{Lately Lovely}

Wow! It has been a busy few days... let me catch you up on the details. 

But first, I must make an announcement.

Drumroll, please...

Announcing: An Ordinary Utopia!

And at this moment, you're probably thinking 'what?'. 

Let me explain.

This is a project that we [Jocee, Abby, Megan, Gracie, Hayley] launched this past Sunday. It is a collaboration of six writers, photographers, and lovers of ordinary life. We have banded together to create a blog where we can be real. A blog where we share with you what life is really like behind the curtain of perfection. Not to say that I don't try to do that here, but this is project where we are concentrating very specifically on this. I hope you'll come along for the ride!

As for the other events of my week... 

-I went to the wedding of my friend, Ann. She and her new husband are too cute! Out of all the weddings I've been in, this was probably one of the best, simply because they are just so in love. For reals. 

-I've been having rehearsals constantly between dinner theatre and Seussical. They're both going to be great. 

-I've had a great reunion with a good friend of mine and we have had a wonderful time catching up.

-A friend of mine [well, he's really more like a brother to me] left for Cyprus, where he will be living for four months! Now that's adventure! I'll miss having him around to eat pancakes and talk about the best music on earth. [wicked + sigur ros]

-I just realized that wasn't an event. It was a random fact. . . oh well.

-Tried a kickboxing class at the gym for the first time and now I am more sore than I've been in a long time.

-other than all these things, I've just been extremely busy and trying to stay on top of all my responsibilities. 

. . .

and now for the real reason you're on this page at the moment...

.. Le photographes! ..

yep, that's a mustache. yep, that's also a cookie.

good morning.

frost

What's been lovely in your life lately?

xo,

Lindsey Lou

{Lately Lovely}

my perfect pancake- slightly burnt. 

half-face portraits

chinese pizza

valentine doodles

adventures

perfect breakfasts


What's been lovely in your life lately?



Love and a hug,

Lindsey Lou

4. Check.

16 before 16 number four [chocolate soufflé]: Check.

Made with: Em!

Eaten with: homemade whipped cream

Eaten by: the both of us (and her mom and brother)

Worked off by: a walk down the country roads (and laughter)

Love and a hug,

Lou

{p.s. i just learned how to play dutch blitz, which is basically the same thing as nerts. It's very frustrating if you're slow, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty fun!}

the joy of a child

hello friends! 

Oh, I love being able to call you friends. Thanks. :)

At the moment, my camera strap is splotched with powdered sugar and melted chocolate from our gift baking, my stomach is full of way too many sweet treats, and i am so very content and thankful in my heart. The past few days have been great. i had my very first Seussical rehearsal which was fantastic! My family went to a play, shopping, and dinner at the cheesecake factory (for which we had to wait three hours!) but since it's a tradition, we simply had to. usually in stead of going to a play, we all go ice skating but this year since my brother and i are getting so old, it's really annoying since everyone else our age is with their boyfriend or girlfriend, and we're not dating and don't want to. but we never knew or cared when we were kids. it's strange growing up, ya know? everything seems to be changing. i can remember so vividly waking up as a child to the first snow and having so much joy inside that i couldn't handle myself. past christmases when i could hardly sleep, and simply couldn't wait to see what santa had brought me. or even playing kids' games. Now, i still enjoy snow, christmas is, no doubt, exciting, and i like to play games, but it simply isn't the same. childhood is such a blessed thing that just doesn't last forever.

 Last night as we made some deliveries of the sweet stuff we baked, i got to spend some time with three children. a boy who was five, a three-year-old girl, and another little girl who was under two-- in the same order as my brother, sister and i. The surprised looks on their faces as we walked through the door were priceless, and the happiness in their voices when they heard that the gift we brought was for them was so real that i could feel it seeping into me. The laughter that came from them and the sparkle in their eyes as i chased them was so joyful that i was blown away. They are so happy just because i'm playing with them, i thought. when was the last time i was this happy? See, the more we grow up, we take everything for granted and forget the joy in the everyday things. I wish i had that kind of joy. I wish i could be a child once more. I feel like we are so intent on growing up and buzzing through life that we can miss some of life's simple pleasures. Even as teenagers, there are some who are so ahead of themselves that they're dating when they're twelve. Is that really necessary? We're still essentially kids. At least, we're not adults. So i don't know what i'm really trying to say, but i guess i'm trying to motivate us to live each day as a teenager to the fullest, before we're all grown up and we can't do the crazy things that teenagers do anymore. So here's to living our days to the fullest with the joy of a child.

a bad picture of peppermint cheesecake

this is how i wrapped my bestie's christmas present

Well, sorry that all these photos were so terrible and boring! I'll try to be more exciting next time.

Have a lovely day!

much Love and a hug,

Lindsey Nicole

{p.s. i am having one of those Peeta love breakdowns. i know i sound crazy... i am. :)}

{p.p.s. there are only six days till christmas!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! i've got a lot to do... }

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