day seven

post the favorite cover of your favorite song

easy. 

p.s. sorry for the lame video montage. i couldn't find anything better!

day six

describe the earliest thing you can remember

i can actually remember a lot of things from early childhood, but all of them bad of course (you know, that whole traumatizing thing). for instance, i remember the northridge earthquake and my mom taking me and my older brother and trying to keep us safe. and i also remember when i stuck a key in a socket (of course i don't remember much after that) but probably some of the earliest memories i have that are positive take place at my first house, when i was playing in my room and actually coloring on my walls with crayons and making pretty drawings. my mother was very angry of course. but it was so pretty!

day five

compose a thank you letter to someone who has changed your life

dear jonathan,

thank you for the first letter that you ever wrote to me, for having the courage and the instinct to want to know me and become my friend. 

thank you for how good you were to me and my friends the first time we met.

thank you for having no fear the first time you told me that you loved me.

thank you for asking me to marry you.

thank you for being the best friend i could have ever asked for.

thank you waiting for me at the end of the aisle on that day and promising to love me and cherish me forever.

thank you for always challenging me to be a better and more loving person.

thank you for making me think and search and find answers to questions in life.

thank you for making me laugh hysterically all the time.

thank you for always rubbing my back at night when we are falling asleep.

thank you for loving my cat and adopting her as your own.

thank you for loving my friends and for thinking they are as precious as i do.

thank you for loving my family.

thank you for supporting me.

thank you for always putting me first.

thank you for always helping me when i need the help.

thank you for taking care of me when i'm sick.

thank you for watching sex and the city with me and actually liking it!

thank you for always wanting what's best for me.

thank you for letting me go on little shopping trips every now and then even though i don't need any more clothes :)

thank you for always bringing the lord in to our conversations and our lives.

thank you for cooking delicious meals for me.

thank you for listening to my crazy work stories, even when they are gross or you have no idea what i'm talking about.

thank you for telling me i'm beautiful all the time.

thank you for killing spiders for me.

thank you for always listening to me and trying to understand my side of the story.

thank you for the hundreds of other things that i can't write right now because i don't want to make this blog entry incredibly long.

thank you for your love, for your life, for the joy and happiness you bring to me. 

thank you for being you.

i love you.

love,

your wife

day four

write about what you imagine paradise to be like

how about i use a picture instead? i don't really know what paradise will look like, nor do i really care. because i know it will be good. and perfect. and far more than i could ever write about or imagine in my own mind. 

day three

list the five songs you would have with you on a desert island and why

this was not an easy thing for me to write about. how can you choose only five songs to have with you for who knows how long? and part of me wanted to choose the songs that i would want right now, but what about all of the other favorite songs that i have loved for who knows how long? needless to say, i had a hard time choosing songs and if i could i would just have an ipod with me on this mysterious island so i couldn't choose just five of my favorite songs.

first: the thief by brooke fraser. i love brooke fraser. and i love this song. it's the song i walked down the aisle to at my wedding! and it perfectly describes part of the love story between jonathan and i.  i love it.

second: a lack of color by death cab for cutie. death cab is definitely one of my favorite bands and this song is at the top of the list of my favorites by the band. it's a love song (i'm a sucker for love songs) and so pretty and perfect. also reminds me of my love :)

third: amazing grace by anyone really, but especially by sufjan stevens. my favorite hymn of all time. such a reflection of christ's love for us. and of course, his amazing grace.

fourth: claire de lune by debussy. oh man. such a beautiful song. so peaceful and simple. i chose it for the times on my deserted island where i would just want to listen to background music while watching the sunset haha. lame.

fifth: lisztomania by phoenix. definitely a more current love of mine. but this song, especially compared to the other four, is fun and makes me want to dance. i'm all for dance parties on the beach.

day two

post something that inspires you

this is an incredible documentary about a man who was fearless and followed his dreams

amazing

day one

describe your guilty pleasure

oh man. am i really only allowed one? because i definitely have more than one. which maybe means that i have no sense of right and wrong. or that i'm baaaddd. or that some of them maybe aren't so guilty? i'm choosing to believe it's that last one :) 

some of my guilty pleasures include:

1] sleeping waaaayyyy too much. i mean, like eleven or twelve hours. until 3 pm. i have always been a person who loves to sleep and who is really good at it, and i can easily sleep 12 hours every day. except then i miss out on life. so, i do it a lot, but not too much hopefully haha. 

