Thankful Thursday (PS we got a COUCH!!!!)

So we're all moved and in the process of settling. Hurray!
It's so good to be back in our own little humble space :)
It's so SO good to have our own room again!
It's the BEST to have a couch! We actually haven't ever owned a real couch. Ever.

(Cute right?!)

Here's the story: 

When Hunter and I first got married we were dirt poor. Like I had no job, he had this junk job and we just packed up our stuff and moved into an apartment in Denver. Livin' on love is where it's at ;)

We had NO furniture but Hunter's parents offered to let us borrow his twin bed from when he was a kid. 

So we piled it high with pillows and snuggled on it to watch free local channels on our hand-me-down ancient "Trinitron" tv. 

It really coordinated nicely with the white plastic patio furniture that we covered with a gifted tablecloth and called a dinner table ;)

Then we moved to another apartment and moved on up to a loaner couch from a couple of our good friends. (And by loaner I mean it was really worn out and when we were ready to give it back they told us to have Goodwill pick it up.) 

But now we have an actual pretty couch! 

(My high-tech measuring devices)

So we decided when we moved into our fancy new apartment we would invest in a decent couch that had not been previously loved. 

I was even creating this clever post in my scribble journal about how I hadn't purchased a new piece of furniture since that inflatable purple chaise lounge from Claire's in 7th grade... 

Well, that was a true story and I guess the streak is still alive, because we searched high and low and could not find a couch I even halfway liked that was anywhere NEAR our teensy budget. 

So I turned to my trusty old craigslist and there she was. 

Only one month old and just as cute as can be.

So I squealed and rushed over to make Hunter agree that we HAD to have this one... I mean ask his opinion? 

Anyway, then I went to grab the tape measure to make sure it fit... Only, where in the world had I left it?! 

Well, I got a little creative. 

Yes sir, the couch will fit very nicely according to my baker's twin and washi tape measurements. (I used the long end of an 8.5x11in paper by the way to measure the feet. I just added an "inch" each time!) haha 

I'm very very lucky they were accurate enough that the thing actually fit in our Pathfinder or I might have been in BIG trouble!

So there you have it, a couch saga indeed.
But one with a very happy ending.
Now I just need some color on that wall and some fun throw pillows!
The couch was cheap, so I get to spend a little extra on decorations right? Hunter?




All that to say, I'm quite thankful for my new couch. And I'm linking up with Carina so I can tell the world about it.

Encourage One Another

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.  Hebrews 3:13 I have been feeling straight up encouraged this week. The Lord is blessing me and I am THANKFUL! So I'm feeling like I want to thank some ladies who have really encouraged me in one way or another recently. Hopefully you'll meet some new friends :) --> April from The Flourishing Abode and her super fun printable blog planner. I'm trying really hard to have some discipline and get a little more organization lately and this cute planner is really helpful! Plus her blog has tons of fun tips, plus she makes CUTE stuff! --> Kim from Oh, Sweet Joy! This girl shared her meal plan for the week with me. Might sound silly, but it really encouraged me to stay on track with planning and cooking instead of eating out! Again with the organization... Meal planning gives me such a headache sometimes and now I have a starting place for weekly meals and all I have to do is adapt it to what we have on hand :) Yay! Thanks Kim! --> Amanda at Royal Daughter Designs. I'm working with Amanda right now to create a custom hand-drawn logo which really freaked me out at first. Usually I just draw what inspires me and making something for someone else made me super nervous. Luckily she's so sweet and I have loved the extra challenge of pushing out of my comfort zone. Can't wait to show you when it's done!! I'm also encouraged by all of the amazing posts linked up at her Desire to Inspire link up each week :) --> Jessi from Naptime Diaries. I'm participating in her mentorship program right now and it's so exciting AND encouraging! I love Jessi's heart for community and helping mamas like me who are trying to bless their little fams with their creative gifts. I'm feeling challenged and inspired by her already and am so thankful for her willingness to share and give and help the rest of us find success :) Last, but most definitely not least, Gina at Acute Designs encouraged me to healthify my chocolate chip cookies this week :) I already looove this girl for her fancy earrings and now she's throwing healthy chocolate chip cookie bars my direction! I took out the dairy and gluten and baked a batch up immediately. I'm pretty sure Hunter and Lil were feeling encouraged too. And now, in the name of paying it forward, is my version. You're welcome. Healthy-ish Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars {makes about 16} -1 1/4 cups gluten free flour mix -1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder -3/4 teaspoon salt -1/2 cup packed brown sugar -1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter softened  -1 tablespoon vanilla extract -1 TB flax meal+3 TB warm water -1/2 cup all natural {no sugar added} applesauce -1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1. Put the applesauce in a fine sieve and allow the water to drain out.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes and a good portion of the water will have drained. 2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside. 3. Put the softened butter {let the butter sit at room temperature until soft or microwave for 10-20 seconds....just until soft, not melted} and sugar in the bowl and mix with an electric mixer until well blended.  Once blended add the flax meal+water, vanilla extract, and drained applesauce.  Mix for another minute. 4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. 5. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. 6. Line a square baking dish with parchment paper {or spray well with non-stick spray} and pour the batter into the pan.  Spread the batter out with a spatula until evenly distributed throughout the pan. 7. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 mintes.

