Bedroom Makeover

Sometime back in October, I started thinking about giving our bedroom a makeover. What can I say? My tastes change a lot :-)

I knew I wanted to lighten the room up a little bit. Here it was about two years ago freshly decorated...lots and lots of browns, and not a lot of "pop"

Well, I bought a new duvet cover and pillow cases this weekend during a trip to IKEA. And I shopped my house for some other things: The little red pillows that were tucked away in a closet, left over from when we used to have an Ohio State room, and the curtains that I moved from the dining room to the bedroom, because they just matched too perfectly. (I plan on turning the dining room into an all-white room as soon as the bedroom is finished, so the red curtains will no longer be needed in there anyway.

close-up :-)

Anyway, I think I've brightened up the room quite a bit with just those changes. The next step is to paint the walls. I would like them to be a pale blue color. Something like this:

"Bravo Blue" by Sherwin Williams

I think that will go nicely with the red. More projects that I'd like to complete would be to possibly re-finish an old dresser if I can find a cheap one on Craigslist or a garage sale. I'd like to paint one white and slightly distress it. I'd also like to buy a nice, new rug, maybe a white one. I've decided the bed will need a nice blue ruffly pillow right in the middle of the red ones to bring the two colors together.

I really hope it all comes together nicely, because unlike my interior designer sister, I do NOT have an eye for these things. If nothing else, I think I will at least succeed in brightening the room up a bit and bringing a little more life and coziness to it!

Week in Review

Highlights:

-Our church had our dedication service for the new building on Sunday night. It was a great service and a packed house!

-Spent a lot of time in the church library again. It's so quiet and peaceful in there. I really love working there.
-Enjoyed a few wonderful afternoons at my parents' pool because it was the hottest, most humid week of the year. I am not complaining, though! I wished for days like this like crazy in the middle of our blizzardy winter and rainy spring. I would give anything for more weeks like last week and less snowy, frigid weeks. Please don't hate me, fellow Ohioans. :-P

-Luke had a softball game on Thursday night and I had a great time watching it from the grassy shade. - Had a thunder storm on Friday night and I absolutely loved it for two reasons: 1. I love summer storms. They are peaceful and romantic. 2. Luke was supposed to mow until about 8 Friday night, but obviously got canceled since he was rained out. I enjoyed spending the evening with him. We had sweet corn and burgers for dinner and Luke spent the evening catching up on his DVR'd shows while I was consumed once again in a Harry Potter book. Life was good :-)

-Spent all day Saturday at Ikea with some of the women of Luke's family. It was a great time and I found a new comforter for the bedroom! I have been trying to find one since October. And while I didn't plan on incorporating red into the room, I decided on the fly that it would be a great idea. I am planning to paint the walls a pale blueish-bray color anyway, and I thought pops of red would coordinate well.I think I will definitely need a blue, frilly pillow in the bed too to bring it all together once I'm done :-)

Here it is close up...Gabby obviously loves it.

- I enjoyed a date night with Luke on Saturday night. We went out to dinner and were planning to go to a movie, but it was sold out. So we came home and watched one instead. I told him it was better to watch one at home anyway, because then we could cuddle :-P I have really become excited about our date nights which have been happening weekly. I really don't see Luke during the week now that he is working so much, and when he is home, he's asleep or too tired to function. So I love our weekend dates when he is more himself and We can spend some QT together, just the two of us.

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Movies I watched: No Strings Attached (C)

Books I'm reading: Finished Nehemiah in the Bible, read What a Girl Wants by Kristen Billerbeck (it was such a good, light read, and I think I'll have to order the next two in the series as well!), and I'm just about done with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Obviously, I once again spent every spare moment of my time reading this week. I stayed up until 1 or 2 most nights completely unable to put the books down. It's an addiction).

