In Love with Life: The Define School

Remember when you were little and older people used to tell you "time flies when you get older!"?  I remember hearing that all the time, but thinking to myself- yeah right, the school year is creeping along.  And here I am 27 years old and I catch myself being that older person saying, Oh my gosh isn't time flying!?  

With that said, I feel like it has been a crazy past couple of weeks/month.  School is done- which I know doesn't apply to me, but my sis is a teacher so I feel like it does.  Warmer weather is finally showing its face in WI (and hopefully staying?).  People are traveling right and left. Soo many weddings are coming up.  And well, I'm just trying to keep up with all of it.  Although I'm not being the world traveler, nor do I have the exciting step of getting married coming up, I do have something that I am right in the midst of that I am pretty darn excited about.  I am taking a photography class!! 

I received my first DSLR as a birthday present from my sweet Grandpa in May, and since I don't really know how to use it other than on the auto setting, I decided that it would be a good idea to take a photography class.  It's an online class called From Auto to Manual through The Define School.  I heard about it through my Instagram feed, and I am glad I did.  It's not your typical online class because it's more hands-on.  At the end of each lesson, each student submits some photos to be reviewed and critiqued by our teacher.  I am only one homework submission into the class, but the critique was already really helpful.  I'm really excited about this class, and look forward to learning how to use my camera to it's full extent.  

I am really thankful for this opportunity and thankful that my husband is so sweet in supporting me as I try to continue my learning experiences as an adult.  Continuing to take opportunities to learn and figure out who you are is a great way to be intentional about being in love with life, dontcha think? 

Watch out for some of my "homework" as I learn how to use my camera and practice, in hopes of capturing some beautiful images.  

Cheers to photography and photos and all their loveliness.  

xoxo 

Straw Bale Gardening

Over Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I made the six-and-a-half hour trip to the tiny little town in Minnesota where he grew up. His parent's house is situated on a 45-some acre lot with tons of trees, a creek (or "crick" as they say), a few hayfields, a couple garages and sheds, 3 horses and a bunch of random cats. Both my husband and I grew up in the country (although I wasn't quite in the sticks like him), and so it is always a treat to get away from our city-apartment and be immersed in the country, with lots of fresh air and beautiful stars at night.

Our trips to Minnesota are always filled with a little bit of excitement.  Whether it be an experience eating Pig Weed (essentially grows in horse fields, near manure piles... look it up), taking a few snowmobiles for a spin, or hopping on his dad's latest toy, a mini-bike, and riding it around the property, it is always a good time.  In addition to attempting to climb a tree, this time, we got a chance to be assistants as his mother taught us a new technique she is trying out in her garden- straw bale gardening.  

I don't know about you, but I have never heard of, or seen this before so I was a bit skeptical.  But after she explained how the bales are first fertilized, watered until soaked, all in the efforts to pre-treat the bales to prepare for planting, I am very intrigued in how this is going to work out.  The goal of planting in a straw bale is to avoid some of the annoying weeds that make their way into the plants and to give the plants a productive, warm, nutrient rich environment in which to grow.  

Because this is the first time my mother-in-law is attempting this, she decided to go with a few rows of bales with pepper plants, and a couple other bales with seeds for lettuces and beans.  For the plants, we simply dug a hole into the bale, set in the plant, and filled around with potting soil.  

And for the ones with the seeds, we laid a layer of soil, followed by the seeds, and topped off with another layer of soil.

Not only is it an innovative way of gardening, but the little plants all nestled in the bale are pretty cute, right?   

Since we won't be there to see how it all turns out, I told his mom she has to give me progress reports with pictures as to how these little babies are doing.  I am really excited to see how successful straw bale gardening is!  Although we don't have enough space in our duplex to attempt our own straw bale gardening, we did come home with a few pepper and tomato plants to try out on our little porch!

I can't wait to have a house of our own where we can have a lovely garden to play with!

Cheers to warm weather, planting, and all the good things that come with it.

xoxo

"I want to write a book when I grow up."

Just like every little girl, (yup, that's me- on the left, with my lovely sister) I used to dream about what I wanted to be "when I grew up."  At one point, all I could dream about was being a waitress or a cashier.  Many hours were spent in the basement at my childhood home, where my sister and I took turns being the customer while the other spotlighted the much coveted role as waitress, grocery store cashier, or even as Dairy Queen employee.  Since then, these dreams have faded into the background- just a fun memory gone by.  I never became a waitress.  I never worked at Dairy Queen.  I did work at a Christian bookstore for 3 years where I got to enjoy the pleasure of ringing people up on the cash register.  So I guess you can check cashier off my list. woohoo!  But there are a few dreams that I remember stating often when asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" that still ring true as ever- that I'm still pursuing as I work towards this whole growing up thing.

One of those dreams was, I always wanted to be a writer.  In fact I used to imagine myself working for a Christian magazine, writing articles, doing interviews, and maybe even one day being the editor.  That and, I always told myself I would write a book someday.  [I guess in some ways you can check that off the list- my Christmas present one year was one of those awesome projects where you got to be author and illustrator, and at the end you sent it in and received a hard-cover copy of your very own book!  This was pretty darn cool, I must admit.]  As I went through high school and the beginning of college, my passion for writing continued.  I loved writing papers, took a few journalism classes and wrote for the Ripon College newspaper, called College Days.  (Check em out -here, here, and here.  They're kind-of entertaining, hah.)  But somewhere after Sophomore year, I veered away from this passion and pursued a major in Religion and a minor in French.  Super random combo right?  Although I don't regret that choice of focus at all, (it led me to my beloved job working with the college ministry at Elmbrook Church) it has been since getting married and joining the blogging world that this passion for writing has been re-ignited.

The long and short of it is- I've realized that I'm not quite ready to let go of my childhood dream.  Wanting to be a writer is still very present in my heart.