2] trashy tv shows. like the hills, the city, the real housewives of orange county and new jersey (love!), jersey shore, etc. i love it. it's my thing. let it go.

3] any and every type of candy. i am surprised i don't have diabetes already!

4] fashion blogs. i read so many of them it's ridiculous. but i love it! it's so fun to read about these random girls all over the country and see their cute outfits and how they express themselves through clothes.

i know i have many more vices and guilty pleasures, but those are probably my top ones for now.

and you know what? i'm totally ok with them all :)

blog challenge

so, some friends of jonathan's (who are now friends of mine yay!!) are doing this blog thing where they post blog entries about the topics below. and i thought i would do the same thing, which will hopefully make me a more diligent blogger (since i am so horrible at it!) and i also think it will be neat to learn something new about myself and think about things that i maybe never have before. here's to thirty days!

Day 1 - Describe your guilty pleasure.
Day 2 - Post something that inspires you.
Day 3 - List the five songs you would have with you on a desert island and why.
Day 4 - Write about what you imagine paradise to be like.
Day 5 - Compose a thank you letter to someone who has changed your life.
Day 6 - Describe the earliest thing you can remember.
Day 7 - Post the favorite cover of your favorite song.
Day 8 - Write about someone you think would make a good president.
Day 9 - Discuss five things you want to see change.
Day 10 - Elaborate on a dream you had this past week, described in detail.
Day 11 - Post your favorite picture ever taken of yourself.
Day 12 - Write about your favorite musical artist’s life story.
Day 13 - Describe the memory that never fails to make you laugh.
Day 14 - Post a video or link to the best mash-up you’ve ever heard.
Day 15 - Share a moment, phrase, or song that has changed your life the most.
Day 16 - Write about something that you want to do within the next five years.
Day 17 - Construct a post about what you would like to be remembered for.
Day 18 - Post a picture that evokes emotion.
Day 19 - Transcribe a passage from a book that has touched you.
Day 20 - Write about a band that you immediately liked and the song that made you like them.
Day 21 - Discuss your favorite medium of art.
Day 22 - Write about someone you would give your life up for without question.
Day 23 - Share the most awkward first impression you feel you’ve ever given.
Day 24 - Describe something you did as a child that other people remember you for.
Day 25 - Elaborate on the following: Something you would do if no one stopped you or if you knew you wouldn’t fail.
Day 26 - Define love, in your own words.
Day 27 - Define the meaning of life, in your own words.
Day 28 - Describe a moment you remember being completely happy and a description of why you believe you were feeling that way.
Day 29 - Write about what it is that you live for.
Day 30 - Close out this project by listing the ways you believe you have grown over the last thirty days.

o God, i have tasted thy goodness, and it has both satisfied 

me and made me thirsty for more. i am painfully conscious of

my need of further grace. i am ashamed of my lack of desire. 

o God, the triune God, i want to want thee; i long to be filled with longing; 

i thirst to be made more thirsty still. 

show me thy glory, i pray thee, that so i may know thee indeed. 

begin in mercy a new work of love within me. 

say to my soul, "rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." 

then give me grace to rise and follow thee up from this misty lowland 

where i have wandered so long.

in jesus' name.

amen.

a.w. tozer

look what i bought the other day!

so excited about this purchase from anthropologie

it's not as crinkly in real life

but it is just as long (almost to my belly button!) and so so pretty

and i love it

jonathan was skeptical when i held it up to him, but when i tried it on he thought it was pretty fabulous (of course he didn't say fabulous haha) 

and he encouraged me to get it with some of my bday money to anthro

so i did

i can't wait to wear it!

many sappy reasons why i love my husband

... because he always makes me laugh, even when it's not particularly funny

... because he will take me shopping when i've had a bad day at work

... because he loves my cat (his cat too now) 

... because he always picks the perfect cupcake liner for whatever type of cupcake i'm baking (seriously though, he always picks the ones i would!)

