pure bliss

There is nothing better that summer fruit! With all its color & flavor, it is truly pure bliss!!

my novel adventure: emma

Many months ago I attempted to take a stab at the great Jane Austen {as my new adventure}, but alas failed. I failed due to limited time for such a luxury of reading for my own enjoyment. Now that school is pushed out of my thoughts, I have ventured to start Emma again. If it were up to me, I would spend all my days locked up in my room with the book, but life is too busy for such a dream as that.

Some have told me that Emma is the hardest to get though, and if they are right it will be smooth sailing after Emma. The content can seem a little trying at times when Jane Austen spend 2 pages on the different cuts of pork there are and which ones to give the the Bates.

While I have seen the movie dozens and dozens of times, the book pulls you into a different world, letting your mind wander to what each scene may appear to be {different for each reader}. So here I go again, making another attempt at the 6 novels of Jane Austen. I will follow the order from 'The Jane Austen Book Club' and let you know how it goes.... up next Mansfield Park!

Katie + Ryan

May 23rd brought the wedding of my good friends Katie and Ryan. Even with the heat stroke, they were good sports and managed to stay relaxed. The wedding was a beautiful event filled with lively colors and characters.

Katie had all of her 7 girls {6 bridesmaids and personal assistant} to assist her when the time came, whether it was for bustling her dress, giving her support, or worrying about the little details so she wouldn't have to.

The center pieces were classically beautiful with lilies and lilacs. Most of the afternoon was spent on the dance floor whether we were playing a game with the DJ or line dancing. We managed to dance the afternoon away for a few hours, and I think most of us left the wedding ready for a nap.

Katie + Ryan's wedding: 2nd out of the 7 weddings for this summer-fall

Becky's {scrapbooking} shower

When & Where: last saturday, Sara and I threw a shower for the beautiful bride to be Becky. The event took place at my house just after the graduation party, which was an easy walk {less than a mile away}.
Decorations: I printed off some lovely pictures of the couple and matted them on gold and brown paper {their wedding colors}. I strung them out some string to add a festive touch. White daisys were used to brighten up the room, along with individual glass tins containing espresso colored jelly beans tied together with a gold bow.Entertainment: we did it all, from guessing how many days the couple had been dating {I think it was around 1,620 but not entirely sure}, to playing the 'purse game', and finally to the main event. Each girl brought pictures of themselves and Becky, and made a scrapbook page for her album. After the stamping and gluing, the snipping and rearranging, we turned out a beautiful scrapbook for Becky to always remember the good old days.
Food: mini sandwiches, fruit salad, delicious sherbet fruit punch, veggies and dip, and scrumptious cookie cups with frosting.

Favors: Sara made individual thank you's of a cream colored candle tied together in a coco colored towel.All together, it was a wonderful shower filled with joy, laughter, and friends catching up. And I have to give credit where credit is due: the format idea for this post came from Jessica. I just loved that idea do much!!

coming to an end

It's been 1,030 days of school in 6 life changing years at Immanuel {give or take a couple}, and on Saturday those days stopped counting. Those days came to an end, and that number stopped in it's tracks. Graduation came and went in a flash of baby blue and green robes while running around in heels. It was a day that will always be etched into my mind, as a bittersweet day full of emotion and a mix of so many feelings.

life altering years

It has been 2 life altering years at Immanuel Lutheran for college. It has been 2 long years since I've graduated high school and in those 2 years I've grown into a completely different person. Through the ups and downs my life has changed drastically. I never thought I'd be where I am now, in some ways good and other ways challenging, but both ways unexpected.

It is only 12 short hours will we walk down that long aisle, up to the stage and receive our diplomas. If tonight was any indication of how emotional I'll be, then tomorrow I'm going to be a total mess! It is bitter sweet to be graduating from this remarkable school. It is because of the hard working professors and many other staff that I am so thankful for my time here. I can never thank those enough who were involved in making my time at Immanuel such a life altering experience. I am going to miss it and everyone here so much.

the weak of dread

So, the week of dread is hear again: finals week. Unlike last semester this year the studying and cramming, coffee drinking and stressful frustration is mostly taking place out doors. It's under trees like this one that I find myself excited to be inching toward finishing school, but reluctant to move on. It take a little of the edge off, spending time out doors in the books rather than cooped up in my room with books strewn across the floor.

