Realizations.

in the kitchen with my two siblings, home alone. the smell of sausage sizzling and pancakes in the making. so here are my realizations of the day.

today i realized...

1. that i don't like having raw, ground-up dead pig on my fingers, especially when i'm going to eat it. 

2. that i didn't feed my dear Penny dog today... until 5:00. i know... i'm terrible!!

3. that peeta mellark would probably be the perfect boyfriend... :)

4. how much i love old christmas music.

5. how much i love playing christmas music on the piano.

6. how excited i am for the hunger games movie... well, actually i realized this the day i saw the trailer, but with each day comes more anticipation.
7. how excited i am to take my first CYT broadway dance class tomorrow!

much love,
lindsey lou

The Introvert Hour {In The Studio}

so here i sit in my studio. soaking up some alone-time and writing in all lower-case letters. creating cards for beloved friends and reading books. listening to judy garland and ella fitzgerald. enjoying the organization of my studio, that never has been, and probably never will be again. dreaming of beautiful dresses that make you feel elegant and picture-perfect. dreaming of christmas and winter and christ's birth.  dreaming of the thing i should have forgotten, but continuing to dream of deeper, all the more. pondering my life's experiences and being thankful for the trials i have encountered, which have given me far more strength and knowledge than i could have had if i had avoided the pain and went down the easy road of life. being thankful for little sisters. being thankful for closeness with the lord. being thankful for the strength and patience he has given me in the past month. being thankful that he is sovereign and his plan is so perfect-- and that i can see that so clearly. and being thankful for you. :)

now here are some of the photos i promised:

i am also thankful for sunsets and silhouetted trees.

this is a lovely pearl necklace that my grandma gave me. i treasure it.
while we were at my grandma's, she showed us her old jewelry. she had rings with diamonds and real gold,  but out of them all, this ring (below) was my positive  f a v o r i t e . it has a fake jewel, and it's sterling silver, but it was just charming.

now i'm drinking tea and nibbling ginger snaps, compliments of my sister, babycakes. mockingjay is next on the agenda, so i'd better hop to it. this was my introvert hour-- thanks for tuning in. :)

much love and a hug,

lindsey nicole

p.s. the lovely, lacy black dress was ordered less than ten minutes ago! a n d  it went on sale!! how great is that?

a little and lacy black dress...

Dear friends,

Since I know you all have got to be fashionably educated in the way many bloggers are, I'd like to ask your opinion on a dress. 

I was told that I could pick out a dress to be my Christmas present from my Grandparents, and I found this one a few weeks ago before I knew... and fell in love with it!! 

This dress, from Modcloth.com, is called the "When the Night Comes Dress". Now tell me, is it not just lovely??

{Sorry this photo is so small. I couldn't make it bigger without being super blurry.}

So... what do you think? It's kind of pricey, but I'm hoping maybe it will go on sale. :)

Much Love,

Lindsey Lou

P.S. what does your dream dress look like?

Over The River And Through The Woods...

Hello, my beautiful readers! I call you beautiful, because I know you are! You were made in the image of God, specially created to be you and no one else. And if you were made in the image of God-- the creator of the universe, then how could you not be beautiful? But even more than the way you look on the outside-- your hair, your eyes, your height, it's the way you look on the inside that's beautiful. He created you with a beautiful heart that longs to worship Him and praise Him for what He has done. I pray that all of you will realize, if you don't already, how beautiful you are in His sight. So the next time someone tells you how pretty you look, in stead of letting the voice inside of your head say 'No I'm not, you're just saying that, and it's a lie,' say 'thank you' and remember that you were created just the way God wanted you to be. And also remember that when we put ourselves down, we not only give into Satan's trap, but we are putting down God's creation. We are saying it's not good enough. But remember what God said? In Genesis, He created the heavens, the earth, the plants, etc., and He said they were good. But when He created man, He said it was very good. So remember that even when we feel so imperfect, Jesus' blood  covers our imperfections, and our Heavenly Father sees only Jesus' perfection when He looks at us.

Wow. I really didn't mean to write all that. I called you beautiful, and the rest just flowed out. Okay, so I am finally back from... Grandma's house! My sister and I got to spend Monday through Thursday at my Grandparent's house, preparing the feast for Thanksgiving.