... because he tells me i look best with crazy hair and no makeup on

... because he always asks me how work went when i come home in the morning, 

even though he's half asleep

... because he always loves to cook for me

... because he is perfectly content staying home watching movies or playing video games

... because he's my number one fan

... because he's my best friend

you are what you eat

since getting married last august i have gained 15 pounds. yup that's right. 15! thankfully, all of my clothes still fit (if a little tightly). now, i should have prefaced this entry with saying that's it's not about weight or if i look fat or whatever, it's about being and feeling healthy. and that's really what i have been lacking since i have gained all this weight. i'm tired all the time and lack energy and just feel blah. and so i have had a change of heart and of mind. and i am starting to look at food in a very different way.

jonathan and i have really gotten on the organic food kick, with lots of fresh fruits and veggies in our diet and whole grains and food that is natural and not processed. i love looking at food and looking at the list of ingredients and seeing two or three ingredients and knowing exactly what they are. i've also stopped drinking diet coke (except for work nights because i need the caffeine.. i need to develop a taste for black coffee asap!) because i don't want the disgusting thing known as aspartame in my body. basically, i am so wanting to be conscious of the food i put in to my body. there are so many illnesses and diseases out there in the world, some that are genetic and cannot be prevented, and others that are directly linked to poor eating and bad food choices. so why would i choose to put nasty, processed, harmful things in my body if i can do otherwise?

for dinner tonight we are making a quinoa salad with cucumbers and herbs and avocado and i am excited to try quinoa for the first time. wish me luck on my healthy endeavor!

busy busy busy

this picture was taken on the drive down to southern california.

the hubby and i went to southern california over easter weekend.

part birthday celebration (me) and part seeing best friends and part going to an old friend's wedding.

it was so good to see everyone.

one of my best friends is in the process of buying a house, and i have to admit that i am super jealous. jonathan and i both lament the lack of space in our apartment, cute as it is. so, we are starting to save up to be able to buy a house in southern california when the time comes to move home, which will be a couple of years yet.

let's see what else is new. last week my best friend jenna and her awesome hubby paul came up for their anniversary celebration and stayed for a couple of days at our apartment. it was so fun to see them and hang out with them for a few days. i can't wait till we move there so we can see them all the time! we made great food and had lots of laughs.

then, our friend christy and her hubby john and sweet baby ava came up for a day from santa cruz and hung out with us for a couple of hours. she seriously has the best little baby. all smiles unless something is really wrong, or really hurts (but even then she smiles easily).

i've just been working and hanging out and relaxing.

gone on a few bike rides. the weather has been rainy the past couple of days so i'm waiting for it to get sunny to really break in my new bike. i need to think of a good name for it! 

i've made all natural homemade cleaning supplies and skin care, and i seriously love it! i got the idea from my friend steph, and just had to buy the book and try it out for myself. i'll blog about that separately. it deserves it's own post! :)

i recently bought on amazon the encyclopedia of crafts and encyclopedia of sewing by martha stewart and i am itching to get them so i can craft and sew it up. i have been without my sewing machine since getting married but i recently got it from home and i can't wait to break in to it again!

jonathan and i are on a big kick of healthy and natural eating. i have been reading up and researching and i am just at the point in my life where i don't want to put crap in my body. i could write so much about this, so it will have to be a different post i think haha.

anyways, i am actually at work right now. can you believe that?! so wrong. but it's time to attend to some prego's and help out around here.

good night world!

long absence

so much for me starting a new blog and trying to blog a lot huh?
these past two weeks or so have been really busy.
but i promise to blog tomorrow, after resting from my work night tonight.
there are lots of stuff to catch up on!

until then, i hope you have a beautiful saturday.

one of the many reasons why i love my husband...

