Don't get me wrong marriage has got to be fun too, but different)

Jessica currently lives 3 hours away. There is some comfort in that. Comfort in knowing i can get in my car and drive to Chattanooga any time i needed to.

Now Dallas.. thats another story. It will put me almost 15 hours from there. There is always a plane ride.. but that cost way more than 3 hours in the car.

Gabrielle said to me the other day "i never thought id have a friend like you" & thats when all of this hit me. I could have bawled in that moment but instead I changed the subject & moved on.

Jess gave me a note pad from Italy last summer. She wrote this in the front:

"I miss watching you dance, and how watching you gave me this "eternal" feeling- I love how the book- "Perks of being a Wildflower" describes moments like that, like our moments in your room, that the night just was perfect & we wanted to stop time. He said it was "infinite" There is no one I have more infinite moments with nor anyone I could ever imagine having more than we do."

Im a moments person.

Sometimes too much of one.

At other times I push them away because they make me "feel" too much.

These days I'm trying to live in them. Not past ones but present ones.

In the future I know I will still have moments with these girls that I love and have become so close to. They will just be different. & different can be good. This im reminding my self of.

One thing Im also reminding myself.. is how blessed I am. God really is a gracious God.

Bangs.

I cut my friend Gabrielle's bangs straight across last week. I have been SO tempted to cut my own the past few months and this did not help.

Im getting married in TWO months and am telling myself i can cut them the week after.

I do not want bangs for the wedding just because, knowing my hair, i will have some problems with them that day. Don't want to risk it.

My hair has grown out. Its taken over a year! I cut almost 9 inches off of it last August and cut my bangs last spring.

Who's my favorite style icon? Alexa Chung. All the way.

Love her clothes. Love her hair. She's beautiful.

I cut my hair because of her. Well, she was my inspiration.

And to clarify, against popular belief, i did not cut my hair like Zooey Deschanel (though i love her!) I can't tell you the number of times i got the "you look like Zooey" comment. She is more known for bangs because of 500 days of summer I guess. Oh well. She's pretty spectacular too.

Anyways. I guess ill just dream until January.

.

Festival.

Here's a few pictures from the Native American Festival.

Who knew an archeological landmark was right next door?

It was a success.