quotable.

Beauty isn’t an airbrushed face, a perfect body, or a wardrobe that’s always in fashion. Rather, beauty is under-eye wrinkles from smiling often. Beauty is hands wrinkled from years of serving. Beauty is knees covered in dirt from working the earth. Beauty is wallets empty from giving, and well-worn houses from hospitality. It’s the worn out pages of a Bible. It’s cracked voices from singing so much, broken hearts from loving so many, and bruised feet from dancing so frequently. Beauty is bittersweet. -SARALYN WEITZMAN

This morning, with her, having coffee

-Johnny Cash, when asked for his definition of paradise

I think we all speak a different kind of language

than each other, but you sound a whole lot like coffee on a 

Sunday morning and the rain is falling bitter against the windowpane and your elbows are making holes in the countertops, and I only want to tell you that I wish I was as close as the threads of your t-shirt, and if I can’t be that, then I’ll be content with drinking my drink beside you, with the rain sloppily open mouth kissing the roof, trying to dismantle the etymology of a conversation that falls out of the realm of words.

— “He Loves the Rain,” Shinji Moon 

She’s being kind. Which is much more a sign of character than mere niceness. Kindness connects to who you are, while niceness connects to how you want to be seen.

— David Levithan

To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus. The danger in our lives will always increase in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.

— David Platt 

I just wonder what it would do in your heart and your mind if you really believe that God delighted in you.

— Matt Chandler

Living elegantly is about adding a sparkle and a wink to your daily life, so that you’re not simply trying to get through the day, but savoring moments of every day.— The Little Pink Book of Elegance

mama-daughter visit.

earlier this week my mom came to visit along with our family friends. it was such a wonderful, relaxing visit full of yummy food, catching up, and encouragement. 

eating a scrumptious italian lunch. 

later in the evening after italian, coffee, and chocolate treats, we settled in for a movie with caprese bites, tea, and a movie. i am just now realizing just how much we ate! 

my friend annie and i sported the cardigans our mama's gave us for christmas... they had sewn cat elbow patches on and we're kind of obsessed. 

we made breakfast the next morning and i realized that that was the first time our table had been used in our new apartment. 

i feel so spoiled... the day before these lovely ladies came my daddy surprised me with a visit and dinner because he was passing through on a trip. ive loved getting to see my family so much lately... but oh how i miss everyone now that they have left! 

now it's saturday and boo and i are going to hang some shelves, picture frames, and etc. on the walls. happy weekend!

happy new year!

a little recap of how brian and i celebrated out first FREE new years eve! 

got a little snazzy for a dinner out

set my mouth on fire with jalapenos topped with spicy tuna and cream cheese

reminisced 

baked snickerdoodles

read our "2012" jar... over the course of the year we filled it with good, sweet, and funny things that happened and didn't read them until the last night of 2012. it was so fun remembering these together.

my hopes/excitement for 2013:

1. i am so EXCITED for my two best friends' weddings/celebrations

2. i HOPE to find a full time JOB, preferably in teaching 

3. i HOPE to adopt myself a baby orange kitten

4. i HOPE that by the end of the year our student ministry has GROWN

5. i am EXCITED for what the Lord is going to do this year

here's to 2013!

christmas highlights.

1. driving back to cinci late christmas eve night and starting off our celebration with a gingerbread house

2. staying up late catching up with my brother and sister long after my parents and boo have gone to bed

3. being sneaky with my sister and shaking our presents under the tree

4. christmas morning breakfast and coffee with whipped cream & sprinkles

5. all of us gunn kiddos getting a framed picture of our beloved baxter

6. the crazy cat lady sweaters i received from my mama... pictures to come! 

7. baking nutcracker cupcakes with my mama

8. seeing les mis as a family

9. snow & walking our pups through it as a family

10. meeting our nephew for the first time

11. watching our niece experience ice skating for the first time

12. warm drinks after ice skating

13. a snowy run and post run breakfast with my college roomie

14. brown paper packages with sparkly ribbon

15. receiving a SWEET scrapbook from my friend "D." it is full of fun things to do around the toledo area and a bucketlist of things to do together in 2013 (she says she is not creative or crafty... uh, whatever!) i just love it!!

i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas season! here's to the new year! 

happy 2013! starting the year off with a guest post.

happy 2013 sweet friends! today i am blogging over at my friend allie's blog, Allie in Oz. when i first "met" her in the blogging world and saw that she adored glitter as much as i do, as well as had a passion for ministering to younger girls, i felt like we were kindred spirits. she asked me to blog about my experience moving for her [Away from Home] series and it couldn't have been more timely for me. so go check it out and read through her other many adventures! 

gift guide: your adorkable and quirky bff.

your best friend loves sporting polka dots and critters. she's classic with a spin of peculiar. think jess day. even as her bff, you can't pinpoint her exactly, but these christmas gifts definitely won't miss the mark. 

1. "what happened" bandages

2. rating royalty iPhone case in sprinkles

3. measuring hedgies

4. paper straw mustaches and lips

5. dorthy perkins polka dot clutch

thoughts on sandy hook elementary.

it seems that all we ever hear about anymore are senseless tragedies. they seem to happen all the time now. every time i hear about one, i get sad and sick to my stomach... but when i heard about sandy hook elementary school on friday, i felt a different kind of grief. 

even though i'm not a teacher yet with my own classroom, as i am currently looking for jobs, i feel as if i am already a teacher. i went to school for it, have several practicum and student teaching experiences, and just love the students i had. the tragedy at sandy hook just hit home for me. 

and i cried for all those babies who were taken way too soon and for their parents who should never have to worry about whether a school is a safe place to send their children. i cried for the students who graciously lived, but who will have to live with this trauma for the rest of their lives. i cried for the teachers and principal who fought to protect their students and sacrificed their lives. i cried for everyone whose lives are forever changed. 

and today i am thinking and praying for all my friends who have classrooms of their own. i am thinking of them as they try to work through what happened and answer questions and offer counsel to their students. i am praying that school will not be a place of fear for any students, teachers, or parents, but that the perfect love of Christ will cast out all fear. i've always had an admiration and respect for teachers and educators, but now i do more than ever. 

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