today is beautiful.

Photo from here.

It is Friday.

I get to spend time with the husband tonight and my grandma and my alma mater this weekend.

Last night, I ate with friends.

Did a little yoga (thank you, Wii Fit, for inspiring me).

Caught up on my email.

Then woke up early this morning and did a little quiet time.

It is a good day.

And I am a happy girl.

(In addition to all this goodness, I found out that this talented man and his team are coming to Birmingham this fall. Jordan, let’s save our money and go! Really, doesn’t it look incredible?)

deep breathing.

Photo found here via Black*Eiffel.

After some out-of-towning for work, I am back, and I am exhausted. The next couple of weeks are going to be a whirlwind for me, but I am determined to stay focused, to find calm in the chaos.

Part of finding that calm includes, for me, "giving up" Facebook for Lent.* I know Lent isn't just about giving up something, and truthfully, I am not the Facebook addict I once was. But I've decided that if I'm going to find moments of quiet in the coming days, I'm going to have to make an effort. I'm hoping that the minutes (sometimes many, sometimes few) I would have spent on Facebook will now be spent in quiet reflection, in prayer, or even just in sitting on the couch computer-free.

Anyway, if you typically find me on Facebook, I'd encourage you to email me or find me here instead. I plan on continuing to blog since, as I have mentioned before, it is a help to me when the world seems a little nuts.

(As for the photo above, I'm very much wanting to get lost these days... In a new adventure, a fun road trip, a warmer climate... Who's with me, and where should we go?)

*Also, I'm looking for devotionals for this Lenten season. Reliable resources from readers would be welcome!

a {satur}day in the life. {in photographs}

Here was the challenge. This is what I came up with. Thank you, Cory, for presenting this little project before a weekend. Pictures from my weekdays would have been ultra-boring. So, this is a day in my life. In photographs.

Photo by Juliane Eirich, via 20x200.

you give me fever.

Photo via Creature Comforts. Buy print on etsy.

Dear spring,

My eyes are red and watery from working in front of a computer all day, so every once in a while I glance out my window to check out the periwinkle sky and the leaves blowing in the wind. And it hits me:

You’re on your way.

I can feel you coming, and the anticipation is killing me.

Your expected arrival has me feeling antsy, anxious to get up and get moving. I’m ready to buy a plane ticket, don shorts and flip flops, and head out the door. I’m longing for a little rejuvenation, a little adventure.

Unfortunately, you’re somewhat of a tease. This weekend it’s supposed to reach lows in the 20s again (not exactly the bike-riding weather I was dreaming of), and although I am catching a flight out of town next week, it’s for work. Again, not exactly what I had in mind.

But still, I feel like you’re pretty close. And I’m getting excited about the possibilities you hold. Time well spent with a dear friend. Time with the Father. Time with the husband. Lots of good things are headed my way, and I feel like you’re bringing them with you.

So I hate to be impatient, or wish away the present, but could you please hurry?

I’m ready.


Very truly yours,



Annie


P.S.—Would you bring this with you? It’s only $600, and I just can’t afford that right now. Or ever. So if you could just bring it with you as a part of your entire seasonal package, that would be so helpful! Thanks!

pasta salad perspective.

Here’s the thing:

I’ve been short on perspective lately.

Yesterday I got it.

I took a half-day off, needing to tackle some must-needed to-do list items.* As a bonus, I was able to eat lunch at my aunts’ house, complete with pasta salad, cupcakes, and a walk in the garden. Delightful.

While enjoying the company of some of my favorite people, I confessed my concern about having to put off my master’s degree longer than expected. Then my eldest aunt (now a retired educator) reminded me: “I didn’t even begin my undergraduate degree until I was 25.** You’re already ahead of most people your age. You’ll get it done.”

More common sense than rocket science, but ever since I heard these words, I’ve felt a little more at peace with everything. In a year and a half, Jordan will be done with law school. That’s it. A year and a half. A small period of time, in the grand scheme. And then, it will be my turn.

I can go to school full-time, maybe be a grad assistant.

But in the meantime, I can dream. I can plan adventures for me and my husband. I can make our home beautiful. I can cook. I can enjoy the fact that I am employed. I can take a photography or digital design course at TCC. I can design creative materials for friends and other non-profits. I can stretch my skills set.

And in a year and a half, when the time comes for me to apply for graduate school, I’ll have a stellar résumé and burgeoning portfolio. At 24 years of age.

Not bad.

So thank you, family, for coming through yet again.

Your words of wisdom are always appreciated, and more often than not, right on the money.

The pasta salad didn’t hurt either.


