Hello!  So, many have asked about the move... and I'm happy to say that overall it went really well!  It was way less stressful than expected.  Thanks to my dad and our little cross-over suv, all of my stuff was in our place by 10:30 and once my mom got off work, she had things mostly put away by 2:00.  Our great room / living area is quite functional and looks even better than I had expected.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite details:

1 / We have a working record player.  It was Bek's grandmother's and it came with quite the collection, plus, for some odd reason, we each had a record or two.  We've been there less than 48 hours and have used it at least 5 times [pictured here with the My Fair Lady album].  I'm hoping to get some great use out of that and can't wait to scour thriftshops and record stores to add to our collection.  (I'm really hoping to score a copy of "Buffalo Gal" ;)
2 / Goodbye double-stacked!  I brought - no joke - a dozen boxes of books over to my new place.  Some were small (like amazon package size), but that was only so I could actually lift them.  I'm going to have 2 small bookshelves in my room also - pending this weekend's IKEA trip - but decided to utilize the living room shelves for my "literary" books - classic novels, poetry, and plays.  They're currently sorted by date and author, with special groupings by publisher.  While unloading, I confirmed that I had three copies of The Merchant of Venice - not including the Complete Works.  I know: nerdometer readings high.  But I can explain: I bought a cute paperback in high school, a Norton for school (which I used for 2 different classes), and then in England, I couldn't help picking up a copy published in 1899.  Ok... I'm going on far too long about the bookshelves.
3 / My china finally has a cupboard!  So, a few years back, my [paternal] grandmother gave me her china.  It is gorgeous!  Very classic design with silver rims.  Honestly, if I had my choice of any china set, this would probably be it.  Unfortunately, it's been stowed away in our garage, used only for 2 or 3 special occasions.  But finally, the china has been emancipated.  My mother was gracious enough to give me this buffet (which was originally was her mother's).  I love both how it looks and it's generational importance.  [So come over and let's have dinner on the china!]
4 / Might be hard to tell, but I got new sheets and duvet cover.  I've wanted a white duvet cover for quite a while and finally was able to make it happen.  While at it, I decided to get patterned sheets to off-set the white.  They're grey with little white chevrons.
5 / Another dream of mine,  I've wanted to incorporate one of my favorite color combos (grey, white, and yellow) and with my own bathroom (also a first), I can finally make that happen.  Looking forward to expanding that theme, but towels from Target will do for now.

One final shot: one of my favorite corners of our place.  Seriously, come over.  We'll set the china, throw on a record, and have a grand time!

Fireworks - White

Pretty much since the album came out,  Mumford & Son's "I Will Wait" has been the theme song of my season.  Parts of the late fall and winter were extremely difficult - like being caught in a tight space - and my anthem became "I will wait..." [I think I gave that away here and here and even here].  The words spoke hope to me, that someday I would "know my ground."

Well, part of that process has been the desire and the need to discover and create my own place.  I can't quite explain the feeling.  Not just a sense of "it would be great if _______ [I had my own room, more bookshelves, etc.],"  but an urge that this year I must discover who Christ is through me - and that it would require a wider space to cultivate and become.

There's been a process.  There's been a search.  Waiting has become a disposition in the last 8 months - quite a difference between a temporary hold and a distant call. I had been in that tight space, knowing there was a wide open one waiting for me, like I had been waiting for it.

Then, just before Memorial Day Weekend, word came that just that place may exsist.  In between the chorus and the bridge at Mumford Live that weekend, my good friend Cami leaned forward and said, "I think this is the closing of a chapter..."  It was true (for both of us). 


[I will wait...]

 And thus began the summer of becoming. The summer of fireworks [I do apologize for the cryptic posts... but I couldn't talk about this yet].


Now, after hearing and waiting and becoming - it's here and it's real.

This weekend, my best friend and I are moving to a lovely little space near the lake.  She's been in a similar process, and, honestly, this place is more than we could have hoped for.  It's a new beginning.  A white canvas, if you will.


[This isn't a firework (duh), it's just a sparkler... but it's white - and I took the picture :]

 

I can't wait to share more with you (yes, there will be pictures).  But I'm grateful I could finally tell you about this particularyly bold and shimmering firework.