put the "weeee!" back in weekend

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

hi-ho, hi-ho! it's off to the beach i go!

i'm heading to wilmington/wrightsville with two girlfriends for the remainder of the weekend. our game plan is simple: catch some rays, play in the waves, get sand in unmentionable places, sit in a chair and stare at the ocean, eat delicious foods, sip margaritas. it's a hard life, but someone has to do it. i'll take one for the team.

i've made a su-wheet beach mix and loaded up on some road trip snacks. i've got peanut butter covered pretzels, granola, pistachio trail mix crunch, sesame peanuts, almonds, and snapea crisps. oh my. i sound like a total crunchy hippie. i might have to remedy that and throw in some triple chocolate fudge brownies. and tropical skittles.

what's on your weekend agenda? how are you beating the heat in this 100 degree weather? and don't say vacationing in california. that's just mean.

one thing you should do this weekend is visit chelsea's blog and wish her a happy birthday! today is her big day, and i know she would love a nice comment from you. happy birthday, chelsea! excited to celebrate with you next weekend!

happy weekend to all!

sweet surprise

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

the other night in my apartment complex, 

i caught sight of my neighbor, 

dressed in his fatigues, 

carrying a beautiful bouquet of roses. 

i watched him walk down the sidewalk, 

and right before he got to his apartment door, 

he hid the flowers behind his back. 

my heart melted.

here's to sweet surprises! and love! and men in uniform! 

the canvas project

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

once upon a time, i received a 4' x 3' canvas as a gift. i was delighted. i was terrified. the thing was bigger than a pony and glared at me like a big, white eye. the huge canvas stayed out of sight behind my dresser for years. literal years. four to be exact. i peeked at it every now and then to see if it had shrunk down to a manageable size. not a chance. still large and very in charge.

during those 48 months, i would look at pictures of awesome canvas paintings and get inspired (colors! patterns!), and then i'd look at the intimidating object and change my mind (so scared!) that thing could smell fear.

finally, i had had enough. about two weeks ago, i took the canvas out to my porch, opened a can of pink paint, and attacked the beast. it's funny, but once i laid the first paint stroke, the monster didn't seem so intimidating. although, if i'm being honest, and when you have a blog you kinda sorta have to be honest because people will call you out if you're not, my first idea was a big. fat. fail. it's true. it involved painting within the lines, and that is just not for me. lines are gross.

after crying for days over my first failure, i pulled myself together, ate a few pounds of fro yo, and decided to go for a more abstract approach. you know, slap some paint around, call it art, put it in a gallery and see if someone will pay $1200 for it. the end result makes me so very happy.

{photo credit: me}

ta-da! not the best first impression reveal photo ever. like me, my canvas is not always photogenic.

{photo credit: me}

go pink or go home

{photo credit: me}

stencils are a girl's best frand

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brush stroke of an artistic genius

{photo credit: me}

the song lyrics are from "hung the moon" sung by ellie holcomb. 

listen to it here, and fall in true love.

{photo credit:me}

i am a pretty proud mama of my artwork. it only took me four years to overcome my fear of an inanimate object and get down to it. but seriously, am i the only one scared by a big project like this? have you ever done a craft project that was risky or intimidating? don't make me feel alone and isolated.

p.s. if the sight of a monster canvas doesn't even make you blink and painting within the lines is something that you mastered at the age of 18 months, check out my first idea inspired by this site. gorgeous.

giving back

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

love comes in many forms, and one of those forms is acts of service. each summer my church puts on what they call ServeRDU. it's basically a week of work projects and ministry opportunities for anyone in the church body and surrounding community to be a part of.

i'm not a born teacher or leader, i'm the worst advice giver ever, and i can't seem to find my fit helping in the nursery on sunday morning. however, give me a paintbrush or a rake, and i'm good to go. there's something about getting down and dirty, sweating in the sun, getting paint in my hair that makes me feel like i'm contributing and making a difference. i can stack chairs like nobody's business.

i got to help with two projects during ServeRDU. the first was at an elementary school where we did a lot of landscaping-shoveling mulch, building flower boxes, cleaning a white picket fence, cutting tree limbs, planting flowers, emptying an overgrown decorative pond, etc. i was the lucky one who got fence cleaning duty, so me and my trusty bottle of bleach got down to it. bleach is no joke, kids. that stuff ate through layers of scum. my roommate, amy, came with me and spent the morning weeding out old flower boxes and filling them back up with beautiful flowers and plants.

