What I'm Diggin'

Here are a few things I am loving around the interwebs this week!

I am in love with this stenciled cake. It's simple yet so wonderful! A slew of us will be turning 21 in my college house over the next few months. How fun would it be to start a birthday tradition with a fun cake like this?

I am so very excited about the Fourth this year. I have seen so many fun 4th of July food ideas around the internet, but this one might be my favorite. Maybe it's the red sprinkles? Or how simple it would be to recreate this idea. Pair it with a neighborhood parade and you've got yourself one festive holiday!

Oh my hippo. I want this beauty and I want it now. It's pretty weird and pretty quirky, but I think this little lady looks pretty glamourous atop her marble pedestal, don't you?

I have always liked interesting ways to preserve vacation memories. I am very fond of this idea because of how much it resembles a scientific specimen chart. Now, I just need more adventures! 

Oh, Wes Anderson. Some of my favorite movies come from this director (such as The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox). I am longing to see Moonrise Kingdom, but Tyler isn't really the epicenter for all things cinema, so here's to waiting for the DVD!

One more day until the weekend! I am having a garage sale tomorrow morning. It'll be interesting, that's for sure. Have a great Thursday afternoon!

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Beignets, Beads, and Bourbon Street

Here's a picture recap of our trip to NOLA! I only have the pictures from Sunday. Emily should be putting up more pictures later! We had such a great time in the Big Easy exploring as a big family. It was short, but it sure was sweet!

The Big Easy

This weekend I am in New Orleans with my family (including Em+Shep+Aaron). We are going to have a good ol' time eating beignets, antique browsing, city exploring, and lots more eating!

Have a wonderful weekend! I will leave you with a few pictures from our exploring last night.

Wednesday Wishlist: Summer Outdoor Essentials

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Here's my [small] list of my favorite summer outdoor gear. Some of these things have made my wishlist, some are things I already own and love. The first item on my list is my dream bike, a Trek Lexa bike. One day! Chacos are definitely my footwear of choice. You can splash through water, hike mountains, or just wear them day to day. They really are my very favorite shoe I own, and I think you could guess that by how much I wear them. Moosejaw has this Patagonia sling in their Rewards program. I have enough rewards points to get it, but haven't taken the plunge. It's light and easily squishes into any bag. It would be perfect for camp this summer with all the little things I will have to lug around. And then we have my namesake, my favorite, my baggies. These are my favorite article of clothing ever, and they come in lots of fun patterns, too! (Psst-- I never spend more than $20 on a pair of baggies... if you know where to look, you can find them cheap!) I like them so much because of their length (Nike shorts seem so short to me) and because they dry instantly. Despite my entire family thinking they are goofy, they are my number one clothing necessity. Lastly is the trusty Timex watch. I choose the Timex Expedition collection because you can easily change out the watch band. (I've worn a Chums watch band for many years, but I hear Kavu bands are great, too!) I have worn my watch since 10th grade and cannot imagine not having one on my wrist. It's another big necessity. 

This is my go-to outfit during the summers, so I thought I would share it with you guys, too!

Back in the Saddle

Last summer, I biked about 100 miles a week through Tyler streets. I tried to keep it up when school started, but failed miserably. The only riding I saw was to and from class every day. Well, I finally got a new helmet and tuned my bike up, and now I am back in the saddle! I am starting slow and steady (emphasis on the slow) and am definitely feeling the effects of not riding since school let out in May. But I am so excited. Biking really is one of my favorite things. Running has become a chore to me, but biking is something I look forward to doing every morning.

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As always, I have set some goals for myself. Within the year I hope to ride in a few tours, including Tyler's own Beauty and the Beast. I want to find a few to ride in around College Station, too. A century ride is also on the list, but that will take a lot of dedication. Eventually, I would love to ride in the MS150, but because I know I will have to do fundraising for other things (Wyldlife, possibly missions) I do not think I will be able to ride this year. Someday soon!

For now, I am focusing on my endurance and my form, and trying to get into a normal routine. Being gone at Pine Cove is going to throw me for a loop, but my goal for the year is to continue riding into the school year. Possible reward for this? Upgrading to a bike that is a WSD, specifically a bike I can grow into, not grow out of! I am excited at this possibility and have been researching to my heart's content.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday! Check back later for my Wednesday wishlist!

Handful of Sunshine

I love coming home for the summer because I get to enjoy my parent's immaculate gardens. We have enough zinnias in the front gardens to fill the vases in our house weekly, which is such a sweet treat. I don't think there is anything nicer than fresh flowers scattered throughout a home. These a just a few of the flowers I clipped this morning.

