design inspiration.

this makes me want exposed kitchen shelves and lots of cool wine goblets.

who wouldnt be inspired after this picture to learn how to build a bed that hangs from a tree?

and, one day i must have yellow double doors, and a fishing net, and wellies, and fresh flowers.

what are you inspired by today?

all images found on google.

henri nouwen.

"as long as we keep running around, anxiously trying to affirm ourselves or be affirmed by others, we remain blind to One who has loved us first, dwells in our heart, and has formed our truest self."

-Turn My Mourning Into Dancing by, Henri J.M. Nouwen

too bad I forget the second part of Nouwen's words in the rest of quote...

"but we can also open our eyes. we can see a new way forward."

image found HERE.

midland.

yesterday was one of the most fun afternoons of my whole entire life. are you ready? i got to be a stand in for a tv show pilot! in case you arent sure what a stand in is (i did not know until yesterday), it is someone who stands in for the actor while the lighting and cameras are set up for the actual shot.

so you may be wondering which tv star i stood in for. well, this is hilarious, i stood in for a 3rd grade little boy! how funny is that, it makes me laugh just thinking about it. but, they needed someone under 5 foot 1 with brown hair and over the age of 18. i guess i fit that to a tee.

for real though, it was really fun to see what goes into making a tv show. there were so many people running, talking on walkies, moving lights, changing cameras, putting on makeup, touching up hair, and bringing in more food, crafts service is what people kept calling it. i still just call it food.

i know you are all asking yourself what tv show it was for? the show is called midland and is going to be on fox. it stars jon voight (i was about a foot from him for a lot of the day), adrienne palicki (aka tyra from friday night lights), david keith (a HUGE tennessee fan, but i got too nervous to talk to him, although he was in the scene i was a stand in for), and jimmy wolk (look him up. he is very cute!). the story is that this guy (robert, played by jimmy wolk. i was a stand in for a flashback scene for young robert) from midland, tx is a con-man and therefore has 2 different families, but now wants to make his life right. so, the tv show is all about how he changes his life. from everything i saw and heard yesterday it looks like it going to be a pretty good show. somebody told me yesterday that the show airs after american idol ends, so be on the look out.

i didnt know you werent necessarily supposed to take pictures on the set, but here is one i took without anyone seeing me...

before and after.

i love my most recent $10 craigslist find.

i and love and you.

Load the car and write the note

Grab your bag and grab your coat

Tell the ones that need to know

We are headed north

One foot in and one foot back

But it don't pay, to live like that

So i cut the ties and i jumped the tracks

For never to return

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Are you aware the shape I'm in

My hands they shake my head it spins

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

When at first I learned to speak

I used all my words to fight

With him and her and you and me

Oh but its just a waste of time

Yeah its such a waste of time

That woman shes got eyes that shine

Like a pair of stolen polished dimes

She asked to dance I said it's fine

I'll see you in the morning time

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Are you aware the shape im in

My hands they shake my head it spins

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Three words that became hard to say

I and love and you

What you were then, I am today

Look at the things I do

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Are you aware the shape I'm in

My hands they shake my head it spins

Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Dumbed down and numbed by time and age

Your dreams to catch the world, the cage

The highway sets the travelers stage

All exits look the same

Three words that became hard to say

I and love and you

I and love and you

I and love and you

-the avett brothers "i and love and you"

i think these lyrics are my favorite right now, because i have such a longing to hear i and love and you from Jesus right now.

photo found via WEHEARTIT.

r.i.p. anthony.

i will miss him, his hilariousness, and his southern accent on project runway.

ok.

isnt this a pretty reminder.

handwritten notes.

i spent the afternoon writing notes to friends. in college i thought giving cards to people was my love language, because it included both words of affirmation and taking the time to pick out something just for someone else. over the years i have kinda stopped writing notes as much, due to laziness and i want to blame email and facebook, although they probably arent to blame as much as i want them to be. i love to make my own stationery, but there are also so many cute and unique cards out there to buy.

here are some of my favorites i have found from the web:

found at this ETSY SHOP.

from PAPER-SOURCE.

isnt KATE SPADE so chic?

find mapnotes HERE.

and, if you are team jacob this one is perfect for you. what a great mix of motorcycles but still pretty. it even comes from OBLATION PAPERS AND PRESS in portland, or.
(sorry about all the twilight references lately. new moon just came out on dvd, so i am hooked again.)

so write a friend, tell them how much they mean to you, and enjoy your evening.

somethings gotta give.

i love the movie somethings gotta give, but more than the movie i love the character, played by diane keaton, erica barrys house. it has clean lines, lots of character, what looks like comfy furniture, a fantastic stove, and the perfect pool for laying out on a warm summer day. maybe one day when i am a trained interior designer working as an interior magazine stylist, or display manager at anthropologie, or running my own interior decorating company i can have my own beach house to decorate with the same style, and of course a few more green accents.

all images found via google.

deep conversation.

i love deep conversation. it gives life to my soul, in fact there are few things i love more than connecting with a friend over a heart to heart. today my friend LINDSAY (a true heart friend of mine) sent me an article from the new york times about deep conversation and how it actually makes people happier. i think deep conversation can be hard too, and it can hurt, because in so many ways it is being so exposed, and i personally do not like that. there is too much room for people to not like me or think poorly of me (which is something i am working through). but, as i am learning more and more, there is also something freeing in being real and exposing those broken parts of my life to other people. read the article HERE.

happy monday!

i would rather this be my life than going to work this monday morning:

and, i wouldnt mind the guy that goes along with it too.