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

the second project was at converting hearts ministries. chm is a relatively new ministry in the area that provides semi-permanent residences to help men who are recovering from life-controlling addictions. the group of volunteers met early one morning and were assigned duties including painting the inside of the recovery house, clearing out a property pond, picking vegetables from their garden, and doing carpentry work around the site. my team started the huge task of painting the inside of their house. we worked in small groups on each room and worked alongside several of the men who were currently living in the home as residents. it was cool to get to know them as well as people who attend my church whom i had never met before.

the work we did during serve week was pretty basic-yard work, sweeping floors, hosting cookouts for neighborhoods, playing with kids, cleaning windows, painting walls-but i think meeting peoples' basic needs is one of the most practical ways you can share love. have you ever had someone make you a meal when you were sick? or maybe even cleaned your house? if so, then you know how much it helps. i mean, it's just lasagna. it's just a clean floor. but, really, it's so much more.

giving love in the form of an act of service is different than giving love in the form of a gift. presents are always lovely, don't get me wrong, but when you can help someone do something that they couldn't possibly do on their own, it provides a sense of community that a material gift never could. that's exactly what happened during serve week. we gave our time, our skills, and our energy and we gained an incredible sense of community. turns out, we really are all in this together.

what's a cool volunteer opportunity that you've helped with? what was your favorite thing about it?

chocolate + sugar + butter = you can't have a bad day

{photo credit: weheartit.com}

it has been proven that people like cookies. proven with mathematical equations. fudge ecstasies are no exception. they are 20% chocolate, 20% sugar, 60% fat. add it all up, you got 100% flavor and happiness.

now, the process is very tricky and fragile. it involves putting all the ingredients into one pot and stirring. i just got a little sweaty typing that. if you don't get it right the first time, that's normal. just try, try again.

{photo credit: bhg.com}

ingredients:

1 12 oz. package semisweet chocolate pieces
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped cashews, pecans, or almonds (optional)

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350. grease a cookie sheet and set aside. in a medium heavy saucepan heat and stir 1 cup of the chocolate pieces, the unsweetened chocolate, and butter until melted. remove from heat. add the eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, and baking powder. beat with wooden spoon until combined, scraping sides of pan. (mixture will be thin.) stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate pieces and nuts.

2. drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm and surfaces are dull and cracked. cool on a cookie sheet for 2 minutes. transfer to a wire rack and let cool. makes about 36 cookies.

nutritional information: not important.

from my experience baking these cookies, the recipe does not yield 36 cookies. more like 20. but that could also be because i eat half the batter while i'm making it.

i've made these cookies for my small group girls, for coffee bar at my church, and for my dad for father's day. they are always a hit. kinda like these cookies. remember these guys? omg mad.

my beautiful friends

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

i looked over at her, my beautiful friend, and my heart thickened abruptly with love. how could she imagine there was something she could give me that i wouldn't want, something she would ask of me that i wouldn't try to give? -sue miller

to all my wonderful girlfriends, 

i love you all and couldn't get by without you. you make everything fun and silly. you make it easier to breathe when times are tough. you guys accept me at my worst (bed head, oversized tee) and my best (combed hair.) thank you for accepting me, quirks and all. if i was a millionaire, i'd treat us all to a three week vacation in the tropics. but because i'm poor, this blog post will have to do. 

love,

laces

this thrifting is bananas

{photo credit: weheartit.com}

i've been stealing the deals. scoring sweet, cheap stuff. beating you to the goodwill. running you off the road to get to the everything must go yard sale. yeah, i bought that silver globe that you had your eye on. and i didn't even need it. i saw you looking at that cute dress. i wasn't until you were. the twilight series? in hardcover? already have two sets. but i needed a third. 

ok, tough girl monologue over. that was weird. and not very tough at all. i don't think tough girls say things in italics. more like a quick but debilitating punch to the gut.

but i'm serious when i say i've been loading up my tiny apartment/closet with cheap and completely (un)necessary treasures. in honor of the approaching weekend and yard sales on saturday morning, here's to all things thrifted! b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

{photo credit: me}

go-to summer dress for 3 dolla billz. perfect for: days when i don't shower, when i'm too lazy to match a top and bottom, or when i'm headed to wal*mart and want to look fancy.

{photo credit: me}

books. lots and lots of books. this is a small selection of the books i've been buying at an alarming rate. ranging from $0 (i took it from what i think was a community bookshelf at starbucks?) -$1.50

{photo credit: me}

shiny skirt that is not my size but for some reason (it was shiny) i bought it. and it was two quarters.

