Oh Holy Night

Its the second day of december and I couldn't be more excited for Christmas to come this year. Although I am always thrilled for the holidays, Christmas this year means going home for several weeks and spending much needed time with friends and family. To begin the holiday season, I ventured to walmart and purchased a few things to get me in the spirit...

I purchased my very own christmas tree (which consists of a small potted evergreen) that claims to be a tree that lives long past the holiday season

I decorated it with the last strand of white lights they had at walmart, silver ornaments, and blue garland. I tied a green glittery bow on top

After decorating my tree I began wrapping a few gifts....

Below are my supplies: brown packing paper, 4 inch tulle in blue and white, other various ribbons in white and blue, and a green glittery ribbon that adds the special touch to any package

I started with plain brown packing paper

Added a little ribbon

Then I wrapped a few more

My current blog obsession Emily Jones at Jonesdesigncompany.com posted a link  yesterday to printable christmas tags that are precious. I printed out a few to put on my gifts

 

So I wrapped the gifts, placed them under my miniature tree, lit a few candles, turned off all the lights, and played silent night on repeat. I was instantly reminded why we celebrate, and how truly glorious that silent night was. It was calm and perfect. And last night in my small apartment I was able to share in the peace and presence of it.   It was the perfect start to december....

Happy December,

Until Then, 

Amy

The security of Home

"if i could only go home and just get recharged and then come back. it isn't like in auburn when you get to just go home get a break from school, friends, college, and go home to security and comfort and then go back out again! we just can't go home... we are playing this game and life 24-7 and if we just had some sort of comfort of home or a place to run to for security.... it think it would be so different!!" then in my head this thought comes in, "miller, but you are never going to be home until you are at home with me in heaven. memphis is not your home. auburn is not your home. america is not your home. not even china is your home.  the earth is not your home. and you will always be striving for the security of home, but the only place you will find and can find that is in me and with me!" 

These words come from an email my sweet friend Miller sent me a couple of weeks ago.  Miller has an absolutely huge heart for the Lord and is spending this year in China to love on the people of that country. She has been thrown into a world so far from what she has always known. Miller has been blessed with the ability to love on other people in a way that I have always envied. She is warm and inviting. She is sweet and kind and completely unaware of the many ways to Lord is using her. She is encouraging the people in China but also her friends and family in America who are being encouraged through her work. I am in awe of her willingness to serve and I am humbled each time I hear from her.

Coming back yesterday from memphis and oxford to a still unfamiliar world, I am quickly reminded why we all long so desperately for home. I have felt this longing more in Denton than I ever have. When I am surrounded by my close friends and family I forget that this is not my home.  The words of this email have reminded me its not Memphis or Oxford I am ultimately longing for, its not my friends or family, or even a bit of consistency from an old world I so comfortably lived in , what I am longing for is deeper than any of of those things,  its heaven.


How sweet will it be when we finally reach it, when we stand in his glory, when we know we are home

Happy Monday,
Until Then,
Amy

All I want for Christmas.....

*images via J Crew, Neiman Marcus, Anthropologie, and Piperlime

A monthly Mailbox treat

If you love to try new beauty products without having to commit to a full size purchase my newest internet find will excite you. The website is called birchbox.

For only 9.99 a month you get a box full of the latest and greatest hair, skin, and make-up samples. I was a little hesitant at first and was afraid I was going to get those tiny samples that you can only use one time but yesterday I received my november order and I was thrilled!

In my first box was....

Laura Mercier Lip Gloss in Opal

Perricone MD, Cold Plamsa Miracle Cream

Cargo Bronzer in Medium

Too Face Primed and Poreless

Face Shop Collagen Mask Sheet

Once you sign up they will automatically send one each month until you cancel your membership. Another great perk is that the website has the full size products available to purchase. I already used the collagen mask last night, and I love the new lip gloss. I will let you know about the rest of the products.

Hope you are having a wonderful wednesday!

until then,

amy

Navigating the Kitchen

As I began my 11th week in Denton I could no longer bear the thought of deli turkey sandwiches and lean cuisines. In attempts to expand my culinary skills and to broaden my weekly menu, I decided to bake my very first TURKEY

image via realsimple.com

I set off to the grocery store in hopes of the perfect turkey. Being my first time to purchase I had no idea the characteristics that defined a perfect turkey so I grabbed an 8-pound turkey and headed home. I also purchased an onion, celery, turkey bags, and a roasting pan
  

Because the turkey was frozen I had to wait a day to cook it. The next day I preheated the oven to 350 and took the bird out of the refrigerator. I washed it off and patted it dry. I was disgusting but a necessary step 