Enjoy it friends!
Who will you encourage this week?
(Linking with Jami for We Encourage Tuesday.)

Thank.FULL.

I am overflowing with thanks today.
I wanted to link up with my bud, Carina for Thankful Thursday this week, mostly because I'm feeling sappy and sentimental and overwhelmingly grateful!
Spilling my heart about the fear and anxieties that have been on my heart and then praying and praying and letting go of their control on my life... has been wonderful!
I feel so free and at peace.


I broke, actually totally destroyed my poor little phone on Saturday.
As a result I've been without for almost a week now.
It has actually been really nice!
Being without a phone slowed me down quite a bit.
The past two days I've just hung out with Lily and really soaked it up 100% without distractions.
I am totally in love with the phase she's in right now.

Walking & communicating (can't really call it talking yet but she makes herself understood ;)

We've got the sleep thing pretty down and she's just a really fun girl.

Her personality is bursting through and she gives "smoochies" and points to her belly button when you ask her so that is DARLING.

Also, she went down the slide today. ALL alone!

It was so hard to step back and let her but she was determined and the way her face beamed with pride and excitement afterward made it so worth it.
What a joy!


I'm also feeling so blessed by the readers of this little ol' blog.
I've been sharing some more personal things lately and posting in a way that will not probably gain me tons of new readers but will (hopefully) really speak to and inspire a few of you.
I'm thankful for the responses I've gotten.
And for the encouragement I've received about selling some of my prints and cards.
I'm trying really hard not to dive in head first and overextend myself this time.
But I am having an amazing time creating some pretties to put in a new shop.
(Way more details early next month.)
These are a few of my designs that will be in the new shop!

Vintage Post: Tithing my Time

I was reading my reading my old blog again this morning and it's so funny the way that God is using my own words from a year ago to preach to me where I'm at now :) I was struggling at the time with time management and giving my time to Him. (disclaimer: when am I NOT struggling with time management?) But right now these verses speak another set of truth to me, in regards to my last post about fear.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Can a I get an aaaaaaaamen?!

Because my camera cord to download pictures onto the computer is MIA since the move and my phone was brutally murdered Saturday (oops) and posting without pictures just really bugs me, enjoy another vintage post from the gogreeno vault circa Aug 22, 2011 :)

Tithing my time.

I recently came across this blog & it spoke so much truth to me! Hunter and I have experienced God's faithfulness and provision over and over again when we trust Him with our finances. So why do I think that the same God who provides us with enough money to somehow make the ends meet every month shouldn't be in charge of my time as well? Lately I've totally been resting in Matthew 6:25&26

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them Are you not much more valuable than they?

and Matthew 6:28&29

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

But it's like I skipped right over verse 27, because instead of worrying about money I just started stressing about my time! There never seems to be enough to get everything done and to be a good mom, wife, friend, sister, daughter, runner, crafter, cupcake business owner, housekeeper, grocery shopper, etc...

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Bam! There it is. I definitely hear a little sarcasm in Jesus' voice when I read it.

"Um... hello!? I'm what's important. Not crafts. Give your time to ME & just see what happens. I'll probably even make you a little extra time for crafts, because I'm awesome like that, but give me the first of your time. You suck at scheduling, so I'll take it from here."

I wonder what pastor Aaron would think if he saw my interpretation of that verse? ha! Probably ask me to be a guest speaker next week. Doesn't matter. That's how it makes sense to me and the whole point is that itdoes make sense to me now. I'm giving Him the first of my time in the morning so that He can be in control of the rest of my time all day. I feel great about it because I know He is going to do SO MUCH BETTER than me!