Amanda + Chad

It was because of this wonderful couple that many of us gathered on Saturday to celebrate with them. The weather couldn't have been better for their amazingly planned wedding! Amanda has been giving us little hints about their wedding over the past few months on her blog, and on Saturday we got to see it all come together!

Amanda certainly has the creative touch and it was very evident with each detail, from the flower arrangements to the color coordinated jelly bellys. It was an honor to get to celebrate with them on their special day, and see them be united in the Lord.

Amanda + Chad's wedding: 1st out of the 7 weddings for this summer-fall

good, better, best cookies

There was a request for the recipe of cookies that I made yesterday by Mrs. Mayhew. 'Good, better, best cookies' that is what my grandma calls them. I am not a fan of coconut in my cookies, and not all people like nuts, so I omit them from the recipe, but I will show the real recipe and include my modifications.

{this is my Grandma Drews, she's the one with the fabulous recipe}

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup salad oil
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup coconut {optional}
1/2 cup chopped pecans {optional}
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
{I add an extra 1/2 cup of oats and an extra 1/2 cup of cornflakes to make up for the absence of the nuts and coconut}
{I also add some chocolate chips, becuase who doesn't like chocolate}

:preheat oven to 325 degrees
:cream butter and sugars
:add egg, vanilla, then oil
:add oats, cornflakes, coconut, nuts, salt and baking soda
:slowly stir in flour
:form into small balls and place on a cookie sheet
:flatten out a little and bake for 12 minutes
:enjoy and share with friends

grandma's cookies

Today seemed like the perfect day to spend some quality time in the kitchen. Cookies were on my to-do list and it was the perfect way to unwind after a stressful morning. I got this recipe from my grandma drews {the queen of recipes} and have made them numerous times. With a few special ingredients, these cookies are a twist on the classic oatmeal chocolate chip.

real simple: organizing for your personality

Organize your life, that's the name of the game or the name of the magazine for this month. Last month I shared the cover art of my first issue of Real Simple magazine, but I decided to make a series of it. Each month when my new Real simple magazine comes in the mail, I'll pick out an article and share a little preview with the blogging world.

The article I picked for this month is Organizing for you Personality, because everyone has their own way. Some line up and label while others lay out with style. Whether you are white glove tidy or a pile maker, you can find a strategy that will match to you ways. After a left-brain right-brain quiz determining your possible organization system, the article goes on to share a few ideas. With each idea about: keepsakes, jewelry, and photos there are options for both left-brained and right-brain organizers. Some may know that I love to organize, I mean if it was up to me {well, I won't go on} so this article was bliss to me!!

with a little ribbon & some creativity...

Some days all I want to do is pop in a movie and let my mind run wild with my scrap booking materials. Well, last Friday was one of those days and I havn't really wanted to stop. I've made dozens of cards from thank you's, the birthday wishes, to wedding bliss. There are so many events coming up, I want to make sure that I'm on top of the ball instead of scrambling at the last second to make a card. From all the cards I've made throughout the past few days, here are some of my favorites. If you didn't notice, I love embellishing with ribbon! What about you, what's your favorite accessory for creative projects?This is my favorite type of therapy when all I want to do is forget about the world around me...

3 wonderful mothers

These are the 3 wonderful mothers {my mom and grandmas if you couldn't tell} who have shaped my life over the past 20 or so years. It is because of these strong and independent women that I have received not only my life blood but a few more things: my middle name, my obsession with ice cream, my creative abilities, my passion for cooking, my crocked second toes, my dark brown eyes, my knack for organization and much more.

Without these amazing women I would not be the women that I have become. They have been such an influence to so many people and I can never thank them enough for all the love that they have brought to this world. So happy mother's day to mom, grandma drews, and grandma ryan!

cutie little Katy

It's all because of this little girl that over 30 of us gathered yesterday afternoon to celebrate the birthday of miss Katy. It's hard to believe that she's already 1, now crawling, exploring the wide world around her, and inching toward her first steps.

With her infectious smiles and her little kicking legs she celebrated her birthday with style. Mom and Papa presented her with her birthday cake, but seeing as though she doesn't often get to feed herself, preceded very cautiously. While her latest craz is Elmo and Baby Einstein, I can't wait to watch her grow as an amazing little girl.

moments that I will miss

It's moments like these that will really make me miss ILC. It's been 6 years, but today {at our Tour Choir party} those 6 years seemed to be a thing of the past. In a few short weeks I will be an alumni of Immanuel, and that just seems harder that I thought to make sense of.