Next was the worst part. I had to rub the raw bird with butter and cover it in spices. Due to the lack of ingredients my spices consisted of salt, pepper, and paprika 

Then I filled the roasting bag with flour to prevent it from bursting. I placed chopped onions and celery stalks in the bag as well to give the bird more flavor 

Then I placed the greased and seasoned bird into the bag and sealed it with the twist tie. I also cut six small slits into the bag, and placed it in my oven

I baked it for a little over three hours, and it was perfect. The final product on the bone did not look very appetizing so I carved the turkey and this was my final result

A plate full of delicious turkey 
and
 the satisfaction of knowing that I can bake my very own turkey

Happy Monday,

Until Then,

Amy

How Sweet is Thy Presence

This morning I braved another week of church on my own. I confess that several Sundays I have not had the courage to go alone. This morning I decided I was using my being alone as a crutch. So  I got up, put on my Sunday's best, and was out the door.

compliments of ttp://2.bp.blogspot.com

I timidly walked into to church and although I know part of my goal of going was to meet people I quickly found my seat and read the bulletin to avoid awkward conversations. Church began with worship. And as soon as those first few cords were played I knew why I had come


I had longed to sing the praises of my father
I had missed spending time in fellowship with other believers. 
My heart was in need of communion and I had been ignoring that
I had let my own comfort get in the way of glorifying him



The sermon was great, communion was intimate, and the worship was beautiful. Everything I look for in a church home. After the service people greeted me and asked how I was doing. They reassured me of the uniqueness of Denton,TX and reminded me I am not alone in my feelings toward my new home. Those short conversations help me to remember that I am not in Denton for my own gains, but for his and that fact alone is enough. 


As I drove home from church today the lyrics from a song kept playing over and over again in my head,

"Better is one day in your courts,

Better is one day in your house,

Better is one day in your courts,

Than thousands elsewhere"

Happy Sunday,

Until Then,

Amy

how wonderful does this sound?

courtesy of ginger-ella, via http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiteflyingsociety/4072969737/

I cannot think of a more perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Hope today allowed you the rest you needed.

Until Then,

Amy

catching up

There is something refreshing about seeing someone from home, they stir something inside of us and bring us back to where we are from, they remind of us of who we are, who we have been, and who were are going to be, they allow us to relax and find rest in a familiar face.  They help us to remember why we left home in the first place and get us excited about one day going back. 

This weekend I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a much-missed friend.  After being out in Denton alone I am thrilled to have any taste of home. I have been sick for the last couple of days and I have had extra time at home. This extra time has allowed me to get my apartment ready and to decorate for fall. 

I have bought pumpkins and a bouquet of fall flowers that I have put into mason jars. I have also prepared an appetizer that is a favorite of my weekend guest. Selecting different cheeses paired with various crackers and fruit makes for a wonderful afternoon treat.  I typed up the names of the cheeses and put them on small cards to label them. They added an adorable touch to this simple appetizer. I also purchased this tin bucket for less than five dollars at target to ice down wine and other drinks. Cute fall napkins and some votive candles complete my table.

I hope that you are able to use this weekend to catch up. Whether it is on rest, work, or catching up with a sweet friend. I am optimistic that my weekend will allow me to catch up with someone I have missed. After being in school for this short time I have many new dreams and hopes for the future that I cannot wait to share with him. I am excited about being able to share my new life with someone from my old world. May your weekend allow you to catch up in anyway you need to.

Off to the airport!

Much love

Until Then,

Amy

she is back

 Rachel is back.

Her summer was so eventful that she took a break from blogging but now that her life has settled a bit she is back.
I met Rachel my freshman year of college. I still remember meeting her for the first time. She was sitting on her oversized futon in her dorm room telling a story. I am not even sure what she was talking about because I was so distracted by her hands that were moving as she told the story. Its the little moments like that day in her dorm room that formed our friendship.

And for the next four years we shared everything from dresses, swap costumes, st. tropez, jeans, a desks, and our senior year we got to share a room. Over the last four years we have stayed up way too late watching the devil and online shopping, we have planned many costumes, we have analyzed rush in entirely too much detail, we shared in each other's joy and loved each other when times were less than perfect, we have analyzed relationships and shared stories about her mom and my dad, and over the last four years  we have laughed, cried, loved, and grown together. And there are days that I still feel like we are on summer break and that soon we will be moving back in together

But that is not the case this year because sweet rach has a new room mate and there is no one I would rather hand her off to than him. They married at August 14th and the whole day was perfect. She is going to blog all the details so I do not want to take that from her but the whole day I felt like I was glowing. Rachel has had her wedding planned for a long time now and it was beautiful to watch her dreams unfold so perfectly that day. An hour before she walked down the aisle she was the calmest I had ever seen her. After all the planning it was hard to believe we would ever make it to the point but we did.   And the most beautiful thing about her wedding ceremony was that it was completely about the Lord. Even as she walked down the aisle in her gorgeous white dress Amazing Grace was playing and we were reminded just how good God is.

