2013: A Year In Review

Wow, 2013 is almost over. I know I'm not the only one who's excited for 2014, but first, let's reflect on the year that's coming to a close. I'm a serious advocate for reflection and musing because it helps you to appreciate the lessons you've learned and the blessings that have been bestowed upon you. Yes, bestowed ;) While there's been a lot of exciting things that have happened this year, I narrowed it down to the main ones that came into my mind as I was writing. I hope you'll enjoy looking back through my memories and be reminded of some of your own.

Me and mom after the Color Run

1. First up, I ran my first 5k! Mom, Abi, her friend Madeline, and I participated in the Color Run which was tough, but so, so worth it. While it is just a sort of fun, get out there and exercise event, I had been training for it for a while and there was no way I was going to walk it. I always said (and believed) that I'd never be able to run even a mile, so the process of training and actually running the entire 3.1 miles was a big step on my journey towards fitness and better health, and it meant a lot to me to run over the finish line. And, mom and I went on to run two more 5ks together before the year was over! We don't mess around.

Used with permission from @estellereynen

2. I turned 21! I had a lovely time going out with my sister Urshana, roommate Estelle, and dear friend Lindsey to a nice restaurant for an intimate birthday celebration. While I am a social person, at heart I'm an introvert so the idea of a big celebration doesn't generally appeal to me, and despite the absence of the rest of my family (we celebrated later) it was a great way to commemorate the big 2-1. 

Taken shortly after coming home for the first time :)

3. Two days after I turned 21, this gorgeous girl was born. While we didn't get her till a few weeks after, it's nice to have another summer baby in the family ;) She is our first family dog and we love her to pieces. Lule kebab, lulay, the lulenator, the poopenator (don't ask), snow puppy, and all the rest- she's brought so much happiness to our lives and at times I still can't believe she's actually ours! 

4. And finally, I started my senior year. One more semester to go before I graduate, and honestly, I can't wait. It's going to be a full semester with 19 credits and a job, but by God's grace and provision it's going to be a great one.  

I wish you a very happy New Year and pray that it'll be a fruitful, joyful, and fulfilling year for all of you. Stay tuned for my 2014 goals post. 

Until next time, God Bless. 

E 

Friday Roundup: Christmas Edition

Hey friends,

It's Friday! As I'm on break I'm not quite as excited as usual, but hey! It's still Friday. Here's what I've been up to this week:

From my sister Urshana's instagram @ushywushy

                    

Christmas. Oh yeah. We decided to stick with a dinky fake tree this year as our little puppy has a penchant for chewing branches. 

Yesterday I wrote some reflections on Christmas, which was lovely.

Pics found here, here, and here

We (Ush and I)got some new skin care treats! One thing I'm super interested in is skincare, and I've been doing some research lately and managed to find some great new products. After a little while of testing I'll definitely be putting up some reviews, so stay tuned for that. 

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Speaking of research, all hail Caroline Hirons, queen of all things skin. If you've ever had a question/issue/etc about your skin, she is absolutely the woman to go to. Not only is she a "globally qualified advanced facialist", but she serves it up straight with no fuss or patience for beauty industry lies. 

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And....the Doctor Who Christmas Special. I still haven't watched it, so I'm going to get to that tonight. 

 I found this on a friend's FB and it really made me laugh, and yes, it's a little bit (or a lot) true. 

Finally, what would a Friday roundup be without mention of corgis? @corgnelius is a cute instagram user I've been following lately.

What have you guys been up to this week?


Until next time, God bless.

E

*None of the links are affiliates. I don't earn money for my opinions.

Thankful Thursday: Christmas Edition

Hey there friends,

Apparently it's Thursday! I'm definitely on Christmas Break time which makes it hard to remember what day it is, so sorry for the late post! It has been such a lovely break so far. On Christmas Eve my dad, younger sisters, and I went to the service at our church and it was just great. The worship was fantastic, the singers and musicians both did a top notch job of leading us in song and stirring up the Christmas mood. Our pastor's message was about how Christmas is about love and sacrifice, and how God's real, unconditional love for us led him to come down to Earth as a baby and 33 odd years later sacrifice his own life for us. It was a wonderful, meaningful message and it felt great to be at my own home church in fellowship with everybody who came to the service (several hundred at least). On Christmas itself we had a great time of gift giving and receiving, cooking and eating, and just generally being together as a family *insert warm and fuzzy feelings here*.

