So Loved

I feel like I should explain my connection with this family, so you understand where my heart is....

I stumbled upon Ni Hao Y'all a few years ago. Probably hopscotching around adoption blogs. I tend to do that often. I love reading the stories of little ones that find their forever homes. Anyway, this particular blog just resonated with me and I booked marked it. You should too.

Stefanie was the one from whom I first heard about An Orphan's Wish. She is the one who also posted on her blog about needing volunteers for AOW. I have her to thank for introducing me to that wonderful organization and the littles that I sponsor(ed) through them. I also have her to thank for including me and emailing back and forth with me and setting me up as an AOW volunteer.

And now, her family is stepping out in faith and bringing home two, yes 2, dear little girls from China. You can read about it here. Esther and Poppy will be kiddos #10 and #11 in their family. Wow. God is amazing, isn't He?!

So, here's where you can help. They are doing a crazy, cool fundraiser to bring their littles home. Adoption is expensive. And times 2? Well, that can seem overwhelming. But we all know that when God leads, He provides. I'm so excited to see Him do things, BIG things through this family's steps of faith.

So head on over to So Loved. You can win some amazing prizes. And most importantly, you can help place 2 little orphans, all the way in China, into a family that will love them and tell them about Jesus. Kinda gives you chills, right?!

Best of the year - blogs

Blogs. I love, love blogs. Here are some that inspire. Blogs that are tops on my Yahoo reader. These are my favorites among the bazillion that I read. Click away and find a new one to adore.

1. A Beautiful Mess (been following her for years upon years now. She is one of the most inspiring people in the world to me)

2. Smile and Wave (Wish so much I could sew and craft like her)

3. A Place Called Simplicity (They are my heroes. Since I was little, I've dreamt that my family look very similar to theirs. Children from all over the world.)

4. Tara Whitney (Photo genius. I'm in awe of her)

5. The Image is Found photo blog (They take the best wedding photos I've ever seen. Ever.)

6. Cakies (I wish upon a star that I could sew cute dresses and crafty things like she does. SO inspiring!)

7. my happy little life (and her Tumblr too) (Crafty, wonderful writer, just adore her blog. Her Tumblr is full of beautiful images.)

8. on earth as it is in heaven (Katie's blog) (This blog changed my life forever. No joke. I'll never be the same again)

9. Mammoth Men (Funny, photos, so creative. Photo vacations should be a must for everyone)

10. One Glad Morning (a new blog friend who posts things all the time that I was "just thinking about." Love the things she finds and shares)

11. Promise Tangeman (I'm so jealous of graphic designers, especially ones that use their gift for a greater good. Wow.)

12. Pioneer Woman (Yes, it's really as good as the hype. And she really is that funny and nice in person. Plus, her recipes have made the Cottage girls a hit at parties!)


ok....what are your favorites this year?

adventure, adventure, adventure

I had quite an adventure today. It's was fantastical. Wonderful. Fun, fun, fun. Ignore my face, please. I really am excited here. Almost too excited to eat from this menu in front of me.


On a whim, my roommate and I decided to head north in the midst of another rainstorm (haven't we had enough rain already this year?!). We hopped in the car after the early service at church and hit the freeway.


We were greeted by about 587 other people who decided to also go on an adventure today. Hi, people we don't know but ended up spending several hours with. You were all very nice!


We were all staring at this podium. Waiting...waiting...trying to wait so patiently.......it was hard.


And then, she appeared....so excited was I that I couldn't keep my camera from shaking.


Wait! That it! There she is!! Can you tell?


It's PW. THE Pioneer Woman! Yes, we got to meet Ree.


And she was just as kind and wonderful as her addictive blog. She was gracious and so sweet. And we were star-struck and mumbling and loving every minute of it.

Such a cool adventure. Such a fun experience. So happy we threw caution to the wind and just went.

I GOT TO MEET PW!!!

on edge

I promise to share fun stories soon. My life had taken a very dramatic turn for the insane. In good ways and not so good ones. I'm thankful for reminders that the Lord is in control and not me. (I really needed to read that today, so thanks, friend!) I "know" this, but it always becomes more real when the circumstances around me force me to really believe it and live by it.

Side note of good news... I think one of my plane tickets will include the final destination: Seattle. I'm excited beyond words because it (most likely) means a visit with one of my BFF's from college and The Bro. 4 days till lift off!!!

Twenty inquiries?

