After all the kitchen updates I thought I would finally give another room in the house some love, the Dining Room! This sweet little room has come a long way already and I’m excited about the little pieces coming together in the near future. This room was used as a play room in its previous life so there are definitely some fun changes to be made.

From the beginning I knew I wanted the wall color to be bright and happy. I’m a fan of light colored dining rooms that don’t feel too serious or dark but still have some personality with a vivid color. Over the last several months I’ve found the perfect feel for the future dining room.

 

Rustic Rooster Interiors

via pinterest

I can’t help but picture a big Easter Sunday lunch in this room with Peter and our family. More updates to come with our actual room and all the fun details about the transition from play room to dining room!

fun sunday nights!

Last week at work I was lucky enough to receive a few tickets to the final show of Jersey Boys at the Peace Center in downtown Greenville. I didn’t really know what to expect for the show but I heard nothing but great things about it. Plus, since my date for the show is technically a Jersey Boy I thought it seemed like a perfect date night! So on Sunday night, Peter and I + our sweet friends, Katie and Cody met up downtown for a drink and some food at Chicora Alley before the show and since we had a little extra time we squeezed in a some coffee and yogurt at Spill the Beans!  The last minute double date night was wonderful and the show was so awesome. It was a perfect way to end the weekend!!

that time that God gave me a little gift.

A week ago I was struggling with some stress. Little things that have to do with the wedding like a calligraphy pen that I needed to finish the invites so we can send them out to all of our guests. I started with one pen, it died. So I bought another one on Amazon, used it and just like the other, it died. On the search for another pen I started with Amazon... no pen. Checked other places online... no pen. Checked local craft stores... no pen. 

The stress began. 

Yes. Over a pen. Then I remembered earlier that day I saw this little bit of wonderful on pinterest... 

All of my feelings were coming straight from Satan. I knew it was true. I let him inside and let him jumble my heart and my head instead of fighting him. Once I realized how crazy I was acting I decided to shut that door. Slam that door right in his face. Bam! Out with your evil ways and constant need to cause turmoil in my life.

I then made the conscious effort to let God in. Opening that door and welcoming Him into the stress. Asking Him to calm the obsessive need to find a silly pen. Begging Him to comfort my worried heart. Letting Him make my life still instead of rushing to find a conclusion for something so little. 

I decided that I'd find a pen. It may not be the same exact pen but it would work. It would be fine and the world would move on without that one specific pen. No big deal. 

Skip ahead a couple of days later... I decided to dig out my white summer purse from the bottom of my closet for the trip to Biltmore on Friday night. I transferred all the necessary things to the white bag and didn't think much of it. In the car on the way to Biltmore I started to rummage through the old bag because I am notorious for leaving little surprises in my bags after I switch to the next. While digging around in all the compartments I found several fun things. A lipstick that I thought I lost... a really pretty ring that I haven't seen since last summer... some awesome mascara that somehow wasn't at all clumpy.... After finding all of these goodies I had my hand down in the center of the bag and I felt something really familiar. Something I never thought I'd find. I'm sure you know what it was. The same exact pen that I needed and couldn't find anywhere. Literally, the last place I thought I would find one. I squealed and startled everyone in the car. I ripped the cap off praying that the ink wasn't dried out and then I squealed even louder when a thick line of black appeared on an old receipt. 

Everyone in the car was staring at me. Confused, slightly frightened and wondering why in the world I was screaming over a pen. It was THE pen! I then thought it would only make sense to scream "THANK YOU LORD!!! HE GAVE ME THIS PEN!" or something along those lines... I'm not quite sure what I really screamed but I was overcome with happiness because I don't remember ever having one of these pens last summer. I can't imagine why I would have ever put a pen like this in my purse. It just didn't make sense. The only thing that did make sense was this answered prayer. How he took away my stress, my obsession, my worry... he took all of it away and then this little gift was just an added bonus. His love is so sweet and the way He hears our cries and comforts us always amazes me. 

After a fun weekend (and some invitation addressing with my awesome new pen) I was excited about church on Sunday morning. The topic was on patience. Once again... He was speaking to me. The teaching pastor for the day, Bill White, was explaining how the definition of patience is not a personality style... it is the outcome of long suffering for love (Ephesians 4:2). How Christ is dwelling in our heart through faith and when He fills that space in our heart we are able to suffer long for those we love and really experience patience. 

He then moved on to Hebrews 12:1 and talked about how life is a race. The Lord puts us in this race and we should run with endurance and patience for the one true goal. To be with Him forever. We should look forward to that before anything else. Our whole life should point to that one goal. Our future with Him. Then Bill said something that I needed to hear more than anything.... 

"I am not going to live for my wedding day here, I'm going to live for the wedding day, the marriage supper of the lamb. I'm not living for my reception & I'm not obsessing over that. But I'm living for the reception that God is going to put on when He unites the Bride of Christ to His Son. That's the one I'm looking forward to. And not that it's wrong to look forward to the one that's in between but you can't put your hope in it. You put your hope in the one that's coming." 