also, please check out SIMPLY BREAKFAST today. jen is kind enough to have a whole post about my blog, since i am sponsoring hers now. and, tell all your friends too, but only if you are ready to be really hungry, because her blog makes any and all food look delicious.

picture found HERE.

spring?

it is officially spring! hooray! except this is what i woke up to this morning. in dallas, tx.



my mom has a theory (which, i do not think she made up herself) that if it thunders in the winter (not just when it is cold, but when the official season is winter) that it snows 10 days later. about 10 days ago we had some terrible thunderstorms. i told my mother that there was no way it was going to snow. well, for one because i had already changed out my closet from winter to spring. but, also, because the temperatures had been in the 60s and 70s for almost 2 weeks. and, as much as it pains me to say it, she was right. so, i am skipping church, listening to a little tim keller on a podcast and enjoying the view for one last time until next winter (lets hope).

mix tape.

if people still made mixed tapes, this is what would be on mine:

side a
skinny love- bon iver
alright- darius rucker
little fire- patty griffin
like a wheel- ryan horne
this boy- james morrison
twilight- the weepies
i and love you- the avett brothers
possibility- lykke li
side b
tupelo honey- van morrison
we danced anyway- deana carter
carolina- corey smith
love is letting go of fear- jackopierce
coattails to tennessee-tyler james
flightless bird- iron and wine
the sweetest thing- u2
you remind me of home- ben gibbard

can a mixed tape hold that many songs? or more? i dont even remember.

harbor.

i want to be here, it reminds me of when my family would go to hilton head every summer growing up...

bag.

in about 2 weeks (april 6 to be exact) i start design school! i am so excited, i can hardly sleep at night. and, one major question keeps plaguing me. what kind of bag should i carry? people, i need your help, bc i have not gone to school in a long time and do not know what is cool. last week i told my friends mallory, austin, and beck i was going to carry my mountainsmith and they laughed. so, am open to any and all suggestions, preferably in the lower price range.

my purse is typically the size of canada, so if you see my with my purse on a regular basis you will think this picture is especially fitting and funny.

eclipse.

in case you have not seen this, here ya go.

are you as excited as me? it looks like it is going to be even better than the first two!

home improvement.

i have been doing lots of home improvement around my casa lately...

i bought this table off craigslist for an amazing price, and had planned on spray painting it yellow, but actually like it just the way it is. yesss!

this door was in the trash pile in front of my next door neighbors house. so with a little chalkboard paint, voila!

and, this window frame was also found in the next door neighbors trash pile. the plates were on big time sale at anthro in austin. and, notice the pink little lampshade? goodwill $1.99.

i bought these pretty flowers and tied some ribbons and twine that i already had around a mason jar for a great spring decoration.

and, last but not least, i planted marigolds for some springtime flavor on my front porch.


i just love being unemployed.

jennie garth. kelly taylor. mrs cullen.

i used to want to be jenna fischer (aka pam beasley) if i was any celebrity because she gets to be married to jim halpert on tv. but, now i would love to be jennie garth.

for starters, she is mrs. carlisle in real life. peter facinelli is very good looking and i bet jennie has met all of the cast including rob pats and kstew. maybe the facinelli/garth family even has cookouts for the twilight gang.

secondly, she got to be on one of the greatest tv shows of all time, beverly hills 90210. as kelly taylor though, her life was not all that great. throughout the 10 years her life was chronicled she got involved in a cult, became a drug addict, was burned severely in a fire, had a crazy girl try to ruin her life and try to look exactly like her, break off an engagement to brandon walsh, see her dad go in and out of jail, and find out her fiance (not brandon, of course) was really married to another woman. that is a wild 10 years. and, is it sad i knew all of those events from memory?

but, in any case heres to you jennie garth, aka kelly taylor, aka mrs. carlisle cullen...

zinnias.

today i bought a couple packages of zinnia seeds. i have never gardened before, but am really excited to take a stab at it. zinnias seem like a great flower to plant because the package says the more you cut them, the more they grow. so you know what that means, fresh flowers in casa bonita all summer long!
and in case you dont know what zinnias look like, here is a pic from google. cant wait to post pictures later this summer of my own zinnias!

p.s. if this is austin, i still love you.

this past weekend i went to austin with some of my smu friends. i love that city. in fact, i kind of have a crush on it. everyone that i know there is laid back, people wear toms with their jcrew dresses, there are hundreds (that could be an exaggeration) of antique stores with fabulous treasures, the food is delicious, there is a lake, the other ut, patty griffin is from austin, salt lick bbq, food carts, cheap real estate, and there are probably more things than that to love.
another couple things i love, not just in austin, but everywhere is colors and textures. and, here are some from my 3 days spent on south congress, lake travis, and guadalupe...

she and him.

how precious is this video and zooey deschanel?

delight.

"LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

i love knowing that the Lord delights over me.

heavenly day.

spring is upon us at casa bonita...









Oh heavenly day, all the clouds blew away
Got no trouble today with anyone
The smile on your face I live only to see
It's enough for me, baby, it's enough for me
Oh, heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day

Tomorrow may rain with sorrow
Here's a little time we can borrow
Forget all our troubles in these moments so few
All we've got right now, the only thing that
All we really have to do
Is have ourselves a heavenly day
Lay here and watch the trees sway
Oh, can't see no other way, no way, no way
Heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day

No one at my shoulder bringing me fears
Got no clouds up above me bringing me tears
Got nothing to tell you, I've got nothing much to say
Only I'm glad to be here with you
On this heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly
Heavenly day, all the trouble's gone away
Oh, for a while anyway, for a while anyway
Heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day
-patty griffin