*After a year in the work world, I still haven’t figured out when they expect you to do things like go to the bank. I mean, really. You get off at five, and the bank closes at five. And I’m sorry, but I live for lunch. So I’m not going to take a shortened lunch just so I can barely make it to the bank before it shuts its doors in my face. Any other ideas?

** My aunt put her own education on hold to help out her parents and my mom and her other siblings. So selfless. Here’s hoping I get that gene.

facing forward.

Photo by Traci French (Bliss), via Darling Dexter.

I have a problem.

I look backwards.

I don’t mean to.

I know looking back isn’t a good thing. It confuses your present and complicates your perception. Heck, it even turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt.
But still I do it.

The past catches my breath at the most surprising of times: in line at the grocery store, driving down the street, in the office restrooms. And no matter where I am, I’m never prepared for the blown away feeling I get, the realization that I’m 23 and not living my dream.

(Forgive me for sounding so cynical, it's just I've had huge expectations for myself since, oh, age 3.)

I realize, of course, how ludicrous this is. My kind and practical parents remind me often of the impracticality of my backward glances. They tell me that I have my whole life ahead of me, that I’m just getting started, that I can’t make mistakes, that I’m lucky to be employed at all. That the decisions I’ve made up until this point have made sense. I know that they are right; really, I do.

And yet…

I don’t want my life to be a waste of time. I don’t want to sit at my desk in my cubicle and long for the arrival of the eighth hour. I don’t want my education to go by the wayside or my dreams to leave me in the dust. I don’t want to read books and essays and stories and think, “I could have written something like that.” Why didn’t I?

Why put my life on hold?

Because of money. Because of marriage. Because of life’s lemons and making lemonade.

So here’s what I’ve discovered: I am where I am.

No backwards, no forwards. Just right here, right now. I’m here. There are dreams to be lived and adventures to be had today.

Even from my cubicle.

I think. Right?

not me monday.

Oh, not me Monday. I don’t participate in you very often, but when I do… it is so therapeutic.
A list of things I did not—absolutely did not—do this week:

I did not break down and buy this gorgeous bag from Anthropologie with my birthday money. After all, I am a generous and practical wife who would much rather use my birthday money for much-needed groceries than for yet another bag to add to my growing collection.

I did not create a duplicate of the gift I gave my husband for Valentine’s Day, nor did I place the duplicate gift on my desk at work, hoping someone would stop by and say what a cute idea it was and where could they get one, whereby I could then tell them I made it and charge them a small sum to make them one too. And I’m definitely not going to post a picture here so you, too, can see what a cute idea it was. That would be tacky.

I did not eat 6 chocolate chip granola bars in one five hour period last week. Nope, not me.

I most certainly did not receive a big brown box from Anthropologie this weekend, nor did I squeal with delight at its beautifully-wrapped packaging and the gorgeous purse inside. Because, remember, I did not order that purse to begin with.

I did not visit my own blog multiple times this week just to admire the new design or increase the number of visitors. That would be narcissistic and illogical. My blog is not that important to me. Not at all.

I did not succumb to buying a CD while standing in line at Starbucks this weekend. Not me. If I had, though, I certainly would not have made the barista go through four different gift cards just so I wouldn’t have to pay cash. Again, not me.

As a loving and responsible wife, I did not wait until 1:00 in the afternoon on Valentine’s Day to buy my husband the perfect card.

The maître’ die at a local restaurant did not laugh in my husband’s face on Saturday night when he discovered we had not made Valentine’s Day reservations, and Jordan and I certainly did not have to do a “walk of shame” in front of all the other reservation-making patrons of said restaurant. I did not follow such an embarrassing event by sitting inside my husband’s car in tears because I am a low-maintenance bride who doesn’t even like Valentine’s Day. No reservations? No big deal, that’s what I always say.

I did not attend a "Welcome to the Family" luncheon held at our church yesterday, since I've been a member there for 23 years and would never exploit my husband's new member status just to get a free meal.

I did not stay up late last night rearranging picture frames to find the best way to display our beautiful wedding pictures, and I certainly didn’t recruit my hard-working law-school-attending husband to help me collect picture frames from around our house to accomplish a new look that ironically, looks very similar to our old look. Just with different pictures. Nope, not me!

I did not hit the snooze button four times this morning hoping I could pretend it wasn’t Monday after all.

And I certainly did not just spend thirty minutes coming up with a list of things I didn't do this week. That would be ridiculous. So, not me!

There you have it. If you want to participate in Not Me! Monday, head over to MckMama's blog to join in the fun. You'll be glad you did. Remember, confession is good for the soul.

interviewed.

Before our dinner date.

