Artsy

Skirt - Urban Outfitters

Sweater - Target

Other Sweater - H&M

Boots!! - Steve Madden

I'm going a bit outside of my comfort zone today. I wanted to wear this skirt and I thought tonight would be perfect since I'm going to a co-worker's house for dinner with other people from work. They're all pretty artsy so... it fits :P

God bless!!

Headscarves II

I now have a small obsession....

with headscarves.

O well =D
God bless!

Side-of-the-Cup Cookies!

That was one of my stocking stuffers this year and I couldn't wait to try it out! I used the shortbread recipe on the back:

2 cups softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups flour

Once cut out, chill for half an hour then bake at 350 for 12 mins. 
Make sure you let them harden and cool down before trying to put them on the side of a mug -- they will break!

 Add some sprinkles:

And there ya go!

Pour in your favorite tea, coffee or what be it & enjoy!

God Bless!

Head Scarf!

My friend Phillip told me I was the first real hipster he's ever met and I think it's gone to my head :P I experimented with a scarf last night and made it a headband :

 Scarf - Passport to Peru (an awesome local store in Cleveland!)

Some friends from highschool are getting together tonight and I decided not to dress up but keep it comfy and casual.

 The sweater is an old one from my mom. No idea where it came from!

 Belt and Jeans - Target

Yea, I'm cool.

not. at. all.

:D

I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful advent and blessed, joyful Christmas! God bless!

And I'll be your hope when you feel like its over
And I will pick you up when your whole world shatters
And when you're finally in my arms
Look up and see love has a face

I am with you
I will carry you through it all
I won't leave you I will catch you
When you feel like letting go
Cause you're not, you're not alone.

Matthew 15:34, 37: "Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."

...They all ate and were satisfied." Jesus, thank you for giving us food for the journey!

How Awesome is JPII?

So the above video is funny and joking but the quotes they picked from JPII really touch me right now.

"You are redeemed by Him and taken up in His love. If the Son frees you, you'll be free indeed. He's the way, the Truth and the life indeed."

This Advent...

I wish you all a most blessed Advent. I pray that it is a time of reflection, preparation and quiet so that you may better receive your Lord at Christmas. Every year I understand the gift of the liturgical seasons a little bit better and each year I am in awe of the meaning in and gift of them. I hope you will be able to find time in your day, carve out time to prepare for the celebration of the King of kings.
God bless!

MEH

I got my camera fixed! So the outfit posts are back!

Shirt - Old Navy

Shirt - H&M

Skirt - Target

It snowed the other day but today was really warm. I can't wait for snow, colder weather and Christmas. Actually, I'm excited for Advent because I bought a new devotional just for it. It's going to be helpful.

Owl bracelet - Etsy

Anchor bracelet - Anchor

Lately, with the semester ending in a few weeks, I've been ridiculously stressed and so been living in sweats. BUM STATUS!

anyway..

Have a great day =)

Worn

I am so tired. And not just the sleep-deprived kind. I'm tired of being busy and anxious. I'm tired of putting my trust in things and people that ultimately cannot be there for me, simply because its not in their nature. I'm tired of sin. I'm tired of living my life aimlessly, vaguely trying to do whatever I can to get to heaven and doing whatever I can to please God. I'm tired of failing at it. 

But, as usual, God has amazing timing. Advent is coming up, right around the corner, and that's exactly what I need. Advent is a penitential season, even though most people don't treat it like it is. Advent is a time to prepare for Jesus, the one who came to give new life to a tired world. I am going to use this Advent the way it is intended to be used, as a time to get rid of the things in life that weigh us down and make us tired, to make room for the Savior of the world and the giver of life to come into our souls and transform us. Because Christians ultimately aren't called to be worn, but to live a life full of light in the Holy Spirit.

Fiat lux!

Coffee, Confession, Mass, Tea & Poems

11am - wake up & bake cookies!
2pm - Get to Phoenix Coffee (now 'Coffee Phix') and sit down with a Devil's Brew (coffee with espresso) and a chocolate chip scone. Nom nom nom :) and start copying poems into my journal.
3pm - Head over to St.Greg's for confession, adoration & Mass.
5:30pm - Back to Phoenix where I finish copying some poems into my poetry journal while sipping some yummy Chamomile tea in the travel mug I bought there.

