Celebrating Life.

Over the past few months I have spent hours upon hours [upon hours and hours...] scouring blogs & pinterest for creative, DIY, free-printable party-plannin' ideas. Do we have money for parties? No. Do we have many friends in small town USA to invite? No. Do we have reason to celebrate? 

. . . . . 

"Jordan. Can we throw a Cinco de Mayo fiesta in November? Too soon? Because I'm loving these adorable, DIY decorations:

Do we know anyone who's getting married this year? I'd l.o.v.e. to host an around the clock bridal shower!

Hey! Look at this awesome backyard BBQ celebration. Is it too cold to invite friends over for an outdoor party?! I picked up some awesome, semi-cheapo clearance BBQ baskets today:

Hey, when Valentine's day draws closer we should break out our fondue maker & host a couple's dessert & game night!

Ooooh. I can't wait to throw a baby shower. LOOK at this tablescape!"

. . . . .

As I was scoppin' out endless party pictures & DIY tutorials online, I found myself reminiscing upon my glory days as an event coordinator at SPU...oh, how I enjoy crafting decorations, booking entertainment, organizing playlists, cooking up delicious food, and inviting friends and family to celebrate various holidays & special occasions together.


With endless creative inspirations from the world wide web and an insane amount of time on my hands, I quickly found myself disappointed by the lack of upcoming holidays. I couldn't find a reason to spend a few extra pennies, send out some invitations, and host a celebration with loved ones.

. . . . . 

Fast forward three days: Jordan's grandmother passed away, my grandfather was in isolation battling an infection in his already frail cancer-ridden body, and Jordan's baby sister was diagnosed with leukemia. My oh my...how quickly perspective can change. 


We must celebrate life together. And not just on Valentine's Day or Cinco de Mayo. I'm talking every. single. day. No one knows what tomorrow may bring, therefore today is a blessing and reason enough to pull out the pinatas, throw up the banners, and toast to the big & little blessings from above.


As Psalm 16:11 reads: 

You make known to me the path of life

 in your presence there is fullness of joy 

 at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Time for this party planner to live with fullness of joy that comes only from Christ, and celebrate life's daily blessings. 

These are a few of my favorite things...

Our new fan:

There is an absolute abundance of thrift stores in town & this little gem is one of my favorite finds! 

Catching up on zzzz's after a busy week:

Jordan said I had to get a picture next to this sign. I am a sleepaholic.

Traveling the globe:

Experiencing new cultures & seeing new places makes my heart oh so joyful.

Decorating our home:

I recently made mini festive bunting [from extra scrapbook paper] to add a splash of fall colors throughout the house. By the end of the year I do believe fabric & paper bunting will be proudly hanging from all rooms in our home. I simply cannot get enough!

Catching up with dear friends:

Thank goodness for Lady Gaga & wonderful friends!

Soaking up creation with family & loved ones:

Nothing makes me happier than soaking up the sunshine with loved ones at grandma's house. Oh how I miss summer days on beautiful Lake Washington.

Tea for two!

Drinking tea with my favorite cutie at The Empress Hotel. They won my heart over by serving delicious and never.ending gluten-free goodies for Jordan.

Why hello, Fall!

I'm happy you have decided to roll through town & cool down our 90 degree home...please do stay awhile. 

 . . . . .

Fall is my very favorite season & this year more than any other, I am delighted to bid farewell to the hot hot heat of small town USA. Fall has brought along a new job for me, a new love affair with my crock pot, and a new casual relationship with my sewing machine. 

It has been wonderful for Jordan & I to settle into a routine & continue to learn what it means to love and support one another in our day to day lives. I am loving my job & although I struggle to get up and at 'em during the wee hours of the morning, I must admit it's a treat to come home and have a few hours of alone time to rest, run to the grocery store, craft, and prepare dinndinn before Jordan arrive homes with a hungry belly. These past few weeks I've been creating fabric & paper bunting like there's no tomorrow. I'm absolutely 100% obsessed, however I'll save that talk for another post. 

For now I'd like to highlight a fun, easy & oh.so affordable fall Martha Stewart craft project. Introducing, drumroll please....

The tin can pumpkin jack o’ lanterns

 diy tutorial found here: 

http://www.marthastewart.com/272336/tin-can-jack-o-lanterns

happy crafting!

Dr. Okie Dokie

I heard Jordan's car pulling into the driveway this evening & excitedly stepped away from my crock pot to meet him on his way inside...

L : Hi, boo! How was your standardized patient encounter today?

J : It went alright...there were a few little things I messed up on...

L : Oh, well, always room for improvement. What did you miss?

J : My professor docked me a few points for saying "okie dokie" too many times to my patient...

