keep the doctor away ♥

you will find this lovely bowl of apples sitting in the coffeehouse tonight. drifting through the air is also the scent of homemade caramel. yes tonight, at the coffeehouse, we are serving one of my favorite autumn treats, caramel apples.

i've always thought that caramel apples or candied apples were one of the most magical ways to eat fruit. just thought i would end this post with a little eye candy for you all. hope to see you tonight!

{one} {two} {three} {four} {five} {six}

*snapshots of my weekend*

happy monday. here to share some random moments of my weekend with you. enjoy!

salvaged.

inspiration. love europe.

my favorite image in the magazine.

i made these little list keepers as a quick project. i also made a set for my mom. she is going to have family member take a page and write down our wishes. inspiration came from here.

chicken gnocchi soup

hours of my favorite board game ever...the farming game.

i'm in the mood for chocolate anything!

served up hot out of our church's coffeehouse, the chocolate mocha.

autumn drive.

*

i have a lot to look forward to this week. a few of my goals:

* clean my house. my dear friend rebecca and her cat will-da-bee are coming to visit!*

* create a costume for my youth group costume party...inspiration?*

* make caramel apples for wednesday nights coffeehouse.*

*carve pumpkin.*

*celebrate dad's birthday on thursday!*

*pack for tulsa & david crowder concert*

*

reduce. reuse. recycle. REPURPOSE.

this weekend i had a little repurpose project i worked on. each week the kids in my youth group have journal entries they are supposed to do in order to help them see their faith journey come to life. each week that they bring their journals back and they are complete, the youth get a simple prize.

this week, i decided to give them buttons, to put on their book bags, purses, bulletin boards or whatever. I found that a lot of my buttons were kind of lame, so i decided to repurpose them and make them cool again. i thought this might be a fun project for you to try as well...you know...release your creativity a little bit.

find some old buttons that you don't want. pick these up at the state fair, from political candidates tables, whatever the case may be, they are out there, and they are free!

spray paint your buttons with those little dabs of leftover spray paint that you have lying around. (spray paint is one of my favorite tools, and i'm always finding myself with not enough paint to finish a job. this is the perfect way to use that up!)

then use paint or sharpie markers to draw your designs on. (my favorite one is the mustache and i'm secretly hoping nobody claims it, so it can find a home on my backpack).

after adding your design spray on a coat of clear acrylic spray to set the design.

speaking of mustaches, this is one of my favorites. you can get your own here.

happy weekend everyone.

autumns ocean.

yesterday i pulled into my driveway and looked out over my yard and it looked like a sea of yellow. there didn't even seem to be grass below the leaves. the rain was falling but interspersed between the rain drops were leaves continuously falling. it was such a lovely sight and me being a a kid at heart couldn't help but go play!

happy fall friday everyone!

♥ love letters ♥

This past week, I was watching a nooma, and this Bible verse was used during the short film

Job 38:25-26

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,

to water a land where no man lives,

a desert with no one in it,

to satisfy a desolate wasteland

and make it sprout with grass?

It got me thinking of the beauty that surrounds me, that nobody ever sees, yet God still created it. Think of all of the visually magical places you have discovered throughout your life, where the scenery that surrounds you, or the simple crocus bursting from the cold wintered ground simply takes your breath away. God created those things, those little secret treasures, knowing at times that not one person would ever lay eyes on them. Just like this verse above. God cares enough to send water to a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass. If he cares this much about something that no one will ever see, think how much He cares about you and I.

So i want to make it a point in my life to find the beauty in the world. Maybe even something that nobody else has laid their eyes on. There is something so enchanting about God's love, to think that He might have created a perfect red leaf, or a cluster of vibrant berries for my eyes only.

A love note from Him to me.

Over the years, I've tried to capture these moments through my camera's lense. but let's be honest, I can't show you the true beauty of the moment, so I challenge you to get out there and discover God's little love letters created for your eyes only, and if you happen to catch those moments via camera, I would love to see what God has written to you.

love letters to me

happy wednesday everyone!

...fort build....

When's the last time you built a fort? When you were a kiddo? Sometimes it is great to return to your childhood and rekindle the things that used to make you so joyous. This past week I built a fort, filled it with some of my favorite things, and had a picnic in it with Dane.

So welcome to my home within a home...

my challenge to you all this weekend...get your friends...your family...your kids...your significant other and come together and build. post your pics here!

happy saturday!

rainy days are perfect for coffeehouses and setting goals

check out my new toy!

tonight is night 2 of the coffeehouse being open. right now i'm putting the finishing touches on my giant pumpkin spice muffins. i've always wanted to make large muffins, and yesterday i found the perfect pan and cupcake liners to do it! yay!

yesterday i had a few extra minutes to spare and so i went thrift store shopping and came home with these treasures

my owl collection is getting a little out of control. someday i'm going to get them all together as one little happy owl family and take their family portraits. yeah. you should stay tuned for that.

tomorrow is my day off, so i think now would be a good time to make a list of goals for the day.

1. early morning yoga

[source]

2. finish the friendship 2 more monochromatic friendship bracelets

[source]

3. check out the lighthouse for any good finds. (is it not obvious that thrift store shopping is my get away?) [source]

4. find some photo inspiration for a photo shoot i'm going to do for this family! love you guys!

5. begin the california scrapbook

6. watch the tigers cross country team run.

[source]

See everyone tonight!

Still

This week my Sunday School class is doing a one word Bible Study on the verse

Psalm 46:10

(I think it is hilarious that this was written on a bathroom wall, and I'm proud of this person for capturing it!)

The way one word Bible Study works is this...

Pick a verse, and focus on one word of that verse each day. All of the sudden, the verse can take on a richer and deeper meaning. You can see the significance of each word as well as how it fits into the big picture.

Today's word is still. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. Maybe you could even join us in our one word adventure. As a class we'll come back together Sunday and discuss each person's thoughts throughout the week.

Until then, here's a picture that can't do anything but make you smile, in the one store that always brings a grin to my face, ACME gift in Manhattan. And yes, i want the deer hat!

Happy Monday Everyone!

opening night

Opening Night was FANTASTIC.

Things I learned:

1. If you brew 4 coffeepots at once you will blow the breaker.

2. The inside of piano is way cooler than the outside. So take off the lid and play a little.

3. Sunshine Smoothie was our most popular drink.

4. Everything looks happier with whipped cream and a swirl on top.

Here are some pics of how we transformed the space from drab, clashy and cold to warm inviting and happy. As well as a few other pics from opening night.

baristas!

a lot of sunshine smoothie action...i told you it was good!

brock sharing some fantastic acoustic music.

lots and lots of conversation...ooo that makes me giddy.

homework!

the treats provided by jenna, holly, adam and anna were so delicious. the cookies in the other room are calling my name right now!

just relaxin'

after the night, brock and dane had an awesome jam session.

i just love this picture.

happy friday!