Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn

Don't you just love making gingerbread houses near Christmas time? I do! I remember one time, me, my mom and my brother made a little gingerbread village and strung Christmas lights inside the gingerbread houses. We set it up on a shelf and displayed it until Christmas was over. It was so cute! 

Since I came to the mountains five years ago, I discovered that the Grove Park Inn (a beautiful, fancy-pants resort/spa in Asheville, NC) has a gingerbread house competition every year. It really is fantastic. There are several different categories to compete in: adult, teen, and youth. People from all over the South-East enter their gingerbread masterpieces.

Last week, me, Taylor, and our friend Jess all went to see the houses. Jess had never been before, so I was so glad we were able to share that with her. It was so much fun! There is always such stunning creativity on display at this event. One of my favorites this year was the Narnia "house".....ok, so it isn't really a house (many aren't), but the point is that it is made of gingerbread and candy ;)

The house below was another favorite. I'd love to live there ;)

And.....here's a few more

After we looked at the houses, Jess was kind enough to take some Christmas pictures of me and Taylor. We had a lot of fun :)

We wanted to take a few with the dogs too, but we decided that that was an adventure for another day!

Jess and I got Taylor to take a few of us together too.

She's such a beautiful person on the inside and out. Such a sweet friend that I love and cherish.

Now that I've seen all the gingerbread houses and the Grove Park, I'm ready to build my own! Taylor and I are going to hopefully work on ours tomorrow night :D

Friend-Filled, Ashevillian Weekend

This past week, I mentioned that I had been home a lot. As much as I enjoyed it, I was bored by the end of the week. Thankfully, one of my best friends in the world (Meredith, the one who got married in August) and her husband came up to visit Taylor and I. This was the first time we had seen them since the wedding... it had been far too long!

They got in late Friday night. 

In the morning, Mere and I had coffee while our husbands slept. We laughed and talked in whispers as we discussed life, jobs, and what we have been learning as Christians and women. 

After the guys woke up, we all got ready and headed to Asheville with no plan other than to be in Asheville. 

When we got into downtown, traffic was backed up because there had been a parade before we got there. After 20 minutes, when we finally found parking, we walked around and went into some of the shops. The first one we went into was awesome! Its a good thing I don't go to Asheville very often, because I could blow a lot of money in there! It was called Garage 34.

Most of their products were locally made and they had quite a few different projects that contributed money to those in need, almost like a local version of Tom's. I was particularly inspired by some of their crochet items made by locals. They were absolutely adorable. Even Taylor said he thought I should practice items that were similar. 

He also really liked the candles they had that were molded into cut beer cans and bottles.

They also had a vintage wedding section with tons of vintage wedding dresses and handmade wedding decor. It was awesome, but my mom's wedding shop is better ;)

Garage 34's collection of wedding accessories and decor. They had such a cute selection.

We spent an hour or two walking around downtown through a bunch of other stores, but nothing compared to Garage 34. It was by-far the group's favorite.

We did go into Urban Outfitters and goofed around. 

Taylor and I wanted to show Mere and Brett the wonderfulness that is Battery Park Book Exchange, so we headed over there. On the way, we got side-tracked by an art gallery. It was nestled up some stairs in a loft apartment that had been converted into a gallery. The girl who worked there said that all of the photographs were taken by one man. They were beautiful. Most of them were depicting the life, work, and beauty of South America. There were a few heart-breaking ones that dealt with suffering and poverty.

The girl also mentioned that the photographer was in Honduras working with the coffee bean farms and helping make people aware of a bacteria that had ruined their crops a while back. Now the coffee is safe again and he wants to make people aware so that the beans will once again be lucrative for the farmers. 

The art gallery loft and the view from the gallery's window

We took Meredith and Brett to Battery Park Books for a little bit. Brett seemed impressed :)

Next, we took them to The French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It was actually the last day they would be in that particular location (they are moving a few blocks over to a bigger building), so they were sold-out of several things. I enjoyed it, but it would have been better if they had had my chocolate creme' brulee ;)

Next, we headed over to Biltmore Grand Movie Theater and saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One. I actually liked it better than the first two. I know she is a good actress, but Jennifer Lawrence drives me crazy in those movies. I guess it is just her version of the dramatic screams and hyperventilation of Katniss.....its a little too much for me... but on the bright side, Liam Hemsworth is a beautiful display of God's beauty ;) sorry Taylor!

After the movie we got a quick bite to eat and headed home. We spent the rest of the evening watching Jim Gaffigan on Netflix. I love that man! Below is one of my favorite routines.

The weekend was over way too quickly. Mere and Brett had to leave the next morning, but I am so glad they made it. We love them both and are glad for time with them.

Have an amazing day, everyone!

