Coral Breeze

Coral Breeze by mrsjohnson2012 featuring adjustable rings

Oasis orange maxi dress
$87 - johnlewis.com

Stiletto heels
sheinside.com

Sacha shoulder handbag
$87 - debenhams.com

Amrita Singh adjustable ring
amritasingh.com

Fantasy Jewelry Box turquoise teardrop earrings
fantasyjewelrybox.com

Gold tone jewelry
kohls.com

Christian Dior sparkly nail polish
nordstrom.com

Beige nail polish
bloomingdales.com

Change is Radical

Radical: thoroughgoing or extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms 

Have you ever wanted to do something radical? I mean really radical? You know... those things that seem to freak people out just a little bit. Those ideas that make people look at you with questioning eyes because they are trying to figure out if you are being sarcastic or if you should be institutionalized. No one ever seems to respond well to radical ideas. They are the thoughts that always seem to be just outside of people's understanding and acceptance.

The world is full of normal people doing normal things, living what is considered a "normal" life. Let me tell you, history wasn't made by normal people. The authors of history were those people who had a radical idea and decided to do something about it. For example, let's look at the existence of the United States of America. The world may not even know that this humongous piece of land existed if it hadn't been for one man, Christopher Columbus. Yes, the Native Americans were here first, and yes, Columbus did miss North America when he first landed. However, because Columbus dared to believe the radical idea that the world was round, he went out on a search for a new path to India. As a result of his crazy hypothesis, he put North and South America on the map and opened up the possibility for the United States of America to exist as it is today. History would not have remembered Christopher Columbus if he had believed the world was flat. History would not have remembered him if he was "normal."

"Crazy people change things."

There are some traditions that exist that I don't think should be broken. Traditions became traditions and continue to exist as traditions because they are worth being traditions. They have real validity. At the same time, there are some "traditions" that only exist because they are either comforts or habits. Those are hard to break because we are creatures of habit, and we enjoy our comforts. Radical ideas require change, and a lot of people, including myself, don't usually like change. Change is hard.

I want to do something radical, no matter how hard it is. I don't know exactly what it's going to look like , but I'm going to do it. Most of my life has been spent collecting a vast number of inquiring looks. My bank of odd stares is probably much bigger than my bank of hard earned cash. If it was as easy to earn money as it was to earn suspicious glances, I would be rich. Either way, I want to do something that will change history. I want to be history's next author. It's a lot harder to change the world than it is to go along with it. Radical ideas don't make themselves. They take work, dedication, and probably a lot of rejection, but it's worth it in the end. What will people say about me when I die? How will people remember me? I want to do something to bring hope and a brighter future for millions of people. Affecting change requires being changed. If I want do something radical, it means that I have to be radical first. It's impossible to expect someone to believe my radical idea if I don't live it out. The crazy thoughts in my mind are still nothing but a dense fog; they lack clarity and resolution. What I do know is that as I continue to walk forward, without fear or hesitation, I will see my radical ideas come into focus. I will find them and accomplish them. Then, maybe, just maybe, your kids will read my name in history class. 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

- Gandhi 

Saving Spaces

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."

- George Bernard Shaw

Like many of you, I am in a constant effort to keep my house clean and organized. It seems hard to fathom how challenging and complicated this job can be sometimes. I have seen some people with a strange obsession for organization, and other people who have never even heard the words "color coded." I think that I probably fall somewhere in between the two. Either way, we all have to put in an equal amount of effort to keep our homes in order. Since not many of us live in our "dream home," it can be pretty easy to blame our living space for our organizational problems. Then of course, we are all busy, so staying on top of cleaning the house can be just as difficult. Instead of finding an excuse for all my organizational problems, I'm going to do something about it.

