Things I Learned...

... This Memorial Day Weekend

1. Weddings are really one of the best celebrations. My brother's best man Kyle (and close friend of mine) got married this weekend in St. Louis to Sadie. It was such a fun weekend of being surrounded by friends and family who adore this couple. It kind of felt like a preview for what's to come June 29th with my family!
2. Sometimes it's actually fun to be the third wheel. I might be singing a different tune on a different occasion but this weekend was great. My whole family went down to Kyle and Sadie's wedding but Andrew and Becca were both in the wedding party so that meant lots of quality time with my parents. Of course there were definitely moments where they drove me a little crazy but overall I'm grateful to be the third wheel to them. They're a great pair.
3. Any sort of animal baby is so adorable. When my parents and I were in St. Louis one of our adventures together was the St. Louis zoo. If you're ever in the area, it's a must. It's free and really wonderful. When we were there we saw this sweet baby elephant who had just been introduced to the public a couple days before. He was just a month old and seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. I think we stood and watched him for about 20 minutes. Which is ages in zoo time.
4. The twitter feed @yourawaymessage is absolutely brilliant. If you're not following it, well, that's just seems silly. It's gotten to the point that my best friend Kate and I just screen shot pictures of different posts and send them to each other. Makes me giggle every time. 
5. Everything makes me cry. But seriously, everything makes me cry. Like a lot of these points, these thoughts aren't necessarily new but they're fresh from the weekend. I've always known this about myself, that my emotions manifest themselves in tears but last night felt like an all time low. Last night my roommate Kelly and I were watching the Real Housewives of Orange County and I cried... twice... I guess that's when you know, right? 

Merry Christmas [Part II]

Happy New Years from yours truly! (a bit late)

date brunch with JJ

JJ got me a polaroid camera for Christmas! It's the best!
Here are some of my Florida holiday captured on film. 

Life doesn't get better than the beach and diet coke.

sweet alfie boy.

Nothing like one last shot of palm trees and some Florida sun.

2013 is really happening. After my 10 days in Florida with my family I returned home for a couple days and headed right back to Florida for work. I feel like I have not really been present in my life here in Chicago. I'm ready to be back in my (chaotic) rhythm of life.

Here are some last snapshots from my time in Naples. I'm excited for what is in store this coming year. And just as excited to document it here.

Looking forward to the journey.

Merry Christmas [Part I]

book one of my "winter break" adventure.

words I wish I would have written.

naples beach on christmas day.

#fromwhereIstand - christmas day edition 

bonnie loves signs.

nothing like finding a solo cup on the scenic beach. 

merry christmas love alfie

book two.

part of growing up? being domestic.

facetime with my boy(s) clive & jj

#fromwhereIstand - naples pier edition

put a bird on it.

my sweet sweet grandparents.

fireworks over the lake.

I'm spending my holiday "break" in Naples, FL. It is quite a treat and a wonderful, relaxing break. Here are a handful of wonderful moments of the last five days.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! 

Amor Fe Esperanza

I've mentioned the documentary that JJ has been working on since the beginning of my blog. And after a lot of hard work and sleepless nights, the documentary is finished!! 

This coming Saturday is the premier. He will be showing the film to donors, family, and close friends. I feel really blessed that I've had a front row seat at the story that JJ is telling and the creative process which he has poured over these last two years. One small part of the premier this weekend will be selling some artwork. 100% of the proceeds will go to the school AFE (Amor Fe Esperenza.) 

In the last couple months I've started to dabble a bit with photography and am actually going to sell some stationary of the pictures that I took while I spent a week with JJ in Honduras this fall. It has been really fun to create and actually very therapeutic. 

Above is a little taste of my creations. Excited for what's in store. 

Photographs & Memories

I've officially been home from Honduras for five days. 
I'm still in the process of unpacking and reflecting my time there but thought I'd share some pictures. 
I think they probably captured my experience better than any words ever could.

