link love.

oh hello friend.
is brilliant.

yep, they're all mine: for the love of lists, subtitled: why i love yoga.
darn, this makes me miss it. and the yoga place just upped their session price from $12 to $15.

penne a la betsy?
flippin' amazing. i love seafood.
i am going to make that someday. soon. i am.

a caffeine addict's guide to the world: slideshow.
after browsing through that and reading this, i will never be surprised by how anyone takes their coffee.

i want to buy this. i don't care if it's from britain...[we don't normally go for sellers outside of the u.s. but a good record? why not.] which reminds me. i have a post to write about swing dancing. :) that's why i want this dress. it would be perfect.

in the end, that dress would still be cheaper than this blue velvet vintage dress.

a paris shower curtain? well gosh, why not. hahah. and it's from target. the place of decent prices. ;) well, compared to the triple digit price it might be if it came from bed bath and beyond or anthro. :P

aaaaaand i did a guest post for the lovely ladaisi! she published it today, so hop on over there and see what's going down. it's about books. you might like it. :)

me and my daddy.

♥
me and daddy :)
once in a blue moon, we actually get a picture together. and tonight [early december], after looking up maps for someplace he's going tomorrow, i opened my webcam program. :)
kind of a memorable night. :) it makes me smile.

thursday night. and lots of life.

 all but the top right corner dress is from blue velvet vintage.

i started writing this friday. christmas eve eve, as some would call it.
but . . . i haven't posted it because hardly anything is written. i was waiting for even a slightly witty time of writing to come by so you wouldn't just be reading shortcut, obvious explanations of a line up of pictures.
ahem.

so i'll try to fill in some blanks and all that with this mug of egg nog coffee by my side. what a lovely christmas eve.

as i was starting to write in the latest link love post, the reason why i want it, is because last night i went swing dancing for the first time in too long. i forgot how fun it is. how much i love the music. and the twirling. and the funny old men with awesome old fashioned shoes.

which reminds me. my beloved sister, anna, was just telling me that, apparently, now that i have a boyfriend, all i ever post is link love anymore. "when are you going to blog about swing dancing? your poor blog people who follow you, you never post anymore!" she told me.
ah.
so.

 top picture, left to right: my sister anna, kelly, martha & stuart, 

catfish [aka richard] & lauren, nancy, anna.

we went for dinner at sven's cafe.
i ordered a melty artichoke panini. and a cappuccino.

it arrived.
and i was surprised; my first cappuccino art ever. strange, i know. but i've never asked for it before, nor have i been to a place that just gives you a beautiful masterpiece by default. sigh.
it kind of made my night. :)
and everyone who noticed sighed and shook their head over my excited nerding-out over my cappuccino, with nikon in hand. 

:)

you've never heard it said or thought that i've ever been obsessed with coffee, right?
well, i have news for you . . .

anna loved mine so much, she wanted coffee after she finished dinner, so she ordered herself a cappuccino. she got a lovely flower. :)

 martha, me, anna, my sister anna, nancy, lauren.

us ladies. catfish was kind enough to put up with my nikon and take some for us. [he likes sony, i guess. :P]

thank you, catfish, for that great face. :) 
before-dancing group picture. :) everyone else was out on the floor with the lesson.
like stuart. that's why he's not in this shot with us.
now for some dancing . . . a grabbed a few pictures after i danced a song or two.

funny thing . . . whenever i get a chance to capture anna dancing . . . it always happens to be her least favorite dance partner. el oh el. not pictured here.

me and little zechariah, sarah and justin's little guy. :)

. . . me and my dear younger sister, rach. :)

reese. being a funny little dude. licking the window of the cold front door while we waited for his daddy to come pick him up.

rach and me, sometime this past week. smoking pretzels.

rach and me. once again. she instagram'd it. lol. doesn't everyone these days???

sunday morning. me and zechariah. kisses in the kitchen. :)
he was a tired little guy. :)

see? this was not 15 minutes later. :)
out like a light in rach's arms.

in other news, this week i have been consulting pioneer woman's site for new recipes to make for dinner. more on that some other time, probably.
in short, snapping out of a bored culinary spell brings good things to the kitchen table. ;)
i'm off to get into some dressy clothes and proceed to join the huge gathering of dad's side of the family at grandma t's for an indian food themed night . . . so, happy christmas eve and day to you! ♥
if this isn't an update on my life, i don't know what is.

peace.

And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

[philippians 4:7, amplified]

this, and sara groves' rendition of it is well with my soul. [found on spotify.;)]

and most of bethel live's music. mhmm. 

