Why Friends Are AWESOME

I’ve been wanting to talk about friends for about a month, so I looked up National Friendship Day, cause that would be a good day to do this kind of post, right? Except I think it’s in August, and I just got so excited about this post that, uh, no way could I wait another four months!

So anyway, have you ever really thought about how awesome your friends are? Not like, how they are awesome friends, but how, as a person, they are so. amazing. One of my best friends runs a great blog (*cough* idesignsbysophie.com *cough*), another is going to INDIA to be a foreign exchange student, another has already been recruited to a college (she’s a sophomore in high school), and another is a future food critic/actress/surgeon! That’s definitely not all, but I just wanted to make a point, not bore you 😉

And then you realize just how blessed you are to have these future/present superstars as your besties, the ones who will always be by your side- what did I ever do to deserve this love? But you didn’t do anything specifically, you were just you, so that means that you’re awesome, too, and your amazing friends are thinking about you the same way you’re thinking about them. And you’ve [I’ve] realized, everyone in this world is amazing! We’re all blessed with extraordinary gifts by God (1 Cor 12:7, Rom 11:29) and immeasurable love (John 3:16)!

That makes me happy 🙂 What are some qualities that make you and your friends amazing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Bloom Where You’re Planted

The teen years are hard, right? Full of weird emotions and sometimes you just don’t know how to feel. But whoever you are, all teens experience some unhappiness with something or other. Like Harry in Order of the Phoenix and Katniss in Mockingjay- sometimes the situations you’re in just make you want to curl up into a ball and never leave your room.

I moved to the town I’m living in now three years ago, and until today, the only thing I liked about the town was my school (which is a story for another time…maybe). I hated the landscape, I hated the amenities (one small Target? Yeesh), I hated the people (dang, what a horrible generalized statement).

Today, I went downtown with my best friend, Lucie (the brownie bites guest poster!). We volunteered at our local library for a few hours, then went to a corner cafe for lunch, then to a new pottery place (LOVE!), then to a cute antique shop, then to a fabulous bakery that is super cheap but soooo yummy, which was good because by then we kinda ran out of money… hahaha!

These businesses were really small, local businesses, and the owners were SO NICE! At the corner cafe, we ordered a sweet potato cinnamon roll, and the guy waited until we finished our sandwiches to heat it up and put on fresh cream cheese icing- heaven! At the new pottery place, we painted a butter dish and soap pump for our moms for Mothers’ Day; the store was so artsy and colorful we couldn’t not fall in love! The antique shop was full of the most amazing things and ridiculously awesome old coins, and the dude there was really enthusiastic and helpful. At the bakery, I got four delicious cookies for 80¢!

Basically, what I’m saying is that you can find lovely gems wherever you are. If you’re really sick of your town, doing the same old stuff, I highly encourage you to explore and find those gems! You won’t regret it, and you might even find some of your favorite places! Make the most of your life, because there really is beauty in everything 🙂

What are your favorite quirky places?

P.S. Sorry I didn’t get any pictures!

Rock & Worship Roadshow 2015

Hey hey!!! I went to the Rock & Worship Roadshow recently and all I can say is BEST. NIGHT. EVER. It was absolutely unbelievable!

There were so many amazing artists and performances-definitely something for everyone!

Jamie Grace because um YES

Basically what it is is a concert tour with 8 bands/performers. All Christian music, all amazing! The bands that were there were Mercy Me, Matt Maher, Jon Guerra, Tadashii, Jamie Grace, David Crowder Band, I Am They and Group 1 Crew. Each artist performed 3-5ish songs. It was $10, general seating.

It was $10 well spent!!! I took two friends along and we had a total blast! Afterward, we got ice cream so that’s cool too. My favorite person was Jamie Grace. She was so likable and had the best personality, plus she is an absolutely amazing singer and so beautiful! I also really loved David Crowder Band because it was seriously country which was fun. There was a cellist and violinist in that performance, and they were jaw-droppingly amazing! I also really loved Mercy Me…

I would DEFINITELY recommend going, no matter who you are there’s something for you- like rap? There’s Tadashii. Country? David Crowder. Techno/hip-hop? Group 1 Crew. Bright Pop-Country? Jamie Grace. But get there early, as in, before the doors open, because we got there about 15 minutes after doors opened and I’m pretty sure the line extended half a mile outside the door…so yeah. We ended up in seats that were almost behind the stage, but we were lucky to even get that! There were so many people that some didn’t even have seats!

See how we’re behind the stage and projector?

If you ever have the opportunity to go to this (it’s almost over this year, if it isn’t over already) DO IT!!! It’s one of the most spiritual and fun events ever! SO. AWESOME. Yes.

Book Review: Before I Fall

All riiight, it’s time for a review of a book that’s really popular as of late. I’m not sure how many bestseller books I’ll review, but I can tell you that the next review will be a popular book too. This week’s book isssss *drumroll please* Before I Fall!

book image from Lauren Oliver Books

Book: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Rating: PG-13 — adult content, language, drinking/drugs/smoking
Score: 5/10

Summary:
Sam Kingston has THE life- she’s a popular girl with a boyfriend and great friends. She shouldn’t be the one to die, right? Fortunately, she has seven chances to redo the last day of her life. Sam discovers some interesting things, like how much she loves her family, what her boyfriend really thinks of her, and the secrets her best friend is keeping from her. What can she change in the lives of other people, and how can she change her own perspectives, before she is gone forever?