JJ handing out photographs to students at AFE.

Students in class at AFE.

AFE.

Playground time.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

This is mommy Lucci, who JJ lived with for three months, and her daughter Marielle.

Buen Samaritan neighborhood.

Honduran kids are beautiful.

Cutest cat I've ever seen.

Sweet sweet Angie.

This is my favorite picture of the whole trip.
Sweet Angie and JJ, two people I love a lot.

Things I Learned...

... Last week in Honduras!

1. Honduran children have my heart. When JJ returned from Honduras last year with a ton of footage and pictures I didn't really notice anything specific about the children but my goodness, when you are with them in person they are just magnetic. They've got so much to offer.
2. Being in a country where you don't speak the language is difficult. Really difficult. Silly me took French until my junior year of college. I thought that could potentially be helpful with my Spanish but gosh was I wrong. Example: with in Spanish is con, with in French is avec. That's a little bit how my mind felt last week. Every time someone would speak to me in Spanish my mind went from English to French. Here's a promise that next time I go, I'll know a little bit more than gracias and adios. 
3. It's good to be out of your comfort zone. Not only was not speaking the language a barrier but I just didn't know very much about Honduran culture. I journaled a lot while I was there and noticed that I kept on writing the word lost. And I don't think that was a bad place for me to be this week. It made me realize my own humanity and my need for Jesus even more. Grateful to be pushed to places that challenge me. 
4. I remembered how much I love to read. When you don't have phone or internet really for a week, there's so much time to read! While I was in Honduras I was able to read 4 books. C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed," Lauren Winner's "Mudhouse Sabbath" and "Real Sex," and "Half the Sky" by Nicolas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. I recommend all of them. They all are so different but all have something rich to offer.
5. People are doing incredible things with not very much. The school that JJ filmed has an incredible story. AFE (Amor, Fe, Esperzana) started because a Honduran man saw that education was the only way to get kids out of the cycle of poverty and working in the local trash dump. This vision has now turned into a full blown school with about 130 students. 130 kids that would be working in a trash dump that are now able to graduate from high school. You cannot help but be moved when you're standing at AFE.
6. I am incredibly blessed. It was a strange feeling going to bed last night after a hot shower with my cell phone plugged and my cat curled up next to me. I'm really lucky and have so much to be thankful for. I hope and pray that my time in Honduras wasn't something that I can look back on fondly but that it's a time that changes how I view my life. How often I am unappreciative of the fact that I'm able to type on this very computer. How embarrassing. I'm really really blessed. 

August Twenty Twelve

So many things happened in August. I traveled to California twice, got a new boss, and moved into a new house. Glad this playlist will be a great reminder of all of those fun things.

1. Hold on Love - Azure Ray
2. From Above - Ben Folds & Nick Hornby
3. Day Two - Hanna
4. All This and Heaven Too - Florence + The Machine
5. I Speak Because I Can - Laura Marling
6. We Are Never Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
7. Details In The Fabric - Jason Mraz
8. I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
9. No Light, No Light - Florence + The Machine
10. Koop Island Blues - Koop
11. Long Ride Home - Patty Griffin
12. Love Today - Mika
13. Good Time - Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen
14. Wolves - Josh Ritter
15. As Long As You Love Me - Justin Bieber

Things I Learned...

... This weekend.