In fact, I'm excited to share that I've actually made a step in continuing and pursuing my passion for writing.  Yesterday, I made my debut as a contributor for a website called Circle of Friends that serves to reach and encourage women in their walk with the Lord.  Through this website, many different authors write devotionals or blog posts, sharing what God's doing in their lives and encouraging the many women who frequent the page.  I am so excited to have been given an opportunity to be one of these contributing authors and share my heart by writing a blog post twice a month.  [Here's my first post .  Tag along on this new adventure, if you'd like!]  I'm glad to be a part of this mission, and look forward to what God has in store.

So I guess you can consider that 'Step 1' in pursuing one of my dreams.  I have no idea if I'll ever reach the point of getting a book published, but I have every intent of continuing to dream and moving forward with hope.

Is there a dream that is heavy on your heart?  Maybe you, too, should consider going for it!  Even though we may be somewhat "grown up", no one said we had to stop dreaming.

xoxo

A Lesson from my Succulents

I must admit that I have a major crush on succulents.  Okay, maybe that's putting it lightly.  I'm actually quite in love with them really.  I'm not sure where I first saw them or how our love affair began, but I think that they are so so lovely.  They seem to be all over Instagram lately, and I can't help but 'like' every picture that I come across with succulents.  With that said, I'd like to introduce you to my three little babies.  

I first met these guys about a year ago at my neighborhood Steins.  And let me tell you, it was love at first sight.  I went in thinking that I was going to buy just one, and walked out with three because they were just too cute.  But my love for succulents goes deeper than just looks...they are so easy to manage.  A little bit of water (about once every two weeks in the winter and once a week in summer) and a lot of sunlight gives these sweet plants just what they need to grow.

Being that I live in Wisconsin, my plants have to live inside in the winter and soak up as much sun as they can through the window.  And what I've noticed over the past few weeks is how much they really need the sun.  I started to notice that instead of their leaves growing up towards the sun, they were starting to droop down towards their sides.  At first I thought maybe they needed more water (I'm no botanist) so I tried that.  When that didn't work I started to think about their need for sun.  Here in good ole Wisconsin, it has been a LONG winter.  Now that the sun is finally making an appearance more often, I decided to test out my theory, and move the plants out on our tiny porch where they can soak up a lot more sun.  In just a few days of bright sunlight, they are already picking up their droopy little arms and reaching up towards the sunlight.  I seriously love this.  Maybe I sound a little crazy but it really brings me joy!! 

What's crazy to me is that these plants, they seem to just know that they need the light to grow.  They know it so well that if they feel the light, they literally turn their little heads, leaning or growing towards the direction of the sun! And this is where I feel that I've been schooled by my succulents.  

Just as the succulents need the sunlight to grow, I know that I need God's wisdom, His Word, His involvement in my life, in order to grow and to be transformed into the creation that He created me to be.  Knowing this, I want to follow in the example of my succulents.  I need to be really intentional about leaning towards the light.  To seek my heavenly Father more and more, trusting that He can provide exactly what I need to make me grow.  

So, thank you, little succulents for setting such a great example and making me appreciate the sun (and the Son) even more.   

Images by me :)  Thanks to my sweet grandpa and my lovely new Canon T4i.

In Love with Life: Birthday Blessings

Here I am, two days later, and I am still a little overwhelmed by how blessed and truly celebrated I felt on my birthday.  As I shared in a post about a huge birthday balloon for my sister, birthdays have always been kind-of a big thing in our family.  We try to make them special for each person and make sure they know how much we love them and how special they are to us.  It's actually quite awesome and I'm so blessed to have grown up this way.  Someone recently commented on how birthdays after you turn 21 just don't have a lot to them- how turning the big 27 is really just me reaching my late twenties.  I shrugged, and somewhat agreed, I guess.  But now that my 27th birthday has come and gone, I can honestly say that it is up there on the "most special birthday" list.

Waking up in the morning I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes just enough to give my husband a kiss and receive a few cheerful "happy birthdays" before he went out the door.  Shortly thereafter, I was forced to jump out of bed as the doorbell rang and a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived from my sweet man.  Taking my flowers into the kitchen I was greeted by a funny card with a love-filled message on the back.  Not even an hour into my day and I was already feeling the love.  I quickly hopped in the shower, threw on a sundress (thank you God for giving me a sunny day) and went out the door to my next birthday event.  Sitting out on the patio, soaking up the much-missed sunshine, (even to the extent of a little sunburn, oops) my super-cute friend, Tara, treated me to mimosas, a yummy breakfast, and a morning birthday sundae at the tasty Cafe Hollander.

Full, on my just-eaten breakfast, I wasn't so sure how I was going to digest quickly enough to make room for the lunch I was supposed to have with my mom in the next 40 minutes.  I went home to sit for a bit, only to find a little package waiting at my door. Another one of my friends, Alexa, had driven 45 minutes to drop a little something off for me!  At this point, I was thinking that this day couldn't get any better.  And then the doorbell rang...

I was expecting to see my cute little mother's face when I opened the door, but was quite surprised to be greeted with a Minnie Mouse balloon that was almost my size!  With a big smile on my face and a little chuckle I opened the door to see my mom AND MY SISTER hiding around the corner.  The caps are most definitely important here, because my sister is a teacher and it is not often that she is able to take time off work.  In fact, she gets 1 personal day for the whole year.  My amazing sister took half of that 1 day, to spend with and celebrate me.  Oof- I cannot even explain how overwhelmed and how special I felt from this enormous gesture along-with the special coordination my mom pulled off to make it happen.  And that wasn't it; the day continued to get better and better as they surprised me with a birthday lunch followed by pedicures!!  We wrapped up the day by heading to my parents house where my sweet pops grilled up some shiskabobs.  We ate together, shared a lot of laughter, some birthday cake and they continued to spoil me with some gifties.  On our way home, I couldn't help but get a little teary in the car as I thought about how truly amazing my birthday had been.  I was so overwhelmed and overjoyed by how much love I had experienced.