Some things that I'm thankful for this week are:

My family. Honestly, we have our ups and downs like any family. But all in all we're a pretty doggone close family unit, and I'm so grateful for that.

Christmas. Christ Incarnate, Immanuel-God with us.

My new skincare goodies. Yes, this is not even close to being significant and meaningful, but when you're really into skincare like I am, a new cleanser is an exciting thing!

 Rest. I worked 42 hours and had five finals and two papers due in the space of 5/6 days...I was VERY ready for a break.



And that's what I'm thankful for today :)What are you grateful for today?

Beth, Ush, Abi, Lulay and Me :)

From my family to yours, happy Christmas and holiday season.

Until next time, God Bless.

E

A Recipe for a Lovely December Night

Well hey there, friends! I apologize for my absence. Last week was the busiest of the entire semester with finals and full-time hours at my temp. job. However, I am pleased to say that I am now homework free (until mid-January) and will be updating my blog on the regular once again.

For tonight's blog, I thought I'd let you guys in on the fun night I just had with my lovely sisters at the Lair (aka, or apartment). After some Christmas shopping in the afternoon, Abi and I decided it was time to make some delicious Christmas cookies for all our friends at our workplace. And after some extensive mixing and mess making, we got some great results. Precursor: Don't be put off by the not so great photography and lighting!

Here's what we did:

1. Put on some awesome music. We chose Michael Bublé's Christmas album, aptly named "Christmas", and a family favorite by Shania Twain, "Come On Over".

2. Next, light a festive candle.

Oh yeah, baby.

2.5. Take an adorable picture of your sister wearing a punny Welsh apron.

I'll wash, ewe dry (accompanied by pictures of sheep)

3. And finally, make the dang cookies! We decided to go with a generic Chocolate Chip cookie recipe and then a special one called Mars Bars Melts (Milky Ways to us here in the States).

Making the batter for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Right before it goes into the oven, with another cameo from my awkwardly angled hand.

Keepin' it real here with the mess, folks. These were for cookie recipe #2: Mars Bars Melts

 

The not so delicious looking batter for the Mars Bars Melts

Filled with Milky Way pieces and ready to pop into the oven.

 

 

 

And the delicious results!

Try not to jealous of my lighting and editing skills.

 

 

Oh so gooey.

And that's all for now, folks! Hope you weren't too put off by my lack of photography skills. Hope you all have a beautiful time with the ones you love celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Until next time, God bless.

E

Friday Round Up

Hey friends!

This week has certainly been busy-with tests and papers coming up there's so much to get done and not enough hours to do it all. What that means, obviously, is that procrastination is at an all time high for most of the college students preparing for finals. Hopefully you'll have fun with these as you "study" for your finals. That being said, here are some things I've been enjoying this week!

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1. This video. Admittedly, I am not a fan of twerking or she-who-made-it-famous, but I am a fan of Corgis. Massively. And this gave me a few good giggles.

2. Speaking of Corgi's, here's a super cute Buzzfeed article (for all your time wasting needs)! If you're not a fan of corgis but still want to see some adorable pictures of puppies, click here. Side note: #8 made me cry like an absolute baby.

3. Ok, enough with the Corgi's. Instead, here's a #FlashBackFriday instagram pic of Abi  and the pup from when we first got her :) You can find my little pup on instagram (@lulejones) and my lovely younger sister Abi's blog here.

4. Ok, enough with the dogs. Here's a great article written by Lauren DeMoss about "Man Candy Monday". I would seriously suggest reading it if you've ever seen/participated in/heard of #mcm/ #wcw, or even if you haven't!

5. And lastly, my dad is getting back to his blog. If you're into funny and insightful reads, I would definitely recommend clicking here.

Bonus thought: Has anyone else noticed that in films, the token "foreign" accent is always British? No matter where the film is set-Greece, Spain, France, Russia, the actors are almost always using a British accent! Get it together people.

Double bonus: I realize this post is quite dog heavy, and to that I say, I am what I am.

Until next time, God bless.

E

Thankful Thursday

Hey friends!

Today is Thankful Thursday, and to be honest, sometimes it's hard for me to be grateful when it's freezing cold outside and I just want to graduate. I realize though that a lot of the things that I grumble and complain about are actually things I should be thanking God for. I mean really, there's a lot to be grateful for this Christmas season.

