Meet Murphy

Hello,

Meet Murphy, our brand new puppy.

On Saturday, we brought home a new member of the family, and I'd have to say he's probably the cutest one. Christine over at Green Gables of Avonlea and her family had golden retriever puppies, so we were lucky enough to snatch one up. Seriously guys I'm obsessed with him. Everything he does is absolutely adorable. The way he waddles after the ball. When he tries to jump onto the porch but ends up dangling because he can't quite reach it. How easily distracted he gets when going for a walk. When he pounces on a mole hole, then sneezes from all the dust. I want him to stay this little forever.

My little brother is super excited that we named him Murphy, because now he can yell "Murph" and be quoting the movie Interstellar every time he does so. Of course, that's not why the rest of us wanted to name him that, but we all have our weird reasons.

My family had a black lab for nine years, but a little over a year ago he died. It was really sad, and we missed not having a dog. Our cat of 6-7 years has gotten use to not having another animal around, so it's been super funny to see how Murphy and her interact. She has been pretty curious, but doesn't like it when he gets too close to her. I keep giving her treats so she won't run into the wood and never get come back.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed seeing pictures of my adorable new puppy. Christine and her family also kept one, so who knows. Maybe we'll have a little play date with them and share some pictures.

With love,

Elizabeth

Warmth

it's cold
my brothers say it's not,
but they always say so.

i take your coat

and i'm warm.

it doesn't smell like you anymore.

i guess five years does that.

do you remember how you always wore that coat?

chopping wood,
    mending the fire,
        fighting back brush,
            drinking tea.

because i do.

i miss you daddy.
i sit by the fire,
i wear your coat.
i fix myself black tea,
that was always your favorite.

but you're not there.

the fire and tea mean nothing.

even this coat has lost your trace.

but i'm cold.
and maybe,
maybe,
when i slip on that coat of yours,
i can pretend you are.

and that makes me warm.

Little Things That Make Me Happy

Yellow Flowers// They're the color of sunshine and happiness, and never fail to brighten up any room. Sunflowers, Daisies, Roses. Any flower that's yellow. They will forever put a smile on my face and improve my mood.

The Perfect Cookie// Chocolate chip, warm and gooey on the inside, with just a slight crunch. Golden brown color and round. About the size of my palm. No cookie will ever taste better than the one I just described. 

Steaming Cups of Coffee// Because sometimes, coffee is the only reason I get out of bed in the mornings. There's something comforting about sitting down with my cup of jo and reading a good book in the morning. Everything seems right in the world in that moment.

Handwritten Notes// Nothing seems to scream "I care," more than I sweet, handwritten note. I don't know why that came out of fashion, but this kind of thing should happen more often. Extra points if it's a handwritten love letter that you can keep forever. Extra extra points if my favorite fictional man wrote it.

My Planner// Unless you too love your planner, I could never explain the amount of joy it brings me to have it full of notes and looking all beautiful. My planner is very important to me, every morning and evening I whip it out and update it or just use it to remind me what's going on.

New Books// I don't think I really need to explain this. I love bookstores and I love, love new books. Some girls like buying clothes, but I mainly spend all my money on new books. Is it a problem? Yes. Will it be resolved any time soon? Probably not.

Wearing a Pretty Dress// Wearing a pretty dress just makes me feel 100 times more confident, and when you feel confident in what you're wearing, that just makes you a little happier. Plus I'm a girl and I like feeling pretty and feminine.

With love,

Elizabeth

Follow Me Around: Whidbey Coffee

 Hello,

I thought it would be fun to start a new little blog series where you follow me around my town and the locations I enjoy visiting. It's like an insight into my life and a way to stalk me without being creepy. Plus, it's also my excuse to just talk more about things I like and attempting to make it sound creative and artsy of me.

Today I'm taking you to a coffee place that just opened up in my town and I love it! The atmosphere there is really cool and has this aesthetic that makes you want to get a lot of work done and be super productive. I tried to capture a few photos, but it didn't entirely grasp what I'm trying to tell you. The lighting was bad and lots of people were staring at me like I was some basic white girl being weird and trying to take pictures of light bulbs. Which, I am, but that's beside the point.

My wonderful friend Elissa was able to join me and we spent the three hours talking, laughing, planning out blog posts, and drinking an unorthodox amount of coffee. You may recognize her from her blog, Letter's to Jayna. If you haven't checked her out already, go do so ,please! She is an amazing person and I love her to death.

