Snowflake-d Horse

White Christmas

White Christmas in the south! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Michelle, I love the snowman :)

SNOW!

The first white Christmas of my entire life!

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd the flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace."

Micah 5:2-5

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Isaiah 9:6,7

"But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Luke 1:30-33

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Wishing you much Love, Peace, and Happiness that the true meaning of Christmas brings!

winter inspiration

thank you anthropologie. please check this out. beautiful.

http://theanthropologist.net/#/Urnatur/BackToBasics/Pictures

A Cup of Tea

Sorry, guys, I've been out of commission for a couple weeks, studying for yet another test. But this kept me alive:

Love the packaging, isn't it fun?! And no caffeine...Buy it here.

Sketchbook Project...

How are y'all's sketchbooks coming along for the Sketchbook Project? Mine still has many blanks pages left to fill. The tour says our sketchbooks will be in Atlanta on April 8-9. We might have to take a trip to see them!!

Home Sweet Home

This was our first big snow fall!

(and supposedly the white stuff won't go away until April!!)

troubles...

does anyone have as much trouble as I do with uploading photos and positioning them in a new blog post? I've been trying to position my thanksgiving photos the past hour and can't get them the way I want them! agh!

thanksgiving, finally :)

thanksgiving location: grandma's and grandpa's house

football throwin', hula-hooping, delicious food,

aunts and uncles, grandparents and parents

cousins and siblings, lots of laughter, picture-taking

front porch sittin', and much thanks felt.

I can say this--my sis and I mastered the art of hula-hooping this thanksgiving!

tryptophan haze

a real fine thanksgiving!

My Thanksgiving

I am thankful for...

-


-

pretty rainbow unicorns!
They make me laugh :)

Pic(k) of the (Thanksgiving) Week:

www.375squarefeet.tumblr.com

day-before-Thanksgiving

I think...

we should all post

at least one photo

of our Thanksgiving festivities!

So, the days following Thanksgiving,

post and share what you did

with your family/friends. :)

Pic(k) of the Week:

What better way to spend a Saturday morning than at an enormous flea market?

Longer post arriving on my blog soon...

A Touch of Inspiration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqcjgJCDuw

The Baker

I present to you...

The beautiful and talented Miss Lori Fine.

I just wanted to let ya'll know...

I'm doing it!

Pic(k) of the Week:

What is this strangely decorated place you ask? It's Gip's Place...a legendary blues joint in the middle of nowhere Bessemer. It's literally a shack in this older gentleman's backyard and they have shows about twice a month. From the outside it looks like a broken down dairy shed with a faint glow coming from through the plastic-ed openings. Open the door and you are greeted with the picture above and lively tunes from the make-shift stage. It's byob and the mix of people is quite...eclectic. It feels like you just stepped into another world. It was so magical, when I woke up the next morning I thought it had all been a dream...

Heima.

Lori + I woke up to the shades of orange and red and the beautiful sounds of Sigur Ros...

Truly, this is the best way to spend a Sunday morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuftN2ViiN4

Sun Up, Coffee Back.

We had a miniature meeting of VC at Urban Standard today. Lori, Jennifer, and I met for a lovely little breakfast this morning. The sun was casting long shadows across our tables and coffee cups...

Nothing says Lori Fine like a little mint green nail polish...love it Lor!

Okay so, there's a website I've just begun to explore: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/. It has creative, inexpensive crafts to buy, but also a great place to get decorating ideas--especially crafts you can use for different seasons/events!

On the other hand, ever heard of Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller? Well...currently a movie is in the making for this book! http://www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com/. Occasionally there is a call for "extras." One of the things on my list to "do before I die" is to be an extra in a movie. So if there is any interest in taking a trip to Nashville at the last minute when there is a call for extras, then you are welcome to join me because this is a cool movie to be an extra in! :) They just had a call for extras on 11-7-10...which I missed. Hopefully there will be more opportunities soon! :)

Tree on Fire.

{a salute to the end of fall in Alabama...}

Name that city - Part 1

Come on fellow architects, designers, and travelers...

Can you...name that city?

Yay! I'm part of the Sketchbook Project too!

My theme is "In Five Minutes..."