I was shocked. I turned to look at Peter sitting right beside me and just laughed. It is so true. It doesn't matter what pen I use for the invitations. It doesn't matter how perfect our reception is. All that matters is the outcome of this race. The end goal of spending eternity with Him. 

Yes, I am incredibly thankful for the man I will be enduring this race with. Yes, I am looking forward to the day that will make us husband and wife. Our life will become one and I'm so happy that we have Jesus Christ to live that life for and then spending eternity in His presence. That is the end goal. 

Five years.

Five years ago today I went on my first date with my future husband. Thinking back on that night I can’t help but laugh to myself. I honestly never dreamed I would marry that man. Of course the more I got to know Peter I had my hopes and dreams about our future together but I didn't think I could “catch him” and in a strange way I guess I couldn't.

My thought process on dating and relationships has changed so much over the past five years. To begin with, my focus was not on the Lord at all. I put most of my energy into myself and what I wanted at the time instead of striving for a closer relationship to God. Yes, I went to church on Sunday mornings when I forced myself to get out of bed after a late Saturday night but that was about it. My heart wasn't in the right place. 

I guess that’s why I can’t help but laugh a little bit when I think about how much as changed. How much HE as changed me. How I finally “let” Him change my little world around. Of course life isn't perfect and there will always be room for improvement but I do know that He is sovereign and loving in every move He makes and I’m so thankful that I can look back and see that in my life. I can see the Lord so clearly in my relationship with Peter now and that is the most wonderful part about this season we are in. The way that we have "caught" each other within His guided path. 

Tonight we are celebrating our five year (kind of sorta) anniversary with our second marriage counseling meeting. I honestly can’t think of a better way to spend it and for that I am extremely thankful. I am really enjoying this time right now as we prepare to become husband and wife. It is such a happy season and I’m glad we can celebrate it together. 

and Peter... I'll let you buy me some sushi this weekend, you know, for old times sake. ;-)

Some moms, their girls and a little wine...

For the past couple of weeks there have been some plans developing for a fun night at the Biltmore Estate! My new friend (and second cousin but I’m just going to go ahead and drop the second title… she’s my cousin), Meghan and her sweet Mom are both pass holders for the Biltmore and during the lovely months of July & August they can bring a guest with them for FREE on Friday nights. Once my Mom and I heard of this glorious news we did what any family/friend would do. We invited ourselves to a Friday night of fun at the most beautiful house in North Carolina. I've visited Biltmore a few times but it has been a long while since the last time and even longer since my Mom has been. So, we were excited! Any Friday you get to leave work early and take a little drive to a “Girls Night Away” is okay by me, especially when that Girls Night includes a free wine tasting. High five for wine, am I right? 

Now its time for the picture overload. Prepare yourself.

Yea…. It was gorgeous and so much fun. I love these ladies so much and I’m so happy that my Mom and I have reconnected with this part of our family. I'm really happy that Meghan decided to move back to Greenville. It was such a good decision because now I have a new cousin and friend. I'm still not even close to catching up with Peter and his thirty something cousins but I'm thankful for me three!! 

Eve

She was made from Adam’s rib (2:21-23) – “not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” (Matthew Henry Commentary)

When I read that last night in the new She Reads Truth study I felt this wonderful, warm gooey feeling inside. I really think this study is going to be so perfect for my life right now. I recently mentioned in my Summer Bucket List that I wanted to read something just for me and I am making a commitment to finish this study! I usually slack off once I start a #SheReadsTruth study but I am going to try my hardest to finish this one.

 

We women are tricky and if I can learn more about myself and the way God made me then I am all game for that. Join in on the fun and learn with me....... and also keep me accountable, please? ;)

4th of July and some other fun things...

Happy 4th of July errrybody!

I’m pretty excited about this year’s holiday! Last year was a little different.  I had to work and we did the whole fireworks and eat a lot of food downtown kind of thing which is always fun but its just not going to happen this year. I am once again working but not my 9-5 job. I’m working at my anytime I have time to actually do something at the house job which is a lot more fun. We have a lot of painting, sanding, cleaning, sanding, patching walls, and more sanding to complete before we can take a rest. I also have a feeling after a day of hard work the only thing I will want to do is shower, sit in my pajamas and have a cold beer while watching some Netflix. Don’t judge. It will be awesome. Plus, I’ve never been a huge fan of fireworks for some reason? Just for fun here are some more updates for the house......

 

I'll be honest... I didn't want to share my excitement too early in the planning stages since I was a little afraid it wouldn't happen. You never know what might come up and we weren't 100% sure removing part of the wall would actually work. My Uncle Larry was so kind to help during this whole process, from checking the structure of the house to finally tearing down some house!

We were hoping that we could do a half wall but thanks to some copper pipes from the second floor bathroom we were limited to only widening the door. The more I thought about it, I started to realize I liked that option even more. I think it will be nice to have the open flow from our kitchen to living room but still have a secluded area for our kitchen table.

