SNOW DAY

Never take the tundra lightly kids.

It’s a snow day in good ol Victoria, BC. Today’s prediction is 15-20cm, which is highly unlikely around these parts. So today I’m working from home. Later though, I’ll be tackling the local hills with my boyfriend. Can’t wait.

What you doing this snow day? Enjoy…and remember, the arctic is no respecter of fashion.

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

NYC vs LA

I went to NYC in 2010. I went to LA in 2011. Both cities were pretty dang magical.

In both cities, I didn’t get to spend the copious amount of time that I would have preferred. Both were HOT. NYC was experiencing a little heat wave when we were there, and it was seriously smoldering. If I were to choose one to live in, without a doubt, I’d pick NYC. The skyscrapers alone make the ol’ ticker sparkle. I could handle throngs of people at all times. I’m a city girl at heart. Yes, LA does have the Californian sun and DISNEYLAND going for them but there is just something sooo alluring about NYC. I want to go back and get lost in that concrete jungle.

Free People's January NYC vs LA lookbook displayed looks from both cities. Clearly NYC takes the cake.

NYC

LA

Which one wins your heart? LA? or NYC?

over n out,

s.s.♥.

TWENTY ELEVEN ROUND UP: PART THREE

Now this is where I draw attention to what made my soul sparkle. (Falling in Love & Adventures also made my soul sparkle.)

I started the year off with a corporate fast in my Church. It was incredibly hard but incredibly amazing at the same time. In January God taught me a heck of a lot of things. Last December (2010) I went through a season of depression and in January I received the wake up call & swift kick in the butt that I needed. The Lord helped me recognize priorities and let go of attitudes that were bringing me down. So starting the year off with fasting was absolutely amazing. I prayed and prayed for my family and on the very last day of the fast, my sister asked to come to Church. Just over 2 months later, she became a Christian. And on January 1st, she got baptized!!! How incredible! I am beyond excited for her.

In February we had our 2nd annual conference for teen girls, ILLUMINATE. We had 60 the first year and somehow our numbers doubled! 120 teen girls being encouraged, equipped & empowered to go & love for Jesus in their worlds! Chocolate + high pitched screams + girls learning their value & worth + chocolate + 844 roses = one amazing weekend. You can read the incredible story about how God gave us 844 roses here. YOU MUST READ IT!!!

So many more things made my soul sparkle that spring…City Reach, Historymaker… but another huge thing for me was going to CRIMEA ! Seriously, such an amazing mission’s trip. You can read more about that here.

In July I spoke again at Camp Imadene’s, Teen Girls Camp. What an incredible honour & privilege. I’m still amazed that God would let me be a part of seeing young people come to know Christ. Seriously, beautiful stuff.

Adore Conference was another amazing soul sparkler. To see people of the church rise up and serve wholeheartedly with so much excellence was unreal. God moved in drastic ways. When you devote a weekend to spending time with Jesus, the possibilities are endless. Today we picked out a tentative date for this year’s! I’ll let you know as soon as it’s confirmed.

Obviously there were things everyday which made my soul sparkle but these were just a few highlights. Currently I’m at the beginning of the 21 Day Fast with my church. This year I’m believing for even bigger things! More on the fast tomorrow!

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

TWENTY ELEVEN ROUND UP: PART 2

Adventures

2011 was also jam packed with adventures. 

CADTOOL was the main one….HELLO! We labeled quite possibly the greatest trip of life CADTOOL as soon as we starting talking about it. Pretentiously we would randomly tweet, fb or put our bbm status as CADTOOL. It got kind of awkward when we wouldn’t tell friends what the infamous CADTOOL was. But all is fair in love & vacationing….

CADTOOL = COACHELLA AND DISNEY TRIP OF OUR LIVES (incase you were wondering…)

In the fall of 2010 my friends (Rachel, Thea & Courtney) and I decided to embark on an amazing journey. We had dreamed of going to COACHELLA for quite some time and decided 2011 would be a great year to do so. So we left on April 6th. It was MIGHTY FINE. Make sure you put ‘road trip with your besties’ on your bucket list.

Seriously the list of memories goes on and on and on….

-Driving through the beautiful North West Washington Coast

-Hitting countless Targets

-Driving straight to San Francisco…driving over the golden gate bridge after being up for 24 hours

-COACHELLA!!! everything about COACHELLA!

Amazing bands// Arcade Fire/ Lauryn Hill/ Brandon Flowers (THE KILLERS DID A CAMEO!! I PEED MY PANTS) / Chromeo (DANCE PARTY WITH 80,000 NBD)/ Kanye/ Swell Season/ Angus & Julia Stone/ Kings of Leon/ Mumford & Sons (Probs my fav show!)/ Bright Eyes/ The National/ Cold War Kids/ Tallest Man on Earth/ Black Keys… oh my gosh the list goes on…

Along with the amazing bands there was amazing food, funny people and a flipping indie crafts tent! Coachella was truly hipsters paradise.