For example, this week I'm grateful for:

Minnesota, because it's a great state to live in for SO many reasons.

That my life is not about me. It's for the glory of God, so when I'm selfish and prideful it's directly rebelling against my purpose and meaning in life. That may sound a little legalistic, but it's actually such a relief knowing that my life is worth more than what I or anyone else thinks of it/me, and that there's someone out there who is so much greater than me and this world.

This blog. It's such a lot of fun being able to sit here and express myself in blog form. Even though this is a new blog and I have very few readers (a majority of whom are my family/roommate), I've already felt an internal pressure to write about things that will draw in readers rather than just being who I is. I've realized that even though it would be nice to have a ton of people reading this blog, ultimately it needs to not be about convincing them that it's interesting or good enough, but about the things that I want to express or write about. And if that happens to be something that's considered popular, than great! If not, oh well.

Christmas, because we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who made the greatest sacrifice possible in not only dying for us, but also in coming down from Heaven, where he lived in the very physical presence of his Father, just so we (who didn't give a rip, and in the Bible are even called his enemies ) could be saved.

My father in Heaven who always provides for me. Even if it's not in a way that I would prefer at the time, He always takes care of me and provides everything I need.

And last but not least on this fine Thursday, my family and roommate, who really do support me and this blog and bring a lot of laughter, surprises, and joy to my life. Love you guys!

Bonus: my little pup, who is literally the cutest dog in the world. To me.

Now I'd like to know, what are you thankful for today?


Until next time, God bless.

E

Strange and Silly Discoveries of the Week

Alright friends,

I'm ready to eat some humble pie. Here are a couple of silly and slightly embarrassing discoveries that I've made recently.

1. My tear ducts. Holes in my face!! Ew, ew, ew! My younger sisters were absolutely incredulous when they realized I had only now (in my 20's), discovered my tear ducts. But really? Ew.

2. Anthony Hopkins, who's work I am a massive fan of, is almost certainly not doing his own stunts for the majority of Zorro. This was one of my absolute favorites growing up, so I was slightly disappointed, but in end it made me laugh because I couldn't believe that I didn't notice it until now. In my defense, I haven't watched the film in quite a while.And I mean, come on. It's Anthony Hopkins! He's a beast.

That's it for my Strange and Silly Discoveries of the Week. Stay tuned for Thankful Thursday and my Friday Round Up :)

Until next time, God bless.

E

Body Care Favorites

Hi friends! Now that winter is setting in, my skin, which is usually pretty "normal," feels like the Sahara*. As such, I've been upping my body care game. Here are some favorites to banish dry skin.

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 1. Lush "Charity Pot" Hand and Body Lotion. Confession: I'm a major Lushie. I love that they're cruelty free, use a lot of natural ingredients, list all their ingredients clearly online and support some really great charities. It's a magical place and this is a magical lotion. With awesome ingredients like Almond Oil, Fair Trade Cocoa Butter, Ylang Ylang Oil and more, this bad boy seriously moisturizes and is great for after the shower, before bed, or whenever dryness rears its ugly head! In addition, 100% of profits (minus tax) goes to a small, grassroots charity which is listed on the pot's lid. You can buy it in two sizes, and last time I was in my local Lush, one of the store workers suggested keeping the smaller size in your hand bag and refilling it from the larger pot.

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 2. Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm. This stuff is tested by people living in the "extreme climate conditions" of Canada, people. It works. It is definitely on the pricier side for a lip balm, but it lasts quite a long time and compared to most popular drug store lip balms (which are actually designed to dry out your lips) does what is says, providing sweet, sweet, relief for sore, dry and chapped winter lips. I usually apply this right before bed (as it's quite thick) but you can also put on a very thin layer and wear it under a lip product. Bonus: it can also be used on cuticles.

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3. The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub. Yum. I love the smell of coconuts, though I wouldn't touch Coconut Water with a 10ft pole. The scrub does a wonderful job of sloughing (*shudder*) away dead skin off your legs and arms in the shower or bath, prepping them nicely for maximum post-shower/bath moisturization. And, you get to smell like a delicious coconut from the far off tropical island that you probably wish you were on right about now.

That's it for now!

Until next time, God bless.