The reason I am sharing this is not to rub it in your face or stick my nose up in the air and say "look at what I did, aren't I special?"  I wanted to share this with you because it made me realize the impact that really being shown love in a tangible, physical presence sort of way, makes on our lives.  I don't know about you, but I want to experience love like this everyday!  What's crazy is, that's how God loves us- in a way that is overwhelming, that is all about blessings and encouragement and support amidst whatever trials we are facing in this world.  He created us to desire, receive, and be givers of this crazy love.

One of my dear friends called me a "specializer" yesterday.  She said that I am really good at making people feel special and celebrated, and that she was so excited to hear that I experienced being "specialized" on my birthday.  I was really honored and humbled that she labeled me in that way.  Thinking more about it, I think we are all created to be "specializers"- to make others feel loved and celebrated, and not just on our birthdays.

I am so thankful for everyone who made an impact on my day (and my life) by showing me crazy love.  I hope that I can continue to grow in my role as a "specializer" and make more and more people's days by showing them overwhelming love.

xo

P.S. Thanks to everyone else who sent me love on my special day too!  And a shout out to my Iron Man 3 watching, tattoo-bearing friends. :)

Why hello, Canon T4i!!

Yesterday as the UPS truck pulled up, I couldn't help but book it down the stairs to meet the beautiful brown box labeled B&H Photography with my name on it.  But before I tell you about the joyful, early birthday goodies that were inside, I have to give you a brief backstory and a much deserved shout out.

Not only do I have the cutest, but I also have the sweetest grandpa in the whole world.  I mean, check it out- isn't he adorbs? [This pic is from his birthday in March.]

I, along with the 3 other grandkids, have been so blessed (maybe we better call it, spoiled) by him over the years that I cannot begin to express the gratitude that I have for him.  As we've gotten older and grown out of the "I want 10,000 toys and candy and presents" phase, we keep telling him that we don't want him to spend money on us.  And yet, the stubborn and sweet man that he is, he continues to bless us over and again with his generosity.  Which leads me to the brown box...

For a couple years now, I've been thinking about how someday I would like to learn more about photography.  I took a couple classes back in the good ole highschool days, where it was all film photography and we got to use the darkroom and everything. It was fantastic; I loved it.  But over the years, I just haven't really done much with it.  I have a point and shoot camera, but let's be honest I've been using my iPhone and Instagram a lot more than anything else.

I think it was researching wedding photographers and receiving our beautiful photos by the lovely Marissa Maharaj and continuing to gawk at her photos along with others like Meghan Klein, that really inspired me to think, I want to take cool photos someday too.  I'm pretty sure I won't ever come close to being as fabulous as either of these two, but one can hope and aspire right?

With all that said, my grandpa loves loves loves when we actually have an idea to give him for our birthday.  Usually we say, well I don't need anything, I don't know- and he gives us money or gift cards or something... but this year I did my research, asked a lot of questions and found a great deal via B&H Photography that I pointed my Grandpa towards as an idea.  Two weeks later, and 5 days before my actual birthday I received this beautiful package featuring a Canon Rebel T4i, lens, and all sorts of other goodies (image above).  I am such a lucky, blessed little lady.  I called my g-pa immediately and told him how thankful and ecstatic I am about the oh-so-generous gift that he gave me.

I have no idea what I am getting myself into.  I have A LOT to learn.  But I am so excited about it.  And so so so blessed to have been given the opportunity by my loving Grandpa.

So cheers to loving grandparents, and all things birthday!

xo

Check out the stellar birthday party I had last year.

A lil Photo Shoot

I'm excited to be sharing this post today because it is something I have been sitting on for awhile.  A couple months ago I decided to take the jump and explore developing my blog more.  Since then, I've been taking a blog course called Blog Love (which I talked more about here), I finally landed on re-naming my blog loveMin, I've thought a lot about what I want my blog to be, what I don't want it to be, and in the near future I'll be working on giving it a face-lift. 

With this in mind, I decided that it might be fun to have a few photos of myself to use for my blog.  One thing that you should know about me is that once I get an idea in my head, it's hard to put it on the back burner.  If at all possible, I love to put a plan into action ASAP.  It was seriously my lucky day when I texted my friend (who happens to take lovely photos) asking her if she'd like to help me with a random little project, and she said "Sure! I can be free in an hour!"  It was fantastic! 

In less than an hour and a half I went from brainstorming this idea to cleaning myself up, throwing on a bright red lip, a photo-ready outfit, and running out the door in my favorite shoes to begin a little photo shoot fun.  I'd spotted a lovely cream city break wall with some bright red hearts right on the corner of a street in my town that seemed like a perfect location.  I mustered up all the inner confidence that I could and posed on the street corner as cars whizzed by- in hopes of capturing just a few lovely, artsy pics.  

After snapping a few pics on the wall of hearts, and staying as warm as possible (don't be tricked by the sleeveless dress, it was freezing outside), we decided to trek to one of my favorite local spots- The Ruby Tap.  On a normal visit, we grab a glass and make several trips to the self-service wine machines and maybe even some cheese to go along with it.  But this time, we grabbed a glass of wine and snapped a few more photos.  It has such a cozy, yet swanky/chic environment that it was a perfect spot to capture a few more shots.  [One of my favorites at Ruby Tap, is the image below on the left.]  

A few hours later we decided to wrap it up and head on home.  It was a blast and a great first experience of capturing some cool photos for the blog.  This is one area that I am hoping to improve on in the future- I'm even working my way towards getting my very own DSLR camera!!  But for now, I am so so thankful for my sweet friend Melissa who was willing to take these photos for me.  She was great! (Be sure to swing on by her blog The Hungry Milwaukeeian where she takes lovely pics of her culinary adventures in Milwaukee.)

