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I had a moment
Hello, all! Can you believe we’re already halfway through the week? Having Monday off has made this week go by rather quickly for me, but I’m not complaining! I could, however, sit here and complain about how crazy busy Wednesday’s are for me, but I’ll spare you–You’re welcome 
As I was going throughout my hectic day, I was contemplating on what I wanted to post tonight and I figured I have several options: I could write about fashion, vegetarianism (yes, I’m one of those), politics ( okay, not really), the excitement I have that the Bachelor finally sent Tierra home ( I know more than one of you agree with me on that one) and the list goes on and on. In all seriousness, I have tons of things I’m loving at the moment; ton’s of things that I’m passionate about, and tons of things I want to say. I know this blog has been mostly about fashion, DIY projects, decorating, etc…but if I’m being honest, right now I have no desire to write about those things. Keep in mind that when I say right now, that means at this moment. Tomorrow I may wake up and feel the need to share with you how much I’m loving the sock bun–especially when it’s an “I’m too lazy to do anything, so I’m throwing my hair up and pretending like I worked really hard on it when in fact it took me 2 seconds” day. But right now, I really don’t feel the need to share with you all the material things I’m loving. I’m keeping it real, folks!
I had a moment today. Several moments, actually. I was going throughout my day, answering e-mails, fixing problems–just doing the normal stuff I do at work. Sometimes while I’m working, I’ll throw on some headphones and listen to Podcasts or music on my Iphone. Well, recently I’ve been listening to a Podcast about living a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. This particular topic interests me a great deal for obvious reasons, and I’m starting to get hooked. While I was listening today, I starting getting worried–not worried about the topic she was discussing, but worried because I enjoyed it so much; it was inspiring me to learn more and more about this particular subject and I was getting really excited! I couldn’t wait to get home and listen to this Podcast all night.
So here I was, having all this excitement, looking forward to coming home tonight so that I could hop on the laptop and research more about how to properly diet when you’re a vegetarian, animal rights, etc…then it happens.
I had a moment.
An ” I should be just as passionate if not MORE passionate about Jesus than I am about this right now” moment.
My enthusiasm toward something so innocent turned into me being concerned that this could potentially become some sort of issue. I was wanting to put all my energy into something that wasn’t Him, and it was like a red flag appeared out of nowhere. Not only did this make me reevaluate the way I was going to spend my evening, but it made me reevaluate my life.
You see, I tend to get really passionate and excited about things, but usually those things I’m super excited about come and go; cooking, art, literature, dance, etc…you name it, I’ve probably been passionate about it at one point in my life. Like I said, I’ve gone through phases in my life, just like we all have. But one thing I don’t want to become a “phase” in my life is Jesus. I don’t want to push him aside, and it became apparent to me how easy it is to do that– much easier than we think. Let me clarify that I am in no way saying that it’s bad to be excited and passionate about things–that’s not the case at all. I believe the Lord plants desires and feelings that we have towards people, places and things for a reason, but we need to make sure we’re using those things for His glory.
Again, do I think that going home after a long day and researching something that I find interesting and exciting is a bad thing? No, not at all. In fact, I think it’s great. It’s not until you start constantly putting something in place of spending time with God that it becomes a problem. It’s not until you skip a couple days of reading the bible before you go to bed, and then the couple of days turns into weeks that it really becomes a big issue; however, I’m trying to avoid that. And because I’ve been making a conscious effort to spend good quality time with the Lord, an alert automatically went off in my brain when I even thought about replacing my Jesus time with “I want to research and learn more about tofu” time.
With all that said, I planned on writing a post about vegetarianism tonight; things I’m learning, things I’m loving, and even some things to think about. Instead, I needed to make it about Jesus. The plants can wait.
The Sluggard.