Review:
The plot of this book is really interesting. However, the beginning was slow and boring. There were lots of things I didn’t enjoy reading because of my personal beliefs and morals, like underage drinking, [talking about] sex, and smoking. Maybe this is normal teen stuff, but I’m not a stereotypical teenager, so I’m not really sure, haha. I really did love the character development, though, and reading about what Sam did each day to change the outcome. But the negative actions were so frequent that it made the book not very enjoyable for me.

If you don’t mind reading about the stuff I mentioned above, then it’s a great book, but if you’re like me and that stuff bothers you, I wouldn’t read it at all.

Have you read Before I Fall? What did you think? Were you bothered by some of the topics and main characters’ actions? Let me know in the comments!

SWITCH Students and Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day! …We’ll come back to that later…

But first, on an unrelated note, I want to introduce you guys to a really good reference for, basically, life. My church has this fabulous youth group called SWITCH Students, and something new they’re doing this year is a blog to post all the sermons. And the lessons are GREAT! I’m not sure how often they update it (the most recent post is from February but we meet every week), but the posts that are on there now are, in my opinion, super important for teens (and everyone!) in this modern day to read!

You know what the best reference is? Yeah? The Bible. UMM YES! I know, it’s challenging (but totally worth it), so look at the SWITCH page for some awesome ways to implement the Bible in your life!

Now I’d like to show you the bracelet I made for a little green accessory 😉 It’s kind of like a charm bracelet, so I think I’ll just make new charms for each holiday!
You just need: jewelry wire, fabric paint, and metal file (optional)

If you want to read more awesome and easy DIYs and craftsy stuff, be sure to follow the blog and subscribe! PLUS, when you subscribe you get a free password organizer, and a free font each month! Whoo!

What’s your favorite holiday craft?

The Liebster Award

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Hello! Today I am delighted to say that I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by Sophia over at Someplace in the Midst and Sophie from iDesigns by Sophie! Thank you so much!

image from Wording Well

What is the Liebster Award?
I had to look it up, and it turns out the Liebster Award is somewhat like those annoying chain/forward emails you got when you were in middle school, but without the annoying part! It’s actually really cool, because bloggers nominate other bloggers (who have less than 200 followers) as kind of a “welcome-to-the-blogosphere-you’re-really-cool” gift! You ask questions for your nominees to answer, and they just pass it on!

Because two people nominated me, I’ll just answer 5 questions from each person 🙂

1. (Sophia) Favorite YouTuber? Umm honestly I don’t really get on YouTube as much as expected I guess…When I’m on YouTube I like vlogbrothers I suppose.

2. (Sophia) Favorite celebrity? I’m also not that into pop culture, oops. But Jennifer Lawrence is always cool. Always.

3. (Sophia) Favorite Disney princess? Ha! See now, this is a question I can answer!!! Maybe Merida because she’s super awesome and independent and is amazing with her bow. 🙂

4. (Sophia) Favorite vacation? Honestly, I love visiting my grandma. Okay, so it’s not a huge vacation, being just three hours away, but it’s always fun! 🙂

5. (Sophia) Last movie watched? The Hunger Games- it was on last night!

6. (Sophie) Favorite book series? Oooooh, this is a hard one….I LOOOVEEEE Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Maximum Ride, and most recently the Graceling world has been in my mind.

7. (Sophie) Favorite holiday? I truly love Christmas! I love love love making gifts for my whole family and all of my friends; there’s so much variety in the crafts I can make! I also love the baking (the lovely smells!), the music, the food, getting together with my family, and unity in celebrating my faith. It’s such a  great feeling 🙂

8. (Sophie) Favorite author? James Patterson is pretty great. So is JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, and Michael Crichton. I know I know, I’m so decisive.

9. (Sophie) Career goals? At the moment, I want to become a biomedical engineer designing artificial hearts. But it changes every few months–last year, I wanted to be a hematologist.

10. (Sophie) Favorite DIY? Seriously, Soph?! DIYing is my life! XD Buutttt today I tried a label-removing solution that was like magic…ask me again tomorrow, it’ll change, I’m sure.

I nominate these wonderful blogs for the Liebster Award, and can I just say, I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of the wonderful blogging universe! (By the way, I’m friends with a lot of amazing blogger people who also deserve this award, but if I’ve seen you’ve already been nominated recently by Sophia or Sophie, I didn’t nominate you because I though you’d be kinda overwhelmed, but do know that I really love being friends with you all!!!!)

The Lolly Project
Pebbles + Peaches
Wispy & Willowy
Reckless
A Little Yarn Blossom
Eve of Womanhood

Here are my questions 🙂 Answer all, none, or however many you want! And to the magnificent people who are reading this post and didn’t get nominated, answer these questions in the comments! Or on your own blog (if you have one) and link back to this post so I can read them!

1. What do you fangirl over?
2. Three weird, random facts about you?
3. What are you most proud of?
4. What would be your dream place to live?
5. Favorite dessert?
6. What are you doing at this moment besides writing this post?
7. Do you have any pets?
8. What superpower do you want?
9. If you could meet anyone (past, present, or future; fictional or real), who would you want to meet?
10. Fruits or veggies?
11. What do you want your legacy to be? In other words, what do you want people to remember you by/for?

I love all you people, those who I mentioned and those I didn’t, thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog. I truly appreciate it so much! And don’t forget to comment with your answers to the questions! 😀