Thanks for the pep talk Katie. I'm excited to tithe my time with you!

(ps I'm linking up with Amanda at Royal Daughter Designs today.)

fear.

Last night while I attempted to unwind from a really long week/weekend, Hunter decided to recap a recent documentary he had seen about zombie apocalypses and deadly virus outbreaks. He went on to suggest that perhaps we needed to own a gun to protect our family in case the human race regressed into animal-instinct survival mode.

Ya'll, maybe it was the wine? Maybe the lack of sleep, the recent move, the pounding headache, the looooong day at work?
But I kind of snapped.
Poor guy was just trying to push my buttons (I H.A.T.E. guns... and zombies for that matter ok), and BAM there I am spewing a year's worth of anxiety and fear on him.
Like, really serious heavy stuff.
I am struggling with anxiety.  
And I hadn't even spoken to my husband about it once. My best friend, the man who understands me more than anyone else ever could.

You have to understand, in the first 25 years of my life I don't think I took more than 5 minutes to stop and reflect on my own mortality. Maybe it was immature. Naive?
But I had peace.
I trusted that my future was in better hands than my own and I enjoyed the moment. Period. I think I was kind of proud of my ability to just go for things. I had this confidence that whatever happened, it would be fine. I think it was part faith, but also part pride.
And then I got pregnant.
Shooooooot.
Believe me, I  did know that it would change my life. But true to the mindset I've just described, our pregnancy wasn't actually planned. We did switch to natural family planning because of the horrible effects that hormonal birth control had on my body. And we did know that there was a greater possibility of pregnancy sooner than we were planning, but we just went for it. We knew we wanted to have lots of babies at some point, so why not see what God had in store?
Well, He had a perfect daughter in store about 2 years sooner than we were thinking.
I freaked out for a minute when we first found out and then we jumped right on board and got SO excited! :)

Then, it started.

From the very beginning of the pregnancy I would have so much stress between appointments. What if something happens? What if the precious little heart isn't beating anymore?
But I pushed it aside because I didn't have a clue how to deal with it.
My pregnancy was picture perfect (other than being TEN DAYS too long... but who's counting?) and our perfect Lily was here before we knew it.
She was healthy and fabulous and nursed easily. Appointments have always been routine and normal and yet I continue to be plagued with fear.
What if something happened to my sweet babe? There are a millions of things to be afraid of for this fragile tiny person. And beyond that, what if something happened to the love of my life and I had to care for this girl alone? What if something happened to me and she didn't have a mama?

Yikes. SO unhealthy to dwell. I know that.
I also know that God gave us a spirit not of fear but of POWER and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
I'll be praying that I can remember that every single day.

Do you/ have you ever struggled with fear and anxiety? I would love to know how you deal with it. 

(I'm linking up with Amanda again today. Check out all of the inspirational blogs over there!)

(Vintage Post} Beauty

I was looking through my old blog (gogreeno) that we started when we adopted Milo... haha It starts off with a video of us bringing home our pup! 

My how life has changed in the past 2 1/2 years :) 

Anyway, for awhile I tried balancing both, but it turns out one blog is about more than I can handle. 

So gogreeno sits untouched, but I still visit frequently. 

It's a little treasure chest of memories for me, and I've realized there are some posts that I still want to share with you all. 

A few gems that I came up with in a moment of inspiration that I believe could be a blessing to someone.
Today I wanted to participate in Amanda's new Desire to Inspire link up, so I chose a post that is near and dear to my heart.
I pray that at least one woman will read this today and be inspired to love their body just a little better, not only for her own sake, but for her children's!

So here you are,  a vintage piece from the gogreeno vault, complete with tiny Lily pictures.  

Enjoy & be blessed. I'm praying that anyone/everyone who reads this today will be reminded of their eternal beauty. 

Because, girl, you are gorgeous!!

The other day I was reading a daily devotion from Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning. {By the way, have you ever read Ragamuffin Gospel? I think you should. Brennan Manning is so in LOVE with our Jesus and it's absolutely beautiful the way he writes about grace.} Anyway, I read this:

The narcissistic obsession with weight watching in North America

is a formidable ploy of the impostor. Despite the valid and

important health factor, the amount of time and energy devoted to

acquiring and maintaining a slender figure is staggering. No snack is

unforeseen, no nibble spontaneous, no calorie uncharted, no

strawberry left uncounted... To paraphrase Cardinal Wolsey, "Would

that I had served my God the way I have watched my waistline!"