My favorite flowers are hydrangeas, peonies, and ranunculus. Unfortunately, only hydrangeas are grown in my mom's garden. What are you favorite flowers?

Desk Space, Revisited

A few months ago I shared with you guys my desire to find an old, weathered farm table to use as my desk in my room this upcoming year. Since then I have scoured countless antique stores, coming out empty handed due to limited availability or hefty price tags.

Here's the inspiration:

Two weekends ago my mom and I ventured out to Canton Trades Days (our favorite) in search of some good finds. I have a long list on my iPhone notes of all the things I am hunting for at flea markets, but a desk was at the top of the list. One of the first booths we walked up to (and these are the outdoor booths, mind you-- don't venture into the Arbors unless you are prepared to be bewildered by bedazzles!) had the most perfect green desk sitting in the grass. Too good to be true, right? Wrong-o. Walk up to it, price= $45. Three times less that the average tables I had been seeing. The vendor walks up to my mom within seconds and whispers he will take $30. I mean, really, I didn't even have to try for this one. It was perfect, and it was mine. (Other finds of the day: vintage strainer, a pair of sewing scissors, sewing shears, and a headband to replace a lost favorite.)

Isn't the patina beautiful? My dad and I spent a few hours a day or two ago sanding, cleaning, and strengthening the table by replacing screws and fixing stripped holes. (The back leaf is missing in this picture- it had been taken off to be worked on.) Sanding the top brought out a beautiful blue undercoat, which was a nice surprise.

I am excited to bring this into my new room once I move back into the College Station house.

Wishlist Wednesday: Chambray

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I am a big fan on the chambray trend. I think this dress is the perfect start to a comfy outfit. I wear a necklace similar to this almost daily, and it has become my outfit staple. Nothing beats a pair of bold sandals. These have been on my wishlist for ages, so here's to hoping their sale price will just keep decreasing! A headband would be the perfect addition to this outfit for messy-bun days. And what better to use than an Emi-Jay hair tie? I'm a big fan of how they look. Polish off your look (literally) with this season's biggest color, a minty seafoam green.

I can see this as the perfect excursion outfit. Excellent for the oversea adventures or the morning walks through the farmer's market.

Anything I am missing? What is your one wardrobe staple?

Rockin' Out

My mom and I found this wonderful antique rocking chair at a garage sale this past December. While it's exterior is rough, rough, rough, it has some great bones. We've already done a lot of cleaning/stripping/and scrubbing, but we still have quite a bit to do.

My favorite part is the top of the chair. Here is a close up view.

We are still trying to figure out the specifics of the design. We are playing with the idea of a light grey/beige ticking or gingham to reupholster the seat and back, but as for trim, we will just have to see. The other options to weigh are keeping the brown wood (which I am in favor of) or painting it.

Opinions? Design suggestions? As always, I would love your input. Feel free to leave a comment!

What I'm Diggin'

Here are a few things I am diggin' around this internet this week:

1. I love the idea of painting a pocket door a bright, vibrant color. Emily originally pinned this on Pinterest and I just loved it. We have a pocket door in our kitchen and I think this would be a perfect idea.

2. I am a big fan of simple and traditional. My mom and I joke that if I could afford any wardrobe, I would be your standard Ralph Lauren model. I feel that this correlates into my design aspects, too. I love the simplicity of the smooth, white fondant and the classical black and white grosgrain ribbon.

3. Birds have been my thing for a while. I adore the little French labeling underneath each of the colorful birds.

4. Speaking of français, this French periodic table is to die for. I would love to own this in my own home one day. Pair it in my future office next to my medical journals and I think we would have a pair. Love.

5. I am a big fan of Hudson Bay stripes on just about anything, and coupled with the green of that old Jeep, I think we have a winner. Emily, let's buy matching ones and road trip around the US.

6. Here we are again-- speaking of Hudson stripes! This room reminds me of the cabins at Frontier Ranch in Colorado. How fun to have a little lake house and create a bunk house with this style. One of my friends in high school had a wonderful little lake cottage with a bunk house-- I can definitely see this fitting into a place like that.

7. You guys. I love sprinkles. More than most things. OK, so that might be dramatic. But I would eat them with every meal. How fun is this presentation of ice cream. This would be fun for a little garden party (hello, Winding Women!) to creatively serve ice cream! Leave it to Martha.

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All images located on Pinterest. Follow my boards, here!