I'm really happy with how these turned out, and excited to finally share some of them with you.  I look forward to incorporating these images and capturing more as I continue working on developing my blog space.  I have a lot of ideas in mind and a lot, a lot to learn.  Thanks for sticking with me as I continue to share both my joys and my struggles; I can't wait to see what God has in store for this adventure.  

xo

[Images by Melissa Yates]

More than a Conqueror

Image/design by Liz Carver via Hipster Scripture

Do you ever feel like your life is a battlefield?  No I don't mean like in the 80's song Love is a battlefield (and yet what a great jam)!  What I mean is, do you ever feel like you are trying to fight off some sort of heaviness, some sort of icky feeling, some sort of insecurity, or some form of "darkness"?  Like, no matter how hard you try to stay in a positive, good, joyful mood there seems to be this other force that is trying to bring you down?  Ick. I feel that that has been the story of my week this week.  

The best way I can think of to describe this weird phenomenon that has been taking over my days is like a little dark cloud that very unexpectedly, very unexplainably swoops in over my thoughts, covers over my positive thinking, and leads me to a place of panic.  (Check out my last post Looking for Growth Opportunities  if you want to hear more about what it looks like for me.)  

Unfortunately, this little dark cloud has got me panicked about my upcoming weekend.  There is nothing bad about it, in fact it is supposed to be a fun weekend with friends.  And yet for some odd reason I feel like I have to gear up, put on my armor and figure out how to duke it out against the anxiety that seems to work so hard to defeat me.  

For me, gearing up or preparing for battle looks a lot like grounding myself in the Bible- spending some time with the Lord who brings me peace, loading my mind up with scripture, with encouraging words like, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  Since I know I am not alone in this icky struggle to battle anxiety, I wanted to share with you what has got me all charged up and ready to fight the fight.

I have been reading in Romans, and today I was reading through Romans 8.  Please check out the rest of it, but in order to keep it brief (ish) I am only going to mention a few verses.  Romans 8:35, 37-39 says:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerorsthrough him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (emphasis added)

Ooh man, I felt like those words were speaking right to my insecurities, right to my efforts to be preparing for battle.  I mean shoot, it even fits in with my imaginary battle with the terminology of more than conquerors.  To be reminded that THERE IS NOTHING that will separate me from the Lord (in whom I find great peace when I'm struggling) and that through His love I am a conqueror - it gives me such great assurance that I can fight this battle.

Overall, what it gives me, is hope.  A hope that through Christ I really will someday be able to claim the victory over this little dark, anxious cloud that tries to steal my joy.  God created me, through his love, to not just be a conqueror, but to be more than a conqueror.  So that's what I'm going to try to be. I will put on my battle mindset, prepare for the ickiness of this world, and put my hope in the promise that Jesus gives us in John 16:33 where he says, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world!"

Those words have so often, as of late, been my battle cry.  I literally imagine myself carrying some sort of flag, running up a grassy hill, with my chainmail armor on (yeah, picture that) with a very serious, determined face yelling Jesus' promise "I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!"  

Go ahead, you can laugh or call me crazy... I'm kind of 12 in the way that I really imagine a storylike picture of things in my life sometimes.  But it helps me to visualize the fact that, yeah I am living in a dark world.  There is most definitely trouble.  I have to take action, to take charge to fight off the ickiness, the garbage that threatens to weigh me down.  It is not going to be easy, in fact it most often isn't.  BUT, as I take up this charge for battle, I don't have to worry about whether my hard work will pay off or whether the battle will be won.  It will be won.  Jesus promises me that.  And so this is where I must place my trust, my hope and my confidence as I struggle with anxiety.  In Jesus words that He has overcome, and his loving reminder that through him I can play a mighty role and be more than a conqueror.  

Looking for Growth Opportunities

Image by Meghan Klein  via Instagram

One thing that I have learned about myself over the years is that I like the feeling of being in control.  I don't mean in a "I'm the boss all the time" sort of way, more in a planning way.  I'm a planner to a T.  I thrive on being organized.  I'm not obsessively organized (just check out the piles of clothes that have been on my dresser for weeks), but I love the comfort of knowing what's going on, of knowing what to expect.

I didn't realize how important feeling in control really was to me until I've been recently struggling with a bit of anxiety.  On the surface everything is going well in my life.  I have a wonderful husband, great family, I'm in a place of unemployment which I'm actually enjoying because it's given me an opportunity to pursue new things, to explore dreams I never thought I could.  I'm being intentional about choosing joy, about finding fun moments, about planning get-togethers and exciting opportunities.  And yet right in the midst of this joy- I find myself experiencing bouts of anxiety where my heart races, my chest gets tight, my breathing gets shallow, my mind goes into a downward spiral that often involves me feeling like I'm going to be sick or perhaps even die (yeah it's a little ridiculous).  A simple trip to a friend's house has got me worked up thinking "oh dear, what if I have an anxiety attack there?  What if I have to throw up?  What if I get sick and have to excuse myself to go home? What if I have to go to the bathroom and there's nowhere to go?"

I must admit it has been a really big struggle for me. Not feeling in control in these moments (and not understanding where it is coming from or why) has thrown me for a loop.  But this isn't where I want my focus to be...

This morning as I sat at my kitchen table with my potatoes, pancake, bible, and my daily devotional- I was really struck by the reading for today. [The following quotes are taken from (Jesus Calling) a daily devotional by Sarah Young.]

"Many things feel out of control." -- Yup.  Sure do.
"Your routines are not running smoothly." -- I wish they were!
"You tend to feel more secure when your life is predictable." -- Nailed it.  