^^^Thank God for technology... the only scale we had on hand was on Peter's iPhone. 

^^^lots of wires... I was so confused. Thankfully, they were not. 

^^^ Big open space to the kitchen now! 

^^^Peter has started filling in the part of the dry wall that was cut to check on the pipes and once the walls are wallpaper free and everything is smooth we can finally start panting our kitchen!

I know I sound like a broken record over here but I can't wait to live in this place!! I do feel super blessed that we aren't handling all of these changes while living in the house but it also feels a little bit like torture to not really call this place home yet. I know it will feel so surreal once that changes.

I also want to express my gratitude and thankfulness to my wonderful uncle that helped with this project. He was so sweet to take time out of his busy schedule last week to help us out.

We really are super thankful! 

Suuumma Time!

My sweet friend, Amber, over at Beauty in Humble Places inspired me to find the good in summer. Normally I’m not a fan of the hot months but I think I need to find God’s beauty in this season also. Like the way the sun heats up my skin in a new way during the last few weeks and all the little freckles pop out to say hello. Or the way my hair doesn't need as much attention thanks to the simple way I can air dry my curls at night while I sleep. And probably my favorite part, the way the sun stays awake a little longer so I can accomplish more in my day. I guess summer isn't all that bad after all.

To try and change my attitude about the next few months of heat I thought I would create a little bucket list of some fun things to do….

1. take a trip to the lake. Last year Peter and I went to the lake with our sweet friends, Katie & Cody, and it was such a fun time… we need to make that happen again.

2. have a girls night trip to the Biltmore Estate. This may or may not be in the works already so I could be cheating with this one but I don’t care.

3. plant some pretty annual flowers in our front yard. I want to plant some bright plants for a pop of color and since they will be annual flowers I will be able to enjoy them every year.

4. read something that isn't “required” reading. Over the next several months I will have a lot of required reading thanks to my girls’ bible study and our marriage counseling but I also want to make room for something else to read just because.

5. continue my love for estate/yard sale shopping on the weekends. I have found so many good finds for our future house for a fraction of the cost and I think I am slightly addicted. I’m hoping to find a few more bargains on some big pieces of furniture to save us some money and also have an eclectic style for our future home.

6. take a mini vacation from blogging. Sometimes it’s nice to step away and relax for a week or two. Give my fingers a rest and unwind a bit… it always makes me enjoy writing more and its fun to have so much to blog about when I return.

7. plan a trip to ikea. We have a few items on our wish list from ikea and this summer will be the perfect time to go and pick them up!

Hopefully I will be able to fit all this fun into the busy months ahead. I’m a huge “List Maker” and as long as I have something to cross off I have a feeling I will be able to accomplish them! Crossing my fingers… we’ll see what happens.

***************

Do you have a bucket list this summer?

Leave a comment to share some of yours or leave a link if you blogged about one also.

Happy Summer everyone!!!

New House Littles.

During this whole process of making our house a home I've realized there are a few little things that I want to remember forever. Those things that happen and make you smile but then they are gone and you simply forget them. I don't want that to happen. I want to hold on to these special moments because life moves so quickly. I want these little memories that have already filled our home to be just as special as all the big ones that will fill our future.... 

spending time with my maternal grandmother while painting the downstairs bathroom... while rolling those walls I tried my best to soak in every word that was spoken between the two of us because I know how special that time is // slow dancing with Peter in the kitchen on top of all the scraps of peeled wallpaper when John Legend's song Slow dance came on Pandora // standing at the sink washing out the paint from a paint brush and thinking about all the many dishes and pots and pans that will also be washed in that very spot and feeling a smile come across my face // listening to my mom and Peter laughing and talking in the kitchen while I'm painting in another room... i can't even begin to explain how happy it makes me that they like each other and have fun when they spend time together // letting go of my need to have control only to realize that the color Peter picked for the formal living room really is perfect

I mean, seriously... look at that smile. love this man so much! 

Thanks-Living // June

June has been so full of life & I can't believe it is over already! As you probably expect, the whole month has been about the preparations for the wedding and our new home. Things are really coming together and I can't believe how fast it is approaching. Already less than three months. Unbelievable. BUT the month of June was a wonderful one and here are a few of the things I am thankful for.... 

1. Summertime cookouts! The tasty grilled sausage with grilled lemons (thanks Apple family for the amazing idea) just makes the summer evenings so dang summery and perfect. I love a good cookout with some fun people.

2. Finally getting to put some paint on the walls makes my heart so happy!!!!! Yes, five exclamation marks worth of happiness.

3. My new found love of Estate/Yard Sales is making my house full and keeping the bank account full too! I never thought I would look forward to waking up bright and early on Saturday mornings but for the past two weekends I've had so much fun. The chair above is an old, solid wood desk chair that I'm going to put in the study with my mom's desk she grew up using. The chair is the perfect match and I picked this baby up for only $20!

Yup, it has been such a great month and I'm ready for July.

It is going to be so exciting and packed full of all kinds of happiness!!