GEMS // HONEYMOON VIDEO!
we celebrated valentines day on wednesday (because we were at city youth on thursday).
james cooked me a delicious thai dish then we ventured out to get some frozen yogurt and watched a movie downtown.
we get home and i enter the bedroom and BOOM there are candles lit EVERYWHERE, like tons and tons of candles. my mind was boggled as i wondered how on earth he had gotten all those candles lit when i was with him for the past three hours prior. turns out he hid our key and our friend (who lives in the same apartment as us with his lovely wife) steve came in while we were at the movie and lit all of them! (thanks steve!!)
i was incredible surprised. my man knows how to plan incredible romantic surprises.
little did i know he had another surprise up his sleeve. that day he had secretly edited our HONEYMOON VIDEO! i screamed in delight when he showed it to me. ahhhhh take me back to the beach!
enjoy!
J&L Honeymoon! from James Liira on Vimeo.
it was even better than it looks. seriously.
best.
vacation.
ever.
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
LOVE ADVICE FOR VDAY
it’s valentines tomorrow…the day when you really become aware that you are or are not in a relationship.
my advice for you girls is, hold tight.
i have a few of my old diaries. in them i see a couple reoccurring themes.
1. i was a cray teenager.
2. i was DESPERATE for a boyfriend.
i’m pretty sure in almost every entry i would plead and plead for a boyfriend. i remember reading one entry where i stated “life would be so much better if i had a boyfriend”. i am praising Jesus that he did not give the 15 year old me what i so desperately wanted and believed would make life better.
i had one boyfriend, in grade 9 for two weeks. yep, two weeks. before dating james that was my longest and only relationship. we broke up (me & grade 9 boyfriend) over icq. it was mutual. it was ridiculous.
so let’s just say, i waited a long time for my next boyfriend. the desperation of wanting a boyfriend never really faded. i’m a hopeless romantic. i longed for love. i met Jesus truly when i was 18 and nope, the desire for a boyfriend didn’t fade away once i accepted Jesus and received his love.
it stayed. but over the years it shifted. my mindset started to change. yes i obviously still wanted a boyfriend but i began to realize that a boyfriend wasn’t going to fix my problems. Jesus was the only one who could do that. i knew my boyfriend was coming so i did what i knew that i had to do…i waited…and waited and made mistakes, tried to make things happen my own way (and failed horribly) then waited some more and some more and then God brought james and i together.
waiting sucks. it really does.
each love story is different. i wish there was a step by step formula on finding the one but there is no formula, no equation, no do this, do that. you just have to wait. and know that God is good, faithful and true. He knows the desires of your heart, your longing for that special someone, and he’s going to truly work it out. just trust Him.
so what is my valentines advice for people who don’t have that special someone yet?
have fun!!! do not sit at home at mope….unless that’s fun for you…
watch sappy love movies with your girlfriends. watch a billion episodes of 30 rock. make crafts. eat chocolate. lots of chocolate. have a dance party. give your crush a valentine (i gave james one before we were dating haha) take cute photos and instagram them. go swimming. COME TO CITY YOUTH (if you’re in grades 9-12)
live
it
up
because your moG is coming. God is good, God is faithful, God is true. he has your special someone, just you wait :)
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
RECIPES // GNOCCHI
i’m italian and i’m not ashamed.
i’m passionate. i love soccer. sometimes i yell. i like to use my hands when i talk. i grew up drinking chinotto.
and i grew up eating gnocchi.
gnocchi is my absolutely favourite pasta (besides lasagna) and want to know the most awesome thing? it is incredibly easy to make.
like really, really, really easy.
meet nana rosa.
this is my beautiful grandmother. she is 88 years old and cooks dinner every single night.
she bakes the best pasta you’ve ever eaten and is one of the most generous people i know. she loves, loves, loves. gosh, i could go on and on about my incredible nana.
