Lights Out

Twice this week I have lost power in my house due to crazy fierce winds from some hardcore storms. So here are some ideas I came up with to keep sane :P

Take a picture of your bedroom

 have a candle lit game of cards with friends

 have lunch at a place that has wi-fi

take a picture of yourself in a coffee shop while working on a blog post

What are some things you do when you lose power?

Something I had "Pho" dinner

Last Thursday me and my biblestudy  group went on yet another outing and this time we had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant called Mekong!   Now though I have had Vietnamese before, I have been dying to try this place out! Everyone I have talked to has been constantly raving about their food, and one specific dishes raved about was their Pho (pronounced "foe"). For those who has no idea what Pho is, to put it simply, are thin rice noodles in a broth soup...but its totally so much more amazing than that brief discription!


I've already had pho somewhere else before, so I sorta knew what I was getting into, but oh my gosh, I totally can see what everyone loves Mekong!

I am a huge seafood fanatic so not only finding out that they had a shrimp option, along with being the same price as the other versions was incredible!

While enjoying my dinner, one of the girls got this idea to eat one of these tiny red peppers and convinced  me into trying it too.  As soon as I put it in my mouth another girl started filming me....

Even after eating that pepper the pho still was amazing...uh I want to go back again sooo bad!

Sew, What do you think?

Well hello there!
So as I have mentioned in a previous post I have started to update my closet. Well a few weeks ago I went to Old Navy and bought a red and white gingham shirt.  When I tried it on at the store it looked pretty good, but when I got around to wearing it at home  realized I'm really not diggen it as much anymore.  So I made the journey back to that bittersweet store (so many clothes not enough money!) and lucky for me I came on a day with some crazy awesome sales.  For the price of one shirt, I got a skirt and a tank top....but here is the thing.  I did not just buy any skirt....noooo I, despite EVERYTHING in my being to avoid buying any summer clothing that uses an unnecessary large amount of fabric....I bought a maxi skirt. 


And freaking love it!!  Dang those jahnkes are comfortable and not to mention kept me very cool :)

                                          shirt and skirt I purchased with my refund!

After wearing this ensemble a few times, I gotta say I am quite the fan of the maxi skit, but then the issue of money came up in my mind. I have no job and therefore probably shouldn't be buying anymore clothes.  Telling a girl she can't buy anymore clothes is basically the same as telling her not to breath anymore...ok a bit dramatic...

For YEARS mom has been trying to get me to start sewing When I was 12 she even bought me a sewing machine in hopes that I would be convinced to start using it....which didn't....until recently. When I told her I have a new love for these skirts she said," do you know how easy it is to make these???"  hmm Oh really???    The next day a favorite lady of mine *cough Hannah Moore cough cough* came over and we got to talking about clothes when mom mentioned again about making a maxi skirt and Hannah was super stoked about the idea, and well I rolled my eyes and joined the band wagon.

 
Off to Joann Fabrics!


 I found this lovely material

 it actually looks more vibrant than this (one day I will get an itouch with a camera)


Then found a super easy pattern

Then sewing time!

Here is my finished product...

                                                      Not to bad for a beginner!



It is crazy how I all of a sudden have found this love for fashion...then again when you are friends with Leney  it is kinda hard not to enjoy finding new and unique clothes that display your personality!  Love ya girl!

Help from a little Blackbirdy

Of the many things I have always wanted to do, one of them is to get a facial. Today I was able to mark this off the list with the help of yet another groupon from mom for a free facial ($50 value) at Blackbird Salon!!

Blackbird Salon

                                                   The Groupon

Now I have to admit I was a bit because I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into, getting a facial sounded nice, and like I said I have always wanted one, but didn't know exactly what that entailed. However when they gave me a consultation about what they were going to do to me, and it sounded very nice!

~ deep cleansing
~steaming
~ extractions (not as scary as it sounds)
~mask
~neck/facial massage
~hydration

Uh the experience was so relaxing and helpful as well! Not once was I "encouraged" to purchase some high priced product, in fact quite the opposite, I was told of super cheap at home methods of taking care of my skin. 

My suggestion to you is when you are thinking about a spa day, you might want to check out this place, sure it isn't super cheap, but you get way more than what you pay for!

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

My King of Hearts

I am a little weary about posting this, but since this blog is also where I can share my thoughts I figure why not share what is currently on my mind. On June 5th, 2010 "Papa" (my grandfather) died at the age of 91. It's been almost exactly 2 years and I still struggling with losing him because he was the one person I knew without a doubt he loved me in a way that was clear to me.  Not only did he give me the biggest hugs, knew exactly what I wanted without saying anything, but he constantly told me "I love you so much" and "You know you're my favorite".

This was taken when I was about 10yrs old

I came up with this tattoo idea from one of my favorite memories of Papa. It is based on our favorite game of solitaire and the 21 years we had together. I am the Ace of Hearts and he is the King of Hearts.

I miss you

Eighteen22 Ladies Day Out

Thursday I got to spend some much needed quality time with the girls from my eighteen22 bible study I attend on Thursday nights.  We took a group trip to this place called Pony Pasture which is another fun place in Richmond where people can go and have fun on the James River.  I guess you could say I had a pretty good time based upon my new battle wounds on my legs from venturing out deeper into the river attempting to avoid getting caught by some of the rapids (which weren't too bad but still should be cautious)   Anyways, here's a little glimpse of what I saw :)

                  I love the jungle vibe it gives off while getting to a good spot to settle

                                                     The James River!

 One of my besties Hannah on the left and I made a new friend on the right Claudia

You may recognize the chick posing on the right...it's Kelly the Saint! 

 Chillin on the rock is Kelly's sister Katie on the left, Ms. Breeden in the middle, and Julie on the right

Though my hair kinda looks like a hot mess, it did dry pretty :) Now that pale skin you see...well that didn't stay pretty. Sun burn city :(

Regardless of cuts, bruises, and sun burns, the day was a blast and look forward to spending more time with those ladies this summer :)

Youth Group Camping Trip

A few weekends I was given the chance to lead yet another youth event, and  Landon and  Leney got to come help out too! This time we had a camp out at a fellow church members house...now before you go thinking that sounds lame...take a gander of our weekend!

                                    Getting stoked for the adventure to come

                                      Can you believe this is in some one's backyard?!?

                                     Obviously he must have done this before

                Leney totally on top of her chaperon game, everyone stayed safe on this trip

                                 I was surprised they actually caught fish here

                                           Paddle boating is so much fun!

                                              Who knew safety could look so cool

                                          Earning some man cards right here

                                   I got to rise the ATV as well...gosh this was fun

      The girl in the middle hurt her foot prior to the camp out and that didn't stop her from having fun

Leney and my little sister are super campers

                                             Landon sharing some wisdom

                                   Camping just isn't right unless there are S'mores

 

                                                Worlds smallest tent

                                     Sunday morning worship service by the pond

                                                  Some serious scripture time

Landon and Leney leading us in some worship music

This isn't even all the pictures, but I figure this was enough to give you a gist of what I was involved with! Uh so looking forward to posting more events!

Stay Tuned!