-Disneyland (my most favourite place on Earth)

-Hollywood

-IN & OUT BURGER

-Portland

ahhhhhh there were so so so so so so many amazing memories.

best trip of my life, thus far…

Read up on more CADTOOL stuff here & here!

I also got to go to EUROPE!!…On a Missions trip with my church (which I’ll talk about in the next category)…but on route to Crimea we were able to stop in LONDON. London is one of those cities that grabs hold of my heart. It’s grip has loosened but it’s still there. It’s a city where my life was changed. I fell absolutely in love with Jesus and started to actually see Him transform my life. Ohhhh, it was beautiful. So yeah, I was beyond stoked to have a layover in London. Obviously I made my way to Top Shop.

Other amazing adventures were…

Bon Iver & James Blake on September 25th!

Biking round Stanley Park w/ Rachel

Joining the y! (yes, I consider this an adventure)

So 2011 Adventures are over and done with. I am very much looking forward to 2012’s…no big trips planned yet but certainly adventures…

What was your favourite adventure of 2011?

love you to the moon and back,

s.s.♥.

TWENTY-ELEVEN ROUND UP... PART 1

2012 has already transformed me…into…drum roll please… LUCILLE 2 (Arrested Development reference..come on people!)  So today I discovered that I have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo….yep, that’s exactly how I responded. Basically I’ve been getting real dizzy whenever I lie down. The doctor informed me that tiny crystals have been built up in my ear and they mess up my sense of gravity. (I defs just imagined my ear as being that of the caves where the Fraggles lived…Fraggle Rock…I’m old…)

But instead of boring you with talk of vertigo & crystals…tonight I’m looking back not forward. There is so much to be thankful for. 2011 was a daaaaang good year. A daaaaang, good one. I’ve been blessed beyond belief. Sometimes I just look up and smile like a little kid on Christmas morning. I’ve had years of ups and years of downs. This past year has been one of ups. Now don’t get me wrong, life wasn’t always peachy keen, there were some downs…just those downs seem but a spec when compared with the ups I’ve been blessed with. So over the next couple days I’ll be giving you three main highlights of my life…here’s the first…

Now if you don’t like that mushy-gushy, lovey-dovey, heart sparkling, love..then by all means, stop reading. Wait for tomorrow’s highlight on 2011 Adventures. But if you read this and then puke, don’t complain to me..I did warn you fair and square.

Falling in love was most defs a top highlight of 2011. My goodness. God has gone above and beyond.

See, I’ve been waiting for a while for my M.O.G. I absolutely hate waiting. I am not a very patient person. I can’t even stand waiting at a red light. I knew that I wasn’t going to be alone forever, I knew God had someone for me. I just couldn’t stand waiting for him. Waiting sucks….but somethings are worth the wait.

James was most definitely worth the wait. Funny how we doubt God. I always thought I’d end up with a guy who was ok. Someone who I thought was good looking and loved Jesus but never did I imagine I would end up with someone this great. But that’s how God rolls. He wants to bless his children and He is going to go above and beyond our hopes, dreams and prayers. And that has been the case with James. He is the most incredible man I know. Honestly, I couldn’t have dreamed up someone who is better suited for me. His heart after God’s heart constantly pushes me to grow closer to God. The dreamer inside of him inspires dreams to not only awaken in me but to see them to fruition. He is constantly challenging me to serve God at a greater capacity. He loves me crazily and is not afraid to show that love. Basically, he’s incredible and brings out the best in me. Oh, and he’s flipping gorgeous.

In 2008 after many failed crushes and flings, I wrote a list…

 

The list.

Let me tell you this…God has gone above and beyond anything that I ever prayed about my MOG. And he’s going to do the same for you!!! Do not settle for anything less than God’s will. HE WILL COME THROUGH. I madly wanted to be in a relationship in my early twenties but when I look at it now, I am completely different than I was then. If James & I dated a few years ago it would not have been good times. God knew the timing. He knows the timing for you as well.

The woman in Song of Songs repeatedly warns girls to “not awaken love until the time is right.” God knows the right timing for you. Wait for His peace.

Waiting sucks, but it is SO WORTH IT. Our heavenly Father is going to completely bless your socks off with your moG! Just wait.

Ok, I’ll stop preaching now :) 

So yeeeeah. Falling in love has been incredible. At the end of our night on New Years we read through my journal where I recorded every day adventure/special dates we went on. (One of my favourite dates was kayaking to an island where James built a fire and cooked food he had brought. We spent the afternoon frolicking in the sun.)

It was an amazing time as we reflected on God’s goodness. He is sooooo good.

stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on Adventures..I promise there will not be any mushy-gushy-ness….

xoxo,

s.s.♥.