baby will

Some precious photos of a precious baby boy... Amy, thanks so much for letting me photograph your little bundle of joy!

mark your calendar...

{the awesome garage sale sign pictured above can be found here}

Saturday April 17th. I am preparing the most massive, insanely huge, ridiculously ginormous GARAGE SALE. That's right. I'm planning on knocking out number 18 on my 30 by 30 list this month. There will be a wide array of items available to fit every shopper's need.

Just to name a few...

-linens galore (table cloths, napkins, bedding, etc)

-some furniture (including a formal dining table & 6 chairs)

-loads of home decor items

-holiday decorations

-massive amounts of shoes & purses (nine west, steve madden, GAP)

-craft supplies (paper, stamps, stickers, paint)

-patio furniture

Based on recent requests, we are thinking about having a VIP night on the 16th... for friends & family only. So, all you Habersham-ian's... mark your calendar.

happy easter...

After the easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, cadbury cream-filled chocolate eggs, over-stuffed easter baskets, etc... it's easy to see how we seem to forget why this holiday even exists.

But today I was reminded. I was reminded that it was because Christ gave His life up for me, so that my sins would be washed away and I can experience a relationship with my Maker. That's pretty impressive stuff. I mean, what if God just decided we weren't worth it? What if He didn't see the potential in us? What if He looked out at the sinful people we had become and just threw the towel in? But He didn't.

I recently read this article by Carolyn McCulley, and was really impacted by some of her thoughts:

I wonder if she (Mary Magdalene) ever thought back to the jeers and mockery hurled at Jesus while He suffered so violently on the cross.

"Save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"

Well, what if He had? What if Jesus had actually come down from that cross? What if He looked out at sinful humanity and shrugged off the plan of redemption for our sorry souls? That angry crowd was staring at the only way they would ever escape eternal torment — and they mocked it.

The whole article is definitely worth a read... it is called Cherish Grace, and basically looks at the resurrection through the eyes of Mary Magdalene.

This handmade card is closest I came to chocolate bunnies this year. Now, Cadbury cream-filled eggs... that's a whole different story.

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1) D-Now weekend. This past weekend at our church was Disciple Now, which is somewhat like a retreat weekend for all of our youth (6th-12th grade). I wasn't really planning on leading a group this year, but at the last minute a good friend of mine asked if I would help her lead a group of 11th and 12th grade girls. I agreed... and I am so thankful that I did. It seems like every year when I help with these events, God teaches me as much (or more) than the young girls in my group. This year, I was specifically amazed by how vulnerable some of these girls were... it was incredible to see how God uses our struggles and hardships to encourage others walking through similar trials. He brings beauty from ashes.

2) Apple one-to-one training. This is brilliant. I basically paid Apple $100 for unlimited training for an entire year. I try to make it over to the Apple store about once a week on my way home from work to participate in some one-to-one training. Right now, I am specifically learning more about Aperture, my photo editing software... but the possibilities are endless. I am amazed at how much I learn during each training. I am debating about installing Bento on my mac book, but not entirely sure if it's worth it. Any mac users out there have any words of wisdom regarding Bento?

3) Creative friends. I recently have joined a small group of women who meet on a monthly basis to create something. Often it is cards or scrapbooking, which I absolutely LOVE. I have really enjoyed getting to know these women and am always inspired when I leave our time together. I will have to post some pictures of what we made this past week... some really adorable Easter ideas!

book review...

Again, let me preface this post by saying I am a horribly inconsistent reader. Please notice in my "About Me" section to the right, that I describe myself as an inconsistent bookworm. I honestly want to read more, and I am definitely good at shopping for books... I just seem to have a problem actually making time to read them. Okay, now that being said, let's continue with the book review...

PUSH (or Precious): This is the book that the popular movie "Precious" was filmed after. The author's name is Sapphire and it's a pretty quick read. I'm not quite sure how to describe this story. I, personally, have not seen the movie yet, so I'm unable to compare book v. big screen. But I will say that PUSH is a rather troubling story. It's insane and heartbreaking to realize that the events described in this book actually happen to girls/women every day. Sapphire writes this novel in such a way that it disturbs you and intrigues you all at the same time. I definitely recommend it, but with caution.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: Lance finished this book by Donald Miller a few months ago, and I have stolen it since then. I have heard great reviews about Miller's writings, and so far, it's all proving to be true. He is funny and quick-witted. He is the male-version of another one of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott. This book is basically about his journey through life and how he has learned to record and cherish all of life's moments and memories. I'm still at the beginning, so I'll give the full review later.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: I did actually finish the first Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and surprise, surprise, I actually liked it. When I posted my first book review, I wasn't crazy about Harry, and wasn't really getting what all the Hogwart's hype was about. However, when I finally finished book number one, I was hooked (well, at least hooked enough to start book number two). I'm not quite sure how long my love affair will last with Harry, but my ultimate goal is to finish all 7 books in the series... so we'll see.

Craft, Inc: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business: This book is currently riding around with me in the backseat of my car. I have only read a few pages, but have found it very interesting thus far. It is full of helpful business ideas and creative tidbits, and is absolutely perfect for waiting room or lunch-time reading.



