Winter Break

'Tis the season for a great compilation post!

It wouldn't be a true winter break without a lack of posts and then a post months later that's as long as a child's Christmas wish list. Due to the stress of finals, it hardly felt like Christmas until...after Christmas? It will definitely be an adjustment for the next couple years. Trying to cram in Christmas festivities while also cramming for finals doesn't really work out too well. Ho-Ho-Homework, but I digress.

Still, I had a magical winter break. And I got to wear a coat more than once! Firs time for everything.

WINTER BREAK I LOVE YOU

WHAT A GEM OF A YEAR

in 2017 my heart broke, fell even more love with jesus, and also flooded!

That was fun.

Without a doubt, 2017 has been the best year of my life. And not just because I got a free backpack, but also because God brought me face to face with His grace all over again. I'll be honest, sometimes I didn't want it. More often than not, I wanted the easy way out, the quick fix. A bandaid, and preferably a cute one, to patch everything up for the present time. Thankfully I'm not in control, and God isn't in the band aid business. And even though it hurt, it was a beautiful hurt. Ripping off a bandaid is never easy, but knowing that I would never again need the bandages that had once been my only source of protection was liberating. There is nothing more beautiful or painful or liberating than...removing bandages and exposing wounds?

how's that for a great mental picture?

you're welcome.

It's funny how our human bandaids fool us into thinking that we're healed and whole. As if a flimsy piece of fabric could ever fill a whole that only God was designed to fill! When Jesus comes and rips away our pathetic attempt at patching our puncture wounds, it's so different. The fit is just right. Seamless. Immaculate. As if that is how healing was always intended to feel. 

And who knows, but I think it was.

"Seeking you as a precious jewel, 

Lord to give up I'd be a fool."

THE GREAT SAINTS OF 2017

A cool thing about growing up is an apparent need for less stuff. By this point, we've lived long enough to know what we need, what we don't, what we want and what is just plain pointless. That being said, I still have to talk myself out of buying the mini sized items that surround the checkout line at Sephora because if there is one thing I've learned it's that I have very minimal self control when it comes to corperate marketing strategies.


Old habits die hard! And travel sized stuff is just so cute! I digress.


FAVORITE COFFEE // Wawa

You'll laugh and maybe cry but my favorite coffee is from WaWa...the gas station. I got into a wreck in the WaWa parking lot in January and idk, Im also a wreck when i don't get wawa coffee often. It's an odd dynamic but also only $1 per cup...so I manage ;)

FAVORITE PASTOR // John Mark Comer

Is it weird to say you're in love with a pastor...of a church you've never been to? Probably. That being said, I'm definitely in like with John Mark Comer, the pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland Oregon. I started off the year by reading a couple of his books and they changed my faith radically. Since then I've listened to nearly all his teachings (which are available on the website) and if you ever need a dose of Godly wisdom, look no further than good old John Mark.

FAVORITE ALBUM/ARTIST/HUMANS // LANY

Guys. I love LANY. And I hate when other people say they love LANY because I know for a fact that no one loves their music as much as I do. Their songs feel like an extension of my soul, if I had any musical abilities or talents whatsoever, I'd make their music and sing their songs and write those same lyrics. However, since I have none of those talents, I'm grateful LANY exists because they do the work and I just get to enjoy it.

FAVORITE SKIRT // an $8 skirt from china (similar)

Halfway through the summer I placed an order on Shein.com. and even though I was slightly worried the site was a scam and that the clothing quality wouldn't be worth the hassle, I was very wrong. I got a lot of things (some of which I wore a lot, some of which didn't fit, and some of which were whatever) but the one purchase that I will forever praise the Lord for is this black denim skirt that I wear literally. every. day. It goes with everything, it's basically made of plastic so its oddly water/stain resistant and I can wear tights or bikini bottoms under it, depending on which state I'm in. Needless to say, I think I got my moneys worth out of it.

BEST LIPSTICK // Patina By Stila

(don't act like you didn't think this one was coming!) I didn't wear lipstick a lot this year but when I did, it was pretty much always Patina (looks great with the black skirt I also wore every day;)) The Formula lasts a very long time and the color was flattering no matter what hair color/shade of skin I was sporting.

2017 BLOOPERS

Fine, I'll go ahead and say it: These are not the worst of the worst.

Mostly because I deleted those and unfortunately not because I became a model and now every photo taken of me is perfect. Normally I like my bloopers to be blackmail material quality but the battle between bloopers and hard-drive space was won by the pressing need for space on my computer. The casualties of that battle ended up being a couple of golden bloopers. Still though, I think these definitely suffice! 