{photo credit: me}

pottery barn pewter bookends that keep my magazines from flying away. $1

{photo credit: me}

loads and loads of paper for the craft whore in me who refuses to be tamed. $4

{photo credit: me}

i have a thing for globes. they're so romantic. it was a bit of a splurge at $5.

{photo credit: me}

j. crew linen capri pants. $whateverpantsgoforatthegoodwill.99

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are you squealing at this cuteness? .25 for three measuring spoons with no practical purpose.

{photo credit: me}

who needs a pretty platter? me. $1

{photo credit: me}

timberland "booties"? i'm surprised i even bought these because i hate booties, and i'm pretty sure timberlands are not cool anymore (anyone?), but they spoke to me. i paid $8 for them which seemed a bit pricey until i walked into j. crew and saw a very similar pair for $95. that's a whole lot of money saved to buy other useless totally useful things. 

i know some of you guys are deal hunters like me. what's the best item you've recently scored at a yard sale or thrift shop? or what's a book you've recently stolen/borrowed from a community bookshelf? i'll go first. most recent stolen book: anna mcpartlin's apart from the crowd. i don't know what it's about. there is a labrador on the cover looking adorable.

andrew belle makes my heart swell



{photo credit: lostinconcert.com}


this character has stolen my heart. look at him. he's rocking pink and stripes. like a boss. i don't remember how or when we first met, and i can't speak for andrew belle when i say this, but, for me, it was love at first sound bite. check him out here and download several of his acoustic songs for $free.99. that's zero dollars. you can't get any more free than that. his cover of counting crows "colorblind" is seriously good.

{photo credit: acuvi.org}

"woe is me

faithless you and selfish me
i will leave a key for you outside my doorway

woe is me
one if by the land, or two by sea
so won't you leave, for me, a light outside your doorway

on a ladder from there to here i'll climb
all this clatter between my ears i find
does it matter if i cant clear my mind?
there's a right and a wrong time

woe is me
sentimental you and faithful me
and i will be the one to gaze on you discreetly

slow your speed
turn yourself around and follow me
cause i will be the one who preys upon you sweetly

on a ladder from there to here i'll climb
all this clatter between my ears i find
does it matter if i can't clear my mind?
there's a right and a wrong time"

-from the ladder

one of my favorite songs by mr. belle is static waves with katie herzig. good stuff right there. i just listened to it again, and i may have gotten butterflies in my stomach from the sound of his voice. no, i didn't. that's silly.

(i did.)

p.s. my friend eric informed me that he is playing in charlotte in september. be still my beating heart. 

the weekend in review

{photo credit: pinterest.com}

ah, sweet weekend. why must you be over? this weekend included the following...

friday afternoon sbux, hanging out with good friends at esm, jenga tournaments, work project with summit church involving lots of dirt, sweat and shoveling mulch, knocking my computer into pink paint (sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying), coffee bar and saturday night service, nighttime mini golf, coffee date with kami, learning to receive my affirmation from Jesus and not people (learning, i said), ultimate frisbee, devouring some yogurt mountain, being intimidated by a huge canvas i'm painting (inanimate objects are the worst), relaxing, feeling blessed to have such great friends.

what did you do this weekend? give me the rundown!

dancing towards bethlehem

{photo credit: weheartit.com}

dancing towards bethlehem 

if there is only enough time in the final 

minutes of the 20th century for one last dance 

i would like to be dancing it slowly with you, 

say, in the ballroom of a seaside hotel. 

my palm would press into the small of your back 

as the past hundred years collapsed into a pile 

of mirrors or buttons or frivolous shoes, 

just as the floor of the 19th century gave way 

and disappeared in a red cloud of brick dust. 

there will be no time to order another drink 

or worry about what was never said, 

not with the orchestra sliding into the sea 

and all our attention devoted to humming 

whatever it was they were playing. 
-billy collins

oh, billy. you are my favorite. 

awesomesauce

{photo credit: passionistapresents.com}

awesomesauce (adj):
1. opposite of weaksauce
2. anything or anyone who is greater than just plain awesome.
3. most everything i say or do.

would it be an understatement to say that music is awesomesauce?

i get a lot of my music from websites and blogs that i stumble upon. one blog that i've been following for a while now is passionista presents. the author behind the blog, marilyn lott, has excellent taste in music, and every month she streams a new playlist on her blog. she encourages readers to comment on her blog because she picks one reader to win her monthly mix. so, i obeyed orders and posted once, twice, three times a lady. do you know where this is leading?

lacey + comment on marilyn's blog + magic fairy dust = june mix winner!

when i got the news that i won a mix cd, i was thrilled to say the least. i started screaming. i couldn't form words. i think i fell on the ground at one point. my roommate just stood in our kitchen looking at me. she thought i had gotten a job. nope. i just won a mix cd. what's even better than that? marilyn sent me three (3!!) cds-the may mix, the june mix, and the july summer dance party mix. why three? WHO CARES! you don't ask, you just receive.