As for what our week entailed, please read on. :)

Making homemade noodles for the feast

Fixin' some biscuits and gravy

lichen. I was so captivated by its brilliance that I left the bread baking early to capture it. 

Libby and the lichen tree

The rain on all these was too inspiring to pass up.

uhh... hay bale?

orange rolls, which, sadly, i didn't eat...

and...finishing Catching Fire {the second in The Hunger Games series}
I actually bought the last one today. Mockingjay is its title. It felt so incredibly exciting. See, as I've said before, I'm not much of a reader-- or at least I haven't been until lately. And when I want to read something, the library is my best friend. Or else I would just borrow from a friend. But there's something so refreshing as you pick up a brand-new book, so crisp and clean, take it to the desk of Barnes and Noble for purchase, and carry the bag home. The pages are unfolded-- untouched, even, and the words inside bring you to a whole different world.

Okay, sorry for that sappy ramble. Sometimes I just get lost. :)



I took several more pics, which I will add later, but it's just good to be back. [hint: be ready for some silhouettes and sunsets!] All in all, it was a successful and memorable Thanksgiving. I got to see some of my very few cousins, which is a rare and lovely treat. I also got to ride horses with my aunt, through their acres and acres of pasture, in search of a cow-- and the calf she was expecting. We found neither, but it was certainly a very pleasurable ride. Thanksgiving day brought an array of dishes-- turkey (of course), candied sweet potatoes, noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet corn, pumpkin pie, and about 14 others. The homemade noodles would have to be my favorite! We ate until we couldn't hold any more, then followed up with dessert and a few games of bingo. It's a relatively-new family tradition that is rather amusing.

Following hours of mingling with the family, my brother and I set out in my parents' tiny hometown in search of a red box.  We had absolutely no idea where we were going, but that's always the fun part of our late-night excursions together. We played the "turn right or left?" game until we found one... which was out of the film we were trying to find- Jane Eyre. So we found another, where the same story displayed itself.  But, since the third time's a charm, we got to a McDonalds and picked up the last copy available... and saw someone I knew! Which wouldn't be a problem, except I picked that night, of all nights to wear my pajama pants out of the house. The first time ever, and what do ya know? So I hid my lower half behind a trash can while my brother kept the conversation going. Our trip back included stopping at a green light, while in deep conversation, stalking a bridal shop window, and driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Yes, we were quite successful. And talented. And since my brother will be out of the house, and away to college in less than a year, I'm relishing each one of these crazy, laughter-filled adventures we have together.

Well, I think I've said enough. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was a great reminder to me of how terribly blessed I am, and I hope it was for you, too! Also, you should know that all fifteen of you are huge blessings to me! Thanks you so much for the encouragement!

Much Love,Lindsey Nicole

P.S. What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Such a lovely weekend

This weekend was full of photos, a project, an outing to world market, and  c h o c o l a t e   s o u f f l e. YUM.

this moss was simply too beautiful to pass up.

I love the light in this one

after!

simply too adorable.

a tiffin

ramekins

and... Chocolate soufflé! This was made by my lovely sister, Libby. And it was beyond scrumptious.

... and what I wore today (sorry it's such a terrible picture)
My favorite dress: $5, thrifted
Boots: $30, Target.com
mustard tank: $5, downtown boutique
Favorite green sweater: $twenty something, old navy
Belt: my mother's, thrifted

I really love to thrift. Can you tell? :)

Much Love,

Lindsey Nicole

Under Construction!

Hi, Y'all! Just so you know, my blog is kinda under construction and it's not going to stay like this! Sorry bout the mess. :)

{a ramble about our gifts}

Whether we realize it or not, God has given every one of us gifts. Some people are great at sports or music, others are really outgoing and friendly. Some are great at dancing, theater, singing, cooking, or so many other things! But sometimes we simply can't see the gift that has been given to us. We focus too much on the talents and abilities given to others, that we become jealous and discontent and can't see that we are special in our own way. 