I just know these also don't fully capture how ugly and unphotogenic I can truly be, so there're that. 

I guess that just means there's more to look forward to for next year?

Bloopesrs of bygone years....

2014 // 2015 // 2016 // 

TWENTY IN TEXAS // weekend sweeter than sugar

If the calendar year is like a cake, then December is the frosting on top. And the only thing sweeter than a copious amounts of sugary frosting is friends who throw you a surprise party and give you copious amounts of said frosting! December 1st is always my favorite day of the year because it always puts everything back into perspective for me and reminds me how blessed these years of my life have been. Life isn't always easy but there are so many people in my life that make each day so much sweeter. Turning 20 in Texas reminded me of just that. 

My dear sweet human Mallory threw me a surprise party. And by surprise I mean, she accidentally told me about it the day before and then made me walk in twice because she forgot to film it but either way, what a win. What did surprise me (actually) was how freaking thoughtful every detail was. Apples because I eat like 16189 a day, frosting because theres nothing gluten free in the bakery so that's all I can eat, pink everything because duh and LANY was playing in the background because nothing describes my life more than those lyrics.

Every detail was so thoughtful and wow. I could cry just thinking about it!

"Because Diet Coke with Lime is your favorite!"

On my actual birthday I wore my favorite little plaid pants and even though I had classes all day, it was so fun. After class we had a little photoshoot then hit the road because what place is there to spend your 20th birthday other than Lubbock, Texas?

Our time at Tech began with some technical difficulties for me, but the next day I went to Sugar Browns for a couple hours to do homework and it was definitely a good decision. Never in my life did I think I'd spend the day after my 20th birthday in a random coffee shop in a random town in Texas, but I love how life works. You know what else I loved? The acai bowl I inhaled SO quickly that I forgot to take a photo.  

(Mallory, Mallory, Me and Sarah. Apparently homeschool girls don't know to wear black.)
The actual real reason we went to Lubbock was to attend a formal for a fraternity that we are definitely not apart of (because uh, we're girls?) at a school of which we most certainly do not attend (because uh, we go to ACU?) either.

Our dates were super fun and absolutely precious.  And considering that we met them 5 minutes before walking into the formal, I think the entire night went very well and definitely wasn't as awkward as we anticipated.

(Unfortunately our dancing was just as awkward as we expected.)

The next morning we went to church, ate the most amazing taco's our life and frolicked around downtown Lubbock which is actually pretty dang cute. Plus I found a pink house! What more could I want in life/for my birthday weekend celebration?

A week before I turned 20, I was terrified. Today, I'm thankful because through another year of life I have learned that The Lord can provide in ways we never expected. He has given me amazing friends, a wonderful time in Texas and He went above and beyond and blessed me with everything from the acai to the pink house on Broadway.

HAPPY DECEMBER / DEFINING DECADE! 

Birthdays past...

14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // I never turned 19 apparently // 

Hydrangea Heaven

I spent all morning in biology learning about plants, specifically angiosperms aka FLOWERS. Back in Savannah in the summer, the hydrangeas were in full bloom and the absolute most beautiful thing ever. Learning about the intricate plant cells and tissue isn't exactly the most exciting thing but wow, I'm a sucker for a good monocot! Look how pretty they are.

Summer Days in Savannah

It's freaking October and I'm just now sitting down to write about our summer adventures in Savannah. Granted I just moved across the country, started college and lost my tan in a week but yeah, excuses excuses.

It was my goal this year to see my friend Sarah McNair. Lucky me, I saw her twice and was in her wedding! She wasn't even engaged when I made that goal, so either I'm a prophet or God is just really good at being God. (you pick!) Either way, I'm so thankful I got to spend time with Sarah. There are some friends where you know that no matter what, you'll be friends forever. Sarah is one of those people, and I'm so glad she's in my life.

I met all these girls at TeenPact, isn't that so funny? I guess the pencil skirts and political debates were good for something. I met Sarah and Nellie back in Georgia in 2014 (see it HERE, also lol at the fact that Sarah and I didn't really even know one another then.) and then we all connected again at NC the same year (see here) and added bri to the party. Easily without a doubt, they are some of my all time favorite people. I'm baffled at the way that TeenPact creates such strong friendships. It's weird and super awkward but WORTH every second.

Sarah wasn't in Savannah when I went over spring break (say that ten times fast), so it was a treat to be able to explore the city with a native this time around. Obviously I'm smitten with the old fashioned Charm of the city....the sweltering heat? Not so much.

I love these women with my whole heart. Also, I love the random lady we asked to take this photo because it actually turned out! Cheers to our #IDOCREW and such a fun weekend in Savannah.