Shopaholic Takes Manhattan: Sophie Kinsella is providing me with commuter entertainment. I checked this audio book out from my local library a few months ago. It always takes me a while to get through a full audio book, as I only listen on my way home from work, assuming I'm not blabbing on the cell phone. I listened to the original "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a while back and really enjoyed Sophie's style of writing. The Shopaholic series are fun, light-hearted, and ease the pain of commuter traffic. I also love the audio book narrator on this novel, Emily Gray. I have decided that my favorite audio books are all read by British women. I will quit listening to an audio book solely based on the reader's voice. Is that strange?

awesome blog, even more awesome giveaway...

Epiphane is having an incredible giveaway this week... they are giving one lucky person either a Canon 5D Mark II or a $2500 gift certificate with Southwest Airlines. Can we just say, UH-MAZING. I have been debating about splurging on a new camera lately... but how much cooler would it be if I just won a new camera?!? And even more importantly, a camera that is way out of my price range?!? We can only hope.

If the results of the above contest do not play out in my favor, I will be researching/shopping the Canon 7D, or probably more realistically, the Canon 50D.

jenn & ty got hitched!

Congratulations Jennifer and Ty! Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your special day! Enjoy your sneak peek!

finding the one...

I am on a mission. A mission to find the perfect perfume. You know, a signature fragrance... the one. I should have put this on my 30 by 30 list. It is much more difficult than I expected. When it comes to fragrances, I'd say I'm pretty sensitive. Therefore, I'm looking for something very light and floral. Maybe even something a little fruity? For the majority of my life, I have been a "spritz" girl. I'm a huge fan of Bath & Body Works sprays. They're light and unobtrusive. But I've decided that a grown woman should have a signature scent... and it should come in the form of a glass bottle (not a plastic one).

However, purchasing a signature perfume is a major committment. Seriously. You go in those perfume stores, try like 20 different scents, smelling coffee beans in between, give yourself a migrain, take a dozen of those little perfume-sprayed cards home with you, realize everything smells the same now that you're home, not to mention that you've absolutely ruined your sense of smell (and the purse that you put all the perfumed cards in). Then, you run the risk of actually spending $60 on a bottle of perfume, only to realize that once you start wearing it, you hate it. See what I mean? Total committment.

But today, dear friends, I think I have come up with two potential contestants for my signature scent...

1) Burberry Summer. It is light, somewhat floral, and not overbearing. Added bonus- pretty bottle.






2) Gucci Envy Me. It is light and sweet smelling. A fun flirty scent.

Any other recomendations out there? I've had a couple of girlfriends recommend D&G's Light Blue and am thinking about adding it to my list. But until I decide to take the plunge and commit, I will stick with my go-to scent... Warm Vanilla Sugar. Can't go wrong there.

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1) Ahi Tuna. And not just any ahi tuna... specifically the ahi tuna Lance and I ate this weekend at Felix's in Mobile, AL. AMAZING. We ordered it as our appetizer and then realized we should have ordered it as our main meal... and dessert. Yes, it was that good. They had this special horseradish sauce drizzled over the top, that Lance and I proceeded to finish with our table's saltine crackers. We weren't about to let any of this stuff go to waste. We're classy, I know.

2) This blog. Elise Blaha's blog is really the first blog I started obsessively reading. I'm not really sure how I stumbled upon her site, because I have absolutely no relationship with this girl, and don't know her from one end or the other, but I'm pretty sure we're kindred spirits. Super cute.

3) Capri pants. I guess really I am thankful for the warm weather that has allowed me to pull my capri's out of spring clothes storage. But I do adore capri's. I'm really hoping this fashion trend sticks around for a while. You have to understand, see I'm pretty tall, and I'm 90% legs, so finding a good pair of long pants is practically impossible sometimes. But lucky for me, capri's are supposed to be short. Brilliant.

story of the beard...

So, as some of you may have read last Thursday, my husband was recently growing a small forest on the bottom half of his face. I'm not exactly sure what sparked this sudden passion for the mountain man look, or when his bearded-mission began. I think it was sometime in fall when Lance announced he was swearing off shaving. I tried my best to put on my best smile and sound supportive. See, the thing is... I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about a full-blown beard. As the holidays started approaching, we had several people ask if Lance was playing Jesus this year in our church's Christmas production. We even had someone suggest that he dye his beard white and play Santa. You have to have a pretty awesome beard to get offers like that.

Well, I'm not sure what changed the mountain man's mind... but last Wednesday night, Lance all of a sudden got out the trusty Wahl clippers and started shaving away. It was funny to hear the different remarks after he shaved (especially from his students). Some were really disappointed to see it go (mostly guys) and some expressed their enthusiasim with, "you finally shaved!" (mostly girls).

And while I wasn't terribly sad to see the beard go, I do have to admit, it was starting to grow on me (not literally growing on me). I could tell Lance was having mixed emotions about parting with his beard, so I thought this might help...

And I do. I love him with or without beard.