"Morning has broken...

coffee can fix it."

Come back home, make some baked potatoes and watch Lord of the Rings 3, Return of the King.

Pretty chill day =) God bless!

Anberlin Live!

Friday :
WOW.
I went to my first Anberlin concert Friday night-- wow. The opening bands were really talented, we were up near the front and I was really enjoying myself. Then Anberlin came on... dang! They give an awesome show. There was also this incredible feeling in singing along to some of your favorite songs with the lead singer just feet away from you! I was singing as loud as I could, jumping, head banging...ya know :P I don't know how to describe the feel of it; all I can say is that I'm so glad I went. I've never experienced anything like it.
After the concert we went to iHop and now (at 2am) I am finally back at my dorm. 
What a wonderful night after a really stressful week. God always provides :]

Oh! The lead singer of Anberlin has a blog -- check it out!

Sunday:
My friend Jonathan drove Ben, Joe and I to CVS, treated us to Coldstone, drove us around (blasting Toby Mac), ran a few red lights, freaked out & then pulled over at a church where we stood around a statue of Mary prayed, sung the Salve Regina, got back into the car & almost ran into a road block. It was awesome =]

The statue of Mary we stopped at tonight.

God Bless :)

An Awesome Reflection From My Friend Kevin

"So do you remember that first time you rode a bicycle without the training wheels? I do and it was terrifying. But anyways I remember that my dad had my hand on his back as we started to move forward. As I gained more and more speed and control over the bike, I slowly felt my dads hand slip away. I may not have noticed exactly when it came off, but once I realized it was off, I'm not gonna lie, I got a big too confident with myself. I thought i was a hotshot who could ride a bike without my dad and what happened? I fell to the ground. I yelled for my dad to come help me cause i was trapped under the bike. Now I only got a few brush burns, but to me, this was a big deal. It was pain that my dad said that I wouldn't get, and I didn't want to get back on the bike. But eventually, he convinced me to try again and hop back on the bike, and what happened this time? well... I fell again. I wasn't the most coordinated child. But my dad never gave up on me until that day that I could finally take off the training wheels and ride that bike by myself. I knew that my dad had let go, but at the same time, I knew that he was still watching me, and if I got hurt, he would be there quickly to help me. So why am I telling you about this? (cause I doubt any of you really care about the first time I rode a bike) Well today I was thinking. And riding a bike isn't much different than our relationship with God. It is scary at first when you decide to take that leap of faith, but our problems do not go away after that. At first, It is an amazing feeling, you know your God is there and you know that your God will keep you moving in the right direction. But eventually, it seems as though God has let go, now at first, you may be like me, and be over confident saying psh well I don't even need God, I can do this by myself and it leads us to sinning and doing things that hurt us. We end up feeling alone, like a helpless child with no strength. But when we finally call for God and beg for his help, he comes rushing to our side to pick us back up, put us on our feet and get us moving in the right direction. Now, there are going to be many more times that we fall, and that's a scary thought, but as long as we cry out for help, our God will always be there in an instant to help us back up on our feet again. He will always be there to help you heal. He will always be there to easy your suffering, but you have to turn to him. We have to accept him as our God, the Almighty, who can save us from anything that we have been through, and eventually it will seem as though God has let go of us once again, but we know our God is watching and we will be fine, so we keep moving forward. I don't know where you guys are right now in your spiritual life. Maybe you feel like God isn't really holding onto you anymore? Well know he is still there looking at you, and the only reason he let go was because he knew you could keep moving forward, even if you didn't know. Maybe you feel like God has abandoned you and you don't really need him? Turn back to God so you don't get hurt. Realize you need Him in your life in order to keep going down the same road. Maybe you feel like you have fallen. Like God has abandoned you and no matter what he is not going to forgive you for your sins. Call to Him, He will always be there. No matter where you are with your spiritual lives right now, keep moving."

Tired Tuesday

My friend Joe bought me G.K. Chesterton's book on St. Thomas Aquinas (for 1 dollar :P ) I started reading it today since I was too stressed to face homework and --gosh-- it was wonderful to just relax and read a book that hasn't been assigned for class.