Because I'm a big nerd and I love lists and questions. And because lots of blog friends are doing them today too.

1. Show us the inside of something pretty.

Here's a snapshot of my room, which isn't exactly pretty all the time, but kinda is today.

(click photo for details)

2. What's the last home cookin' you've had.

Well...last night was Thursday night, which is dinner competition night for me, my roomie and 4 other friends. We each take one week and make a meal for everyone to eat. So fun! Last night my roommate and I made my favorite childhood recipe Baked Spaghetti plus brownies with ice cream and whipped cream and peanut butter sauce. Oh, yeah, it was delish!



3. What do you miss?

Easy...

that may change in a week's time....eeeek!!

4. What makes you laugh often?

my friends Beth and Chaych





5. What's your favorite word?

Frak!



6. What are you trying to quit?

Complaining about the cold weather. I WILL learn to enjoy it.


7. What's your favorite commercial right now?

I get so excited when it comes on. Inspiration overload!




8. Whose style do you dig?

Elsie

The Snail and the Cyclops

9. Link to a great blog you discovered lately.

Bobby Earle (photographer) It had me at Beijing Orphanage.
Oh, and this one and this one, which I've already mentioned.



10. What's the last craft you made?

A present for a friend. I saw a photo for this project that is going to be in my online craft class. Thought it was a perfect present, but the tutorial wouldn't be out in time. So I improvised and made it anyway.





11. Photo of the last happy mail you got.

They are just too cute!





12. Something you got lately...


2 one way airplane tickets. Destinations unknown at the moment...



13. What are you looking forward to?

Using those one way tickets.
Hiking and apple picking on Monday with all my camp friends.
Going to the Renaissance Festival.




14. Recent photo of yourself.




15. Recent favorite movie?

Hmmm...it's TV, of course.

16. Something you are working on right now.

Coming up with ideas for a photos shoot. My friends are willing models and keep asking to do one one.

Figuring out Christmas presents for friends and family.




17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you?

Tough one. Maybe Amy Acker.

18. What gives you goosebumps?

Adoption stories and photos.

This one also melted my heart today, along with the goosebumps.



19. Share a new obsession.

Skirts. I wore them for almost 11 years straight because of Christian school (and college). By 22 yrs. old, I wanted nothing to do with them. Wore them only when I had to. Finally after all this time, I'm loving them. I wear them as much as I can.

Vintage. Clothes, furniture, accessories. I realized this has been a life long love after going to an antique store this week and falling in love (again) with about 20 different pieces (that I couldn't afford and didn't need). Antique stores have always been a favorite thing of mine.



20. What is the meaning of your life?

Be less of me and more of Him.
To truly understand what "you are worth Jesus to God" means.
To give it all away and live with eternal purpose.

New blog: One Roof Africa

Got hooked on another cool blog the other day. Don't remember how I found it. Just clicking around from blog to blog. Love finding "people" that way.

It is the story of a family who was in the midst of adopting a little boy from Uganda. After many set backs, they decided to pack up and move to Uganda to be with their little one who wasn't able to come home yet. And they love Jesus.

Crafty goodness

About a month ago, I did something completely unusual for me. I made a snap decision and decided to sign up for this....

Elsie had done a class a few months before and at the time I couldn't justify spending the money to try it out. This time, when she announced the class, I threw caution to the wind and decided to do something that would hopefully help me get out of this creative block I've been in for a while.

I found Elsie's blog (the old one is now gone, but the new one is just as wonderful)...wow, it's been about 3 or 4 years ago now. Don't even remember how. But I instantly fell in love with her style. She was a scrapbooker at the time and was writing her first book. Now she has created quite the little corner of the world with her paintings and other amazing works in her little shop called Red Velvet Art.

I found Rachel through Elsie. Her blog and Flickr page are FULL of incredible handmade goods (LOVE this journal). And her home design style is simply fantastic. She has an Etsy shop, Pony Party, filled with delightful vintage items as well. Plus, she is another part of Red Velvet Art.

I just couldn't pass up the chance to learn from these two amazing woman/artists. I'm already behind on all the projects (there are 30 projects over 8 weeks!), but am loving all the creativeness that is coming out of each little thing I work on. Here's one of the first things I've done....



I guess sometimes it's good to do something that you know will help you. Being creative has always been a big part of who I am. My mom is one of the most creatively talented people I've ever known and she always had us doing crafty type things when we were kids. My sister is an amazing sewer and knitter. I guess it got passed down to us. I always feel so content and happy when I'm being creative whether it's photography or felt or sewing or paper.