I’m sitting here in my room, wearing my newly purchased mint green shirt, my hair in the ever-so- delightful sock bun (because I’m on my 3rd day of not washing), and Starbucks coffee from a recent coffee run with the boyfriend. An appearance was made at the gym, errands were ran, dinner was cooked, dishes were done, refrigerator was cleaned out (took 3 hours, folks–3 HOURS!) and the anxiety I was getting from dust being all over the place has been demolished by hours of cleaning. Now, it may seem like I had an extremely productive day, and yes, it was semi-productive; however, what you don’t know is that I woke up at 10:30, missed church, and I literally had to fight with myself to get my butt out of bed. Doesn’t sound as productive now, does it? I tried. I really did. I tried to get up at 9:30, but it just didn’t happen. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with the weekends. On one hand I love them because I get to sleep in, but on the other hand I hate them because I sleep in. Strange? Yes, I know.
Let me explain–
I’ve been stuck in an “I’m too busy to get anything done” rut for awhile. I really didn’t think I had time to do much of anything. I would go to work, come home and change for the gym, go to the gym (pretty much kicking and screaming), come home and cook dinner with Rory, read the bible, and then go to bed. That has been my routine for quite some time now. Because of this, I was sleeping in on weekends more than I should. On occasion (okay, maybe more than that), I would stay in my pj’s all day long, and watch anything and everything on Netflix. The laundry kept piling up, dust kept adding more and more layers to surfaces and the dishes piled higher and higher every single day. Just call me Allyssa, the sluggard–or lazybones, idler, slacker–you have many options.
Well, this girl finally came to her senses.
The past 2 weekends I’ve been working on getting myself up at a decent time and having a full-on productive day. What a difference it has made! It even makes all the things I have to do during the week turn more into something I enjoy, rather than the ” Let’s just get this over with” attitude that I was previously having. Obviously this is something I’m still working on, but it’s so much better. Laziness is bad, people–so bad! And the truth is, I have time! I have time to do the things that I need to do , I just wasn’t making time for them. I woke up later than I wanted to today, but I still got tons of things done that I’ve been meaning to get done for awhile. Could I have done better? Yes, but I’m seeing progress in myself and in my attitude. I don’t want to spend my life being lazy; it doesn’t feel good physically or mentally.
I guess it’s obvious why I haven’t blogged for several months. I’m holding my head down in shame as I type this–or maybe it’s just because I’m bad at typing and have to look at my hands? Okay, not really. It’s shame, all shame.
It’s good to be back. I missed this. I missed you.
Here’s to the start of a new week! May it be productive and enjoyable–because it can be both.
Movin’ Right Along
I just thought I would do a quick little update on my bedroom’s progress. What do you think? It’s a totally different style than what I would have leaned toward even a year ago, but I am absolutely loving it! The boyfriend is still working on my closet ( he’s building me shoe cubbies), but he is so close to being done. By the way, if a guy is willing to spend weeks upon weeks building perfect shoe cubbies for your closet, then he’s definitely a keeper-just sayin’!
I hope this week is good to you, friends! Let’s have a good one, shall we?
There’s this purse…
Saturday my friend Rachel and I decided to head to a little town about 20 minutes away from us to go to lunch. After we ate, we decided to go frolicking around town a bit to see what cool places we could find. Well, right across the street from where we had lunch was this place called a la Mode that immediately caught my attention. Rachel and I decided to take a peek, and I instantly fell in love. You guys, this place looks like it belongs on the streets of New York, not in the tiny little town we were in. When I say tiny little town, I seriously mean a tiny little town. This place was a total shock to find, and it certainly satisfied my shopping craving. I do believe there was several ” oh my gosh, this place is amazing” comments while we were in the store.
One of the reasons I’m so in love with this place is because of the purse I purchased from there. Yes, I had to give in and buy a purse. Maybe I just really wanted to support the store? Okay, you caught me, I just really needed this purse.
I’ve been looking for a mustard yellow purse that was smaller and a little more casual for when I was out shopping and didn’t feel like carrying around my Steve Madden purse, which is a little too fancy when I’m out running errands. This cross-body purse can even act as a cute accessory when you are having one of those lazy days where you just want to sport a t-shirt and jeans when you go out.