{photo credit: me}

sweet brown paper bag wrapping and printed tape

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marilyn photographs her cd cover pictures

{photo credit: me}

inside covers and track action

i never win anything. i think the last time i won something was when i was six and i came in first place in a peter pan drawing contest. the only reason i won was because i cried when i had to stand in front of everyone in the room-eight people-and present my drawing. they thought i looked cute crying so they gave me the blue ribbon of excellence instead of the other kids who were behaving perfectly. suckas.

i'm still on cloud nine over my sweet victory. i know it's only cds. it's pretty small in the grand scheme of things. i mean, can you imagine my reaction if i won a vacation to hawaii? hyperventilating into a brown paper bag and fist pumping my arm out of socket immediately come to mind. maybe i'll just lay low and play it safe for a while. this winning streak could be dangerous to my health. (i'm aware that, technically, a streak consists of more than one, so i'm counting each cd separately.)

please head over to my new bloggy bff's website and try your hand at winning some tunes. even if you don't win, you'll be able to stream all of her hot-n-fresh tracks with the click of a button. oh yeah, except steaming her music is not as cool as WINNING it.

ok, i'm done.

just do it (yourself)

i love a good craft and/or DIY project. i've been finding some ca-hool projects on the world wide web that i've gotta show you. i've just gotta.

sunburst mirror

i've always wanted one of these but can't shell out $800 buckaroos for one. turns out, dowels are good for something other than thwacking things.

{photo credit: beachhouseinthecity.blogspot.com}

prettiest chandelier of my life

the girl who made this? yeah, i know her. nbd. 

{photo credit: blair-theothersister.blogspot.com}

folded map flowers

if a boy gave me a bouquet made out of paper flowers, i wouldn't refuse. just saying. 

{photo credit: papervinenz.blogspot.com}

milkglass bottles

gah, now i have to buy a beach house to match all of my DIY milkglass.

{photo credit: beachhouseinthecity.blogspot.com}

felt heart garland

for when you want to wear your heart on your sleeve. or your picture frame.  

{photo credit: rebekahgough.blogspot.com}

faux capiz shell chandelier

what. wax paper can do this?

{photo credit: designsponge.com}

seed bead necklace

when did seed beads become cool again? oh yeah, right now. 

{photo credit: rebekahgough.blogspot.com}

ruffled cake banner

ruffles aren't just for baby clothes.

{photo credit: dandee-designs.com}

i don't blame you if you stopped reading mid-way through because you were inspired to go out and make something. i don't blame you, but i will hold a grudge against you. forever. 

go forth and be crafty!

stars and stripes foreva

{photo credit: weheartit.com}

happy 4th of july weekend! what are your plans for the looong weekend? i spent yesterday at the lake. i started in the water because it was too hot to lay out, then laying out because i got tired of floating, back in the water because sweat was running down my face, out of the water because i had a good book to read. yadda yadda yadda.

later this morning, my roommate and i have a date to go canoeing. i am 100% positive that we will not look as peaceful and idyllic as the girl in this picture. there will be much shouting and thrashing about. one or both of us will fall overboard at some point. if i make it out alive, i'll be hitting up a cookout and pool time at a friend's apartment this afternoon. on sunday, the rooms and i are driving to lake badin to spend some quality time with friends (and jet skis.) the cherry on top of this great weekend will be a good old fashioned durham bulls baseball game and fireworks on the 4th. can you say murica? 

{photo credit: weheartit.com}

i am very proud and grateful to be an american. i hope you all enjoy your weekend with friends and family. i hope you eat watermelon. i hope you spend some time in a bathing suit. i hope you say "murica!" at least once. i hope there are fireworks in your future (legal or illegal, doesn't matter.) i hope you look at the flag with appreciation. one thing i hope you don't do? american flag jorts.

{photo credit: weheartit.com}

p.s. new month, new mix! i've changed my playlist widget so make sure you turn up the volume and blast some july-esque tunes. happy independence day!