Costume: Bad School Photo

photo c/o DH

 

So did you dress up? Or will you dress up?

We had an office party at work and I went as a bad school photo.....

Notice the retainer, side pony, glasses, and smeared lipstick....all put together = one bad photo!

Here's to embarassing myself online! :)

I sure do hope it brings YOU a smile today!

Happy October 31st to you and yours!



Snow...you are here so soon!

Maurices jeans, Herberger's Jacket, Top, & Boots

 

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Happy Monday to you and yours!  What did your weekend consist of?

Here's a snapshot of our's:

James setup his deer hunting stand with the Nelson men (hunting is a big deal over here....).

I went on a women's retreat from Friday to Saturday way out in the woods (pictures to come!!!).

 

I must tell you if you haven't figured it out yet.........we love adventure and the outdoors, even with snow on the ground.

That's right....we had SNOW that is actually staying around and it's not even November!  Snow is something we see almost 8 months out of the year!  It is just something you have to get used to when you live in northern Minnesota.  But, there are fun things to do with snow....aka: snowball fights.  I can't remember the last time I threw snowballs at someone, and I'm not just talking since last year.  It had been a loooooooong time, so what do you think James and I did on Sunday?! You guessed it....we had ourselves a snowball fight.  I have to admit that James has better aim....but that is good news for us.  Why?! 'Cause good aim means James has a better chance of bringing home some venison for us this year! Whoohoo to that!

Here's to Monday and snowball fights!  Hope yours is a good one! 

xo Tiff



R&R

 

Here's to the weekend...

I am thankful you are here! 

I'm looking forward to some time away and some good R&R!

Hope you, my friends, find some too!

xo Tiff

photo

An Apple A Day...

Loft Sweater, Target TShirt & Skirt......& Heels!!!

 

So "they" say an apple a day, keeps the doctor away?!  Today I wish that an apple a day kept the constantly busy schedule away.! Seriously, it would really be nice right about.....NOW! :) Until that happens though, I'm going to press on and enjoy this crisp apple anyway.....they are deeeeelish and give me the sweet pick-me-up I need!
Happy Wednesday to you and thanks for stopping by!

In this house...

c/o

 

 I came across this and would love to put this in our home!

This wall decal is called "In This House..." and would be a great reminder for James and me, or anyone for that matter!

Happy Monday to you and always remember to be real, to forgive, and to love!

 

Now seriously....should I do it?! :)

Husband Humor & Happy Weekend!

So...I had a long day on Wednesday and had been home for atleast 3 hours

until I noticed the following on our counter........

 

I laughed....I mean really laughed!
James knew I need a little joy!
Husband sure knows how to lighten things up, I tell ya!

Here's to wonderful husbands and monkey phones. 
Go ahead....monkey around this weekend and have fun!
See you next week!

Posing for Patterns

The following pose is for you to see the funky pattern on my cool sweater!  Sweet, huh?!

Target Skirt, Long-Sleeve TShirt, and Flats, Herberger's Sweater 

 

So, I admit that sometimes I pose in silly stances and positions when James is taking some outfit photos.  It looks way better in my head when I'M picturing it, but when I see the photos afterwards I realize the reasoning behind the looks I get from James.  You know, "the one eyebrow up" look.....or sometimes I pose so awkwardly that I get "the two eyebrows up," like I got in the first photo of this post.  I just really wanted to show you all the pretty pattern on my sweater, seriously..I even said that right before James caught it on the camera. 

I'm pretty sure there are words for these type of poses...

James will say kind words like "that's unique"...."cute".....or my favorite: "you're crazy..........beautiful." 

What he really is trying to say, I guess I may never know. 

 

One thing I do know is that he IS proud to call me his, I can see it in his eyebrows!  

One. Full. Schedule.

Gap Cords (similar), Target Tshirt, Liz Claiborne sweater, Kohl's boots

Hey friends! James and I have had one. full. schedule. over here!
This is what are weekend and early week looked like, even though you probably don't need to know:
Friday night, we attended a going away party for James' grandparents, who flew back to Texas after a few months of stay.
Saturday morning, James cut wood for a few hours then helped me "bust a move" on the house while I baked and prepared for a party I hosted.  It was a "girl party" for young girls...no boys allowed! 
Saturday afternoon....the party took place from 1-5pm and during that time James went to our church to work 'cause we were having our first service at our new building on Sunday.  There was much work that still had to get done!
Saturday night we both were at the church for music practice and then finished working at the church at 12:45 AM on Sunday morning.
Sunday morning (later...) we were at church at 8AM and stayed after for a celebration that lasted until 2:30PM.
Sunday afternoon we took a small nap and then cleaned up the house.
Monday we both went to work and then James studied Monday night for a major test he is taking this Thursday (as in tomorrow) for work.
Tuesday we went to work and both had very busy days, then I refereed volleyball at a high school and then James studied until 8:30PM......................