Another thing I really like about this purse is the fact that I can fit my wallet in it. I got this wallet from Urban Outfitters, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Isn’t it lovely? I’m really loving the gold hardware on it. Doesn’t it fit quite nicely with my new purse?
What’s your favorite purse to carry around these days? Do tell!
The ladder Revealed
I’ve been searching for a ladder for a really long time now. In fact, not only have I been searching for a ladder, but I’ve had several other people searching for one as well. I mentioned here that I finally got one, and I just couldn’t wait to go pick it up and start figuring out how to utilize it in my new room ( click here if you’re new and don’t know what I’m talking about).
Here’s my new rustic friend
I’m obsessed. I might have done a little dance when I saw how cute this looked. I may have even ran outside and made my boyfriend stop what he was doing to come inside and see it-probably still doing my little dance in the process.
I guess another mans rustic ladder can easily turn into someone else’s treasure.
Friday’s Letters
Dear thrift stores, you’ve become my go-to place when I’m in need of a shopping fix. I’m saving a lot of money because of you.
Dear water, I’ve been drinking 7-8 glasses of you a day this past week. You make me feel good, but I think my bladder would beg to differ.
Dear new comforter, you came in the mail yesterday and I’m totally smitten over you.
Dear Nora , thank you for finding the perfect vintage ladder for me. I love it that you think of me.
I can’t wait to turn it into this ( via Pinterest) :
Dear kindle, I’m planning on picking you up again soon. I miss my quiet reading times.
Dear subscribers, the number of subscriptions to my website is growing every single day. It makes me giggle that people all over the world are actually interested in my silly little life. Your e-mails and comments make me smile.
Dear mason jars , I can’t get enough of you lately.
Dear bills, I wouldn’t be opposed to you disappearing someday. Actually, tomorrow would be great!
Dear mini vacation, I’m really looking forward to you. August 23rd can’t come soon enough.
Dear weekend, Let’s have a good one, okay?
**I’m linking up with Adventures of Newlyweds blog, because I thought it would be fun to do “Friday’s Letters” every week. Click the picture below to be directed to the link-up and join the hundreds of other bloggers participating!
My Oasis (kinda)
One of the perks to my brother moving out is that I get to move back into my old room. Why is that such a big deal? Because for several years I’ve pretty much been living in a closet. Okay, so I wasn’t really living in a closet, but my room was really small. With a room so small, you don’t even want to know how small my closet was ( but really, the inside of your refrigerator is probably bigger). Aren’t you loving all the exaggeration? I’m pretty sure you get the picture by now. Anyway, I’m moving into a much bigger room with a much bigger closet. What does that mean? I can actually do what I want with it! No more finding places to store my shoes, purses and clothes. I have room, people!
With all that said, I’ve spent a lot of time working on getting my new room exactly how I want it. I’m a firm believer that your bedroom should not only be your favorite room in the house, but it should also be the most peaceful and relaxing.
Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
/Paint / Mason jars/ pillow1 /pillow2 / bedding / curtains/ shoe cubbies / lamp / mirror/
Wall Color: I feel like the wall color sets the mood for the rest of your room, and I had my mind set on a blue with grey undertones. Let me tell you, it was not easy for me to find the perfect grey/blue shade. I bought sample after sample, and nothing seemed to be what I had envisioned in my mind. I finally came across Ice Rink by Martha Stewart, and I completely fell in love with the color. Perfect, right?
Bedding: One of the other things that I was dead set on was white bedding. I searched and searched for the perfect style, and finally came across this gem on good ol’ overstock.com. It should be coming in the mail sometime this week, and I can’t tell you how over the top excited I am to see it paired with my newly painted walls. How cute will those pillows look as an accent piece? I’m planning on having lots and lots of pillows. eek!
Mirror/Lamp/Curtains: Sticking with the white theme. I just love how clean it looks.
