used. unique. and cheap.

i like a good hunt for unique finds. when you're on a budget you find yourself having to get way more creative. most people might try to bounce around from local thrift store to thrift store hoping to get lucky on finding a thing or two. ever considered shopping the thrift store online?

brilliant. i know.

take a look here. at the goodwill shop online you can browse items that are in goodwills all over the country. might have better luck with a much broader selection. i know i did. i currently am bidding on a handful of items. love to show you some of those. and best of luck on your thrift store searching.

DIY

i love a good project. i strongly dislike [hate] the summer climate in mississippi. i HATE it so bad, that one day i am convinced it will be the harsh summers that run me out of this state forever, never to return except for an occasional visit or two.... and those visits, i'll make sure, occur during the mild winters or semi-pleasant springs.

you don't really know how bad a summer in mississippi actually is until you decide to experience it full-force, and work 8 hours non stop one saturday afternoon. blake and i tested our tolerance for the heat this past saturday. the project was a success. the weather was miserable. i'm so proud of him for toughing it out with me- he could have easily said no to my request, but not only did he agree to helping me, he sanded down my 3 pieces of furniture like a pro and did so with the best attitude. in the midst of a scorching/non-airconditioned garage, we actually found ourselves having fun- i'm so excited to show you how well our hard work paid off!

i took a lot of inspiration from the talented kristen fountain davis. she is a decorative painter that lives in the atl area, and specializes in painting walls, canvases, furniture, and ceilings. i came across her blog and discovered several of her refinished furniture pieces she did and i absolutely fell in love. here are two of my favorites.

before

after

before

after

aren't they both just lovely? i can't take my eyes off the yellow and white striped one. anyway, with all that said, i'd love to show you some of my before and afters of my diy projects this weekend. i am quite proud of how they turned out.

i had to include this picture because it just makes me laugh. we had to squeeze all three pieces of furniture (1 dresser and 2 nightstands) in my car. along with the boy and the dog(whos directly behind my seat). clearly we didn't plan this well, but managed to make it to blake's house safely and in one piece.

before

sanding away in 100 degree heat... takes serious skill which he clearly has.

applying the first layer of white paint after sanding is complete.

for an antique/distressed look, once the first layer of white paint dried, i applied a weathered crackle coat. then lightly rolled on a top coat of the white paint. it instantly began weathering! success!

pictures of the finished/completed product will be uploaded tomorrow. enjoy.

take action

"Waiting on the Lord is not a matter of sitting, as on a chair, doing nothing. For Abraham (and for us), it was (and is) a confident expectation involving active obedience."

ran across this bold and truthful statement. stop being lazy and do something.

montana

i'm excited about blake's precious family coming to jackson a week from today. and excited about the weekend because i have several diy projects around my house to do in preparation for their arrival. i'll post before and after pictures next week. the reason they aren't here this weekend: well blake's brother and dad are in Montana checking on the progress of their renovated cabin. currently they get this view. i am so jealous. happy happy friday. oh and p.s. i get to go to montana, more than likely, over labor day weekend. be. jealous. happy friday.

vulnerability notes

some 'important' things i've learned along the way...mostly about vulnerability. in light of my hardships, i seriously can't tell you how important this list is below. i know because i've learned and am still learning them first hand. believe me or not. i can only praise the Lord for His continual work in my life. I can't imagine where or who I'd be without Him.

-it's hard, really hard to actually be vulnerable.
-most people dont realize they arent [vulnerable]
-healing will never occur without vulnerability
-be real with others and with yourself
-you will find that there are people out there that really do care about you (i.e. your situation in life dealing with hardships and hurts)
-when you've experienced extreme hurts in life you tend to embrace the negative in all things- DON'T. seriously, DON'T. its not only miserable for others to hear, it'll make you miserable, and always, always a doubter.
-its so much easier to give than to receive.
-learning vulnerability is extremely hard but you'll never learn if you don't start trying.
-you won't learn overnight, but if you don't ever try, you really won't learn. no excuses.
-don't expect to learn any other way except by actually being vulnerable.
-lack of vulnerablitiy ruins, taints, hinders, hurts, crushes, destroys, and severs relationships.
-never hide your hurts with 1) a smiley face 2) avoidance of the hurt altogether 3) an apathetic attitude about the hurt (we acknowledge it but cover it up with God jargon like- "oh, i'm just waiting for the Lord to do something- make a move- work in my life..")
-most of the time Christ moves in our lifes when/after we become proactive- sometimes that's what he's waiting for- a step out in faith. (applies greatly to the one i just mentioned above)
-don't cling/dwell on the past. learn from it and move on. if we keep a track record of other peoples wrongs or our own, we build up more hurt, thus hindering our vulnerability.
-i cannot emphasize this one more... seriously, get real. get REAL with people. OPEN UP.
-its okay to be vulnerable with people you just met. (this is hardest- but speeds up the process of learning vulnerability.)
-never demand respect. you have to earn it- reality check: most people would blatantly rather disrespect you if you're the one doing the demanding.