TONIGHT we may crash or rest....whatever way you look at it.  All we know is that we persevered and made it through.  All these things were good things and exciting things....we just know that we now MUST rest.

If you think about it, pray that James passes his test tomorrow..with flying colors! 
It's kinda' a big deal!
  
Thanks and blessings to you this beautiful Wednesday!!
P.S. You may be wondering how I fit in an outfit picture throughout the last few days.  I really don't know the answer to that.....I just did somehow! :)

 

Happy Birthday Stephy!

Steph!  Happy Birthday to you!  You are so beautiful and your joy is lovely!  I hope that today, as always....you feel special! :)

I'm sending the biggest hug and kisses your way!  Know that I love you and look up to you....God has got one bright light shining in you!  Keep the Lord at the center and always in your heart! xo Tiff 



100th Post!

Wow! I can't believe I made it this far, already. 

It's my 100th post!  

Time really flies when you are having fun! My 100th post came up so fast that I didn't even realize it...until now! If I would have paid more attention, I could have prepared one hundred of my favorite things, or revealed one hundred outfits you could wear!  Never mind, I just thought about it and my favorite things would have probably wasted your time, and I don't want to do that, now do I!?  Also, you will probably see 100 outfits throughout the life of this blog and I'm just going to give them to you gently.  A few here and there and real life posts, recipes, and pictures of other things that inspire me in between all that.  Sound good to you?!  I hope so!

Some things I DO want to do through this blog:

1. Encourage You!

2. Inspire You!

3. Have fun!

If blogging ever turned into a task or burden for me....I would have to re-evaluate things.  Blogging is a great hobby for me and I have the opportunity to better my photography skills....maybe I will improve on that....it seems husband takes more photos with my camera than I do!

I really hope you have had fun so far...'cause I have!  Thanks for stopping by and I really hope you feel inspired some how. :)

 

 

..........................................................................

 

 

You may be surprised that my 100th post is actually about hunting up north in Minnesota....like I said, I didn't really plan this! :)

 

 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go pheasant and duck hunting for work.  I must say that I haven't picked up a gun in a year ...since the last time my work took me hunting! :)

We started hunting around 8:30AM and the weather was much colder than I thought it would be....there was snow...SNOW I tell ya'!!  Luckily the sun in the afternoon warmed things up and slowly melted everything.  It was beautiful!

 

I hope you enjoy these 100 pictures of the great outdoors!

Okay, not quite that many! ;) But, you do get to see one of my two ducks...whoohoo!

 

Thanks again for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!!!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I thought I would share a recipe with you today, which is something I normally don't do on my blog.  So, here it goes.

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 

 

I normally take time to make a crust from scratch, but time was short. 

 

Shhhh.....I used two Pillsbury Ready Crusts, but who cares, right?!

Sometimes you just got to do what you got to do. 

 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Then, pull out one crust and place it in an ungreased pie pan. 

Press firmly to make sure it covers. 

Allow some dough to hang over the edge.

 

Then, in a medium sized mixing bowl, place 2 cups of diced rhubarb (frozen or fresh) and 3-4 cups strawberries (frozen or fresh).

Then, add in the following ingredients and stir together:

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

 

Once mixed well, add 1 tsp of lemon juice and gently toss mixture again.

 Once everything is mixed together, pour ingredients into the prepared pie pan.

 Finally, take the second pie crust and place it over the pie, pinching the two pie crust together to seal the deal!  Poke a knife through the top pie crust at least 4-5 times, to allow your pie to breathe as it is baking.

 Place pie on a cookie sheet, to protect your oven if the pie bubbles over. 

Place pie on the center rack in your oven and bake for 20 mins.  Once 20 mins has passed, take the pie out and cover the edges of the crust with tin foil, so they don't burn for the remainder of the baking process.  Once you have cover the edges of the crust, place the pie back in the oven for 20-25 more mins.  The top crust should be golden brown when pie is done. 
Allow your pie to then cool on a cooling rack for 20-30 mins.  

 

Make sure you have some vanilla ice cream to go along with! Enjoy!

Yum!

 

XO Tiff

Socks Off

Burrrrrrrr...............it's gettin' a little chilly out these days.....

 

It's getting cold enough where I may have to start wearing socks on my feet.  That isn't so fun, 'cause if I had it my way, I would be barefoot ALL. DAY. LONG.  Who needs socks and shoes, anyways?! Hmmm.....okay, that may not go over very well in the office.  Sooooooooo, I guess I have to keep my "bare-footedness" at home. Oh bummer! 

