Saturday's Devotion

I loved the devotion from "Jesus Calling" for today so I thought I'd share it with you! If you haven't picked up this little devotional before its sweet and an easy read for those who struggle with finding a devotion that they like!

Rest in me, my child. This time devoted to Me is meant to be peaceful, not stressful. You don't have to perform in order to receive My love. I have boundless, unconditional love for you. How it grieves Me to see My children working for love; trying harder and harder, yet never feeling good enough to be loved.

Be careful that your devotion to Me does not become another form of works. I want you to come into My presence joyfully and confidently. You have nothing to fear, for you wear My own righteousnes. Gaze into My eyes, and you will see no condemnation, only Love and delight in the one I see. Be blessed as My face shines radiantly upon you, giving you peace.

John 15:13; Zephaniah 3:17; Numbers 6:25-26

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Insta-Friday Newlywed Addition

It's been a while since I've participated in Insta-Friday. You see, life was pretty nuts for a while but now I have time to settle back into normal.

As a bride you hear about this absence you feel once the wedding is over, and I find myself feeling so relieved. Especially after all of the positive feedback from our friends and family, I feel at peace with the entire event and so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to get married! God truly provided peace when I needed it most, and we trust that He is continually providing it for us in our newly married life!

Here's a few favorites from the last week (or so):

Em and I bachelorette-ing it up! 

Snuggling with my besties on my bed for the last time...

loved my bride jacket!!

My fancy, beautiful bridesmaids!

No caption needed :)

YAY! we're married!!

And we get to enjoy our grooms cake! It was delicious.

We like being married, a lot.

Just one of our incredible gifts. My childhood babysitter got us these, having not seen me in at least 10 years. She didn't know we were huge Disney fans! How amazing is that!

I hung up our guest book tree from the wedding and I couldn't be happier, it's so cute!

Life is now about job hunting, home organizing, and learning how to cook. Somewhat mundane, but I'm so excited for what this season has to offer!

xo

Linking up with Jeanett from Life Rearranged!

Farewell, Summer.

Word on the street is that summer's over.

Oh really? You should come and live in Gilroy with us, summer's still alive and well down in Garlic land.

Our poor landlord might shriek when he see's the electric bill, sorry dude, the AC stays on all night if you want either of us to sleep!

All of that being said, this summer was one of my favorite summers of all.

I got to fly to the PNW (Pacific Northwest) to surprise Ash at her graduation. 

Mel and I schemed and pulled off a fantastic surprise, it was truly one of my favorite weekends with these girls. 

I flew to Milwaukee to watch my cousin get married!

I was blessed with three amazing showers. 

I celebrated my 22nd birthday.

We celebrated four years of dating.

And finally...

you totally saw this one coming.

We got to celebrate the best day ever. 

ever ever ever ever.

Goodbye, summer.

You sure treated me well.

Mug Swap Recap: Late but Worth the Wait!

I love snail mail.

I love it even more when there is goodies inside, from a mysterious new friend!

I also love mugs.

And I'm lucky enough to know CuppaKim (Kim) in real life and in blog land so I was eagerly anticipating her yearly mug swap blogiversary.

My lovely mug swap partner Amy blew me away with her fun package!! Not only did I get a new mug, I got two new mugs! One modern, bold colored one that I had been eying at Target (of course), and a sweet vintage one that tickles my old soul.  Also included, some awesome notecards, a new bangle, and some tea, emergenC, and sweet tarts. I feel like I hit the mug swap lotto!

Cue squeal as I opened my box!

Vintage mug LOVE. I love the simple lines with the pop of color!

Turquoise and orange big mug love. I love me a mug that fits a heaping amount of coffee, and that's just what this does!

For the love of cute..

Amy, thanks for all of the lovely goodies! I couldn't have asked for a better mug swap partner!!

I love blog swaps, they are so fun to participate in and you make a new friend at the same time. Kim, you should have a blogiversary celebration twice a year...I don't think anyone will mind ;)

And one last one: In addition to drinking from my coffee cup, they are also fashion accessories in which I like to match with. Note, turquoise walls and orange shirt.

Marriage: We Give It Two Thumbs (way) Up

We're back!
And for the first time life isn't crazy and hectic, it's just plain wonderful.

Marriage rocks.
It's hard to explain the complexity of emotions and feelings, but we've been enjoying every minute of it.

We enjoy so much recounting the memories of the wedding. It went by so quickly and we each had different experiences, and every couple hours we say "holy crap, we're married!".

 I love some of the pictures that have been posted too! We are so lucky to live in the time of Instagram and Facebook. To have the tremendous support through these medias has been an incredible blessing to Seth and I.

We can't pick our favorite moment of the whole day, there are just too many. We are overwhelmed and overjoyed and just quite express enough gratitude.

Marriage: We give it two thumbs up.

Also, for those who asked where I got the Disney ears...I ordered them online and Seth had no idea they existed until after the ceremony. It was definitely a top moment of the day surprising him with them :)

xo

1 week

I didn't expect this week to be as much of an emotional roller coaster as it has turned out to be.

I'm exhausted, unable to sleep without bad wedding dreams (todays happened to be waking up on the wedding day with no teeth). 

I'm ready for the planning to be over and for life to begin with Seth, I just want to be married...is that so much to ask?!

I'm ready for the party to start, my friends to be in town, and the errands to be over with.

I'm ready to finally be the bride, to step out of my role as DIY wedding queen and into the pampered life for a few hours.

For months I poured over my wedding pinterest board, longed to finally buy a wedding planning binder, and ripped and snipped my way through wedding magazines...but there's a time for every bride when she just wants it to be over! 

So here I am, 7 days to go and more excited than ever to be Seth's bride. There is so much anticipation and excitement running through me!

That being said, I probably won't be back on the blog for a little while!

Three cheers for one more week!

Hip, hip, hooray!

Thankful

I've done a lot of ranting, raging, and complaining lately. 

I could sit here and blame the wedding stuff, but I also need to fess up and tell you that my attitude has been rather negative.

I guess that's what happens when you put other priorities before the Lord, every single time it knocks me down and He gently picks me back up and puts me back on track.

"This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life."

1 Timothy 1:15-16

Today, I am thankful for many things, maybe so many because I haven't stopped to think in a while how blessed I really am. 

Church family

Encouraging friends

Friends that are always willing to help

Friends that bring you wine when you are overwhelmed

Parents who provide

Family that is wacky (not always a bad thing)

Childhood memories recalled

Fiancee's that will do anything to make you smile and surprise you with a HUGE bowl of frozen yogurt

Generous In-laws

Creative friends that help with last minute decorations

And now for the list of inanimate objects:

Super cute coffee mugs

Non-chewed up nails

Comfortable childhood beds

Early morning puppy snuggles

This practice is so easy, and instantly fixes my mood. As the next two weeks get crazier than ever before, I want to practice thankfulness every day!!

Also, 13 days. That is CRAY-ZAY.