Let Him love you, let Him comfort you. Allow Him into your heart and He will conquer. You are so loved that the God of all creation comes down intimately, humbly, graciously to give you His presence. He waits for you, He calls for you; He wants you to approach, be healed and rest, falling head over heals into the ocean of His love; waiting, cooling, refreshing.
He wants to fill your life with joy! He wants you to delight in Him and come to know Him to the best of your abilities. He wants you to ask for the grace that you need. He has given you Himself already, what then would He refuse?

That's Him, your Beloved Lord. Let Him love you...

Today...

I visited my high school where I got to hang out with my old classmates and attend a high mass (gorgeous). After school I got a scone and iced coffee from my favorite coffee shop, went birthday shopping for my dad with my mom am now relaxing in my room. *sigh* O fall break, how I love thee.

Also, I am loving  obsessed with Flyleaf's new album New Horizons. Check it out! You won't be sorry :)

October Awesomeness

- Sitting across from my guy, listening to awesome music by Flyleaf and Anberlin, and feeling like I may be able to write a devotional after all.

- My Saturday holy hour (and just adoration in general).

- A latte on a cold fall day.

- Walking and running through beautiful leaves.

- Developing a craving for salads :P

- Just, ya know, having the God of the universe available to talk to whenever. And being able to consume the King of kings and the Love of my life in daily Mass... ya know... nbd ;) 

- Also, having the best friend in the whole wide world to patiently listen to you cry,whine and stress and then comfort me.

- Getting a package from home with my mom's traditional pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They taste like...home :)

- Getting a belated birthday present from Matthew -- he gave me a pair of really gorgeous earrings.

- Taking a hot shower after freezing outside for 10hours.'Twas heavenly. Then changing into warm sweatpants and a hoodie -- Bum Status!

- Getting alot of new music for free (thank you, flash drives.)

- My weird friend! Last night Ben stole my hat and had it in his holy hour. Joe (who is in his holy hour) sees Ben with my hat and as he leaves, steals Ben's pipe. Joe then calls me, laughing hysterically, that he put Ben's pipe under Jesus' arm in our nativity scene. "He's surrounded by flowers and there's now a pipe next to him!"

O, people :)

Have a wonderful day & God bless!!

From the Colors of Fall...Indescribable.

This gorgeous fall afternoon, Molly and I went on a walk with our friends Ben and Jonathan and took some photos -- I thought I'd share them (it also doubles as an outfit post! *cha ching*!)

Isn't she so beautiful?!

I love the way she dresses; so simple, classic, modest -- just like her :)

She really knows how to dress for her body and what flatters her.

She's gorgeous.

Shirt - Forever 21

(absolutely gorgeous) Scarf - Avenue

Molly&Me

Boots - Avenue

Jeans - Gap

She's so gorgeous & I'm a weirdo :P

My Lord and my God, thank You the gift of beauty! 

Thank You for gorgeous weather and faithful, awesome friends.

Scarf - ModCloth.com

Shoes - Nordstrom Rack

Have a wonderful day&God Bless :)

Simple Joys!

1.) This gorgeous fall weather :) leaves everywhere, an occasional brisk wind, a brilliant blue sky and tights and boots everywhere! 

2.) Megan Dougherty & Hank Gettinger's wedding!
It was the first really Catholic wedding I've been to. The prayer before communion has especially stuck in my mind but the whole wedding was focused on God and it was so beautiful. There was so much joy and love... it was awesome :)

so beautiful & happy!

4.) This new laptop decal:

5.) Decorating (ninja style) Molly's room for her birthday.. and seeing her reaction!

We also cooked her dinner :)

6.) Anberlin's new album Vital. SO GOOD!!

7.) Getting good feedback from one of my literature teachers. It was perfect timing since I had been feeling like I was hopeless as a writer and failing that class.

"Liz, you start out good, but then lose your Thesis. Still, good prose."

This really smart, awesome, knowledgeable literature professor referred to my writing as "good prose"? I knew I didn't fully understand the thesis of the essay I was summarizing, but it's comforting to know I may have a skill with which to work... once my brain decides to catch up :P

God bless & have a wonderful day!