... because he sends me awesome texts like this one :)

my birthday

so i turned the big 2.5 this year. holy moses. 25 seems so old to me! 24 was a great age. but 25... man. and it only goes downhill from here.. haha totally kidding! 

my birthday was wonderful this year, and i still have two more days of celebration to look forward to at the end of this week. 

my birthday was on saturday, and the hubby and i decided to lay low and spend a relaxing day together. however, the night before i went over to some new friends' house and a big group of us ate some pizza and had some homemade red velvet cupcakes (my fave) and some of the hubby's margaritas (oh my goodness so amazing. i actually hate margaritas but these are delicious!) and then afterwards went out dancing at this place near us called madrone. it's a tiny little dance bar and that night they were playing only 90's music. it was so fun because i knew every single word of every song. while i am an infant of the 80's, i am most definitely a child of the 90's. so that made the night even more fun.

then the next day the hubby and i went out to breakfast and he gave me the best gifts.

aren't these flowers gorgeous? he handpicked every flower too! 

and then i got my favorite chocolates in the world. see's caramel covered patties. mmmm

and then we went down to this cheesecake store that makes, literally, the best cheesecake i have ever had. i am a big cheesecake lover and this quickly moved to the top of my list after a patient from work gave me a piece. i just had to have it! it's from this little store a little bit south of san francisco called zanze's. and the cheesecake is light and fluffy with the crust on the top, not the bottom. oh man! jonathan also claims this cheesecake as the best he's ever had. it will definitely be our go-to for special occasions. 

and i don't know if anyone noticed the basket that my flowers and chocolates were sitting in? yes, it is a bike basket for my new bike! it hasn't come in to the shop yet, but when it does i will jump for joy. i can't wait to go on bike rides around this beautiful city and soak in the fresh air and sunshine. and to name it too. i have a thing where i name big appliances or things i use. weird, i know. 

isn't she a beauty? i need to think of a good name pronto!

all in all, it was a perfect and wonderful birthday. irregardless of material gifts i felt loved and special. and i can't wait to spend my birthday with my best friends in southern california this weekend! 

good night.

copeland

for my birthday this year (more on that later) i saw copeland in the city. it was actually part of their farewell tour, and i can't tell you how sad i am that they are breaking up! copeland is one of my favorite bands. and not only that, but their songs have been kind of like a soundtrack to my life, since i was a freshman in college! all of their songs are so beautiful and their lyrics just grab my heart. some of them are like poetry. not to mention that aaron, the lead singer, has a really cool voice. needless to say, i love them, i'm sad they're going to stop making music, and this past show was wonderful and so good and the perfect ending to a birthday day. the following are some of my favorite lyrics (which was actually really hard to pick because i love almost every song)

and i just know that she warms my heart
and knows what all my imperfections are
and she says that i am the brightest little firefly in her jar

there's a brilliant sky above
and a jealous moon in love and they are
starved for our attention

there's so many things i have to say

i'll stay up all night to hear about your day
we do the best we can in a small town
act like kids in love when the sun goes down

you have my attention
like you’ve had all the while
since that first day when you made my heart smile
with loving eyes and tired sighs that flow
you have my attention

 your love is a fast song
and i'm dancing 'cause i'm loved again
whoa...my heart is in motion
for the rhythm inside you
whoa...your love is a slow song
it's resounding through my world again
whoa...my heart is in motion
for the song inside of you

i think i'm safer on an airplane
(i think i'm safer on an airplane)
  ithink i'm safer in the sky up above
  i think i'm safer on the jetway
than a world without love

you see love is a drink
that goes straight to my head
and time is a lover
and i'm caught in her stead

could you be happy to fall like a stone

if you'd land right here safe in my arms?
it's fine, lock all your doors through the night
keep it all right here, safe in my arms
it's fine, it's fine

travel bug

all of a sudden, i have a HUGE urge to travel. i don't know what has come over me, but i just want to get on a plane and go somewhere beautiful and breathtaking. i'm not the type of person that is very comfortable traveling in a country that i don't know, especially if they don't speak the same language as i do. i usually feel awkward and for some reason pretentious. like people are looking at me like some spoiled american girl. suffice it to say that traveling can make me a little uncomfortable sometimes. but i want to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations and i want to travel the world and see all of God's amazing creations and understand different cultures and their ways of life, which i know are incredibly different than the american lifestyle. 

