LOVE AT FIRST BITE....

In some random conversation, it was discovered that Lisa (the German exchange student!)  had never had a true donut! (and we mean true as in full fat WITH sprinkles.) Obviously we had to remedy the situation, so we made a day out of it and invaded our Krispy Kreme for a while to get our donut fix.

And now I give you the most documented bite in history...

▲▲ I'm not sure if she liked them or not. I mean, she only ate like 3!

I guess we will have to go back to find out for sure!

▲▲ These kids are the absolute sweetest humans EVER. And also let me say this, the light in said donut shops was reallllly nice. Some of my most favorite photos ever.

▲▲ And last but not least, an awkward family photo! A few weeks back our youth group was helping at some inner city camp thing (I'm aware that I have a knack for terrible descriptions, but hear me out.) I was hugging Landon (our favorite 11 year old!) and one of the girls at the camp ran up to me and shouted "IS THAT YOUR SON?!" ......awkward. And since I can't raise a child alone, I enlisted all my friends to be godmothers and they take their parental roles VERY seriously.

Anyway, it was such a good donut extravaganza. Cheers for Lisa's first (3) donut(s)! and for new friends and old ones and hey, I'm a mom now!

....still awkward.

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS, MID JULY

It's July 15th? It's already July? IT'S ALREADY 2014?

Basically how I'm feeling lately!

I can't really write anything without saying how good God is. How faithful he is. I keep a journal for a variety of reasons, but one of the most impactful is that I see my prayers (and pleading and general whinny requests) be answered in ways I never imagined.

God doesn't owe us anything-

yet in His grace, He still gives us good things.

▲▲ I've been spending A LOT of time at my friend Kelsea's and she just happened to get a new puppy (perfect timing, I'd say!) And so at 10 pm on a Monday we had a little photo shoot celebrating the love shared between Harper and I!

▲▲ This is Lisa everyone! Lisa is especially cool....and she's also German!! And I guess if I can't travel this summer, talking to a foreigner will have to do. She totally thwarts any stereotypes I had about Germans (you know, all that Hitler stuff can cloud your vision!) She gets my jokes. She likes to travel. She's sweet, and then on top of that she's got an accent. What's not to love?

▲▲ You know that time where we got all dressed up to go to a different church to watch 2 friends get baptized and then we found out that it was the wrong Sunday? Well obviously we had to document it. DUH.

It's been a fabulous summer so far. I'm so, so, so grateful for these days and friends and never ending laughs I don't deserve.

Through the clouds of midnight, this bright promise shone: 'I will never leave you, never leave you alone.'" 

(help! I've fallen into pinterest quotes and I can't get up!)

OH MACARON HOW I LOVE THEE

A little macaron shop opened up in our dinky and equally dorky mall a few months ago. After trying macarons from Paris and NYC, I really didn't have any interest in cheap, Floridian macrons! (you can't blame me, can you?!)

But then dear Sarah invited me to go and I threw my prejudice out the window with an "oh why the heck not" and we found ourselves at the macaron shop in our dinky, dorky mall. And lo and behold, it had good macarons! actually, they were almost as good as my Paris macarons!

So moral of the story, Floridians can do a few things right! (just not the Hawaiian print shirts...we stink at fashion.)

ps: shout out to Sarah for her wizard hand model talents!

TO A SPARKLY FIFTH

I tell you, there is nothing more depressing than a rainy 4th of July! Actually wait! The only thing more depressing than a rainy 4th is a rainy 4th with thunder and lighting . I mean, on the quintessential summer holiday, where picnics and sunscreen are required by unspoken law! Rain can really dampen the mood, if you know what I mean.

So on July 5th, the sparklers were lit. And on July 6th, a blog post was written!

I'm so glad I have my priorities straight.

As for the rest of you, hope your holiday was slightly less rainy and that you got your sparkler sparkle going ON the appropriate day. Or really either way, I hope you ate a hot dog in my honor!

BOOM. CLAP. THE SOUND OF MY HEART. 
(YOU CAN FINISH THE REST....)

A peek into 4th's past! {2011} {2012} {2013}

LIFE LOVES THE LIVER OF IT

One of those days where your hair is cooperating (for once!) and your brain is actually working and your puppy is being especially fluffy.

I believe they call those "good days."
But I like to call them very very very good days indeed.

Life loves the liver of it.

THE SUMMER (OF ALL SUMMERS) LIST

SUN'S OUT, SUMMER'S ON.
(its kind of mandatory to start off these posts with blackmail material.....so there!)

As it is the way with Summers, list's are essential! Lists of highly first world things I would probably do anyway as my life is basically flitting from one pointless task to the next. But! My new school this year is gonna be a real jerk, so this is kind of my last summer of pure nonsense.

And we all know how much I love nonsense.

I couldn't decided if I wanted to take this the practical or impracticable route. But after much internal debate, I've decided I can't do either perfectly. So basically, I want to learn to change a tire and have rainbows shoot out my eyes. Sounds doable right?

-THE SUMMER (OF ALL SUMMERS) LIST-

READ: If I stay

SING: Oceans

PLAY: All Of Me

STRUM: new techniques.

SAY YES: to as many social events as possible

SNAP: photos and videos of everything

BAKE: something with lemons! i don't know why!

CREATE: Palm Beach Chic all the way

SHARE: All my Italy pictures.

PLAN: Girls weekend!!!!

What's on ya'lls summer list? Frolicking in retro bathing suits? Eating donuts poolside? Meeting new friends (and by friends, we mean boys)?) Or probably if you're like me, all of the above.

(just kidding, boys are lame! Netflix is so much better!)

"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning all over again with the summer."

{and yay, lucky you! 2012's list(ish) HERE, and 2013's is HERE! Huzzah!}

B + W on the low down

I am getting to the age where its kind of crucial to know the hip phrases. You know, 21st century slang and all that jazz. But  no, not this unsocialized, awkward homeschooler! not i! Whilst lounging among a multitude of blankets and a cheesy movie buzzing the the background, I make the great mistake of mixing up "keeping things on the down low" and decided to jazz it up and keep things on the "low down"

because you know, humor is my thing.

and by humor i mean unintentionally embarrassing myself!

One: Angie bae being Angie bae

Two: Flowers from Italy because Italy has the best flowers

Three: Vbs and for once I didn't die!

Four: Anna Lee, my first online friend to turn into a real one! huzzah!