I am loving this class!

I got nothin' today

Instead...

Check out one of my favorites blogs Hula Seventy.

Her images are stunning. Her posts...thought provoking.

I want to see the world in pieces like she does.

the day I felt like Pioneer Woman

You all know that I love and avidly read Pioneer Woman. It is one of, if not the, best blogs on the internet in my opinion. Ree is fantastic and hilarious and so generous.

Now, I enjoy her stories of cows and horses and ranch life, but it is VERY far from anything that I encounter in a day. My days are filled with sailboats and tides and sandy beaches. Not quite the same. And I'm not complaining either cause I do love the water. Love, love, love with all my heart.

Well, yesterday our little camp crew had a big project to work on. We needed firewood. You see, when we have rental groups use our property, one of their options for activities is a campfire. A camp fire on our waterfront no less. Not that you can really see the water in the dark, but people seem to think it's amazing just to be NEAR the water and have a fire at the same time.
We have many, many campfires. Sometimes 2 or 3 in a weekend. Lots of campfires = lots of wood. Over the last year or two, we have seriously dwindled our supply. It was time to do some replenishing. Guess who was called upon to do so? Are you guessing? Are you guessing Cottage Girl? Well, you are correct.
Note: when you work in a ministry that only has about 8 people on full time staff, your job title is merely a nice suggestion of the things that you will do in a given day. This means that while my job title suggests that I will answer phones and get the mail and do other officey type things....suggestion is all that it is. My job will entail many different things on any given day. For example...in the last 2 weeks I: painted trim in our Dorms, helped measure our boats for their winter shrinkwrap, went to the dump, belayed on the climbing wall (kinda like this), etc and so on. Like my Facebook profile says, "job titles mean nothing here."

So, when it was discovered that we need more firewood, it was basically an "all call" for everyone to get on their gruby clothes and buck up and haul some wood.

On this particular day, yesterday to more precise, we all jumped into vehicles, one of them being the camp truck, which only has 3 gears and none of them are in the proper spot on the little dial (ie...to go in reverse, you put it in 1st gear.) and headed out to one of our co-worker's parent's farm. They graciously allowed up to use some of their downed trees FREE of charge. How nice is that?!
We pull up and begin heading to the downed trees and suddenly, I feel like Ree on her ranch. We are surrounded by cows. Mooing, moaning, staring cows. I could see why she takes photos of them. Their faces are cute in a cow sort of way.
The morning was a busy one. We carried tree parts (large and small), tried to avoid cow manure (I can see why Ree has laundry covered in manure now. Yucko.), chainsawed(is that a word? No, not ME using the chainsaw to be exact), split a bunch-make that a HUGE pile-of logs (yes, I did do this. Are you impressed?) and made nice neat stack of freshly chopped wood (this made my OCD heart very happy). It was a lovely (read: hard work) morning.
Over and over, I kept imagining what it must have been like for people in the olden days that used to do all of those things by hand. No chainsaws, log splitters or trucks. It would have taken them about 2 WEEKS to finish what we did in 2 hours. I'm happy to live in this day and age. I love power tools.

There you have it. An adventure (read: cow poop) filled day in the warm October sun, camp style. Now, how many of you wish you had my job? Yes, yes, I see those hands. I wish you were here too.

Questions to ask

There was an absolutely beautiful post on my happy little life today. I just love Kelly's blog.

Her post, which you need to read first, is right where my thoughts have been lately. Getting older and what to do with your life.

I have a question for each of you. One that I constantly struggle with and re-think.

Where is the line between pursuing your passions and accomplishing God's will for your life?

What I mean by that is...are you supposed to "follow your dreams" like so many people say you should or do you quietly wait for the plan that God has for you? Is it possible that you can do both at the same time. What if your dreams/passions aren't what He wants your life to be about? Or do you have those passions because He has given them to you to accomplish here on earth? How do you know that difference?

I have more thoughts on this, but I'd love to hear from you. If you would like to, leave a comment and share your thoughts. I'll wait a couple days and then come back to this whole thing. I can't wait to hear from you.....

package from Elsie

Last week, I was in an Etsy mood, so I went window shopping. Elsie had just released a bunch of new paintings and a brand new set of embroidery patterns. I totally caved and bought 3 of the patterns.