180 degrees south

BE INSPIRED.

i was.

p.s. sorry for the back-to-back posts... i got excited.

check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWBz_pxYC0A

SIMPLIFIED truths.
art as science

credit: alabamachanin.com

Car Show.

The Forest Park/South Avondale Merchants and Neighborhoods all hosted a car show at Avondale Park on Saturday...now when I think "car show," I think muscle cars and a bunch of guys in Top Gun get-up with stereos up all competing for the coolest radio mix award. Thankfully, my expectations were sorely out of proportion. These were all mostly grandfatherly-age men showing off their impeccably restored

antique vehicles. And they were

beautiful:

The Cup

Michelle, your post reminded me of this video I saw a few weeks ago. Kat Tucker, a potter here in Birmingham, made a video for a Hillsong Conference this past year. It's really good.
Watch it here.

fall is in the air!

I took this photo week 1 of my married life, and guess what, I'm still writing thank you letters! But I'm not complaining; how could I in this beautiful setting? And of course the reason I'm still writing is because everyone was so generous! I am overflowing with thankfulness for my sweet husband, lovely home, supportive family, and thoughtful friends.
Living as a wife with total freedom in my daily activities has been so fun and so hard at the same time. I get so much joy from providing home cooked meals for Scott and seeing his arms go up in the air shouting, "YES - I love having a wife!" But at the same time I have lies whispering in my ear saying, "You are so lazy, worthless. You don't have a job, and you don't have a strong reason for staying at home...." And that ignites pride in me. I just want to get a job solely to gain the pride that comes with it. Not because I feel like the Lord wants me in the architectural field, or not even because I desire to be. It's just for the pride.

And so, the Lord is telling me to be patient and be still. Find calmness and peace in Him. Enjoy and soak up this time. He has a plan for me.

How about the crisp cool air today!? At least it is here in Montgomery! I love it! Happy Fall :)

Words from Isaiah...

For when You did awesome things that we did not expect,

You came down, and the mountains trembled before You.

Since ancient times no one has heard,

no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides You,

who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

You come to the help of those who gladly do right,

who remember Your ways.

But when we continued to sin against them,

You were angry.

How then can we be saved?

All of us have become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf,

and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Yet, O LORD, You are our Father.

We are the clay, You are the potter;

we are all the work of Your hand.

Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD;

do not remember our sins forever.

Oh look upon us, we pray,

for we are all your people.

After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back?

Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

(bits and pieces of Isaiah 64)

"Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear."

(Isaiah 65:24)

paint the streets

Neat project in Cincinnati [See video and website]

lake guntersville

Finally downloaded some images tonight to share....

Casey & Scott, I'd say y'all chose a pretty spectacular venue!

We May Be Brethren, But Someone Has To Survive To Kick Bama's Butt

My pic(k) of the week:

Great game Auburn.

C.S. Lewis

I came upon this quote tonight, and felt it needed a little sharing.
And Lori, awesome cookies ;)


If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

C.S. LEWIS
























{caleb chancey photography}

these days...

what i've been up to these days....

photography of place

Well, I'm back on the blog. It's been a while since I've signed in, but I think I'm here to stay this time; that is, if you'll accept me :)

To all:

I was checking out Caleb Chancey's fabulous website this morning (always good if you're in need of a little inspiration). As I'm attempting to absorb a piece of his creative genius, I roll across an image of the place where I happen to be taking guitar lessons. The shop scrolls onto my screen and the suspender-wearing, concentrina making owner, Bob Tedrow, is featured to the left of the page holding one of his prized instruments. Immediately, I was intreged.

Homewood holds claim to an unrefined yet whimsical muscial instrument company self-entitled none other than the Homewood Musical Instrument Company. Unlike your ordinary music store, this corner shop unpholds the hard to come by tradition of designing and making instuments, where one side of the store is reserved soley for the workshop. It's a pockek of Birmingham that I'm proud to be a part of; however small my part may be ;)

http://www.calebchanceyphotography.com/

"Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish,

but it will not replace you as the driver."

-Ayn Rand

{I've Moved}

I am now living in 375 square feet.

{And I love it.}

a peek into our honeymoon adventure

guess what that is I'm holding up!?

hint: this adventure was an item on my "bucket list"