♥

search words and the like. :)

first of all, a song.

second of all, a post called

the weight of waiting.

by them chandlers. so. good. hardly any words for it.

third of all, the title subject:
search keywords:
limitless tattoo   
hillsong   
hillsong united   
i will be seeing you soon ♥   
sandwich chair definition   
josh garrels
limitless tattoos   
love artistic   
sunrise through a window   
swing dress

um, wow?
where on earth does "sandwich chair definition" come into play??
what the heck.

in other news, dad is watching the first season of white collar.
and anna is getting the second season for christmas....which we haven't watched yet....so we're kind of excited. :) family move night shall be reinstated once again.

how nice to have someone meet you at the end of a journey.

“How nice to have someone meet you at the end of a journey!” she cried, as she stepped off the train at Glen St. Mary into Gilbert’s waiting arms. She could never be sure Gilbert would meet her … somebody was always dying or being born … but no homecoming ever seemed just right to Anne unless he did. And he had on such a nice new light-grey suit! (How glad I am I put on this frilly eggshell blouse with my brown suit, even if Mrs. Lynde thought I was crazy to wear it traveling. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have looked so nice for Gilbert.)

[via Anne of Ingleside]

creamy chicken spaghetti.

lots of mushrooms.
that's the key to happiness.
creamy chicken spaghetti.
brought to you by the awesome pioneer woman! heck yeah.
seriously, make this.
everyone loves it.
[well, except for the mushroom haters and the olive haters...but oh well. they can go fry themselves an egg on toast. this dish rocks.]

there....there is a lot of this in it. that's how it turned out so good. ;)
but....who's afraid to live a little? not me.
el oh el.
or, as so and so once said....

I know it’s bathing suit season and we all need to be more conscious of every bite that enters our yappers so we can all look great in our bikinis.

But here’s the awesome part: I haven’t worn a bikini since 1993! It was in Bermuda. I was on a vacation with my kid sister Betsy and I wore that bikini like there was no tomorrow. I think deep down I must have sensed that the time was drawing near that “bikini” would one day be as foreign to me as “clean car” or “empty hamper.” And I enjoyed every minute of it.

Anyway, now that I don’t wear bikinis and worry about every fat gram and every tenth of a pound…I get to eat things like this!

And you can eat things like this, too! Just bury that sucker in your hope chest forever and enjoy life a little. [via this recipe post by the brilliant ree]

tell me she isn't brilliant. 
come on. 
after tonight, i have realized that the ultimate compliment to one's culinary attempts/struggles/triumphs is "that...is naughty...." said, of course, with a smile, and a reluctant hand setting the fork down next to an empty plate that has seen seconds. ;)

i really want to try making her cajun chicken pasta sometime... ohmagosh, yes.

photo credit: the pioneer woman.

link love.

a little family addition.
i really want one. kinda. yes. someday. :)

10 unforgettable wedding moments.

this video. my younger siblings have this memorized. no flippin' joke. 

five things i wish someone would have told me: the real world.
i'll probably be featuring vintch every other post for the rest of my blogging life. ah.

this. mhmmm. i think i should paint it or something.

wedding wednesday: etiquette.
i love the idea of freedom to do anything.

the realistic guide to love.
interestingness.


a gentleman's guide to surviving the 21st century.
the first post of the like.


a gentleman's guide to staying cool in the 21st century.
good stuff, that. i mean, from my perspective and all.

a gentleman's guide to surviving the 21st century.
the first post of the like.


a good woman's guide to the 21st century.
hah. i kinda like this guy's writing.
no....i'm not poetic. nope.


the good fight.

something charming: oh, how pinteresting!
bucket list items with darling pictures.

the end:)

DCILY: if five year olds can make espresso . . .

ohmagosh. cuteness.
found here:)

seriously, how perfect.

introducing . . . one of my best, sappiest finds . . . ever.
anne and gilbert tumblr.
mhmmm.

"She was his at last, this evasive, long-sought Anne, won after years of patient waiting."

saaaaaaaaaaap.
can you spell sap?

sigh.

i can too :)

my night:

this little guy...zechariah. mhmm, the cutie from that post. :)

and this little girlie...eliyah, his older sister.
them, plus danny, plus minestrone soup and the rest of my family....
and....vanilla twilight.
mhmmm.

black coffee.

Black Coffee - The Careless Lovers (The Official Music Video) from Joon Chang on Vimeo.

[laughing]
ohhh my.
i love that.
it's so odd. and hilarious. and awesome.
how do you take your coffee? ever drink it black?