But besides nailing my emotions on the head, the reading has given me an encouragement in dealing with it.

"When you are shaken out of your comfortable routines, grip My hand tightly and look for growth opportunities.  Instead of bemoaning the loss of your comfort, accept the challenge of something new."

I've basically been doing one half of that equation.  I have definitely been gripping His hand tightly because quite frankly that's all I feel I can do in those moments of panic.  I take a lot of deep breaths, self-talk, think of scripture, pray, and wait for the moment to pass.  But what I haven't been too good at is looking for growth opportunities and accepting the challenge of something new.  

It's so easy to go through life in our routines, trying to stay in our comfort zones.  But what Paul teaches us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 is that our lives are all about transformation.  2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  Each moment, each situation, each struggle is an important part of the process of changing, of becoming more like Christ.

Dealing with this anxiety stuff, this reminder is difficult because it challenges me to consider even this as a growth opportunity.  I am so so thankful that in the moments of anxiousness I can cling to the One who protects me and know that He has overcome the world.  But now, beyond that, I need to think about how I can look at it as a growth opportunity to becoming a better version of myself, to becoming more like Christ.

The image at the top of the page is one from Meghan Klein's Instagram page.  [She was the assistant photographer at my wedding. Be sure to check out her webpage. Her work is lovely.]   With this photo she shared a quote that has been an encouragement and a challenge to me the past few weeks.  And I'd like to leave you with this:

"Enjoy the tempo of a God-breathed life by letting Him set the pace. Hold his hand in trust & the way before you will open up step by step."

Super Hero Murder Mystery Party

As a kid, birthday party options are endless- you can choose from Skateland, Chuckie Cheese, a tea party, a scavenger hunt, or a themed party extravaganza to name just a few. But I am a firm believer that fun birthday parties should not just be memories from our childhood. I think we should put just as much effort into making memories as adults as we did when we were children.

With this in mind, last year I decided that I wanted to do something outside of the box for my special day. I wanted to do something that would force people to step out of their comfort zones, be a bit creative, wear costumes of some sort, and have a blast. After much thought, I decided that a Murder Mystery party was just what I was looking for. I researched a ton on which game to buy online and landed on a company called Shot in the Dark Mysteries. I found that this company had the perfect set-up for a hassle-free, user friendly format (and they provide tons of materials and printables to make your party a success!)

Looking through all the options, I chose Murder at the Superhero Peace Convention.The storyline for this mystery is set at a Peace convention where all the super heroes and villains were convening to discuss hope for the future where peace would be declared. But right in the middle of the hopeful discussions, a murder is discovered. And so the story began...

Prepping for the party was a blast.  I invited a small group of friends, assigned them each their characters and emailed them a file on their character. [The file provided information on who each character was, some costume ideas, and things each person needed to know in order to help them solve the murder.]  Then I worked on making some of the details for the party:
- comic book bunting flag (idea from Pinterest)
- character file folders for each person (allowed people to be as prepared or not prepared as they wanted to be
- a backdrop for photos & a few Pow, Pop, Kapow props
- my costume for my character "The Crowned Prosecutor"

We had a really great time with this murder mystery party. It was a blast seeing the costumes that everyone came up with and watching how each person got into character for the mystery. The game took about 2 hours as we asked each other questions to try to determine who was the guilty character at the party. Finally, after everyone made their accusations the culprit was revealed and the murder solved. I would highly recommend doing this for an adult birthday party. It was so much fun to put together and a great time for everyone the day of.

I am hoping to brainstorm another idea for my birthday this year, but I have less than a month to come up with something! Until then... cheers to fun birthdays and celebrations!

xo

P.S. A few words of advice for hosting a murder mystery:
- give invitees 2 weeks or more notice- then no one will get stressed about a costume and if someone drops out it gives you enough time to fill the slot
- give incentive to solve the murder- have anyone who wants to put 2-3 dollars in the pot and whoever guesses the murderer wins the money!
- invite people who are willing to be a little adventurous and willing to be creative
- Party favors and prizes are always a plus. I put together a Best Costume and Best Detective ballot. Whoever got the most votes won a prize.

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Hey all!  Just a quick note to tell you, I'm on Bloglovin!  If you want to keep up with my blog, this is one way to do it.  Click on the link below and you're on your way.  :)
xo

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Music That Inspires

Since I am totally stoked about seeing these guys in concert, the song you must check out this week is Sunny with a High of 75 by Relient K.  Great lyrics.  And just puts you in a good mood.  :)

Enjoy!

In Love with Life: Sunny with a High of 75

I am pretty stoked today because I just found out that one of my favorite bands, Relient K, is coming to Milwaukee in May!!!  I first listened to them in 7th grade on a youth group trip, and have been a fan ever since. It all started with the song Sadie Hawkins Dance which is just a fun, somewhat dorky song that is just great to jump around too (I was in 7th grade after all).  And that's just one of the many fun, random subject, songs that makes Relient K who they are.  And yet what I really appreciate about their music is that underneath all the jokes and funny lyrics, is a deeper message of hope through Christ.  Songs like For the Moments I feel Faint, Let it all Out, and Deathbed (10 minute song, but worth listening all the way through) are slower ballads with amazing lyrics.  When I'm in a bummer, blah sort of mood, I often find myself turning on Relient K to bring me words of encouragement and also lighten my heart, put me in a better mood.  In fact, one of my faves that I tend to listen to, both when I need to get in a good mood and when I'm sick of winter, is High of 75.  Here's a snippet of the lyrics:

We were talking together
I said, "What's up with this weather?"
Don't know whether or not
How sad I just got
Was of my own volition
Or if I'm just missing the sun
And tomorrow, I know
Will be rainy at best
And the forecast, I know
Is that I'll be depressed
But I'll wait outside
Hoping that I'll catch sight of the sun
Because on and off
The clouds have fought for control over the sky
And lately, the weather has been so bi-polar
And consequently, so have I

But now I'm sunny with a high of 75
Since You took my heavy heart, and made it light
And it's funny how you find you enjoy your life
When you're happy to be alive

It totally describes how I feel when I have those blah moods; those days in winter when I am just waiting for the sun to come out and bring joy.  But then the chorus goes beyond that and reminds me of two things.  One: Christ has indeed made my heart light, and for that, I have a reason to be joyful.  Two: We really do enjoy life when we're happy to be alive.  It comes from a choice to be happy, to choose joy!  [Which fits perfectly with my resolution to be more in love with life!]