The thing I am most grateful for when it comes to my friendship with her is that Rachel has been blessed with the ability to see people and situations the way God does. And being around her for the last four years has allowed me to share in this. She keeps an eternal perspective when living her life. Rachel has seen things in me and in the rest of our friend group that I had never realized. She is able to pinpoint the qualities in people that often others don't take the time to notice


she is strong and sensitive at the same time
she is independent but is eager to welcome new people into her life
she loves others selflessly and
she has loved me perfectly
and she truly knows what it means to surrender completely to the grace we have been given

love and miss you


Until Then,


Amy

coming back home

"Everybody has to leave, 
everybody has to 
leave their home and come back
 so they can
love it again for all new reasons”

 -Donald miller

It took me only two weeks away to realize all the reasons I love oxford and this weekend I get to go BACK!

Getty Images

The last two weeks in Denton,TX have been an experience unlike any other. There are 16 people in my graduate class. Their ages range from 22-46. Some have boyfriends, some have fiancees, some have spouses, and two have children of their own. Their hometowns range from Minnesota to Texas, from Massachusetts to Nebraska, and there are even two students from Australia. 

We have different backgrounds, beliefs, and even accents. 

But in a world far from the comforts of the grove, mornings at bottle tree, walks through campus, beauty call, the balcony of a bar on a thursday afternoon, the rib cage after a friday night baseball game, yogurt at chaney's, coffee at uptown, and an unlimited supply friends I am learning how to live outside of my bubble that so perfectly consisted of each of these things. These experiences have shaped me in such a way that makes me able to survive in a world without these comforts.

And I am learning how to love Denton. I am learning how to be on my own and in the last two weeks...

I have grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and prepared full meals for myself

 I have attended church completely alone and been okay with it

 I have attended classes as a graduate student and taken on way to many projects

I have rented nine red boxes and received five movies from netflixs

I have been given a job at clinic where I have the opportunity to love on children and build relationships with their parents

And one day I hope I love this place. I know it can never be Oxford but then again what place can be. 

So for the friends in Oxford I will be arriving early saturday morning and I can't wait to see your faces. For the friends other places this weekend know you will be missed and the grove will not be the same without you

until then, 

amy 

Simply Sunday

"Sunday was a day of rest 

Now, it’s one more day for progress 

And we can’t slow down ‘cause more is best

It’s all an endless process"

-Rascal Flatts

Sundays are my favorite. But only when I treat them the way they were intended.  Most weeks I use it as a day to get ahead and to get a jump start on my work for the week. But this is not why we have Sundays. They were given as a reminder that someone outside of us is taking care of things and we should take a day each week to rest in that truth.

 Each Sunday I am going to provide you with a favorite recipe. Some will be healthy and others just delicious

courtesy of www.flickr.com

For the first week I am sharing an M&M cookie recipe. I found it in my moms recipe box this summer and she was given the recipe by a friend from her hometown. My sister loves to cook and has become a wonderful baker. She loves to add her own touch to an already existing recipe.  She often switches out the M&Ms for different types of chocolate chips or nuts.

My sister made a batch of these cookies for the day of this sweet one's wedding and we happily ate them as we got dressed to watch her walk down the aisle.

Delightful M&M cookies:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
dash cinnamon
2 cups M&Ms

 Preheat oven to 375. Blend oil, butter, and sugars. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Sift the dry ingredients together and add the mixture. Stir in the M&Ms. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

I hope you were able to rest today and maybe even enjoy a delicious cookie and
Until Then,
Amy

a place of my own

“Everybodys just a stranger but that’s the danger of going my own way”

-John Mayer

I have been perfectly planning my new home all summer. Although its just a one bed room studio apartment, its my first home of my own. It is completely mine and it was exciting to watch it turn from an empty room into my own place

Already it has served as more than just an apartment

It has been a place where my family could eat meals, watch movies, and just spend time together before they left

It has been a place where an old friend could come to visit, catch up, and make plans for her sweet wedding in May

And although it is just me living here my hope is that my small apartment serves as much more than a place to hold my belongings

I hope it holds study groups, movie parties, and gatherings for new friends

I hope it holds much needed reunions with old friends traveling from wherever they now call home

I hope it can be a place where I can study and get things done but also a place I can climb into bed each night and find rest

So here is my new place

hope you enjoy it

Until then,

Amy