We both have this habit of talking way too loud and over other people. Every single time we're out and about we tend to draw too much attention with our accidental shouting. Today was no exception, but it was so good to sit down and talk. End of the school year stresses have left us and summer adventures and lazy days are ahead. It's always easier to hangout and plan things with that assurance.

I love me some coffee, and my oh my was this good! I got my signature latte and enjoyed every sip. They also supply you with a free drip coffee station, so once you're finished with your drink, you are enticed to stay longer because complimentary refills! This place has its perks. Their food is also very good. I've bought a few bakery items in the past, and this particular day I got a salad. Although they were well made, it's a bit pricey for the amount you're getting.

Another really cool thing this place has going for it is its indoor/outdoor fire place. Inside, this fire place has couches and lounge chair surrounding it, perfect for hanging with a group of friends. But outside, they had a cover over it and a small couch. While we were inside talking, there was a guy sitting out here, situated with steaming coffee and a book. It looked wonderful and made me want to come back and do the same thing.

And there's a totally not posed picture of me planning blog posts and creating a to-do list. I hope you enjoyed this tiny bit of insight on my life and I'm excited to share some more with you. What local places do you enjoy going to? Leave me a comment below and let me know.

With love,

Elizabeth

Summer Morning Routine

9:00 a.m: Wake Up Time

Now that it's summer time, I have a lot less going on. Early wake up calls have come to a stop with school being done. So what can I say, I'm not a morning person and I have nine months of sleeping in to catch up on! Of course, this morning routine is meant for a day I have nothing going on in the early hours, otherwise I adjust my alarm clock to the appropriate time.

Normally when I wake up, I respond to any text messages and snapchats I may have, quickly scroll through Instagram, and then I hop out of bed to get me some coffee. Sometimes coffee is my only motivation for getting out of my warm, cuddly bed (Okay, most of time it's my only motivation). Have you ever gone to bed earlier just because you know the sooner you fall asleep, the quicker you will have coffee? No? Oh...yeah same, totally have never done that!

9:20 a.m: Coffee Consumption 

This is the time of day were I really get my me time in. Whenever my family interrupts me, I get kind of angry. My poor little brother is my only sibling still living at home. He has inherited the burden of suffering through my before coffee wrath. I should probably have a warning sign: DON'T TALK TO ME, HAVE NOT YET FINISHED MY COFFEE. Oh well, I'll work on that another time.

 I spend this next 40 minutes catching up on some YouTube videos and scrolling through some blog posts. I also use this time to write out my to do list so I can feel extra productive when I check things off. Sometimes I write down super easy things, thinking I'm being all sneaky and making it look like I accomplished so much, in reality it's like nope, all you did was eat food and get dressed. 

10:00 a.m: Go for a Walk/Run

Exercising in the morning just makes me feel so productive for that day. Even if I don't do anything else, I find comfort in the fact I at least went for a little waddle around the property. Since I'm in terrible shape and cannot run to save my life (Literally, like I would die right away if I had to run for my life), I walk up to this view point, and then run down, since that's easier then running up. I also try to run a few tiny hills to make me feel extra fit. If I keep deceiving myself that I am, then maybe someday I will be! Lizzy logic at its finest. 

10:30 a.m: Eat Breakfast

Now I'm not a huge breakfast fan. Most breakfast foods I don't like, I never have much of an appetite to eat that early, and I'm honesty way too lazy to try and make something yummy. But I know breakfast is very important so I've been trying to make an extra effort in having time for it. I've also been trying to eat healthier, so I'm attempting eat no (or at least very very small amounts of) gluten and sugar. I get really bad headaches a lot, so I'm experimenting to see if this helps them go away. I'm not quite what I'll do if that's the case, though, because I love me some carbs! If you have any good recipes that'll help me out, please let me know. 

10:45 a.m: Shower 

Because I'm sweaty from running those darn hills and my hair is greasy. Even if I'm not going anywhere that day, it's not a pretty sight, nor is it a lovely smell. I also use this time to wash my face and brush my teeth. Personal hygiene is important folks! No one wants to be around someone who doesn't practice it. Please take that to heart. Especially if you're that middle school boy who sits behind me in youth group. 