They came in the mail yesterday. The packaging alone made me instantly happy. These are the three I chose, but she has tons of different ones to choose from. (plus her adorable prints! I'm in love with the space girl series!)

Of course I chose this one.

And this one has a couple designs of old fashioned TV sets. Again, duh!

This one was my favorite. I've loved the story of Peter Pan since I was a kid.

Plus she added her adorable business card.

And a sweet little note.

I was one happy shopper. Can't wait to try out the patterns. I have to teach myself all the stitches as I go cause I've never done it before. I love learning new crafts!

wow....was my reaction to this photo

Yipes, this is a cool picture!
I can't decide what element I like better.
Her lipstick
The netting over her face
That fantabulous necklace
Or the light
By golly, I could stare at it for a long time and still feel inspired.
*the beautiful Gwen Stefani

Found on one of my top 3 favorite blogs ever. I adore Elsie and her style and her continual inspiration for new creations. Would be so fun to meet her one day.

blog love

I read a lot of blogs. I LOVE them. I devour them. I love finding new ones.

Since I get questions often about where I heard about this thing or where I found out about that, I decided to give you a list of my readings. Most of these I have found from a link from another blog. I probably can't tell you where I found half of them. They are all a few clicks away from another blog on the list.

At the top of the clicking diagram would by my forever favorite blog, which no longer exists. It showed me what a good blog could be. It was written by a mom who was (with her husband) adopting her first child, a little girl from China. I got to follow along with her to China and back, through all of the twists and turns. Her's was one of the first blogs I ever read. And her blog was my inspiration for starting my own. I miss it so very much and was so sad when she decided to stop. It's been over a year and I still think about it. You feel connected when you read about someone else's life for a year or two.

Anyway, here you are. A list of my reads....

Can't Miss One Post blogs (and about how long I've been reading)
I check these about 15 times a day.

• Tara Whitney (3 years)
• Elsie Flannigan (3 years)
  
• Pioneer Woman (2 months)

All the others....(in no particular order)

• My sister's blog
• The bro's blog
• Ali Edwards
• Hula Seventy
• Skulls
  
• Kelly (My Happy Little Life)
  
• Live Lightly Tour
• Walk Slowly, Live Wildly
• The Sartorialst
• Danielle Thompson
• The Image is Found
• Zach Braff
• Flickr
  
• Red Velvet Blog
• Bling on My Sewing Machine
• Two Twin Terrors
• Always in My Heart
• Waiting for Sophie
• Pop Candy
• TV Gal
• decor8
• Live Love Laugh
  
• Boutwell Photography
• Little Labyrinth
• Jinky Art
• E
• there was this one time
• Cathy Z's Bit's and Pieces
  
• Jazzie and Tahlia
• family always and forever
  
• Do They Have Salsa in China
• Especially Heather
• All the Chapman blogs (you'll see why I love them)
  

I'm sure I've forgotten one or two or ten. There are some gems in this mix. Hope you find one to love and read too.

Oh, and by the way, what would be on your list?

beep....beep

I don't know why, but I find this hysterical. I laugh so hard I can't breathe. See follow-up as well for additional hilarity.

early find

I wanted to wait and post this on Friday in my Friday Finds. Think I still will, but I just can't hold it in that long.
I've heard about Pioneer Woman for a while now from bloggy friends. I clicked over there one or two times just to read one quick entry. Today, I did so once again only I couldn't get out of the site. I was like Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon when he gets stuck in the Death Star's tractor beam. Sucked in, but in a good way.

Ever read a good book? You know the kind that you can't put down. It's even better when there are sequels to said book and you run like a mad woman to the nearest store to find the next one so you can continue to speed read every word. Been there. Recently, in fact. My childhood was full of that scenario.
PW is pretty much like that. The site has been up for a while, (how on God's green earth have I not discovered it's wonder before, I know not.) so it is a treasure trove of stories, photos and moments. I adore good writing. It makes my "thumbs prick with magic" (as Jane of Lantern Hill would say). It makes me stop reading in the middle of sentences to think about the wonderful mix of words I had just encountered and the re-read them again so as not to miss anything. PW's words are those kind. She has the gift of a born storyteller.

I'm honored to be friends with a girl like that. Born storyteller. I never knew they really existed until I met her. We met in college and I swear that I would go into her room and sit on her bed and listen to her tell stories for literally hours. Sometimes she would be nice enough and grant my request to hear a story over and over. The most mundane event would be transformed by her words and voice. I desperately miss those days of living 1 door away from her. Now we have to swap stories through email, which is nice, but not the same....

