funny how things work out.

i met sarah cornett summer of 2008 during the short month and a half i worked as a counselor at camp glisson. we shared a witty sense of humor and love of the Lord and quickly became friends. here is a lovely throwback so you can picture this:


during my short weeks there, sarah and i shared a lot of laughs, campers that tested our patience, and ultimately growth in our friendship. i was so sad to leave halfway through the summer. i felt as if leaving all the great people i had made at camp left me with unfinished relationships, seeing as i am horrible at keeping in touch with long distance friends.

i finished my last two years in auburn, doing a mostly bad job at keeping up with a few friends from camp. i didn't know where graduation and a new job would take me, but as the summer months creeped by, athens, ga looked like more and more of a possibility of where i would end up.

with no real prospects of where i would live and if i would even end up getting the job, i visited jonathan for his birthday in september. i met up with sarah at the wesley that night and during our brief catch-up i told her about my interview while she told me that she was living by herself and hating it, totally open to a new living situation.

after a couple (stressful) weeks of trusting the Lord to handle the details, we signed a lease on an adorable and affordable duplex and we are happy to finally be roomies! leaving glisson i felt as if me and sarah had true potential to be great friends, and now i know the Lord has given me an awesome living situation and a lifelong friend. what a blessing.

my graceful entry into the real world.

you guys know me. i am anything but graceful. and that's how the past couple weeks have been. kind of a clumsy start.

as i was sitting eating a candlelight dinner in the dark alone in my apartment on wednesday night, all i could do was smile to myself. i had just arrived home after a 14 hour shift with to realize the power was out, adding to already a long list of problems in our new home. no internet, no gas, and now no power, and i still needed to eat and shower before going to sleep and waking up to do it all over again.

things never quite go according to planned. but the Lord is always here watching, protecting, helping us be thankful for the blessings we don't always realize.

so when i return to my dark home exhausted and hungry and my mother has texted me the spanish georgia power number instead of the english one, i have to remember all of the things He has provided for me over the past six months. great relationships, great experiences, and finally the provision of the perfect job after long months of searching. thank you, Lord.

update:

• i am writing this post in the comfort of my new home, meaning we have internet!
  
• i was able to bake a cake and cook some mac and cheese this week, yay for a working oven and stove!
• just got done with my first full week on the floor. interesting patients that tested my patience. ha!
  
• thanks to mom and dad for the gift of a new dehumidifier. joy.
  
• i almost tripped into a doctor today on the floor. a graceful entrance, indeed.
  

on the next installment of "love in action": meet roomie sarah!

comfort food

today, me and kristen collectively decided we were craving some shrimp and grits. using this recipe from the food network, we made it happen. it was oh so delicious.


Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Directions

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.

orange and blue

auburn bliss this weekend. if you were wondering how it feels to be 8-0, number one in the bcs poll, and the only unbeaten in the sec, ask an auburn fan. i think they'll tell you it feels pretty dang good.

it was also so good to see these fabulous ladies that i don't get to see very often.

aren't they cute?

i love auburn, forever.

welcome home

i moved in this week! still no internet or gas, which meant microwaving our food, wearing sweatshirts, entertaining ourselves with gilmore girls seasons, and a brief blog hiatus.

let me show you around:

our cozy living room


not a fully functional kitchen yet

the creepy basement, don't go down without a buddy (i spilled water on the floor from the dehumidifier, people)
my bedroom, where a lot of my sleeping is done
AND our fun guest room, ready for you to come stay a night or two!


more details later, possibly a virtual tour......

my dog is smarter (and cuter) than yours

i am obsessed with our new puppy, gracie. obsessed being an understatement.

for my first trick, i will get gracie to lay down:

now that i'm moving to athens i think i'll miss her more than my mom. seriously.

furniture facelift

it's no secret, i love antique furniture. i've also had a little time on my hands recently. i got a little creative and gave some old furniture a new look.

i wish i had some before and after pictures, because these knobs from anthropologie are 100 times cuter than the brass ones that were on the dresser before. ta da!

my next project was a tad more difficult. i had a picture in my mind of what i wanted it to look like, but making it happen in real life somewhat of a challenge. i started by painting the panel inside the door robin's egg blue. the antique metal ceiling tiles are from an antique store. after cleaning them off a bit and coating them with a brown stain, i used tin shears (carefully) to trim them to the size i wanted. then came the hard part: drilling the screws to attach the tiles to the door. lightly brushing the tiles with robin's egg blue made my project complete!



more pictures of to come of my new bedroom (complete with face-lifted furniture!)

you're reading this, so it must be true!

if you're just tuning in now, let's review:

1. new city
2. new job
3. new house and roomie!

for LC, that meant her own tv show. for me, it means my life may be finally interesting enough to start a blog, hooray!

my mission as a blogger:

to recognize: people in my life, places and things i think are really cool, and experiences that shape me into who i am

to create: hopefully this project will inspire other projects and stretch me

to inspire: i am blessed to be a blessing, and i want all the good things that i may do point back to the Creator

let's get started!