E

*Clearly I love to exaggerate.
*Disclaimer-I bought everything featured and was not paid for my opinions! 

Lazy Saturdays

Today was a lovely day. After celebrating my sister's birthday last night, it was nice to have a bit of a lie in. When I managed to roll out of bed and clean up the mess from the birthday get together last night, it was time for a bit of relaxation. One way that I love spending my free time is catching up on YouTube. I get so busy during the week that I don't have time to watch it, and by the time the weekend arrives my subscription box is packed! I've finally gone through EVERY video in my box and as such feel very qualified to write about my favorites.

Lifestyle:

First off, Ingrid of Miss Glamorazzi. If you like bubbly personalities and lots of fun lifestyle/DIY/beauty videos, I'd definitely recommend Ingrid. Instead of "Vlogmas" this year she's doing her own feature which she calls "DIY December" and its been absolutely great so far.

Beauty:

Another great YouTuber is Tanya Burr, who's blog you can find here. Tanya is a professional MUA who does awesome beauty tutorials as well as great vlogs. In addition, she's just announced that she's coming out with her own lip gloss and nail collection.

A less popular(for now) choice that I have to give a shout out to is Melissa Cook of My Soul is the Sky. She has a beautiful lifestyle and beauty blog as well as fantastic hair and make up tutorials but doesn't have nearly as many viewers as she should! I especially enjoy her eyeshadow tutorials, they're out of this world in my humble opinion.

Now I realize that not everybody is interested in beauty/lifestyle videos, so here a great comedy trio.

Blimey Cow is a hilarious Christian comedy group that manage to put a great (see: not corny) message in their videos. Their videos are for people of any belief system or age, so if you like dry, sarcastic humor you will absolutely love them.

And that's it! While there are many, many, more that I could write about, I don't want this to be a never-ending post, so I'll end it here.

Until next time,God bless.

E

*Disclaimer: I was not paid for my opinions! Free of charge, as always ;)

Friday Round Up

Hey friends, guess what? It's finally Friday! Personally, I'm so excited to "relax" this weekend (see: celebrate my sister's birthday and do copious amounts of textbook reading, paper writing, and quiz taking) and hopefully get a lot of stuff done before the craziness of finals week arrives. That being said, one feature that I'd like to start doing is a "Friday Round Up." I'm still thinking about the name, but since I'm not feeling very creative at the moment we're going to stick with that for now. So without further ado...

1. Me and my gorgeous younger sister (click here for her blog) preparing ourselves for the horribly cold MN winter (-9 F this morning) outside of our cozy apartment. 

 

2. Since I live in a state where the seasons can change and temperatures can drop substantially within the space of a few days, I make sure to have a LOT of tea around. Yorkshire Tea (or "God's own" as we call it in my family) is a particular favorite. 

 3. First, I apologize for abominable camera/food arrangement skills. In all honesty, I just couldn't be bothered to make it look pretty because I wanted to plow through my salad and make it the main attraction: the sweet potatoes. In an attempt to not pack on the winter pounds I've been trying to eat a little more healthily, and oh man, sweet potatoes are where it's at! I never liked them until this year, when one of my roommates (who is a S.P lover) opened my eyes to their amazingness*.

4. Last but definitely not least, it's my beautiful (other) sister from another mister/roommate/friend's birthday today! Can't wait to celebrate her special day tonight :)**

Bonus picture of our dog, aka the cutest puppy in the entire world.** ***

Thanks or reading my Friday Round Up, see you soon!

E

*Not an actual word.

**Photos taken with permission from their Instagrams @ushywushy and @lulejones

***Objectively.

New Blog Goals

Well, here goes my first attempt at a real blog. Let's have a moment of honesty though, because honesty is good. First of all, I'm an "almost grad." While that's a good place to be in life it means that my time right now has to be primarily concentrated on school work. As such, I'm not going to promise to blog a certain number of days per week or post on a schedule until I graduate. However, I will say this: I've got goals. So that's something, right?

Here we go:

Goal 1-Turn this into a great lifestyle blog. I'm talking reviews, pictures, thoughts, fashion, the whole nine yards.

Goal 2-Get to a point of consistency with posting.

Goal 3-Always be true to myself in whatever I write and post on this blog.

So, there you go. I'm sure there will be more as time goes on and this blog (hopefully) grows.

Until then, God bless.

E