Meditations of the Heart

Father God in Heaven,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord.
Teach me and guide me in your truth. Lead me in your way ever-lasting and show me the way I should go in all things. Search me and see if there is any wrong in me and correct it.
Holy is your name. Your kingdom come and will be done, God in Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread (physically, emotionally, spiritually, ect.) and forgive us our sins and heal us, help us, and purify us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, not just in what we do, but in all we say, think, desire, and even in our motives. Let them all be pure and pleasing to you, Father God in Heaven.
We are yours, Lord God. We belong to you. Who are we to question your ways? Who are we to bypass your plan for our own? Who are we to put our own desires above yours? Forgive us, correct us. reveal to us when we are living wrongly, and teach us how to obey, and help us to fully in all things.
Help us take every thought and every thing captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ, and teach us how.
Help us not to twist, misinterpret, or misapply anything; thinking that something is from you, your voice, or something you are saying when it isn't, or vice-versa. Help us not to do those things in anything, at anytime, in any way, shape or form, God in Heaven. And help us know the truth, know the difference, and accept, believe, act on, live by, move forward, and obey fully, accordingly, with anything and everything we struggle with specifically, in all those ways, and with anything and everything else in life in all those ways too please, God in Heaven.
Help us to hear your voice clearly, God in Heaven, and know your voice compared to and against all else. and help us always follow and obey your voice, truth and will, God in Heaven, and not anything else, and help us not to get tricked by the enemy. But distinctly and fully know the difference.
Let our desire be you. Let me be a witness, example and light for you everywhere I go to everyone.
Be with all the prayer requests, my own, and all those of your children.
Be with everyone today and protect us all and keep us all safe. Be with those in any kind of emergency and use it to help them draw closer to you. Be with all involved, affected, and helping, God in Heaven in every way they need it.
Take care of, help me with, and do for me all that I always ask, pray, have on my heart and mind, and desire for you to help me with and do for me, God in Heaven, all in general, all specifically, and including all of the "includings", new, old, and added on.
Help me to trust you to do all I've asked for me, in all those ways I've asked, help me trust you in general, and help me trust you for your will, timing, and in every way that I should.
Help me, heal me, forgive me, purify me, correct me, and guard and protect me in every way I need it, in every way I struggle and in all against you, God in Heaven.
I ask all of these things for myself and for all your children, in Jesus' name with faith in you, in and through the faith I've asked you to constantly fill me with, God in Heaven, thank you, amen.

Homemade Sriracha "Ra-Mein"

I don't know about you, but I am (and always have been) completely obsessed with Chinese food.
Its my absolute favorite and I crave it often. But who has the time, money, or metabolism to go to a Chinese buffet all the time? I know I don't!

If you are looking for something to satisfy your Chinese craving without ruining your wallet, I have the perfect recipe for you!

I call it "Ra-Mein". Its basically lo-mein made out of Ramen noodles. I make this fairly often for myself because its so quick and easy. Taylor loves it too, so you know its "man-approved". ;)

For this recipe you will need:

* 3 Packs of Ramen Noodles (doesn't matter which flavor)

* 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

* 3 tablespoons coconut oil

* 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce

* 1 teaspoon garlic powder

* 2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

In a stove-top pan, boil Ramen noodles in water until soft. Do not use flavor packet.
Next, dump any excess water out of the pan and turn burner heat to medium-high.
Add in soy sauce, coconut oil, garlic powder and onion powder. Constantly stir until the soy sauce is cooked into the noodles and there is no more liquid in the pan. Add in the Sriracha and stir until mixed in thoroughly.

This meal takes about 10 minutes to make and it is all made in one pan so clean-up is easy too.
I am a baby when it comes to spicy foods, so if you prefer your food with a kick to it, add more Sriracha.

Thanks for reading and happy eating!

Back from the Dead

Hello world!

Its been a while, hasn't it? I've missed blogging like crazy and am so happy to have my laptop back.

I've been so busy the past three weeks even though I haven't been getting hardly any hours at work.

To supplement our income, I've been crocheting my little heart out, making hats and scarves for a few different people who ordered their Christmas presents through me. That has been such a huge blessing because otherwise, I wouldn't be making enough right now to even pay one of our bills.

Below are a few things I've been making.

In addition to crocheting, I've been tutoring for an awesome kid that goes to Taylor's school and hanging out with my doggies. I can't really complain. Its been enjoyable.

Please drop in again soon. I've got plenty of posts to write from my time without my laptop.

Prayer

God in Heaven,
Thank you for this day and all that you have done for me and blessed me with. Thank you for Taylor, my inlaws, my parents, brother, and grandparents, and all my other family. Thank you for my friends, for Bible study, for loving me when I am ridiculous, when I'm sinful, and when I am ignorant.
Help me to truly receive your love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, patience, peace, and all else you offer me.
Please help me to know your truth, your voice, your will, God in Heaven, from lies, from wrong thinking, from other voices, from things that aren't you, or from you God in Heaven. Help me truly recognize and know the truth, recognize and know the difference, and believe, accept, receive, act on, obey, live, and move forward accordingly and correctly; knowing, knowing how to, and taking the most glorifying to you next step in every part of life for the rest of my life, always and no matter what. Help me also not to twist, misiterpret, misapply, or think something is you or from you or your voice that isn't God in Heaven, or think something is not you or not from you or not your voice that actually is, God in Heaven...and again, help me know the truth, know the difference, and live and do all those things accordingly, God in Heaven. Please do all of this for me FULLY. I desparately need you and need your help not to believe lies, and your help to know the truth, and firmly believe it, dissmissing lies every single day of my life, but particularly now, as I wait for my medication to get straightened out.
Please help me God in Heaven and please do all this for me in all those ways with all the things I struggle with, and with everything in life.
Be with all the prayer requests.
Take care of all of those things and all I always ask, pray, have on my heart and mind, and desire for you to help me with and do for me all in general, all specifically, including all the includings, and all the new and added on includings as well.
And help me to be a light for you in all things. Help me, God in Heaven.
Be with Zach during his interview and Challice during hers this morning. Your will be done in those things and in everything, but if its pleasing to you and best for them, please grant them these jobs.
I ask all these things, as well as that youll forgive me, help me, heal me, and purify me in every way I need it continuously, God in Heaven, in Jesus' name, in and through the faith and trust I've asked you to fill me with, God in Heaven, and meet me where I'm at, forgive my doubts, honor and answer my prayers despite my weakness and lack, continually through Jesus Christ and the faith I do have, small as it may be. Of and to you alone truly I ask and pray all these things in expectation and trust in you, God in Heaven, amen.