This is my attempt at saving spaces. My current home is far from ideal, but it's where I live, so I have to make it work. There are probably a million other things I'd rather do then clean, but someone has to do it. As much as cleaning and organizing can be annoying, I always feel so much better when it's done. A clean and organized home gives you a sense of peace and accomplishment. It's kind of like sorting out the extra change in your pocket and finding a way to use all those annoying pennies when you're at the store. I always feel better when I can get rid of those extra pennies... This is where I am going to share with you any tips, tricks, and other brilliant ideas I find to help keep my home clean and organized. It will be an ongoing process, and this post is just the beginning.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

I finally tried my first new and unknown recipe for dinner. I am SO happy that I have My Guide to Cooking. It has been such a life saver. In my cook book, I found a simple and easy sandwich recipe. At first I felt unsure about making the recipe for dinner, but I decided to give it a try. The recipe I chose to make was the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. This recipe uses elements that you would find in buffalo wings and adds them to a sandwich. It was DELICIOUS. My husband loved it and so did I. What made it even better was that it only took about 30 minutes to have everything prepped, made, and on the table. It's super easy. I will definitely be making this sandwich again, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a try!

Deeper

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, 'Where is your God?' These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in the procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you down cast, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall praise Him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all the breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life."

Psalm 42:1-8 ESV

There is little for me to say about what it means to go deeper. It is hard to write about something so intricate that even I don't understand it. I wish that I could comprehend more, but  I cannot. There is little clarity to my declaration. All I can say with fair truth is that I have a burning desire to go deeper. I feel a passion within me to discover the mysteries in this world. I have already concluded that I may not always find the answers. With every half answer I do find, I uncover twice the questions. There is much more to life than we first see. There is much more below the surface. It is just a matter of diving in and realizing that it is there. That is why we have the ability to go deeper; there exists a vast extent to life that we still have not met.

I can only describe to you my need, my driving passion, to find more. Everything and everyone around us is made up of more than we give credit. If we take a moment to look, we will find that the intricacies of this world are beyond comprehension, and they all come from One man. God is the only one who can answer the questions that we find in life because He is the one who created them. He is the only one who can guide us to those answers, and he is the only one who will ever truly know. As I go deeper, I will grow, learn, and change. I want to find the answers that God has for me. I want to discover the questions and mysteries that lead me to greater knowledge and wisdom. I want to change. I want to find the heart beat of a world that is so little undersatood. I want to know the passion of the God who created it. As I continue to search and to learn, I know that God will teach me. My journey will lead me to spiritual things, wonders of life, and the concerns of people. As I keep moving forward, I will discover God. When I discover God, I will find freedom.

My Guide to Cooking

In order to begin my cooking adventures, I knew I needed a little extra guidance. As much as I love Pinterest, it doesn't give me the detailed cooking instructions I was hoping for. I've found a hundred and one recipes I want to try, but most of them I have no idea how to make. I almost wish I was still a kid living with my parents. That way when I mess up a recipe, I can call for mom and she can come save the day. I'm on my own, left in the kitchen with a stove, a pan, and raw chicken. Now what?

Fortunately for me, I recently had a birthday. I love birthdays. They are the only day in the whole year that everyone comes to celebrate you, give you presents, and you can get just about anything you want. For my birthday, I was given two cook books. One had an endless amount of recipes, but seemed a little too advanced for my experience. The other cook book was very simple. It explained all the basics of cooking that I wished I knew, and some basics that I didn't even realize I had to know! Never in my life did I think I would be so excited about getting a cook book.

 Now I have a wonderful combination of cook books. One to get me started, and the other to grow in to. I decided to start my cooking adventures with the book How to Boil Water. It's amazing. Plus, it has lots of fun little pictures to make it interesting. This book explains all you need to know about the definitions of cooking jargon, prepping vegetables and fruit, how to cook different kinds of meat, necessary items to outfit your kitchen, and just about anything you would need to know. If you are as clueless as I am about the culinary arts, this cook book is a great place to start. This is where I'm starting, and I'm excited to see where it takes me!