for our one year anniversary, jonathan and i are going to spend a few days in seattle. neither of us have been there and we are both very excited about it. 

here are some of other places that i am dying to go to. 

cinque terre in italy. jonathan has actually been here, when he lived in italy for three months (so jealous!) but from all i've heard, it is one of the most beautiful places in italy. 

istanbul, turkey. i have been dying to go to turkey for a while now. i actually have some turkish blood in me too! 

argentina. a friend of mine went to peru and from looking at her pictures and this one i can't believe how beautiful and green it all is.

santorini, greece. anywhere in greece actually. i'm sure i would get fat off the food too

and last but definitely not least, scotland. my love affair with scotland started with this series of books and it is definitely on the top of my list of places to go. can you believe how beautiful it is?

man. i've got to start saving some money if i want to go to these places. thankfully, i live in an awesome city that will tide me over until i can go. :)

oh so cute

isn't this little one just so cute? this picture really doens't do her any justice. 

seeing her and her momma today reminded me how grateful i am for friends that i count as family. friends that are sisters. friends that i know i'll be friends with forever. 

here's to great friends.

well, we did it. we successfully made bread! granted it took forever and finally around midnight the project is complete. but it was definitely a fun process. and the end product is super delicious. i'm hoping to make some cute bread bags to keep our bread fresh in. both of us want to continue making homemade bread, especially since the process was fairly easy (with my awesome kitchenaid to help with the kneading!). the recipe for this bread is pretty easy and straightforward and i definitely recommend it. the bread is very dense and hearty, which i love. and there is a nice, light nutty flavor that isn't overwhelming. try it out!

whole wheat bread- from williams sonoma's baking book

makes two 9x5 loaves

ingredients:

1.5 tbs active dry yeast

pinch of brown sugar

1 cup warm water

1.5 cups tepid buttermilk (we used 1.5 cups of regular milk with 1.5 tbs of 

white vinegar since we didn't have any buttermilk on hand... works the same!)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup canola oil, plus extra for greasing

1 tbs salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

3.5-4 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed

directions:

in a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and brown sugar over the warm water and stir to dissolve. let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. 

in a stand mixer, combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, oil, salt, and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. beat on medium-low speed with paddle attachment until creamy. 

beat in the yeast mixture and the remaining cup of whole wheat flour and beat for one minute. beat in the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides. then switch to the dough hook. 

knead on low speed with the dough hook, adding bread flour 1 tbs at a time until the dough is smooth and only slightly sticky.

* we had a little issue with this part and because the dough already started pulling away before we had even added the 3.5 cups of flour we had to switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour one tbs at a time. very tedious! for us, we used 3.5 cups of bread flour and it was definitely enough

{kitchenaid in action!}

transfer to the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn the dough once to coat it in oil. cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in size, about 1.5 hours.

next, lightly grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans and form the loaves. *hang in with me here it can get a little confusing. 

first, you place the dough on a floured surface and pat in to a long, even rectangle.

then, imagine your dough is a piece of paper. fold one short end over to cover 2/3 of the rectangle, and fold the other side up the remaining distance. exactly like folding a letter.

flatten this bundle with your hands.

then, at the shorter end of the bundle, tightly roll up the dough. 

then, using your palms, roll the dough into a log that is the same length as the pan. 

then pinch together the open parts, the center seam and the side seams.

place the loaves, seam side down, in to the pans. cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until approximately 1 inch past the top of the pans, about one hour. 

preheat the oven to 350 F. bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the pan sides, about 35-40 minutes. turn out onto racks and let cool completely. 

{these look like two different types of bread huh? i floured one a little more than the other oops!}

{aren't they so beautiful?!}

{mmmm delicious irish butter and my hubby's homemade raspberry jam}

mmm!!! after typing all of this out i do realize that this recipe seems a little daunting. but it's really not that bad! and look how beautiful the bread looks. how can you not want it? :)