things i'm obsessed with

here are a few things that i'm currently in love with...

tervis tumblers...serious love here, they are just so convenient and fun to use. i think that they make a great gift that's fairly inexpensive (especially if you use a 20% coupon at bed, bath & beyond) or you could use the cup as a "gift bag" of sorts like i recently did. i actually totally stole this idea from Amy and then used it on her later :) but i don't think she will care. i don't really know how i carried a drink with me before i had one...and i'm pretty sure that tervs saved grad school!

toms...i got my first pari of toms over 3 years ago. they are off-white with black (and minor pink) writing on them so naturally i was worried about them getting dirty & didn't really start wearing frequently until last year (guess there was just something about spending all day in the library that called for comfy shoes). anyways for christmas the twins gave me a brown pair and i'm definitely getting more use out of these. i'm excited for TOMS flats, which are coming out this spring!

mug from Anthropologie...i saw these all over twitter and two days later i was gifted one...the mug is just so cute and i really enjoy drinking my coffee out of it each morning...but that might have something to do with coffee time occurring during morning nap-time. this would also make a cute gift for the coffee lover friend...or really just a friend who likes cute things.

pick your plum...so if have even a minor crafty side, you should definitely check out pick your plum. it's a daily deal site (well daily weekday deal site) that has a different crafting supply each morning. i always like to check each morning and see how much i really need whatever is offered. it's not like i buy something every morning but i think that this is a good way to stock up on some fun and unique items. plus it's not like you can ever have too much crafty goodness (reason #72 why i'll need a 2 bedroom apt for just me) 

buying baby clothes...confession: i've always liked wondering through the baby section at stores and looking at all the cute clothes. but, i never had a reason to actually buy the clothes...well that all changed last year. with the arrival of the twins, i now have an excuse to buy baby clothes. and i get to buy boy and girl clothing...i don't even have to stick to just one! i think it's a pretty good thing that the twins came along because now i can buy clothes and give them to the babies as opposed to just buying the clothes and storing them in a closet for my future kids...cause that wouldn't be weird or anything. i just really, really hope that my kids are not complete opposite seasons of the twins...and that i have a girl or else i don't know what i'll do with the smocked dresses

chevron and stripes...i was a little hesitant to jump on the chevron bandwagon at first but consider me there now. i got notepads from erin condren with a chevron print at the top and i'm really pleased with how they turned out. i also keep seeing cute chevron ideas on pinterest and i think that i will have to incorporate it somehow to the apartment i hope i'm decorating soon.

{these adorable plates can be found here}

maternal instinct?

after engage last night, i was kind-of part of a conversation that was about maternal instincts and if they kick in after giving birth. the question was posed to a recent first time mother, who responded with a definite "yes" and that they kicked in immediately after she gave birth. so on my drive home (which was nothing like the drive home mentioned in this post thank goodness!) i thought about this maternal instinct idea. i have honestly never thought about whether i would have that maternal instinct once i had kids. i mean i've always been pretty good with kids and kids have always liked me so i just figured that my own kids would follow that pattern. and, as i've gotten older and been around more kids and spent more time with babies, i just knew that this would totally be the case with my own kids. obviously i'm not having kids anytime soon so i can't test out this theory just yet.

but don't get me wrong i know that nothing can compare to what i'll feel for my own kids. so there's that. and i also know that while i may spend my days with two 9 month olds changing diapers and figuring out nap times, i don't make big decisions or anything. obviously, i mean that's why the babies have parents...i just dress them in fun clothes and take a gazillion pictures of them. and i can admit that i'm totally not ready to make the big decisions (okay that's a slight lie...sure i'm not ready but a lot (or all) of that has to do with the boy and that whole situation...i'm definitely way ahead of most other 23 year olds) 

and now it's time for the scary thought i had while on my way home...what if i don't have maternal instincts? i'm being 100% serious here...what if once i have a child i just don't feel "it"...and i don't even know what "it" is! and then i realized how ridiculous it is for me to feel this way because a) i'm nowhere close to having a baby & b) do i honestly think i would ever feel that way about my own child. 

but after about 2 minutes of thinking about this i realized that this was probably definitely THE most irrational fear i've ever had. of course with my own kids it will be different...and even if i'm not that different than i am now, who cares. i'm pretty good with figuring out a baby as i am right now. i would like to admit that i think teen mom is to blame for me considering that there might be a lack of maternal instinct...i mean seriously some of those girls have it but some of them wouldn't recognize it if it smacked them in the face...20 times a day. 