Music is one of those things that helps me change my attitude, to be more joyful.  I am thankful for the lovely band Relient K and the music that they create that brings me joy!  If you haven't heard them, check them out.  Perhaps I'll see you at the concert in May ;) 

(Images by Jered Scott via RelientK's website)

Latest Obsession: Midi-rings

                 Image & rings by Galisfly via Luulla.com

I have a slight obsession with the new trend of mid-knuckle rings.  I'm not even sure what they are called... midi rings, mid-finger rings, knuckle rings- who knows.  What I do know is they are LOVELY.  Unfortunately in my area, they are not so easy to find in stores.  After a bit of research and some lovely emails from my favorite magazine Nylon, I have found a few spots where they can be found. So I thought I would share them with you!  Here are a few of my faves.

I love these stacked alphabet rings from Catbird that you can get in midi-ring sizes too!  Also check out their adjustable arrow ring.  Love it.

Image via Catbird

Or what about this fun & playful lightning bolt ring featured in the #Nylonshop?!  They also have a star and heart midi-ring.  All for only 12.00 a piece!

Image via Nylonmag

What do you think?  Are you jumping on board with this trend?  I can't wait to add a couple of these beauties to my collection.

Have a lovely Tuesday!!

xo

**UPDATE**

I finally found some midi-rings since posting!! I found them at Urban Outfitters for $6.00 a piece! Check out my Instagram page  to see a pic of the ones I ended up with.  Enjoy!!

Worth Celebrating

Today my surroundings aren't quite the usual living room atmosphere or the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood coffee shop that so often sets the tone as I post.  I decided to switch things up a bit today.

I'm currently cozied up in the corner of a window seat in the swanky, 3rd floor secret sweet spot that I love to frequent, otherwise known as Cuvee, a lovely champagne bar.  Blame it on the artsy culture of the Third Ward, or my view of colorful buildings and the lot across the street where we took some of our wedding photos... or perhaps it's the fact that I'm sipping on a champagne cocktail called Tickle Pink, but I am finding myself in a particularly good mood.

Soaking up this moment and allowing myself to get lost in the delightfully pink bubbles as they float to the top of my flute that is so delicately rimmed with pink sugar, I feel like it's a moment worthy of celebration. Finding myself in this joyful mood, I'd like to share something with you that has caused me to celebrate in the past week.

Ever since I can remember, I have had a hard time titling things.  Be it a paper in high school, an article for the Ripon College Days (the Ripon newspaper), or my final project for my senior seminar, coming up with a title that was both catchy and fitting was always like pulling teeth for me.  When I first started this adventure, and found myself trying to name my blog, I wasn't sure what to call it.  Let's be honest, I wasn't really sure what blogging was all about or what I wanted it to be.  So instead of putting a lot of thought into it and coming up with something super creative, I named the blog exactly what it was- New to Me.  [Of course I tried to make it a little fancier and wrote it in French; I was a French minor after all ;).]

But now I find myself in a different place.  Things aren't quite so new.  I've gotten acclimated both in my marriage and in this crazy place we refer to as the blog world.  So for the past couple of months I've been feeling like it's time for a change- for a growing up of sorts.  This blog has changed from being just a fun outlet to meaning a lot more to me.  I am still figuring out what exactly that means, but what I do know is that I want this space to be true to me.  I want it to portray who I am, who I want to be, and what I hope for my blog to become someday.

Putting a lot of time, thought, bouncing ideas off sweet friends, and a few nights where I lay awake brainstorming and vetoing most of the crazy ideas that flowed through my mind- I am so excited to tell you that I finally landed on a name!!

Welcome to the unveiling of "loveMin"- a blog about the journey to develop a lifestyle that exudes love, joy, inspiration, and Jesus.  

There are a lot of details I have yet to work out.  I don't know how I want my new name to look, how I want the design to change or any of that. What I do know is that I have a lot of ideas, goals and hopes for my new space.  There's a lot behind why I chose this name and what it really means to me, and how I want it to affect my page from here on out- I plan to share this with you, but I'd like to save it for another day.  I know this is just the beginning- but I can't wait to keep moving forward.  For now, I am so excited to share this "news" with you.

I'm super excited about this, and hope that it can be a new name, a new space that both you and I come to love.

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey- I can't wait to see what's to come.

xoxo

In Love with Life: A huge Birthday Balloon

Growing up, birthdays have always been a bit of a celebration in my family.  A 'Happy Birthday' banner placed on the mantel, often accompanied by a balloon or two, were always a pleasant surprise when we came downstairs on the morning of our special day.  And you could never get through the day, let alone the morning, before mom and dad would come into our rooms, with a smile and a hug, singing Happy birthday to you!!  Another exciting element of the day was being given the power of choosing our favorite meal to eat on our birthday night.  Interestingly enough, even when we were little we, didn't choose chicken nuggets or ice cream or something.  My sister often chose Cheeseburger Pie, and my favorite was Chicken in a Basket.  (Much to my dismay, they do not create the potato shoestring baskets that made this meal- otherwise this would still be birthday meal of choice.)  Coming home from school, the birthday fun would begin with dinner followed by a tasty dessert (also of our choice) and then the fun part, presents!! Sometimes grandpa and grandma would be there to partake in the fun as well.  It was really great.  And in addition to the birthday fun on the actual birthday, we were given the opportunity to celebrate with our friends in one way or another.  I remember several tea parties, probably a few at chuckie cheese, dress up parties, surprise parties in high school, and lots of other memorable moments.  My grandpa used to say, "You girls are lucky!  Your birthdays go on for weeks!!" 

