Tuesday, January 31, 2012

hayley // portraits





























(part one)
We took some time to snap some portraits on Saturday, but our picture-taking was short-lived outside. Let's face it, even us Minnesotan's have a limit in regards to the cold, and believe me, it was frigid. Even for January. With the wind stinging, we laughed in the midst of our teeth chattering and tried to bend our frozen fingers. So we retreated inside and had a cup of coffee or two (this shouldn't be a surprise), and decided to finish our picture-taking indoors.

Some of my favorite shots.

Monday, January 30, 2012

monkey bread and many laughs














I like to heart-to-heart talks, the kind where you cannot help but feel inspired, encouraged, and challenged. Preferably over coffee, I love sharing my heart. I'm learning to listen more and to truly invest in people -- learning to be silent and let their words spill out instead of me demanding mine be heard. When you take time to listen to someone else's story, it's a beautiful thing.

My sweet friend, Hayley, has been on the blog a few times before. I stayed over at her house the other night and we had such a fun time. As both of us love to cook (seriously, we discussed how we'd love to study at Le Cordon Bleu if it wasn't so expensive), we made some monkey bread for breakfast. Last time I was over, we made homemade cinnamon rolls, and the time before that, we baked a Boston Creme Pie. We weren't so fancy this time, and just opted for a quick recipe on the back of a Pillsbury biscuit container. Pre-made dough or not, it was delicious.

It's not so much the elaborateness of a meal that makes it memorable, but the quality of the gathering and the friends you share it with. For us, it was just two talking over coffee, laughing as we stuffed ourselves silly on monkey bread and fruit salad. And knowing me, I had to take some pictures. There's a second set I'm excited to share, but for now, here's a little bit of my weekend. So blessed by this girl's friendship! She's on fire for Jesus and is going places.

ps. posting on Fernweh today! take a look.

Friday, January 27, 2012

a normal thursday afternoon at our house.











2:15 (or so) in the afternoon rolls around, and we'll usually find Grace sitting at the table next to the window (midday sun streaming hot inside) with a book in her hand. She's so serious when she reads, unlike the rest of the time. What's an everyday occurrence at your home? My family has become very talented in the fine art of ignoring a camera, which I'm glad of. I like real-life, not "now pretend you're reading! now smile" kinda shots. Happy Friday!