Shoe cubbies: Rory (the boyfriend) came up with an awesome idea to build shoe cubbies for my closet. It’s an awesome way to store your shoes while showcasing them at the same time. We are currently trying to figure out the cheapest way to do this. I’ll be sure to post pictures when it’s all finished.
Painted mason jars: I’m a little obsessed with mason jars these days. I think they’re a pretty inexpensive way to add a little bit of cuteness to any surface in your room. I just bought a box of them at Target for $8 (score!) and decided to experiment with painting them. The picture above was found via Pinterest, but I’ll be sure to post some pictures of how I decided to utilize them in my room.
Have any grand ideas for my new room? Share them with me!
Sometimes and Always # 3
Sometimes: I’m running late for work, and don’t have time to finish doing my makeup.
Always: I end up doing my makeup in my office once I get to work. Yes, totally did that this morning!
Want proof?
Sometimes: I get frustrated by the tiniest things.
Always: Those tiny things are never worth getting frustrated over.
Sometimes: I drink way too much coffee.
Always: Coffee has a way of comforting me when I’m feeling a little stressed.
Sometimes: I wish I had really long, pretty hair like I did when I was in highschool.
Always: My hair decided to rebel against me and quit growing. Does anyone have any tips on how to help it grow?
Sometimes: I get tired of social media.
Always: I get sucked in just like everyone else.
Sometimes: I want to eat something just because it’s cute (or french).
Always ( okay, maybe not always): My sister brings me cute and delicious deserts. Check out the cutness of these! By the way, did you know there is a distinct difference between Macarons and Macaroons? They’re two completely different deserts! I’ve only known of Macaroons. Who knew!
I’m totally making Macarons someday. Maybe even some Macaroons. Gee, just when you think you have everything figured out, someone goes and throws Macarons into the mix!
Link up!
A Reminder
I’ve been a bad blogger lately, and I apologize if it seems as though I fell off the face of the earth. To be honest, I had a really emotional week. A emotional week that could have been avoided if I would have just fully put my trust in the Lord; however, I decided to be anxious, worried, fearful, angry, selfish, and everything in between. This past week I was reminded how sinful I really am. Isn’t it sad that sometimes we forget the fact that we’re sinful? We go throughout our day thinking things we shouldn’t be thinking; saying things we shouldn’t be saying; doing things we shouldn’t be doing, and never once think about the fact that Christ suffered for those things.
We belittle the fact that he died for us.
We continue to be content in our sin.
We are completely unfazed by His grace.
We go throughout our day, and not acknowledge the one who saved us.
We forget that we breathe because of Him.
That we’re considered blameless because of Him.
That we can be forgiven because of Him.
Most importantly, that we’re saved because of Him.
The reason I am saying all this is because I am constantly having to remind myself of these things. I get caught up in myself, and I get caught up in this world. In fact, sometimes I catch myself caring about the things of this world far more than my heavenly father.
I’m thankful that God allowed me to go through a rough week, so that I can be more aware of who I am without Him. I am thankful for the hours I spent on my couch today, sipping coffee, and thinking about the only real truth I know:
The God of the universe loves me, and not because of anything I’ve done, but just because he wants to.
He died for my sin; my ugly, filthy sin.
Yet I continue to sin against Him…
…and He continues to forgive me…
…and love me like no one has ever loved me before.
No love story will ever compete with that.
I serve a magnificent God.
Here’s to a new week! Let us not be unfazed by God’s grace, rather reminded of it every single day.
The Perfect Combination
It’s true, this pattern/color combination is pretty close to perfection. I put this darling little outfit together yesterday as I was getting ready to go visit a friend, and this is pretty similar to what I actually wore. I don’t know what it is about coral and leopard, but the pairing makes you feel super chic. What do you think of this outfit? Are there any color/pattern combinations that you swoon over?
♥
*shirt(via)/shoes(via)/bangles(via)/earrings(via)/jeans(via)
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