Long Time Gone, pt. 2

R-A, R-A! N-C, N-C! H! H!
Here's a quick recap of my orientation time at Pine Cove.

Week One: Trailblazing/Ropes Orientation
I am now fully knowledgable on how to tie the following four knots: a bowline on a bight, figure eight follow through, alpine butterfly, and double-overhand safety knot. I am trained to facilitate all ropes elements at Pine Cove, but get the chance to work "The Beast"for activity classes this summer. The Beast consists of the zip line (hanging out on the tower is my favorite!), climbing wall, and the flying squirrel! I got to know some awesome girls that I am so excited to spend time with during the second half of summer.

Week Two: Orientation
Let's start off with the most important piece of information, my camp name! Every Pine Cove counselor gets a new name before camp starts so that kids won't have to deal with calling their counselors and staff "Mr. or Ms. Whatever". Because we get these new camp names, we keep our true identity from them until the last day. Staff go through the "name game" during trailblazing and orientation, which is just a fun time where you are set up on stage and asked bajillions of questions in order for the staff to get to know you better and come up with a name that suits your personality. I ended up being named Swagahontas. The Pocahontas root comes from the fact that I am a Chippewa Indian and love the movie Pocahontas. The Swag part of my name has to do with my Patagonia shorts I wear all the time. Apparently all my ropes friends thought I had a lot of (swag?) due to my apparel, so thus Swagahontas was born. I think the exact question asked was, "Do you have a certain kind of swag in the types of shorts you wear?" So strange.

Anyway, back to orientation. We spent a lot of time going through The Pine Cove Way (watch this video to see the craziness that is Pine Cove) which is the manual for all of Pine Cove staff. We played a fake Commando, had awesome clubs at the Ranch, Shores, and Timbers, played lots of name game, did kitchen crew which might possibly be the funnest position ever(!), got to zip lots of lifeguards and chaos crew down the zip line, did one ZILLION cheers and dances, and made some wonderful friends!

I will be back at camp starting July 7, but until then I am so excited to spend time with my family and friends. I cannot wait to be back with my wonderful friends, but my time at home is sweet, too!

Long Time Gone, pt. 1

Anyone who knows me knows I am not the biggest fan of country. So it's kind of funny that as I typed the title of today's blog that the Dixie Chicks' voices started twirling through my head. That's what you get when the only country you listen to as a child consists of Shania Twain and those crazy Chicks. But I digress. 

I got home from my three week whirlwind adventures two afternoons ago. Oh sweet rest. To recap, I was in Colorado at Frontier Ranch for one week, Pine Cove for ropes training (trailblazing) the next, and this past week, all camp orientation at Pine Cove. I must say, it is good to be home. I am thankful I am working second half so that I have time to regroup, reenergize, and prepare myself mentally for the six weeks I will be spending with middle schoolers. 

A few highlights:

I loved just being in the mountains. It does something to my soul. As the saying goes: "The mountains are calling, and I must go". This trip furthered my desire (and every other college kid in the US) to live in Colorado for an extended period of time. 

This group of goobers are both Wyldlife teams for the Brazos Valley: SFA and Jane Long. We were blessed to get to work side by side for the week with Nasty Nav moving boulders and clearing out brush. This pretty much meant we would lift rocks, move them, rake underneath where the rocks were, and move the rocks back. And let me tell you, these were not just pebbles, my friends. These were boulders. It might seem like a menial task, but we are called to be good stewards of the land the Lord has provided us with in order to provide a distraction-free zone for the campers. We want these kids to experience Jesus like never before! Many friendships were forged and even more were deepened. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go on the trip and spend time with these guys! Welcome to Young Life, y'all!

 The highlight of the trip was hiking up to a mountain that had crosses scattered across the summit. The hike was steep but the views were incredible. I cannot even explain to you how beautiful this was. We decided to hike it at dusk on our last day which turned out to be the perfect lighting. The beauty of the cross, no doubt. I am thinking I might get this picture printed and hung in my room.

 Here's the view from a different angle. This is my friend on my team Jennifer. We were the only girls in our group to hike up, but we got to scramble along with some of my best guy friends (we missed you, Haydo!) and be goofy on top of the mountains. Such a sweet friendship!

Young Life camps are incredible in every sense of the word. The most wonderful part about camp is how every inch of camp is covered in prayer. Even cooler is the thought that every inch of that camp has been used to transform a kid into Christ's love. We can only pray that God's work would continue for many more years on that property. He is doing some mighty, mighty things!

So that was week one. Tune in tomorrow (or soon thereafter) to hear about my time at Pine Cove!