You see, I have a problem. And it's really quite a big problem. The gifts that I have been given are all in the creative realm. I love to create- everything from a drawing, a cake, a knitted sock, or a photo, to a piano piece, a song and dance, or a blog post. The problem is that I feel like I have to be the best at everything. No matter what it is, I always have to work the hardest or be the greatest. And I've really struggled with this lately, because there are simply too many things I want to do, and not enough time to do them. Which is probably a good thing. See, this problem is not really anything too complex or unheard of... it's called pride. There, I said it. Yes, it is a mixture of perfectionism and pride, and not being humble enough to be teachable and realize that there are other people who enjoy the same things I like, and just let them shine. I need to be more loving in the sense that I am not so self-seeking that jealousy, rather than joy creeps up in me when I see others excelling at something. See, I told you this was a bad problem. So I am sorry if I have acted this way towards any of you. I truly am. And I am ready to let this pride go so that I can rejoice with those who are talented and find something they enjoy. This was hard to write, but it was good to get it out of me. Thank you for reading. I hope and pray that if any of you can't see the gifts you've been given, that you would realize that God loves you so much, and made you in His image, and you are special.  "I will praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!"{Psalm 139:14}

{completely random picture}

I'm off to take a long walk now. Have a marvelous day!

Much Love and a hug,

Lindsey Nicole

{Authentic People}

Well, here it goes for Authentic People! I 'm supposed to introduce myself, so for those of you who don't really know me, just know that I love Jesus. So much!! I also enjoy anything and everything creative-- especially photography. I am independently educated (aka homeschooling) and I love music, theater, and dancing around the house. As well as daydreaming, writing on my typewriters, and reading (and writing) snail mail. 

1} What's the nerdiest/geekiest/weirdest thing about you? That's easy. Everything about me is nerdy, but the biggest marker is probably when I won my school's spelling bee and had to go to the county spelling bee... on a Saturday morning. But hey, I got third, and I now have a new nickname- Spellmaster. 

2} If you could live in a fictional universe from any book, movie, or television show, what would it be? Hmm... Maybe from Tangled. I'm not sure.

3} Little or big, practical or frivolous, what is one of your favorite items in your house? Medium, my typewriter.

4} Do you like animated movies? If so, what is your favorite? Yes, Tangled! That is my favorite movie of all time. Seriously.

5} What is your favorite household chore? Cleaning the kids' bathroom. I said this before, but as weird as it sounds, I like cleaning the floors in there and imagining I'm Cinderella...'sing sweet nightingale'... :)

6} What's your favorite thing to get at Starbucks (or your favorite coffee shop)? Well, considering that I don't really like coffee (sorry, you coffee lovers... I'm working on it.) Strawberries and Creme for sure!

7} What is your favorite pizza topping? Hamburger. (My Grandpa raises his own beef!)

8} Waffles or pancakes? Pancakes! In my house we eat them every Saturday morning and at least one night a week.

9} Do you like to play games? If so, what is your favorite? Apples. To. Apples.

10} Have you ever dyed your hair? Nope. Someday if I'm an artist, I may do something crazy if I can pull it off, but it feels like as a teenager it seems a bit fake. 

12} Do you make your bed every morning? No. Not every morning, at least. But if I don't make it by about 8 'O clock (which is pretty much every day of the week), my sister faithfully reminds me, or sometimes pesters me to make it. And if I don't, or I don't do it just right, she'll make it, or just remake it until it's perfect. It's occasionally nice to have such an organized sister. :)

13} Picasso or Norman Rockwell? Uh, excuse me? Does this question really need to be asked? Norman Rockwell!!!! My  f a v o r i t e  artist of all time. He had so much talent! It's insane.

{This is my favorite painting of his}

Well, I suppose that concludes this post. Hopefully you learned something new about me! Also, feel free to link up if you want to join the party!

Much Love,

Lou

The Show.

{source}

See that beautiful beast? That majestic unicorn? That is me. Yes, it's true.

World, get ready for the greatest unicorn you've ever seen.

Be prepared for the most dazzling and sparkly horn you've ever set your eyes upon.

Prep to be extremely confused as to why the great unicorn is in a tutu!...??

Clap your biggest at my bow. 

And laugh all you want, because inside I'm laughing at myself as hard as you are.

Yes, it's opening night! I'm pumped for a great show tonight and tomorrow, then... 

!!!!!!!!

Yep, it's true. Babycakes, Cam, and I are all doing it and I. am. so. excited.

I'm also hoping for the part of Gertrude McFuzz... we're so alike. :) at least from the song I've heard of hers. 

Much Love,

Miss Unicorn. <3