i feel like it's also fair to mention that sometimes i just know that i'll have like the most difficult baby ever. but then i realize that i would probably be better equipped to handle that than some other people...and no lie my dad has joked with me since i was probably 13 that i would have twins because i would need it to mellow me out...and to show me that parenting isn't as easy as i made it out to be (in my 13 year old mind). but in the past year he's kind of realized that twins really wouldn't terrify me (not that they ever did) so now he says triplets...thanks for that one John. 

okay so maybe accounting is the perfect job for me...

while i'm not yet employed as an accountant, i just feel like it won't be that much longer. and i'm running out of blog posts that don't center around either being single or taking photos of the twins...so i thought i'd share a few things that i'm super excited to purchase once i'm working in the world of accounting...and by things i mean clothes, office supplies and the like. i know, i know...

sticky weekly calendar from poketo

fun skirts

teal pencil skirt from jcrew, polka dot skirt from banana republic, and a tweed skirt with a slight ruffle from nordstrom

the yummy lunch ideas can be found here and i'm oddly excited about making lunches...especially if they occasionally look like these 

another reason to love mason jars! (pinned here)

and seriously what's not to love about these legal pads?!?! 

wordless wednesday

Video Sunday

this video is proof that one day Riggs is going to love reading...and i also can't believe she stayed in the same place for so long

seriously how adorable is Jackson? also the video shakes because i was dying of laughter

and just for laughs...i'm so sad i missed the very beginning but Riggs is quite the quick little lady (also quite the meanie) 

i (obviously) figured out how to upload videos to youtube so i can post them on my blog. so get ready for more videos

quotable:captivating

"We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil." {page 17}


"The first and greatest of all commands is to love him (Mark 12:29-20, Matt. 22:36-38). He wants us to love him. To seek him with all our hearts. A woman longs to be sought after, too, with the whole heart of her pursuer. God longs to be desired. Just as a woman longs to be desired. This is not some weakness or insecurity on the part of a woman, that deep yearning to be desired." {page 29}


"...we cannot talk about loving a man well-whoever he might be in your life-until we see that we cannot look to him for things he cannot give. We cannot love Adam while we are looking for him to validate us. It will usher in too much fear. If he's the verdict on us as a woman, we won't be able to truly and freely offer him our beauty." {page 153}


"The nurturing of life is a high and holy calling. And as a woman, it is yours. Yes, it takes many shapes and has a myriad of faces. Yes, men are called to this as well. But uniquely and deeply, this calling makes up part of the very fiber of a woman's soul-the calling to mother." {page 177}


"You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and dearly loved. You are sought after, pursued, romanced, the passionate desire of your Fiance, Jesus...And you are needed." {page 217}


"Whatever your particular calling, you are meant to grace the world with your dance, to follow the lead of Jesus wherever he leads you. He will lead you first into himself; and then, he will lead you into the world that he loves and needs you to love." {page 217}


[Captivating  is written by John and Stasi Eldredge]

wordless wednesday

another craft day

almost 2 weeks ago (thursday, january 5 to be exact) the babies had their second arts and crafts day. we finger-painted again but i set things up a little differently this time and i think it went better. also we had bath-time following craft-time so it was a busy afternoon.

so excited!

and to show that bath-time really did happen...here's our afternoon (plus i'm slightly in love with R's outfit)

pinterest love!

it's been a while since i've blogged about pinterest. don't worry i'm still horribly addicted and i can't imagine how i functioned without it. a few days ago i was thinking how could you have possibly planned an awesome party before pinterest. then i realized that i threw a pretty great baby shower before i got on pinterest. (missed it by about a month i think) so obviously life functioned before this website came into my life. for a while i wondered if i would actually ever do anything that i have pinned. sure some stuff will be handy when i'm planning my wedding, dressing my kids or decorating my apartment. other boards are totally applicable now, like all the *hopefully* yummy recipes i've pinned. so, in order to show that pinterest is actually a good use of my time, here are some of my pins that i've actually tried. i know, i'm shocked too.

(via)

made this Sin Dip for an evening snack on Christmas day while we played dominos. it was really good but honestly what isn't when cheese and bread are involved.

(via)

i gave a variation of this to my dad for one of his Christmas presents. i bought 2 strands of purple lights and tied orange and white tulle randomly along the strands. i think it will be perfect for tailgating next fall and trust me, my dad is serious about some Clemson tailgating so naturally he was pretty excited.

(via)

i have made these chicken and cheese lasagna roll-ups a few times and each time, i have been quite pleased with the results. they are really easy to make and taste delicious. plus they heat up really well the next day.