Songs I'm Loving: Firework by Katy Perry. I know it's getting old, but I just can't get enough of it. It pumps me up :-)

Things I'm looking forward to next week: Movie night with Kristin tomorrow, my sister's birthday, and dragging Luke with me to see Crazy Stupid Love. Hellllooo, Ryan Gosling ;-) My sister and I have had a crush on Ryan ever since he was the skinny little kid on Remember the Titans. *Swoon* Anyway, that movie looks so good, and I've been looking forward to seeing it all summer!

My Speech

I've been wanting to post this on here ever since Julie's wedding, but I kept forgetting until today! This was my speech at my sister's wedding reception, and I wanted to post it here so I'll be able to keep track of it forever :-) What I'm about to post is a little longer than my actual speech, because I didn't want to read it at the reception. I thought that would seem more impersonal than just saying it, and in my nervousness I skipped a few things. But this was the major gist of it: (I sprinkled in some vintage photos of us and of Julie and Andy just for the fun of it)

Julie has always been miss independent. Growing up, she said she would never get married! I, being the complete opposite and hopeless romantic of the family, knew that she was wrong. I knew it was just a matter of finding the right guy. He was out there somewhere, just waiting to change her mind.

{Julie being the little ham that she is - 1995}

Julie's junior year of high school she came home from a youth convention all giggly and smiley, talking about a boy from her class who had been there. Julie was never giggly and smiley when it came to boys. So I knew that Andy must have been different. I wondered if he was the guy who would change her mind.

{Julie and I, Winter Sports Dance 2003}

I watched Julie and Andy begin dating, go off to football games and proms together, graduate from high school together, eventually go off to college together, and even graduate from college together. They have learned so much together about life and relationships. They have literally grown up together.

{Julie and Andrew, Homecoming 2005}

So since they have been together for so long, they know each other pretty well. There are a few things I feel I should warn Andy of...be he probably already knows them. Like the fact that if Julie is crabby, she probably just needs food. Give her a cookie and she'll be happy again. Or the fact that her moods are like the weather in Ohio...if you don't like it, just wait five minutes. I don't have to warn him about those things, because after 6 years together, he already knows them all!

{Me and Julie at Magic Kingdom, 2005}

All kidding aside, I am so happy that Julie and Andy are sitting here today, and that I, as the older and wiser sister, was totally right...I knew she'd get married someday. I'm glad she finally found the man who changed her mind...and I'm glad she found him so young!

{Us at the wedding, June 25, 2011}

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I'm so excited for my sister and new brother-in-law!

{Julie, Andy, and Oopa, the new family, at the wedding - June 25, 2011}

Seeking Bible Study Advice

Awhile ago, I made it my goal to read the entire Bible. I had already read the New Testament, and most of it many times. I love the New Testament! All those stories about Jesus and His life and the disciples, and all those wonderful commands and words of advice that totally relate to my life, so many years later...I love it. And the best part is that it's easy to read and makes sense.

But let's talk about the Old Testament. I decided to read it straight through from Genesis to Malachi. And all through Genesis and most of Exodus I loved it. It was like watching an Epic movie! However, then I got toward the end of Exodus, and then had to trudge my way through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Those three are definitely my least favorite books of the Bible. Let's be honest: they're kinda boring. So needless to say I lost my momentum a little around that point.

Luckily it got a little more exciting after those three. And now I've made my way all the way through Nehemiah! I'm getting close, and will probably be finished by my goal of about 9 months from now.

However, I'm finding that I'm having a really hard time reading some of these books of the Bible. They are so full of crazy names and places that I can't even pronounce, and honestly, that trips me up. I get to the point where my eyes are scanning across the words, but my brain is not really hearing them. It's too busy trying to figure out what I'm going to do that day and wondering if I can sneak in some pool time. KnowwhatImean?

Since I have trouble concentrating on what I'm reading, I feel like I'm losing a lot of the meaning. So I guess I wonder if anyone else has read through the whole Old Testament, and if you have any words of advice to help me enjoy it more or get more meaning out of it? I feel like I am not really honoring the Lord because I'm kind of just going through the motions. It's definitely a marathon, and I'm getting tired.