Since then, a birthday has not gone by without a celebration in our family.  As I prepared for my sister's upcoming birthday last week, my husband commented- 'man, you guys and your birthdays... they're so extravagant!"  I never really thought about it that way until he said that.  We really have been blessed to build a discipline of celebration around our special days.  I know it may sound a bit ridiculous, but I think it fits in perfectly with the mentality of choosing joy.  You can either let each day go by without choosing joy or fun, or you can make a point to be happy, and have a blast!  

So here we are, me 26 and my sister just turning 29, and we still put a solid effort into coming up with new ways to celebrate.  This year, I was pretty excited about what I came up with to bring a little joy to my sister's special day.  And thus we meet, the Big Balloon. :) 

I have seen many pictures of huge balloons on wedding pictures, or on various images from my Instagram feed, but never have I seen one in person.  I was STOKED when I found out that I was able to get one of these beautiful things at a local party store.   I felt like a kid in a candy shop when the clerk presented me with the 36" of pink joyful goodness.  :)  Clutching the balloon with fear that it might escape my grasp, pushing it through my car door, as well as trying to drive without the balloon bopping around in my sight in my rearview mirror- made getting the balloon home a trip.

But the best part of all was surprising my sister.  Bright and early on her birthday I decided to grab a few donuts, the balloon, and be at my sister's house before she went to school.  And the funnest (yes I said funnest) part was, I didn't just ring her doorbell, instead, I called her and said "Hey, can you do me a favor?  Can you look outside for a second?"  A little confused, she peeked out her bedroom window and saw me standing there in her driveway with the huge balloon.  She was ecstatic, she kept giggling over the phone and said oh my gosh, oh my gosh, that balloon is huge!

Before heading off to school I took a picture of her (image above) and her "balloon buddy" as we referred to it for the rest of the day.  It was so so fun to bring joy to my sister and celebrate her in a way as random as giving her a big balloon.  [And it was also a ton of fun to make her lug that balloon around everywhere with her for the rest of the evening... I called the photos "Steph and her balloon parts 1, 2, 3, and 4" see images below]  She means the world to me- she's my best friend.  Such a loving, caring, beautiful, encouraging woman, who I could not live without.  I am so blessed to have her in my life, and so thankful to have the opportunity to bring her joy.

So, cheers to the little things in life that make people happy, like huge balloons.
My hope is that this week, you might take the time to celebrate those you love, and find joy in the small things.

xo

Happy St. Patrick's Day Mani

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and had a fun holiday! My sister's birthday is a few days before the crazy day, so celebrating her birthday tends to include a bit of Irish goodness and a few green beers. In honor of the day, I decided to create this simple shamrock manicure.

Have a great Sunday night! 

Xo 

In Love with Life: Dance lessons Pt. 1

For as long as I can remember I have been a dance-aholic.  From sock hops in middle school, to homecomings, formals in college, to wedding dances, or an occasional club visit, you can pretty much guarantee that you will find me on the dance floor.  It is just one of those activities that brings joy almost instantaneously.  I understand that this isn't the case for everybody.  Some people need a little liquid courage, or just would really rather sit on the sidelines, but not me.

Thankfully, my husband, too, is quite the dancing man.  If we're at a wedding and the dance floor is struggling for people to start off the night, you can count on us to be the first ones on the floor.  We are most certainly not pro-dancers, but we just love to dance!  And no, I don't mean the bump and grind, gross kind of dancing.  I mean the jumping around to the music, shaking your stuff, a little cupid shuffle here and there- the FUN kind!! I'm not even sure where the thrill of it comes from, but I don't really care- it's great!!

I know I haven't always been as confident in the fun of dancing.. I remember in high school I was always nervous about it.  I wanted to feel free and not worry about what others thought of me, but well, it was high school so that was a bit hard.  But something changed in my college years- maybe it was the cocktail I had before we would attend a "lounge party" (as the dance parties were called in my day), but honestly I don't think that was it.  I think it all comes down to being confident in yourself, okay with looking a little funny, and just really allowing yourself to have a blast with it!

Besides the typical wedding dance fun, I have a bit of a fondness for salsa dancing.  Last year, I even went to a salsa lesson with a girlfriend of mine, you can check out more about that here.  But the thing was, I didn't necessarily want to learn salsa on my own.  Going to a club with just your girlfriends can be great, but it becomes a bit tricky when you're married.  I don't want to get hit on anymore.  I don't want to have to worry about whether or not the guy I am dancing with gets that I am simply dancing with him and there will be no advancing beyond that.  This setting can still be fun, if with you're with the right crowd- but it's still a bit tricky.  So in order to avoid this, there is a perfect solution... my husband too, must learn to dance.

Thankfully, since my husband (who I'm pretty sure may have danced MORE than I did at our wedding!!) likes to dance, it wasn't too hard to approach the topic of dance class.  And at the silent auction for the Oscar Gala, my dreams became a reality!  We bid on and won a package with Fred Astaire Dance Studios for 2 dance classes and 1 practice party.  I was stoked!! Since I have been on a mission to be more in love with life, to intentionally seek out joy, the idea to take a dance class fit right in.