One of my handmade gifts for Jordan: "I love you more than..." hearts.

Our Valentine's weekend was lovely, making it especially hard to get up and come to work this Monday morning. So, to kick off the week, I'm participating in a blogging interview by college/blog friend Katie.

Without further ado, here are my answers to Katie's questions:

1. What is your biggest goal for 2009?

Glad you asked. I actually made several goals for myself this year, but they all can be summed up in two words: Be Quiet. 2008 was a whirlwind for me (new job, big move, engagement, marriage), and I am determined to quietly enjoy 2009. So far, I feel like I’m off to a good start. Jordan and I are getting into a nice little married routine (I’m even cooking!); I’m spending some quiet time each morning with my Father… Life isn’t perfect, but it’s good. I didn’t want to waste 2009 with unnecessary chaos, and I feel like I’m accomplishing that goal. So far.

2. What would you call your perfect Saturday afternoon?

Oh man. Now that I’m in the working world, I relish Saturdays. Every single one. So it’s hard to decide what makes one perfect. That being said, I guess my ideal Saturday would include a cloudless spring day spent at the park with Jordan. Maybe a hike or a bike ride at St. Marks. Up fairly early (don’t want to waste the perfect day), good breakfast, fun to be had.

3. If I were to come visit your hometown, where would you take me and why?

You know, Tallahassee doesn’t get much credit, but now that I’m back, I think it’s beautiful! We’d head on a tour of the FSU campus first—you can't really visit Tallahassee and not see it—and we’d head by the stadium (of course). You know, Bobby Bowden and all that jazz. Then a trip downtown for the gorgeous trees and the state Capitol building. A walk around Lake Ella. Last, a trip to a local coffee shop and dinner at a favorite local restaurant (Tallahassee has lots of good ones!). One thing you won’t be doing while in Tallahassee? Shopping. The shopping here is awful! Tallahassee is a town for the artist or the outdoorsman—or the sports fan. Not the shopper.

4. What is your most embarrassing moment?

This question has always been hard for me to answer! Truthfully, I don’t think I get embarrassed too easily… I can’t remember any major traumatic event, but I do find myself putting my foot in my mouth fairly often. Once, while in a class at Faulkner, the professor asked the class what the Eustachian tube was. Nobody around the table answered, so, being the overachieving person that I am, I figured I’d give it a shot. Hate to leave the teacher hanging, you know? So I boldly responded, “Doesn’t it have something to do with being pregnant?” Um. No. It does not. The Eustachian tubes are found in your ears. The Fallopian tubes, now... Those have to do with reproduction. Was it embarrassing to make such a mistake in a class of six? Kind of. It was more embarrassing to realize I know so little about the female anatomy. You know, since I am one.

5. If you were a cookie, what kind would you be and why?

Oh boy. I’m a big fan of cookies, actually. And I’m notorious for dunking them in water. (Don’t judge.) If I had to be any cookie, though, I think I’d be my mom's oatmeal raisin cookies. They’re so delicious, and because they include oatmeal, I can eat as many as I want and still feel like I’m eating healthily. Hah.

So there you have it. Thanks, Katie! For more blogging interviews, check out what my friend Jenna had to say to Katie's questions. In the meantime, happy Monday! I may be back later to participate in MckMama's "Not Me Monday" event, so stay tuned!

If you’d like to be interviewed, follow these rules:

1. Leave me a comment & your e-mail address saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions.)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. (You get to choose the questions.) The first five “askers” get the interview (if I even have that many out there reading)!

annie + jordan + picnics = love

As previously mentioned, I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Too much pressure, too much pink, too many fancy and expensive restaurants, too many crowds… The list goes on and on.

However, I am a huge fan of the picnic.

Third anniversary picnic, Birmingham, Ala., 2007

And so, this year, if weather cooperates (please, please do!), Jordan and I are going to enjoy one of our favorite pastimes. We’ve never been on a picnic for Valentine’s Day, but now that we’re both in Tallahassee, it’s completely doable since spring weather has been teasing us all week.

We’ve been on lots of picnics together: birthday picnics, anniversary picnics, just-to-have-an-adventure picnics. We throw the football, play disc golf, hike, read to each other, eat sandwiches, explore, enjoy the sunshine… We are crazy for picnics. And, also, for each other.

Those are our valentine’s plans. We may go out for dinner, but honestly, the picnic is good enough for me. (Hear that, husband?)

And our back-up plan, should weather not cooperate? An indoor picnic, of course, complete with a movie marathon.


