for a week to celebrate my grandma and grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary!
i have some posts lined up including a super fun craft how-to. so stick with me! :)

giveaway time!

hello, my friends!
i couldn't quite believe my eyes this morning when i logged into my blogger page. 50 followers. uh....what?! craziness! i have loved getting to know you guys and i am so blessed to be able to see life through your blogs as well.
anyways, that said, i thought i would do a little giveaway!
this is what you'll win:

assorted cards/stationary, a mix cd, cupcake notebook, fuji instax picture (not shown)

to enter, all you have to do is

1) become a follower if you aren't already

2) comment below and tell me what your favorite quote, song, or book is!

i'll pick a winner at random on monday, august 8th!

have a lovely, lovely weekend!

friday favorites

photo taken on my diana f+ last winter

some of my favorites from this week...

*three warm, sunny days in a row! 

*johnny flynn's music. on repeat.

*a clean room. so lovely!

*getting a long black maxi dress from h&m. dang, these things are comfy.

*this adorable house. i can't wait to have my own house to decorate some day!

happy friday!

in the kitchen: roasted chick peas

these are super cute, healthy, and fun to eat! (aka: the perfect snack food)
to make these little guys you'll need:
-one can (or more) of chick peas/garbanzo beans (same thing. so confusing)
-cookie sheet
-oven, preheated to 400
-olive oil
-salt
-seasoning of your choice (optional)

simply drain the water out of the chick peas and pat dry. spread out on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. stir around so they are lightly covered. salt. cook for 30-40 minutes (i cooked mine about 40 minutes because i like them to be on the crunchier side) and stir occasionally.

that's it! so easy. try them and tell me what you think!

in case you've missed some older recipes:
hearty chocolate chip cookies
yummy spinach salad
baked oatmeal

snapshot of the moment (v.7)

some pretty flowers in san francisco

listening to "helplessness blues" by fleet foxes

reading To Kill A Mockingbird

snacking on microwave popcorn from trader joes

wishing for sun so it actually felt like summer

inspired by the organization "krochet kids". those t-shirts? yes, please.

what are you up to, friend?

i love fonts

this was originally a guest post i did for kelsey's blog. unfortunately the picture didn't show up, but i thought i would share it with you guys anyways!

i hope you found some new fonts and inspiration!

click the links below to see where to download each font:

matilde

folk

lucidity

japan

maridavid

learning curve

rough typewriter

clementine sketch

(digital papers from puglypixel.com)

you should listen to...

photo from here

my friend gave me one of their cds a while back and it always gets me in a great mood! their songs are so lighthearted and fun. my favorite song is "jelly bean". I mean, who wouldn't love a song about jelly beans?!
check them out here!

favorite Christian books

i love to read. some of my very favorite books have been ones that inspire me to learn and grow in my faith. here are some of those reads:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (i'm halfway through but i had to put it on this list!)
Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller (one of my favorite authors)
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Crazy Love by Francis Chan

do you have any favorites?

snapshots from my diana

have you heard of lomography? or diana cameras?
basically, they are these fun little plastic cameras that take very...unique...pictures. I say unique because you never really know what you are going to get! i'm talking random blurry spots, light leaks, super bright colors, super faded colors, vignettes, that sort of thing. what makes the diana neat is that unpredictability!

here are some shots that i've taken this past year...

 funny random red light...

 mmm... cupcakes!

 my pretty sister

neat double exposures (sometimes on purpose...sometimes not!)

if you have one or are thinking about getting a diana, I would be more than happy to attempt and answer any questions you might have! 

I love fonts

i'm over here at kelsey's blog today! she invited me to do a guest post while she is away on vacation. 

check out my post on some of my favorite fonts! (ok...that doesn't sound too exciting, but I promise you it actually is semi interesting...) let me know what you think! 

oh and if you are visiting for the first time from kelsey's blog...welcome! 

have a lovely day, my friends!

pretty desktop backgrounds

I love turning on my computer and seeing a pretty desktop background. maybe that's just the nerdy graphic design-y, visual part of me, but it bothers me when I don't have something I like as my background. anyways, whether you are like me or not, I thought I would give you some links to places where you can get some super cute (free, of course!) backgrounds!

pretty vintage looking designs from ruche
hand-painted watercolor backgrounds for each month
or perhaps something more simple
retro backgrounds? yes please!
these pretty ones from fossil

what is on your desktop?

my soul won't be thirsty anymore...

signs

anyone else find this really funny? I guess I just have speed bumps where I'm from.
do you have speed bumps or humps where you live? :)

across the country

well i'm leaving again. i'll be gone for two weeks at a Christian worldview camp. i'm super excited and am getting prepared to have my head jam-packed full of knowledge. :)
I have some posts scheduled...so stick with me!

friday favorites

*these mini chocolate cones from trader joes. so yummy! they are the perfect size so you don't feel guilty eating one. or two. or three. (and they are really fun to take pictures of!)
*pride and prejudice (which i had a hard time putting down) was such a great read. for some reason i expected it to be really "old fashioned" and hard to get through, but i was so wrong! now i'm on to sense and sensibility.
*this article on solitude. i learned a lot of new vocab and had to have my dictionary on hand, but i think it was the best article i have ever read. honestly.
*cheche's post about insecurity and the blog world. i completely relate to this and am curious about your guys' thoughts on this subject. (and i promise you will love cheche. she is so cool!)
*TeuxDeux. this digital to do list is one of my favorite recent finds. i love it! i feel nice and organized.
*this playlist on repeat

did you have a favorite part of this week?

love and strawberries

"Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to love us. Love like that."

Ephesians 5:2, The Message Version

some verses jsut say things so perfectly.
love love love. a short little word that can be so difficult sometimes. I love where it says that Christ didn't love with the intent of getting something in return, but instead He gave up everything to love us. i'm not sure i'll every be able to fully comprehend that kind of love.

oh and the berries don't really have anything to do with the verse. i've just been inspired by these beautiful little fruits from our garden. they are so beautiful, aren't they? not to mention yummy...

a package in the mail with my...

my new glasses from warby parker arrived! so excited.
[sidenote: if any of you wear glasses or are looking for someplace to buy glasses...go to warbyparker.com. seriously. they are the best! they have the best customer service and design and their glasses are super fun!]
also, we got back from california last night so I'll post the rest of the pictures soon!

oh and have a wonderful fourth of july, friends!

books.books.books.

I love reading.
whenever I go to the library I seem to come home with way more books than I could ever possibly read. I don't know if it's a combination of seeing that ever-towering stack of books beside my nightstand or maybe the fact that I love multi-tasking, but I always seem to be reading/in the middle of about five books. I start one, read a bit, put it down, start another, read a bit, pick up a book I started a couple months ago, finish it...you get the picture.
anyways, here are the five books I'm reading right now:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman(here is a snapshot!)
3. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
4. Genesis (I am counting the Bible as a book)
5. Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler (book about his experiences in and the history of China)

what are you reading?