Wednesday night we began the adventure.  Before our lesson, we were encouraged to dress as if we were going out on a date night.  So Chris wore nice dress pants and a collared shirt - and I followed suit wearing a purple, fun-to-spin-in, skirt with a black top.  Arriving at the dance studio, we put on our dance shoes and were ready to jump right in.  We met our instructor JR who took us into the ballroom right away.  The next 40 minutes flew by as we learned basic steps of the Rhumba, Foxtrot, Waltz, and the push-pull.  We learned how to have proper frame for each of these dances, and spent a brief amount of time on each dance, moving about throughout the studio.  Accomplishing each of these basic steps and receiving positive feedback from our instructor, he even allowed us to learn the basic step of the salsa (which is not usually part of the intro class).  Which of course brought me great joy, because that's really the dance that I have the most fun with.  As our time in the class came to a close, my husband escorted me off the dance floor with a smile on his face.  We both had a blast, and are definitely looking forward to our next lesson at the studio.

Needless to say, I am pretty excited about this new adventure, about this new way of working towards being in love with life.  I am so thankful for a husband who supports my crazy ideas and does it with a joyful heart!  [He even suggested we consider signing up for the beginner's dance program - 5 lessons, 2 practice parties, and a ballroom cd!!]  I am a lucky lucky girl.

But besides learning a few basic dance steps, I have walked away from this experience realizing how easy it is to make fun happen.  Sure, in most cases, it costs a little money... but isn't it worth it?  I'm so glad that instead of just talking about taking a dance class, we actually did it- we made it happen.  Is there something that you have been dying to try, or that you have on your bucket list?  I encourage you to take the next step to find out more, and MAKE IT HAPPEN!

I can't wait to share more with you about this dance class and the joy that I'm certain it will bring. Until then, be intentional, go out and do something fun!! You won't regret it.

xo

The image above is from a friend's wedding reception, captured by Lindsey Stayton Photography

Fulfilling Purpose

This is a question I have been asking myself a lot lately.  I think it's a totally natural question to ask when like me, you find yourself in a place of transition, of being "in-between things" as I always answer these days when people ask me, "So what do you do?"

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with the question 'what is my purpose'.  It's a great one, because it keeps me looking forward; it helps me to dig deep and think about in the long run, what do I want to do with my life and why.  But then on the other hand it sometimes feels like a weight on my shoulders.  On days when I feel less optimistic about finding my calling, thinking about it sends my mind into a spin.   It's the double-edged sword of: This world is full of opportunities- there are many ways that I could find purpose and make a difference VS. this world is FULL of opportunities, how can I possibly determine where my next step should be?

In my mission to be in love with my life I have thought a lot about what inspires me, what gets me motivated.  And I have allowed those to be the things that determine my next steps in the past couple weeks.  That's what is leading me towards putting more effort into this journey with my blog .  But, even amidst choosing joy, there is always the dark voice in the back of my mind that tries to creep in, asking- "well what are you doing this for?  What's the point?  You don't even have a purpose.  Who really even cares, just give up!" When I have moments like this, it is hard not to get discouraged.  To get caught up in the self-destructing mind spin of thinking maybe that little voice is right, maybe I have no purpose, maybe I'm not doing anything that is positively affecting this world, maybe I'm not going to find my purpose.

Struggling with this dark voice lately, I was glad when I stumbled across an encouraging word in my Bible reading.  Psalm 138:8 spoke directly to my fears and questions of purpose.  It says,

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands." 

This verse jumped off the pages and really spoke to my heart.  The first encouragement that spoke to me is this, "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me."  It doesn't say, might fulfill, it says WILL fulfill.  It's not a question, not a doubt; it's a promise.  And the second is this.  "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me."   This is a part that is so near and dear to my heart.

About four years ago, I had a big perspective change in my life.  It's a big piece of my life story, one of the parts of my testimony that I get really excited about.  Here's what I discovered...

My life is not about me.  It's not about my desires to be good, loving, caring, and Christ-like.  Instead, it is about God's story- about His love, His purpose for this earth, and how He wants ME to be a part of that.

If you've never thought about this before, I know it sounds super strange.  It almost sounds like we have an arrogant God who only cares about this big picture, but that's not what it is at all.  God is a loving, caring god who has a wonderful plan for this world, and He loves you and me so much that he wants to give us a place in that plan.  [I had no idea this post was gonna feel so 'preachy' sounding, so forgive me.  But it's just a huge piece of my heart so I feel like I have to share, in order to be true to who I am.]    

It's a lot to think about.  I know.  It took me awhile to understand the difference between these two perspectives, but once I did- it was a HUGE shift for me.  It is this perspective change, this understanding that I am a part of God's desire to love and redeem the whole world, that really gave me an understanding of my place in this world.

What I'm now realizing is that for me, it's not really a question of what my purpose is, but of how I am going to fulfill that purpose.  

After reading the verse "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me" - I am walking away feeling encouraged.  I feel such a strong affirmation that even though right now I have no inclination of what my next steps are, or what my day-to-day, future job calling may look like, He does in fact have a purpose for me.  And HE WILL fulfill it.  But not only does he know the what of my purpose, He also knows the how.  And I am confident that in His perfect timing, I will know that part too.

I'm not alone in this... You, too, ARE GOING TO fulfill the purpose that the Lord has planned for you. Is this something you've thought about?  My hope is that if you haven't, you might.  It's a difficult question to think about, but it can be so so rewarding.

xoxo

Mustache Manicure

HAPPY FRIDAY!! 

I have been thinking about this manicure for awhile and decided that today is the day.  Nothing like a lil mustache fun to brighten up the day right?!  I paired my fancy lil mustache with a springy pink color in hopes of convincing spring it is time to arrive.  Topped off with Seche Vite and I'm good to go.  

P.S. Who decided that mustaches were cool?  They are everywhere- magnets for your wine glasses, erasers, flasks, nail art!  Nevertheless, I dig it.  :) 

Have a fab weekend!  
xoxo