Anyway, enjoy PW in all her glory. A few of my favorite posts, so far, are:

Her phone conversation with her brother. (I was giggling, hysterically as I listened to their conversation. OK, I've listened to it about 4 times already...)

The engagement dinner. (the magic is all over that one)

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels (I'm on chapter 4, and, help me, I can't stop)

friends in new places

I have to tell you one of the coolest parts of my vacation. It doesn't have anything to do with Mickey or the parks or Disney buses (although all of those things were pretty much awesome.)

A couple months ago, don't remember exactly when, I got a comment on my blog from a girl I didn't know. After looking at her blog, she seemed so cool that I had to comment back. We've been email commenting for a while now. Well, I realized that I was going to be close to her when I went to FL, so I sent her a note asking if she wanted to meet "face to face." She replied with an enthusiastic yes and so we set a date and a time and a place.
I told my family about it, to which my brother laughed. "An internet friend?! She could be a scary stalker." My mom, while verifying our plans for the day, said, "Now remember you don't know her, really. I don't think it would be a good idea to get in a car and go somewhere with her." I laugh about it now (and then, too) because I felt like I "knew" her already. She said the same thing when we met. The thing was that we both loved Jesus, and I knew that was all that mattered.
We met and talked and laughed and had an amazing time. We talked about what God was doing in our lives and what our families were like and what our "real" names were and where we lived since both of us kept it vague on our blogs. It was such an encouraging, fun time. I'm so thankful that God brings friends into my life in all different kinds of ways. I'm thankful that she left a comment and that we've been able to "chat." She is so fun and God is so evident in her life.

It was so cool to meet you, my friend! So cool. Thanks for driving so far to meet. I hope we can do it again. Thanks for being such a glowing light of Jesus. I know He has amazing plans for you in the future!

Recent loves

1. Friday.Night.Lights. I just stared watching season 1 and I am addicted! I have her to thank yet again! (and I guess my bro too..) You can watch them online (click the link) or buy it at Best Buy this week for $15.

2. Warm weather...still...it's unusual, but I'm not complaining

3. Fall evenings = cooler weather, no humidity, spectacular sunsets

4. Zune 30 on it's way....

5. Flickr (Elsie, LuLu, Amanda, Mariah to name a few)

6. Emma

7. new jeans. you have no idea what a HUGE deal this is. Jean shopping is torture for this 5 ft 2 inch girl. torture!

8. the blues of the twilight sky

9. the basket on the front of my bike

10. cereal for breakfast

11. Halloween costumes

12. Galatians

13. Laying around my parents house talking

14. Sweeney Todd trailer is finally here!

15. Garden Salsa Sun Chips

16. NBC Thursday Night line up (30 Rock, The Office, ER and Scrubs next month!)

17. My shampoo and conditioner

18. Tim Riggins (aka the "bad boy" on Friday Night Lights) I seriously love this show...

19. Winning a bet against my brother.

20. a new sweater from Forever 21

21. Her blog, pictures, scrap pages, processing...

22. my church

23. emails from friends

24. Photoshop

25. Balsamic Vinegar

26. quiet time to just think

27. learning from the hard things in life

28. God's patience

29. my journal - writing in it, reading the past

30. Chocolate

my addiction

favorites sept 07
Originally uploaded by cottagegirl1.

I LOVE the second line. I had to save it in this exact form cause of that line. Thanks everyone for the inspiration!

Click to see bigger and truly enjoy these!

a little more

2 more things...

I posted a bunch of pictures on Flickr. See link on right ---------->
Mostly of NYC. I LOVED that trip.

A couple music finds. Zach posted today with amazing suggestions.

I immediately loved this one. "It's Not True" makes me think of a swimming in a pool surrounded by shafts of light from the sun and a million different fish of bright colors swimming by. I want to make a movie just to be able to use this song.... The rest are too good too. itunes may be getting some of my $$ tonight.

Then this one. I already like his old band, so this was a fun find.

And a couple favorites have new stuff.
Schuyler Fisk.
Cary Brothers ("Ride"is one of my all time favorite songs.)
And just because I was listening to his CD for the millionth time today.

My words seem silly

Read this and this first and then I beg, urge, plead with you to read this. I.haven't.been.able.to.shake.these words. Take 10 minutes and read. I promise, you won't have anything to complain about after reading this!