L : Okie dokie?!? Really? Okie dokie...really, Jordan? [quickly falling into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.]

. . . . .

Okay, I know it may not be that funny, but I just cannot picture my sweet, serious & oh so studious hubby joyfully responding 'okie dokie!' multiple times to his adult patient. In fact, I'm fairly certain he's never uttered those two little words in his 25 years of life. I'm only slightly worried that in the last few months of married life, he somehow picked up that cheesy yet cheery good ol' fashioned 1930's All-American saying from his Mrs. But who knows? All I know is you can bet your bottom dollar the future Dr. Collier will never again say "okie dokie" inside the exam room. 

Be Our Guest!

Jordan & I feel oh so blessed to be renting our home from family friends of ours who have graciously welcomed us into small town USA with open arms & lots of love. We are so grateful to live in a safe neighborhood inside a warm & inviting home. With Jordan's demanding school schedule, it is such a treat to have a peaceful space to study, rest, play, & share life together. We also l.o.v.e. hosting friends & family, so if you ever find yourself traveling thru town, please know our doors are always open & we most likely will have fresh sheets on the guest bed plus a hot meal stewin' in the trusty ol' slow cooker...

Home, sweet home.

Love eating dinner on our back porch with the party lights on!

Yes, our t.v. sits on top of a plastic storage container covered by fabric. 

My favorite husband surprised me by picking up these chairs I'd been eyeing from the Fred Meyer home clearance section. 

Best. Surprise. Ever. 

Lovely little kitchen mirror.

Our almost-finished guest bedroom.

Received this ruffled shower curtain as a wedding gift from trusty ol' Target & I'm. so. in. love. Simple & chic.

Nothing beats a teal sink & toilet. Oh so retro.

Our bed is currently lacking a bit of beauty & color. J considered it necessary to remove our beautiful wedding quilt from the foot of the bed once our house boiled to a comfortable 90 degrees...oh, summa summatime. I'm almost through with you.

Jordan's friend from studying abroad gave us a globe, which we absolutely adore!

My messy, messy craft room.

Jordan's very favorite neighbors. 

Our silly, strange world.

My husband & I currently live in a very silly, strange world. A world where studying is never ending, money is strapped, and spending quality time with one another plus our fabulous community is...well, an unfortunate rarity. Although I continue to tell myself these crazy days as broke & busy love birds will one day come to an end; that this season too shall pass and bring about new adventures & opportunities with each other and those we love, I still have days where I find myself sad, lonely, overwhelmed & frustrated by the fact that my cute & studious husband is having an affair with Cecil - his 3,078 page medical textbook. 

Today was one of those days. I recently started my AmeriCorps position as the College & Career Coach at a nearby middle school. I was warned the first few weeks would be slow and that I probably would not find myself working 40 hours per week, which was fine considering I had racked up oodles of extra hours during the past two weeks of out.of.town training. Away from my hubby & home. Did I mention it was for two, very long weeks? Anyways, I digress. 


So today around noon, after I organized a cluttered conference/storage room, met with a few teachers & finished helping 7th & 8th graders complete a field study on the world's wettest football field - with a layer of dust covering my business casual attire and cold water saturating my disgustingly stinky ballet flats - I looked at my completed to-do list & contemplated taking the sunny, 85 degree afternoon off. In a normal world, I imagine this is what I would have done. Why not? My work hours are flexible, the beautiful fall sunshine was shining bright, and my sweet husband, who I spent the past two weeks apart from, was out of class & on his way home...


Back to reality. Our lovely yet sometimes wee-bit-overwhelming reality. Jordan and I feel blessed that as a second year medical student he has less lecture time and significantly more self-study time. This means he is in the classroom less and studying at home more. Hooray! It truly is a good thing. But good things can be  complicated, and remember, we live in a silly & strange world that does not revolve around the sun, but rather around the highly demanding and competitive testing calendar. For the most part, when Jordan is at home, he needs to be studying. Studying, studying, studying. Reading, highlighting, organizing, and cramming. Sun up to sun way down. Monday through Saturday. Time does not matter in this alternate universe. Drinking out of the fire hose we call medical school & working as hard as possible to pass tests is how we roll...


So today, instead of taking the afternoon off & adventuring in the sunshine with my hubs, I distracted myself with silly, unimportant tasks such as taping together old, dusty checker boards found in an ancient pile of clutter & rolling rubber bands around ridiculously corny & colorful "right decisions right now" posters. I chose to stay as late as I could at work so that I would not be tempted to enter into the study zone that we also call home, and distract my man. Rather, I needed to let my crazy boy focus in a quiet space & study his heart out before tomorrow brings yet another gigantic test. 

And the countdown to medical school graduation begins...