Side note: It took me forever, but I finally came up with an idea of what to get the husband, and I am super excited! I can’t share now (since my husband obliges me by subscribing to this blog), but I’ll be sure to post later about how my gift went over. I’m pretty pumped!

.valentine goodies.

Valentine's Day hasn’t ever really been a favorite holiday of mine, but to get in the spirit of things this year, I designed my own little valentines to pass out to family and friends. I thought they turned out cute, so I figured I would share!

Below are the images of the valentines. If you’d like to use these for your valentines this year, just leave me a comment with your email address! I’ll send you the PDF version, and you can print them out on your home computer on 8.5” x 11” white cardstock.

And, even if you don't use them, aren't cute valentines fun?

sisterhood.

As I sat next to my beautiful grandmother this afternoon in the somber quiet of the church, I couldn’t help but think it must be so intensely painful to watch as your friends all leave you behind. At 90, my grandmother has said more than her fair share of goodbyes. I don’t envy her in the slightest.

She’s tough, my grandmother. Actually, all the women in the family are. Today my mother and I joined my grandmother at the celebration of her dear friend’s life, and I thought about the legacy these women have set for me to follow. The women in my life are strong and independent, devoted wives and mothers, fierce followers of Christ. Their heritage runs deep, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

We filed out of the funeral together, the three of us. My mother, my grandmother, and me. It was a good moment, I thought. Solemn and tearful, but good. I watched as these two women comforted the man who had just lost his wife, as my grandmother grieved for the friend she'd lost. I listened as she repeated to anyone who would listen: “She was my little sister.” My dad, standing nearby, commented, “You’re part of a sisterhood, aren’t you?” She looked at him and nodded emphatically, acknowledging that yes, she had a sisterhood.

And she does.

My 90-year-old grandmother is a part of a strong sisterhood, a group of women who call each other, who listen to one another’s hurts, who visit and serve others in need.

And because I am so like my grandmother, I too, have a sisterhood. I have friends who I email and call, who hold me spiritually accountable, who I visit with and talk with. I can count them on two hands. Because even though my grandmother has many friends, her sisterhood is smaller, more tightly knit, closely woven. And so mine is too.

Mama and I are similar in that we have no biological sisters. I used to watch my own mother interact with her sisters and grow jealous because I knew I didn’t have that. But after observing my grandmother today, I understand something.

If you don’t have sisters, you form a sisterhood of your own. I’ve formed mine in cousins, in aunts, in my mother. In dear friends and kindred spirits.

My grandmother has given me so many things: my name, my stature, my faith, my spirit.

And now I know she’s given me a legacy of sisterhood. A legacy I very much intend to uphold.

opinions wanted, please.

Even if you've never commented on this blog before, today is the day to change. I'm contemplating some serious, life-altering decisions, and I'm desperate for second (and third, and fourth) opinions.

Should I get these?



That's right. It's time to spend the birthday money. What happens when you're on a ridiculously tight budget is that when you finally have some fun money that's all your own, there is intense pressure to spend only on things you really want/need. Hence the recent flood of shopping/style posts.

So, with $125 burning holes in my pockets, I need opinions.

I spent $18 on a new watch that I love.

I'd like to spend $30 on this clutch purse.

And now I'm contemplating these $40 boots.

Is this a wise purchase with Tallahassee springtime around the corner? Should I save my money for some warm weather clothes? Buy a pair of much-needed brown heels for work instead? Or forget clothes altogether and save a few more weeks for Photoshop Elements?

Or scrap all these and get this? Oh, the choices!

HELP! Seriously, people. Come out of the woodwork. Desperate economic times call for prudent purchases, and everyone knows I can't make a decision to save my life. One comment. That's all I'm asking.

our fifty.

I don't know where I found this picture, and I'm sorry... Because I really like it and want to tell you where you can find it.

I saw this on Naomi’s blog a while back and thought it would make a fun Valentine’s Day post. And with the heart-y holiday just around the corner, I figured I’d go ahead and take a stab at 50 things about us…