11:00 a.m: Reading Time

If I don't have to be anywhere else, this is the time I would sit down with a book and read. I'm currently reading Clockwork Prince and it's so good! I started it two days ago and I'm already 300 pages in. Seriously, every character I just love or find so interesting, and the plot has totally taken a hold of me. I have read it before, but that was years ago and I've forgotten a ton of stuff. My goal in life is to write a book like this, that makes people ignore their friends and forget about all life's responsibilities because they're so caught up in the story. I could go around telling people I'm a friendship destroyer and life ruiner for a living. I think that's a pretty respectful accomplishment. 

  I will probably read for about an hour, if I can. I may also write a little in my journal, read more blog posts, and scroll through social media. Hopefully, I'm not in a rush to be anywhere and I can just chill and have a relaxing end to my morning. 

1:00 p.m: Lunch

It is technically morning still? No, but I wanted to show you this anyways because it's a good place to end my morning and honestly, my food was really good so I had to share it. My mom was having a luncheon with some friends of hers and they were generous enough to let my snag some food, but then I was exiled to the outdoors. It was a very good taco salad though, and besides the few pesty bugs that tried to steal a taste, it was nice to be outside.

And that's it! What's your morning routine like come summer? Let me know in the comments below.

With love,

Elizabeth

Travel Diary: Winthrop

Hello everyone,

Today I come to share a few highlights from my recent trip to Winthrop. Winthrop is a cute, small little town located in Eastern Washington. I've been vising this spot ever since I was a small child. I have so many memories: sharing tents with a multitude of mosquitoes and ants, walking the town with ice cream dripping down my arms, the three hour car ride squished between my brothers. It's such a joy to revisit and remember all the special moments that happened there.

On our way over the Cascade Pass, we stopped at Diablo Lake outlook and took a few pictures. As a child, it was the most annoying thing, stopping at every pull out while mother tries to get the perfect family picture. Now, it's one of the most breathtaking sites I've ever seen. I always say how badly I want to travel to far off countries, but there are so many beautiful sites to be seen just in my home state. Here, I took about a million pictures, but I limited it to just a few so not to overwhelm you all. You're welcome ;)

Although it was quite hot, some snow still remained on the mountains. We stopped at another pull out, and of course us girls pulled out our cameras and began taking shots. There's nothing more gorgeous than the natural beauty of the mountains. I thank God everyday for making nature so enjoyable and peaceful. It's places like this where the Majesty of God is shown in full color. How else could have such an amazing site been created? 

We only stayed in Winthrop for two nights, but our second day there was packed full of activities, After my grandma's signature breakfast of monkey bread and scrambled eggs, we all packed up into my family's suburban and headed out for an old favorite camping site. My father passed away five years ago (Read more about that here), but one of his favorite places to bring us camping was a tiny, dirt road, no hook ups, pit toilet type campsite in the woods of Winthrop. When we got my dad's ashes, we spread them in that particular spot. On this trip, we had the chance to go back there and explore the waterfall near by. It was a bitter sweet moment. It was sad being there without him, but it was nice to be back, remembering all the good times that belonged to that spot.

On our way back, we took a scenic (and very dusty) route that lead us through some beautiful hills with gorgeous views and wild flowers. Theses pictures do not give it justice, but I attempted to capture a fraction of what we saw. Again, I was reminded of how wonderful God's creation is and how very blessed I am to be living and enjoying all that He made. There's something about nature and being away from all the hustle and bustle that makes you feel so much more at peace. All that to say, I loved the country side here and would be willing in a heartbeat to pick up and live in a tiny cabin surrounded with flowers, trees, and the sound of the river. 

Once finished with our little outing, we headed back to our cabin to change and prep for the rest of the day. Then, we walked the streets of Winthrop, browsed through the adorable shops, and got some pretty amazing ice cream and coffee. While shopping, I bought myself a book from this cute little bookstore, and after everyone else in our party decided it was time to go back to the cabin, my cousin and I decided to stay behind and read in town while enjoying ice coffee from Sheri's Sweet Shop. Sheri's Sweet Shop has been a classic place for my family and I to visit since I was super little, and it certainly has not changed. We were there for hours until my mom, little brother, and grandparents came back to town for dinner. It was a perfect afternoon.

The next day we packed up all our belongings, stopped at the store to get some more snacks, and headed out back over the mountains. We couldn't help ourselves, and stopped once or twice more to capture again the beauty of the Cascades. If you ever find yourself in Washington and have some time to explore, don't miss out on visiting the North Cascades National Park. I am probably a bit bias, seeing it's quite close to my house and I've been there multiple times, but I really do think it's a site you won't forget.

With love,

Elizabeth