(via)

i made this craft with the twins right before thanksgiving. it was a lot of fun and i blogged about it here.

i also feel the need to mention that it really bothers me when someone's pinterest boards are not properly labeled/categorized...and not properly refers to my standards, not something official from pinterest. i might be slightly obsessive with my boards...shocker i know. however i would enjoy it if pinterest made everyone uphold my standards...one can dream right?!?

a week in iphone pictures

the pictures may seem slightly repetitive but with different outfits...what can i say we have a lot of playtime :)

   

[too many photos...definitely a possibility]

attending a parents meeting...nbd

so this past Sunday i went to a meeting for parents of children...yeah i know i don't have kids yet but i went for someone who does. and honestly, i think it's the kind of thing that any church member who either has young kids or plans to have kids should go and hear. and also, it's meetings like these that remind me how lucky i am to have the parents that i do. a lot of the stuff that was discussed were definitely present in my childhood..and honestly until a few years ago i would have assumed were present in any child's life whose parents attended church regularly. i've learned a lot about that in the past few years (even without being a parent) and it has certainly solidified my ideas about how my children will be raised. 


one point that was made was that your children develop friendships while attending class and church.
this was my FAVORITE point and is pretty much the point of this entire post.
These friendships that are made when children are so young will hopefully continue to grow so that when they are in middle/high school they have a great group of friends who have similar morals/beliefs and share the "same faith." as i've written before about the great group of friends that i met at church when i was in the first grade and how impact-full their friendship was come high school. and i seriously had an ah-ha moment when the minister made this comment. i was always at church...any time the doors were open we were there...and so were the girls that i developed these friendships with. and i really want nothing more for my children (especially my daughter/s), then for them to have the same friendships. so yeah my kids will be at church all the time. because i want them to have every opportunity to have those friendships. and i know some days will be rough but there's nothing more important than the spiritual development of my to-be children. 
and yes, i know that there is more to it than just going to church. trust me, i know that. i grew up with daily family devotionals until i was old enough to do them myself, along with family prayer time. so it won't be left up to sunday school teachers. and it's going to be the top priority for me. so yeah i think that anyone who is going to be a parent can benefit from hearing stuff life this. i liked the reminder. 
and to completely change directions (well sorta) i think that this so relates to looking for the boy. i just can't imagine being married to someone, much less trying to raise children with someone that doesn't have spiritual development as the top priority and is satisfied with attending church casually. so i guess the boy has some big expectations to meet...but i have no doubt that he'll do just fine :)

wordless wednesday [bathroom photo-shoot]

twitter love tuesdays

so i'm pretty sure there is no such thing as twitter-love tuesdays but i had something from twitter that i wanted to share and i thought it semi-flowed so here we are.

i stumbled across ChicksInChurch on twitter and i am in LOVE! i relate to pretty much every single one of their tweets and i wish i went to church with these girls. recent tweet topics that i have made me smile and say "that's so me" include having quiet time in an elevator while at a church retreat/conference, wondering when the engaged fad will end on facebook, figuring out what God wants for me by spending money in Europe (or grad school) and leaving room for Jesus while dancing. 

reading through these tweets really make me so happy (it's the little things people) and there are a few that i have to share word for word!

Did Jesus say much about dating?" About as much as He talked about pinterest... #courtship hollllla!!

"He's gotta be a good steward of money, but he also better get me a ROCK!" #ChicksinChurch (kidding...sorta...about the ring not being a good steward)

"Still trying to decide if Im sold out enough to raise my hands at my parents church. Its totes no big in college, but at home? Ehh" 

"Girl, Did you see her last night? She was holding a solo cup. At a party..."

and finally i have NEVER related to a tweet quite like i do this one:

"Ok when we get there, you walk in first and I'll sit by you so we don't have to meet anyone around us." #ChicksinChurch

bringing pretty back

[article can be found here]