1. We’ve been married for nearly 3 months and love it.

2. We both think our wedding was hands down the best one we’ve ever been to.

3. We have a stuffed animal named Jonas who we pretend is our dog.

4. She loves orange juice with pulp.

5. He would rather have water (no ice, thank you very much).

6. She is freezing cold all the time.

7. He’d rather not turn the heat on (the electric bill, you know).

8. We made a new year’s resolution to get up earlier each morning. We’re half-way succeeding.
9. He’s in law school and ready to be working.
10. She’s working and is ready to be back in school.
11. He wakes up nice and groggy each morning.
12. She hits the ground running (albeit some days a little slowly).
13. He flosses every morning and night and brushes three minutes in front of the sink.
14. She has an electric toothbrush with a timer just so she’ll remember to brush for three minutes. And she can’t stand still while brushing.
15. She imagines she’s a journalist in a big city.
16. He thinks she can be whatever she wants to be.
17. She decorated the apartment.
18. He got one room all to himself.
19. His books almost fill up one bookcase.
20. Hers are overflowing on two (with several stacks beside the bed).
21. He’s better at math.
22. She takes care of the bills.
23. He could eat stale food for days.
24. She prefers food that’s been prepared recently.
25. She gets french fry cravings.
26. He satisfies them.
27. She loves Coke (not Diet. Gross.).
28. He prefers Mountain Dew.
29. We both are resolved to drink more water.
30. He wants to help people and probably won't make much money.
31. She's glad he's that way and doesn't want much money anyway.
32. He would eat pizza every day if he could.
33. She’s learning how to cook so that this won’t happen.
34. We wish we could travel anywhere, any time.
35. He finds full moons creepy.
36. She finds them beautiful.
37. She likes fresh flowers in the apartment at all times.
38. He lets her have them (even if it’s not really in the budget).
39. We love coffee shops.
40. We don’t drink coffee.
41. She smells books.
42. She knew he was for her the day he smelled them too (unprompted).
43. We’ve been to Italy.
44. We want to go back.
45. He still calls her Annie Sue Butterworth.
46. She appreciates that.
47. We leave love notes to each other on the back of our front door.
48. He worries about big things; he forgets about little things.
49. She keeps track of little things and lets the big things take care of themselves.
50. We balance each other and love each other.

faces of birthday / last birthday post, i promise

Indoor picnic. Thanks, b.f.f.!

Oh, the joy that can be found in red velvet cupcakes...

Family birthdays are some of my favorite things. This is the "I'm not disappointed" face.

--

And, lest you think this birthday was all about me, here's another face for you, preceded by this conversation:

C: What show is this? (said with slight disgust)

A: It's about a family with 18 children

C: Oh...

A: Guess what the dad's name is?

C: What?

A: Jim-Bob.

C: {this face}

i promise this isn't a shopping blog...

But this bag is too lovely not to share-- even the back is beautiful! (Visit the link to see the different bag styles. I can't decide between the blue and the orange.)

Now the only question is: do I save my birthday money and begin making contributions toward its purchase?

Or do I acknowledge that I have more bags than I can count and spend my b-day money on something more practical (or just a different fashion treat)?

I am torn... Advice, anyone?

(In other news, my mom threw me a a fabulous party last night, complete with delectable cupcakes... pictures to come!)

why, j.crew, why?

Why do you tease me with your aesthetically-pleasing catalogues and rocket-high prices? Thanks to you, I’m dreaming of spring when it’s still 40 degrees outside and contemplating the practicality of a $200 pair of shoes...

... and layered sweaters in the Florida springtime.

And despite the number of jeans overflowing out of my closet, you have me dreaming of these little beauties:

If you weren't such a tease, I might at least consider investing in a pair of these (completely legitimate in my climate):

Or in one of these:

But I can't do it. Nope. I'm resisting your advances. Your prices are just too much for me. So I’ll just settle for taking a red Sharpie and circling everything I want for spring, then throwing out the marked-up catalogue in the spirit of a fashion purging.

Of course, I could try to find an outlet store…

happy birthday!

the lengths Jordan will go to make me happy.

my birthday was full of lots of lovely things:

breakfast in bed
pretty birthday cards
Facebook posts
indoor picnic
hummus from red elephant
a good book
gold medal ribbon

Oh. And this new blog design. Thanks, husband! I'm still tweaking a few things, but I think I'm going to like it...

it's a family thing. {or, welcome home, brother}

Faces of summer, 2008.

I know I've said this before, but I love my family. Really. The more time I spend with them, the more I love them.

My brother came home from Harding today, and never have I been more proud and in awe of my family. The way they love and encourage us is amazing. I don't know that I've ever met more loving, understanding, open, honest, and caring people. God has given me more than I deserve.

Last week when Chet called from Arkansas, he told me: "Mom and Dad have really been great with all this." And I just had to say that I agreed. And I think, like Chet, I didn't make this discovery until I left home. The thing is, I think it takes going away to really understand just how great you have it.

So welcome back home, little bro. For now, anyway. You're going to find out God's amazing plan for you in His perfect time.

Until the plan is clear, though, take a look at the faces in the pictures above.

These are the hilarious faces of the people in this world that love you most.

This world is full of tough things that I don't understand. But these faces... I understand them. They are glimpses of God's love for me.