All of a sudden it hit me. It is going to be hard raising a woman of God in this society of ours! My sweet daughter will be bombarded with image after image of an unattainable, airbrushed, worldly "beauty". How am I going to help her desire to be "clothed with strength and dignity (prov 31:25)" instead of expensive designer labels? How will I teach her to truly believe that she is "fearfully and wonderfully made (psalm 139:14)"?

I prayed about it a lot. And do you know what? It's my responsibility to SHOW her! Do I desire God more than the opinions of others? Do I genuinely believe that God creates beauty and that He created me exactly the way I am. On purpose. To be honest, not always. But I'm definitely working on it.

I've made a rule not to ever speak negatively about myself in front of my daughter. No weight comments, or unaccepted compliments. Don't get me wrong, I think it's very important to teach her to eat healthy and be active, but she needs to grow up seeing that I believe this body is wonderful. Without this body I wouldn't even have my precious Lily Belle, so I forgive it for not being a perfectly toned size 2. I pray that she will grow up so focused on Jesus and loving others that she doesn't even notice all of the unrealistic images telling her what she "should" look like.

And I pray that you will consider making yourself a similar rule. Thank God today for beautiful body he has given you. Show your kids what it looks like to pursue Jesus instead of an unattainable body image.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who loves the Lord is to be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

Book Club #1

Source: google.com via Rosalynn on Pinterest

Are you all ready to do this?
Bossy Pants was the book club winner (by a long shot) and I'm pumped!
Alyssa and I decided a month and half sounded like a good amount of time to read the book, mostly because who has time to read a book faster than that right now?
I mean, unless it's Hunger Games and you totally neglect your family for 12 hours and just devour the whole thing in one sitting... Wait, what?

Anyway, in the meantime, please link up about good books you've recently read.

I love finding new book suggestions! 

Source: google.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I'm actually not doing a formal book review, but rather a nod to the series that has and always will hold my heart.
I'm a mega Harry Potter nerd.
I'm in love with everything about these books.
Also the movies.
I can not wait for Lily to get old enough to curl up and share some good old fashioned witchcraft and wizardry :)
If I were hosting a book club about a Harry Potter book, I don't even know if I would bake for you... crazy I know.
But I honestly think I might just serve Bertie Bott's every flavored jelly beans.
Unless I could figure out how to make some fabulous muffins apparate onto your plate from thin air.
Possibly I would have my pet owl serve your dinner.

Ok that's enough.
If you love HP then I hope you enjoyed that little stroll down memory lane.
If not, you're likely pretty weirded out, but that's ok.
Link up your book reviews, or your weird memories about magical books, no rules really :) 

New Mama Survival Kit

I wanted to share a fun gift idea for any mama's to be in your life.
This makes a super fun shower gift that's totally mama focused, because Lord knows things can get a little crazy when those sweet bundles show up and mom's have a tendency to forget the basics for themselves.
Plus you could personalize this a million different ways and it's so encouraging!



These are the notes I attached:

Tide to go: Life is messy. Babies are super messy.

Lifesavers: To save you from one of those days.

Slippers (or comfy socks): To remind you to take time for you. 

Chocolate granola bars: Don't forget to refuel... and eat lots of chocolate :) 

To go mug: So you'll never have to be without your coffee.

Instant coffee: Emergency caffeine fix.

Hair bands: To remind you to stay flexible.

Notepad: Just in case you have a hard time remembering, well... everything! Lists are a wonderful thing :)

Advil: For when all else fails.

Almond Joy: Because sometimes you'll feel like a nut... & that's totally ok! 

Eraser: Because everyone makes mistakes. 

Tissues: To wipe away your tears & babies too. 

Starburst: For a burst of energy!

Sour Patch Kids: Sometimes they're sour, but they're always sweet. 

Mirror: Because you're important too. 

I also included some facewash wipes because it's a great thing to have for the hospital and this really awesome baby journal I found at Target (that I totally wish I had, you know for tracking poops and feedings and all the fun stuff).

Have you ever done any other gifts "kits"?
I know it might be kind of cheesy, but I love them!
Let me know if you have any other ideas :)

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