i saw this article mentioned on another blog and i'm so glad that i clicked the link to read. it does such a great job of putting a lot of my rambling thoughts and ideas into actual, coherent words. i've written about modesty and purity and all that good stuff before. and while that is not the focus of this article, it's all related. but i'll try and keep this post to the article specifically. (note, i kind of fail at this)
i think this article is so relevant today. i love that pretty (for this specific author) is defined as a combination of beauty and innocence. i pretty much want to just copy and paste every word from this article. i love love love the part about projecting innocence and how that inspires men to protect and defend it. captivating does such a great job of delving into this particular topic and lady in waiting even has a chapter or two as well. those books have really encouraged me to not only embrace my innocence but to desire a boy who will protect and defend it. 
and now it is time for "is this too real aka should i really even write this down, much less actually blog this idea/question?!?" it has on occasion (okay multiple occasions) crossed my mind that what if the boy doesn't really care how innocent i am, like what if it's just no big deal. and then i realize that obviously he wouldn't be THE boy if that's how he felt. but then i go down the whole road of what if my expectations are too high? and then i think about how i really can't imagine making out with random boys each night, much less doing anything else so we're pretty much back to square one now. and maybe sometimes i even wonder if there are any cute, ambitious boys out there who would not only understand innocence but want to protect and cherish it. but, at the end of the day, the thought of doing something to tarnish that innocence just isn't an option. so i guess the boy will just have to make an appearance at some point. 
and back to the article...hotness is just a commodity. i, again, love how this article differentiates between being hot and being pretty. to say that hotness is a commodity brings a smile to my face and i like that the movie grease is referenced. i remember watching this movie when i was in 4th or 5th grade. i liked the music a lot. but i remember, even when i was that young, being slightly confused as to what was wrong with Sandra Dee? obviously she was pretty but why did she have to change to get her boy. obviously as i got older, i understood more aspects of the movie but that message has always bothered me. and i'm glad to see it addressed here. what kind of message is that sending that in order to get a guy you need to change who are you, and the changes really are not for the better. 
and again with should i actually post this or not...so, while i went through that awkward stage in middle school that everyone goes through, i rebounded from it pretty well..mentally i mean. i don't wake up every morning and look in the mirror and hate what i see. i mean, sure some days i really like my hair and other days i wish i was a little tanner but nothing major. but naturally it enters a girls mind that maybe she just isn't pretty (or hot) enough to ever find someone. like maybe if i was a little more this, or a little less that then i would have already found the boy. it's kind of hard when you go out and the girls you're with attract all sorts of attention from guys. but then, once i evaluate the situation and am truly honest with myself, i realize that i don't really want that kind of attention. i mean everyone likes to feel attractive and desired but ultimately i have a deeper want. and really, that's perfectly fine. this also makes me wonder where i'm supposed to find the boy at? i would never say that anything is impossible, after all God does like to use the unlikely situations to show his power, but is it really that likely that i'm going to stumble upon the boy at a bar? i personally don't think so but i'm clearly not in control of this story. i realize that church would be a likely place to meet the boy, but i'm not going from church to church just in hopes of finding him. i really do believe that God does not desire that. and i'd like to be pursued by the boy, not the other way around (but boy is that another blog post completely) so to sum up this somewhat random tangent, i like the distinction between being hot and pretty...because most of the time i never think of myself as hot...but i'd much rather be in the pretty boat anyways.
the line that nobody wants to be thought of as innocent, the good girl, kind of makes me want to cry. and even more so, it makes me want to cry for all the little girls out there who need good women role models and people to tell them that it's okay to be the good girl. it's not always an easy path but it is definitely the right one. and i'm still on that path but it's not one that i regret. and i know that i won't ever regret it, no matter what ends up happening. i really can't explain how much i just want to tell all the girls in middle and high school that it's worth it to be labeled the good girl. (and again with the honesty, i wonder if those girls would even want to hear that from me. it's not like i have this "successful story" to tell them. i mean i'm still looking for the boy.) i know without a doubt that this is one message i will pound into my daughter(s)...you know, the ones i don't have yet with the boy i haven't met yet but i may be planning her wardrobe vicariously through a certain little girl already. [definitely a story for another day] 
i think this article should be shared with girls everywhere. but especially those girls who are trying to be pretty but sometimes wonder if it's even worth it. because girls, it totally is. i really never thought that one of my passions would be for girls in middle and high school but i think that it totally is. i just think that's such an impressionable age. and maybe it's because i loved it when the "young women" of the church did stuff with us when i was that age. i loved being in their class or just talking with them after church on a Sunday. and maybe, if the cycle continues, one day my little girl will have "young women" in her life who encourage her to bring pretty back and be the good girl.

Clemson love!

saw a link to this post on another blog that i read. i love, love, LOVE this post and honestly it perfects describes my feelings. i actually did watch some of the game but that's not really what this post is about. nor is it about the comments that some people make on facebook that have been hidden by now:) i just think this explains so well why i love Clemson so much!

awesome post can be found here

Clemson Cuteness

yesterday the babies got all decked out in their orange in hopes that Clemson would win the Orange Bowl...obviously that wasn't meant to be but instead of dwelling on probably one of the worst games Clemson has ever played, i'll just post the super cute photos i took quickly yesterday afternoon.

also i may have developed a slight addiction to picnik last week...