I'm kind of excited for when I finish the Old Testament. I've decided I'm going to go through some Beth Moore Bible studies. I think I'll start with David. He is one of my favorite biblical characters, and I find him fascinating. I think it will be great to go through these Bible studies, because I want to go a little deeper. Have you tried any of her studies?? What do you think? I'm so curious.

DIY Dry Erase Board

I don't think I've blogged about my new, cute dry-erase board yet. I found the idea on Pinterest, which was originally posted from here

It was so easy to make. All you need is a picture frame, some scrapbook paper, and a dry-erase marker. I am going to use mine to write my to-do list for each season:

Not the best picture, but I promise it is cute in person :-) The brown scrapbook paper has tiny white dots all over it and I love it.

That picture was taken a month ago, and only a couple of items have been checked off since then. I better get to work if I want to accomplish all of this before the end of summer! Some of the items on the list are more wishful thinking, I guess :-)

I plan on changing the scrapbook paper for seasons and holidays. I just thought it was a fun way to keep me motivated :-)

Now with my menu chalkboard and dry-erase to-do list, my kitchen is full of organizational help. I need all the help I can get in that area!

Week in Review

This blogging during summer stuff is hard. 'Nuff said.

I thought I'd at least try to scrape together a "Week in Review" post for last week, since I haven't done one in awhile.

Weekly Highlights:

~On Sunday, Luke and I were still on our little anniversary trip at Cedar Point. We spent most of the HOT day waiting in lines and riding amazing rides. It was a great trip!

~We left Cedar Point early on Sunday, mostly because we were so tired we almost couldn't stand up and walk anymore. But we got home just in time for a fish fry at Luke's aunt and uncle's house. We were basically worthless and just sat there trying not to fall asleep the whole time. Ha! But it was a beautiful, fun night :-)

This is a picture of my sister-in-law's Great Dane, Caly, at the picnic. I added a filter in Instagram because I'm addicted to that app right now :-)

~Monday was a fun day for me! I got to go with my mom and pick up my sister and brand new brother-in-law at the Pittsburgh Airport after their honeymoon in Scotland! It was storming when we got there, and although the plane got back in time, the passengers all had to stay on board because they couldn't get their bags out in the rain, I guess. (??) So mom and I enjoyed some shopping time at Pier One and Target while we waited. And then we got to hear fun stories about their travel adventures all the way home. Oh, and there were Scottish gifts involved, so that's always a plus ;-)

I am in love with the necklace! Julie thought it kind of looked like "The Bean" from Tiffany's. Except sideways.

~Tuesday the 12th was our actual anniversary. But between Luke's two jobs, he ended up working about a 12-hour day, so we simply celebrated with a very late dinner together and then a walk down the road for some ice cream.Cappuccino Chip in a waffle cone...pretty delicious

~On Thursday we spent some more time hanging out at Luke's aunt and uncle's house to celebrate his grandma's birthday. It was another beautiful, summer night.

~I spent part of the days Friday and Saturday at a garage sale at my cousin/neighbor's house where I sold a few things. I made a little extra cash, and even better, got rid of some of the clutter in my house. Win-win. Oh, and there were cute babies there the whole time. So really, Win-win-win :-)

~I was able to spend a little pool-time with my friend Kristin on Friday. But it was overcast, so we decided to head back to my house and watch a movie. We Instant Netflixed When in Rome because I guess we were in the mood for a sickeningly sweet, fluffy, chick flick.

~Friday was just busy and bursting at the seams with fun activities :-) Later in the evening, Luke had two softball games. And even later than that (like, past-my-bedtime-late almost) was a bonfire at my cousins Laura and Marc's house. Laura lives in Hawaii but was home visiting, so it was fun to see her and a bunch of other friends.

~On Saturday evening after an afternoon at the garage sale, Luke and I went out to dinner at Outback and did a little bit of shopping. I had gotten Luke a gift card to Outback for our anniversary so we could have a little date night. It was a fun evening! We came home and watched a movie.

