Word / 3

Sometimes with my prayer journal I just pick a verse and doodle. And as I color and draw in the verse I really meditate on its meaning or what it means to me in that moment. That has been one of the most wonderful parts of having a prayer journal for me, just simply being able to focus on what I'm going through at different points in my life. It's less confining than a traditional devotional. And personally I find it more rewarding.

Recently I've been struggling with so many things in life. From the loss of a loved one to job changes and car frustrations it's been a totally shitty year. In this difficult season I've found myself questioning my faith over and over again. Which is frankly just plain uncomfortable. This week I was not feeling like doing my journal at all. For inspiration I opened up my pinterest Jesus board and just picked one that spoke to me. After reading the verse and doodling I went into my bible app and read the chapter. And afterwards I felt as though it was the perfect chapter for me to read. For weeks I had been questioning why for so many different things. This verse reminds me that I just don't need to know the whys of everything at the exact moment that I want to know them. That's the purpose of faith and trusting in God. And instead of letting go of control and trusting in my faith I was holding hard onto the control I thought I had. I don't know why I have such a need to control my life and environment. Unfortunately that need is my biggest challenge in my walk with Jesus. This week was such a good reminder in the power of prayer and the importance of spending a little bit of time everyday digging into my bible and getting closer to God.  After praying about my seriously wounded heart I feel slightly better. I'm not going to lie and say I prayed and now everything is perfect. Prayer doesn't do that. But I do feel more at peace with the loss of my dear Papa and more grounded in terms of all the other craziness going on in my life right now. Hopefully I wont need a reminder again anytime soon. 

Jesus replied, "you don't understand what I'm doing now, but someday you will."  -John 13:7 

xo Sam

Disneyland / Day 3

Disneyland day three was pretty spectacular. We always do a three day park hopper. Day three is super bittersweet because we never want to leave. We had such a perfect Disney trip. We're going to try to knock out a few other trips off our bucket list in the next few years so it will be a while before we make it back to Disneyland. In the mean time we will cherish the pictures and memories from this trip until the next time. Hopefully our next visit will include star wars world! 

I put our first two days up on the blog earlier, check out Day 1 and Day 2  

xo Sam

Week Notes / 7

This week I made Christmas cookies. And Joey and I really are trying to build traditions and enjoy the season this year. So far we've had a lot of fun watching Christmas specials and opening the next card in our advent calendar. We put our Christmas tree up this week too. And it didn't necessarily go as planned. It was bitterly cold and I felt like complete garbage. Joey ended up picking a tree up on his way home from snowboarding and putting it up while I made us soup. He's a keeper guys. For real. I love Christmas and I just cannot get enough of it. Now i'm just praying for snow because I really want a white Christmas this year. 

Somehow in our crazy busy week, (finals and retail during the holidays, we're both beyond busy) Joey found the time to take me out on a date to a cute Thai place downtown. Thai tea is my favorite even though it was literally 15 degrees outside. After we went and got a bag full of saltwater taffy from the candy store. I really love our little town sometimes. 

Links
Dark red nail polish is my favorite for the holidays.
I do love a good whiskey drink.
Also avocado toast is making it's way into my breakfast routine.
This Christmas cookie recipe is absolutely perfect. I'm making them for my team at work today.

xo Sam

Christmas Decorations For Someday

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Christmas is my favorite. Not so much the holiday itself but the season. The lights, the holiday cheer, the decorations all over town and the traditions that turn into the absolute best memories. Christmas is just plain special. Decorating for the Christmas season is one of my favorite things to do all year. But we live in a pretty tiny apartment. Compared to our California digs it's huge. But storage and just over all space is limited. Because of this spacial issue I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to Christmas that is mostly saved for someday projects. Since I can't actually use these holiday decor ideas this year I picked my ten favorites to share with you!

Geneva over at a pair & a spare dreamed up this pretty fairy lights tree. Personally I would probably skip the fairy lights and go with twinkle lights. I'm kind of a sucker for twinkle lights. And I would love to put this in an entry way.

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Snowflakes are my favorite. And this DIY from Laura over at A Beautiful Mess is at the top of my someday list. The second we had a space for it I'll be begging my sweet husband to whip it up for me.

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Who doesn't love a good Christmas card? Receiving cards from all of our loved ones every year is such a beautiful tradition. For now I hang all of our cards on the kitchen cabinets attached to a ribbon with clothespins. Someday I would love to make this little frame to display them. And during the rest of the year I can keep it up and hang invitations and announcements. Obviously the wreath would come down after Christmas. Also I'd go with a rosemary one instead because they smell so good!

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I'm a sucker for pretty little signs A few different Christmas sayings throughout the house would be a lovely a subtle way to decorate for the holidays!

xo Sam

Disneyland / Day 2

Disneyland day two was just the two of us. We had a super low key day filled with our favorite things. The best part about going just the two of us is being able to do whatever we want. We hit all of our favorite rides, ate all our favorite Disney snacks and took our time enjoying the little things. My favorite part of vacation is being able to just focus on each other without all the distractions of everyday life.

To see our first day at Disney check out Disneyland / Day 1.

xo Sam