1. Some people are jerks. I flew to Malibu, CA to visit JJ for the weekend while he was out filming some videos for Pepperdine University. On my flight out there, someone stole my cell phone. Like we tracked it on my iCloud and I watched my phone travel around Inglewood, CA for an hour and a half stolen. I have returned back to Chicago sans iPhone. I'm embarrassed how much it has bugged me.
2. Surprises really are the best. One of my favorite bands for a long time has been Fun. I fell in love with them (well the lead singer Nate) back when they were The Format. On Friday night JJ surprised me and got us tickets to see Fun. at the Wiltern in LA! I had absolutely no idea they were even in town. And I loved it. Every moment.
3. My feet are always happiest in the sand. My feet got to meet the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. I hope this is just the beginning to a lovely relationship.
4. I'm a midwest girl. As JJ and I were driving around Southern California (which is absolutely gorgeous) I couldn't help but be reminded why I love the midwest. I guess I like green grass and neighborhoods more than I realized.
5. Penny from LOST is just as pretty in real life as she is on the show. Sunday morning we went to Marmalade Cafe in Malibu (I got a delicious mushroom, spinach, goat cheese fritatta - that was for you Gwen) and in walks Penny. I almost died. First and only celebrity spotting and my gosh, well worth it.  

Truly Madly Deeply

Dress: Covet Boutique in San Francisco.
Necklace: Standard Style Boutique in Kansas City. Shoes: Rampage (DSW). 

Me with my high school girlfriends Kelly, Gwen, & Alex.

The first kiss!

Here it is, the last San Francisco/Napa Valley post and it's the wedding post! For some reason picking out a dress for this wedding was so difficult for me. Thank goodness San Francisco has great shopping and a cute little boutique on Union Street saved me. (Note: Look! Pink Lipstick too!)

The bride Laura has been a close friend of mine since elementary school. I'm not sure if everyone loved Savage Garden in the late 1990's but gosh we did. You may remember them from their hit "I Want You" when they reference cherry cola. Well anyway, they came out with a song called "Truly Madly Deeply" when Laura and I were in 5th grade. And instantly we were obsessed. Like most preadolescent girls do, we dreamt the boys we had huge crushes on were singing those beautiful lyrics straight to us. I remember on sleepover laying in her older sisters bed  playing that song on repeat, not talking to each other, and dreaming of our 5th grade heart throbs. (Shockingly) those relationships didn't work out for either of us, but a girl can dream, right?

Napa Rappa

Blazer: JCrew. Top: Anthropologie. Shorts: Gap.
Shoes: Nine West (Nordstrom Rack) Earrings: Lia Sophia

I think the only appropriate place to wear a sparkly top is Napa Valley. I've had this top for a while now and there's never been quite the right place to wear it but wine tasting seemed like a great option. Pairing it with pair of denim shorts also seemed to made me feel like less of a disco ball. 

The day before Laura's wedding we went to a winery handful of different wineries. Our clear favorite was Peju. It really had nothing to do with the wine and everything to do with our new friend Alan. 

Alan was our sommelier (aka the person who served us wine.) At first Alan seemed like a nice older gentleman and then out of no where he started rapping. Yes, rapping. He even coined a new name for himself, the "nappa rappa." By the end of our time there we were his biggest fans. Alan even free styled for Laura & Radley's video. Hopefully you all got to see his skills at the end of Ben's video here. 

He truly was a delight.  

Here he is, the one and only, Alan.

Pink Lipstick & Sea Lions

Sweater: F21. Blouse: F21. Pants: JCrew. Shoes: Nine West (Nordstrom Rack.)
Earrings: JCrew. Braclet: H&M. Belt: H&M. Sunglasses: Target. 

I've never been a huge make up girl, so the thought of lipstick always scared me. But let me tell you, when I was in San Francisco, I fell in love with lipstick. I know, it seems a bit dramatic but it really does add a whole new element to a simple outfit. Who knows how long this will last for me but for now I'm going to run with it. Pink lipstick with everything. 

For the second half of my week in San Fran, my parents and my best friend from high school Gwen joined me. One day we were the ultimate tourists. We road a trolley car to Fisherman's Warf, saw sea lions on Pier 39, ate sour dough bread, wandered Ghirardelli square, and took a bay boat tour. My camera was an extension of my arm. 

Here are some tourist pictures. Take a bay boat tour, you won't be disappointed. 

My mom and me on the boat.

San Francisco skyline. 

My love Gwen.

And of course, the Golden Gate Bridge.

Come on, love these buddies.