~In addition to all of those fun highlights, I have again been spending every spare moment reading my way through the entire Harry Potter series. I've been wanting to read them all forever, and it's on my 101 in 1,001 list. All I can say is that the books are like crack to me. (Even though I'm 26 years old) Also, J.K. Rowling is an absolute genius. I am now in the middle of the 5th book. I'm excited that I'm close to the end, but at the same time, will be sad when I finish! ...And thanks to ABC Family and my DVR, I've also watched each respective movie as soon as I finish the book, too. Loving it.

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Movies I watched: The first three HP movies (A+ to them all), When in Rome (C) and Unknown (B)

Books I read: Reading Nehemiah in the Bible, also read Forgotten God by Francis Chan and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.

Songs I'm loving: You Are Good - Nichole Nordeman

Favorite picture:

Cedar Point

Things I'm looking forward to this week: Not much going on this week besides a trip to IKEA on Saturday!

Questioning Facebook

I have been struggling a little bit lately with Facebook. I love it, and it is a great way to stay connected with friends! Especially friends who live far away, or who you don't see on a day-to-day basis.

However. There are three big reasons that I'm annoyed with facebook lately:

Facebook has been causing me real struggles lately in some areas. For example, it brings out jealous feelings in me that you would not believe. For some reason, blogging and twitter don't bring out these feelings. I think the reason is because I don't know most of my blog and twitter friends in real life. But on facebook, the opposite is true. And there are some people I'm friends with on facebook whom I have sort of bumped heads with or felt a weird kind of competition with at some point in my life. And for some reason, when I see on facebook that they have something I want or are a lot further ahead of me in some area, it becomes difficult for me to be happy for them because of the jealousy I'm feeling. Is that horrible? Yes. and the guilt I feel for feeling that way is almost worse than the jealousy itself. I know that these feelings are not pleasing to the Lord, and I have tried to will myself not to feel that way. But it's really difficult to do on my own.

Also, I feel that facebook almost brings out a side of competition in people. And I'm not saying that I'm not guilty of this too, because I am. But people, including myself, sometimes use facebooks as a means to show off, I think. Whether it's showing off how cute your baby is, trying to show everyone how "holy" we are, showing off our photography skills, how good our relationships are, etc...most of us do it. Inadvertently or not. I know I have felt pressure and inadequacy that shouldn't be there when comparing myself to other people in my church on facebook. And I'm sure I have been guilty of putting pressure on other people, too. I am by nature a perfectionist, and I know I only portray my good side on facebook. And that doesn't feel honest.

The final reason I'm having a problem with facebook is that, I know it's not 5th grade, but it can really make people feel left out! Okay, having written that, it does sound immature. But it's true! I've been on facebook and seen pictures from parties that Luke and I haven't been invited to. And it makes us feel bad! I'm sure somewhere down the line we have made other people feel bad too if they weren't invited to a party at our house or something. Going back to the whole church thing...I absolutely LOVE my church, but all churches are filled with imperfect people, and are therefore imperfect themselves. And in a bigger church like ours, there are bound to be some cliques that form. I feel that facebook perpetuates those cliques by inadvertently shunning people and causing animosity between groups of friends. I'm not just speaking from my own experiences either, so I know I'm not the only person that feels this way.

So the question is, how do I deal with this? Facebook has become such a big part of my life and it's honestly hard to picture myself not using it. It's how many people get in touch with me now. Also, it would just be weird not to be able to catch up with people and see what they are up to. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to handle it. One idea would be to take a break for a certain amount of time. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet, though...Or I could just change the way I use facebook, and instead of using it to post status updates and pictures and to stalk people, (come on, we all do it :-P) I could use it solely as a way to keep in touch with people through messages. I will have to think/pray this through for a little while, I think.

Have you ever gotten rid of facebook or taken a break? What did it do for you? Was it difficult??