Gallery Wall

I’ve pretty much always wanted a gallery wall in every place we’ve ever lived. But I knew it would be a big project, taking both time & money. When we recently moved into our new place, we decided to go for it. A gallery wall would be perfect for the wall behind our couch, and would add interest to the space. So we started googling ideas and tried to nail down what what look we wanted (which took some time). We decided to go with white frames and to add a few “intrigue” pieces to add depth. We headed over to ikea and purchased several assorted frames, and then from there we searched for the other pieces. We found the block letters at Anthropology, and the beveled mirror at Target.

Then we moved on to the daunting task of arranging and rearranging the pieces into a shape that we both liked. We must’ve sat on our living room floor for 2+ hours trying to figure it out. Once we finally got an arrangement we liked, it was time to hang. God bless my sweet husband. That was quite the task and he handled it well.

We filled the frames with some pieces we made ourselves, some we bought, and some we found online. Ryan designed a print for our wedding vows, which we now have up in the two smaller frames.

It was a big project, but we love how it turned out and think it was worth the hard work! ♥

Letting Go

I love starting the day off with my devotional and a cup of coffee. It sets the tone for the day and helps me focus on what truly matters. Something I struggle with and am working through is learning how to let go. Letting go of control can be one of the hardest things to do. I want to trust God and trust his plans for me, but that means handing over control to Him. Trusting Him with my dreams, my future, my relationships. Most of the time I am clinging on for dear life, mostly due to fear. Fear that things won’t work out, fear of being unhappy, fear of failing, fear of succeeding, the list goes on. I’ve always been a “worrywart” as they say, and so living in the moment has always been a struggle. Instead, I try to think and plan for the future. Imagining every possible outcome of events so I can try to prepare myself for them. This usually leads to my feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

But the thing is…. I don’t have to have it all figured out. I can take it one baby step at a time and see where that leads me. This concept does not, however, come easy for me. It is something that I will have to work on every. single. day.

Right now I am choosing to let go and see what happens. To live in the moment and Trust Him.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

Family Adventures

I am blessed in that I married into one of the most loving, fun, goofy families ever. It’s hard living so far away from them (they’re in Florida, we’re in California), but living far apart has helped us to cherish the time that we do have together.

Christmas 2011 the whole family came out to visit us. We had an amazing ten days together and we made the most of it. We showed them all of our favorite places here in Southern California (quite possibly in an attempt to lure them out west). We played in the snow in Big Bear, paddle boarded in Dana Point, hiked in Hollywood, and wine tasted in Temecula Valley. So many great memories that I will treasure for years to come. 

Sidenote: my nephew Sawyer is pretty much the cutest thing ever. His parents, my brother and sister-in-law, just recently welcomed their second child (a precious baby girl named River) into the world! Cannot wait to meet her & snuggle. 

I'm BAACCCCCKKKKK!

Well, hi! Not sure if you remember me… Once upon I time I had a blog. Then life happened and I slowly but surely lost the time & motivation to keep it up. My little blog has been on my heart lately though, and I’ve really missed it.

I’ve been wanting to post again for a while now, but was back and forth on whether or not I should. After a few months of internally battling self-doubt and a bucket full of excuses, I’ve decided to go for it. This time around I want to use my blog (moreso) to share what the hubs and I are up to, and as a creative outlet to express myself. Before, posting became challenging as I grew too concerned with what other people thought. I worried how I would be perceived, and if other people were judging me. I could get 100 positive comments or responses to my blog, but would dwell on 1 negative comment. I let it get to my head. But now, as I post, I will try to remember that is blog is not for them. I want to have the freedom to post & share as I please. To share whatever is on my heart or my mind.

And so, with that being said, it’s been a year and a half and I have lots to catch up on. :)

I thought I’d kick off by sharing a little bit of what we’ve been up to. The photos below are from my instagram account.

1. Shopping at the Americana at Brand in Glendale. 2. Gorgeous day by the water in Huntington Beach. 3. Wakeboarding this past summer in Lake Mead, NV on a church trip. 4. Macarons at SweetSalt in Toluca Lake 5. Date night with the hubs. 6. Another shot from Lake Mead, NV 7. View of LA from Runyon Canyon in Hollywood. 8. Irish coffee at dinner from our trip to cancun. 9. Farmer’s market in Glendale 10. Girls night out with my lovely friend Valerie. 

Santa Barbara & Santa Ynez Valley

    Several weeks ago Ryan and I had the luxury of going to Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez Valley with some friends to wine taste & explore. It is so stunning there that I couldn’t help but take a ton of pictures. The rolling hills & mountains are majestic enough to take your breath away. We had the opportunity to tour Saarloos & Sons on the first day of harvest. The owners explained the winemaking process and even let us try some of the grapes! AHmazing. Here are some photos from the trip. ♥