cozy

its inevitable. everytime i look out the window and notice a dreary rain, wherever i may be, i imagine and desire to be in my bed napping. well today just so happens to be one of those days, and, well, i've got a nice comfy bed on my mind.
speaking of such things, i've seriously been working hard on finding inspiration for my bedroom and guest bedroom renovations that will most likely be taking place this summer. starting with my room, of course. the challenge is doing it on a budget, which means refinishing furniture i already have. the harder part is finding items to buy that are cheap cheap cheap that i'll use for awhile. i'm sooooo picky. its ridiculous.
anyway, here are my inspirational finds that i dubbed 'cozy' found in Livingetc. hope you all have a delightful weekend ahead of you. see you monday.

a full heart

wow. what a weekend it has been. wonderful and necessary to say the least.  a good break from mississippi life and an enjoyable time with friends in charlotte. can i just say the lord has completely blessed me not just with an amazing man in my life, but also with blake's friends that come with him... its like the sweetest package. i've meet some of the most godly men and women since i started dating blake- and growing closer to godly people, well, lets just say that its hard to turn down that opportunity.
aside from being a great weekend-it opened up opportunity for blake and i to grow closer together. and for me to learn a lot about myself-this usually comes with a price (its inevitable, the lord always knows how to get my attention). a price like...loosing luggage and feeling like i'm roughing it in front of people i just met for a day and a half. i'll be honest and say i thought it'd be easier than it was on me... and i was a little humiliated and shamefully embarassed with my diva behavior-despite toughing it out with a semi poor attitude. the lord, just through a day and a half of lost luggage, completely used this time to teach me vulnerability in unknown places. i'm working on really allowing the lord to open my heart up completely- he's so sweetly showing me that it's okay to break down the "security walls" in front of people i don't know one hundred percent.. and by doing it sweetly, i mean, he's blessed me with this amazing man in my life who is constantly reassuring me that he is always on my team, always. i see the importance of relationships and the jealously the lord has to have an undivided relationship with each of his children through blake so much. just through his undying sacrificial encouragement he brings into my life everyday- its unending. and to imagine that the lords encouragement and support is a thousand times more than what blake shows me everyday, wow.. i can't even imagine. praise Christ.

seriously. praise Him. praise Christ for blessing me with a man in my life who is so Christlike- its contagious- who's so selfless its emotional- who's so encouraging its overwhelmingly uplifting- and who is genuinely pushing me daily to be more and more of a woman of God. there is no body else in my life who does this, nor, is there anyone else in my life who has ever come close.

i can kind of come close to imagining the lord's love for his children when blake gives me a hug or when he smiles at me.

"God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too… An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy" ~Rick Warren

since blake and i started dating, i have never cried more in my life. not tears of saddness- these tears are tears full of overwhelming thankfulness to the ONE who created me...to the ONE who looked down on me, a filthy sinner, and said, "My child, I want to give you this gift-(Blake). I want you to see this gift and think only of Me- enjoy it, for My glory."
i am overwhelmed by a love from a heavenly Father that i completely feel utterly unworthy of receiving- which makes me the most blessed woman (or so i think) in the world. the lord has used blake to teach me so much about myself, about him, and most importantly about Christ.

anyone or anything that can teach us or give us a glimpse of Christ or points us closer to Him is a gift from God.

signed- a thankful spirit.

Hebrews 13:15, 16 "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

but i just can't post this blog without sharing two of the pictures from our weekend. i'll be posting more later (they're all on blake's camera). i chuckle at these two. we are so out of our element. you can tell who is the baseball player though. = ) one guess.