 

I DO love the feeling of my barefeet on our beautiful, hardwood floors, though.  I can't quite tell you why...it's just nice and I feel a sense of security.  I mean,....when I wear socks stockings {you see....I like to call socks stockings....it sounds proper and it's fun to say :)} and have to run up the stairs....well, I just CAN'T!!  I have sort of a problem...I have to take it sloooooooooow or else I tend to fall UP the stairs more than I'd like to admit {please don't judge me, it happens to everyone, I think?}. 

Stockings are just too slippery!

 

I do know there IS an upside of wearing stockings, though....especially on hardwood floors! The best part of....okay, SOCKS!!!....is that you can run and slide on the floors while playing air guitar to your favorite music{oh yeah...you know you do it too}!!!  I guess I'll give into socks for that reason, and that reason ALONE.  What can I say?!....I play a mean air guitar. 

So, watch out...I may start rockin' YOUR socks off!

 

 

 

Patient with Change

 

James and I took photos in a nearby park, two weekends ago.  As we were sitting there, I couldn't help but notice change....how the leaves were changing....as we ALL see this when autumn comes our way.  I began to think about change. 

 

Many of us enjoy the changing of seasons.  It seems we can't wait for spring to come after a long cold winter.....when the blossoms come in springtime and fill the air with sweet perfumes.  Then, we can't wait for those blossoms to turn into green leaves blowing in the hot summer days!  Still, we eagerly await fall and it's magnificent colors: the trees turning red, orange, yellow, and then, brown.....as the leaves fall and so does the snow.  We love to see that fluffy stuff, just frosting the empty branches that glitter in the morning sunlight...still beautiful in their own way. 

 

We have a push and pull with the seasons: we love the existing one but can't wait for the next.  I wonder sometimes what God thinks?  He must think we are impatient.  He gives us today and the beauty that he created for today...not for tomorrow, but for today.  But, we just don't want to wait...we want what's next!  That got me thinking about where God has us, and sometimes where we WISH we could be!!

 

Sometimes we look around at the people in our lives and wish we could be where they are at in their life and where they are at in their faith.  But, God doesn't work like that.  God works through us and strengthens us...through a process.  This process may consist of some difficult times in our lives--even some testing times. These moments and seasons in our lives help build our character, strengthen our faith roots, equip us in our ability to do more for the One who is revealing to us our dependence on Him.  We may be at a point in our life today that we will have made it through by this time tomorrow, but we can't skip ahead.  The same goes for the trees.  There needs to be spring blossoms, to bring green summer leaves, fall colors, etc... The color of the trees today may not be the color they are tomorrow.  Also, the color changing process of one tree may be longer/shorter than another tree.  I saw some trees in the park still green and vibrant. Then, right next to those trees I saw the orange and yellow leaved tree vibrant in a different way {as in the photo above}.  That sighting moved my thoughts on to thinking about what God has called you and I to do.  God may be calling me where I am at right now to be vibrant and "green," while He may be calling you to be vibrant and "orange" in a different way for Him. 

 

What God calls us to do today, may change tomorrow or next year.  We can never remain the same...we must constantly be changing or "surrendering" more things to the One who holds our todays and our tomorrows.  God may call me to this place over here, today, to finish this one task He has put in my life....then He may call me to this next step over here to continue the plan He has set before me, and allow me to "change color."  Also, God's calling for my life is not going to be the same calling He has for your life.  There are many different personalities, talents, gifts that God has given each of us.  We each are at different points in our lives, so the "color changing" process is going to be different for each of us.  There is no need to be jealous of each other's "color" and level of "vibrancy" for God, just contentment and humbleness...knowing that God even chooses to use us each where we are at....that's amazing and what you call grace!  We can become more and more vibrant for God as we surrender more to him and as we put His Word in our hearts.  One calling that remains the same for all of us, though,is that God desires each of us to live our lives according to His will and not our own. 

 

Stand vibrant and colorful for God in the way He has called YOU to be and allow change to take place in your heart, soul, and mind!  Who knows....God may call you to be "orange" tomorrow....just be patient, YOUR next season will come and He's not done with you yet.  

 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few for you.

A few photos from our trip to Vegas:

 

The Bellagio Fountains:

Our Hotel:

Saw the Cique de Soleil show "LOVE," with our dear friends.

America Restaurant - This map hanging from the ceiling was amazing!

My snack on the airplane ride to Vegas, and back home.

The pretty view from the plane...on our way back to Minnesota.

 

This trip consisted of a lot of firsts for James and I:

First ever airplane flight {Not so fun for me on the way there, more relaxing on the way home}.

First ever Cirque de Soleil show.  We saw "LOVE"...an acrobatic and theatrical presentation with music from the Beatles... Ah-mazing!

First time watching the Bellagio fountains...beautiful!

First time in Vegas, for that matter!...

 

Overall, the trip was busy: some work and some sight-seeing/downtime, but fun....definitely fun! :)

 

Happy Monday, dear friends!