anyways, i told her i was having 8 girls over for dinner and needed to make gnocchi and she said no problem (in her very thick italian accent).
all you need for gnocchi is…
2 potatoes (boiled then mashed)
2 cups flour (+ more for rolling)
1 egg
combine mashed potatoes, flour & egg in bowl.
roll into dough.
take bits of dough and roll into long pieces (like image below)
cut into tiny pieces
roll on gnocchi board
put on tray
freeze!
ohhhh, doesn’t my fancy new iphone take such beautiful photos?
boil a big pot of water and toss a few gnocchi pieces in at a time.
gnocchi cooks very quickly, (like less than 2 minutes)
sidenote- i cooked them for way to long and they went mushy (good thing i only cooked a few). i ended up cooking penne for the girls night BUT now james & i have a mad amount of gnocchi..woohoo. and it tastes amazing.
xo,
s.s.♥.
DIARY // TWEET-TOX
our church just finished up the 21 day challenge. basically it was 21 days to fast and pray. 21 days to start the new year right by focusing in on Jesus. 21 days to hone in and cut distractions. 21 days to pray intentionally.
some fast food (or certain foods). some fast media. i did a bit of both.
one thing i noticed was how much i was addicted to social media..(and i don’t even have an iPhone..yet!)
i kind of cut back on twitter before the fast solely due to the fact that my blackberry would die after 30 seconds of reading tweets. what bugged me the most was my desire to read twitter before i go to bed and first thing when i wake up.
i ended up having to hide the twitter app from my apps folder. you wouldn’t believe the number of times my fingers would subconsciously wander to that folder…freaky deaky man.
so i stopped reading tweets, i tweeted every once in awhile. instead of waking up and reading twitter, i’d force myself out of bed to read the Bible.
now that the fast is over, i thought my desire to read twitter would instantly come back…but to my surprise, it didn’t. i even ended up un-following a bunch of people who i have never met in person yet was connected to their world through twitter…(kind of freaky deaky when you think of it)
i’ve set some ground rules though…if the desire decides to creep back up.
1. no twitter when i wake up…i will not waste minutes reading through tweets when i could spend those minutes being refreshed, filled, sustained by my Lord.
2. no twitter in bed…my night-time routine should be talking to my husband not reading tweets.
3. no scrolling through twitter when i’m sitting down with people…this means when we go out for coffee, i will not go on twitter. this means when i’m out with a group of people at a restaurant, i will not go on twitter. if i’m with human beings where i’m supposed to be listening or speaking…i will not go on twitter!
what are your views on twitter? you still in loooooove? time-waster? beneficial to you? lemme know!
xo,
s.s.♥.
CASE CLOSED
i’ve gone and done it friends.
i ordered an iPhone 5.
after having a blackberry for the past 5 years, the time has come to say goodbye. and i am WELL PLEASED.
i realize it would probably pretty special for someone to upgrade from an iPhone 4 to an iPhone 5 but imagine upgrading to an iPhone 5 after 5 years with a blackberry. and not any regular old blackberry, no, a blackberry that turns off randomly after sending two texts and then takes 5 minutes to reboot once plugged in. the back and end phone call button work only 25% of the time as well. oh, and it never fully charges.
yep, this is what i have been living with.
so i called rogers on saturday and to my surprise, the super nice lady waived my early upgrade fee and let me keep my (super cheap) bb plan without even asking her!
(side note: i truly believe you will get the best deal if you are NICE TO PEOPLE. some people believe you have to be a big beyatch and make all these crazy demands to get your way but in my experience i have found when i have those type of customers, the last thing i do is give them extra perks. i find myself giving extra samples (perfume) to those who are nice and pleasant. so be nice. it always works out for me.)
my iPhone should arrive sometime this week…yipeeeeeee! naturally the first thing i did was start looking for a case..here are a few of my faves…
i went with the society 6 one and i am SO excited.
happy monday!
s.s.♥.