ONE WORD 2015 // KRISTY


Today I have a sweet treat for you. My friend Kristy is sharing her one word for 2015! Thank you for sharing so bravely girrrrl! xo

one word 2015

When I was thinking and asking God about my word for this year I felt as though I was being prepared for followup. Going into last year my world felt like it had crashed around and the word(s) I was given {fear/trust} were bringing me out from under the rumble, allowing me to stand while the dust cleared and settled. 

 

And now it has... 

Going into this year was 10 times better than the last. I entered 2015 with a sense of excitement and anticipation--much different than the year before. And so many things have happened, so far including the opportunity of sharing publicly my story of my journey from last year, not only once but twice! It's crazy but my mom remembers sitting on the couch with me last year, me probably in tears, questioning why I was going through that, saying to me, "one day you'll have an amazing story to share". (I tell you moms are such a gift, and I'm very thankful for mine!)

So at first I thought my word was 'Dream'.  But as I spent time praying and thinking about it I realized it is REBUILD

Time to rebuild what was lost. Not just people or time but to rebuild me! The word dream fits perfectly in there. To grab hold of dreams that once danced across my mind for myself, for my church, for my family and friends. Now that is a lot of rebuilding to some degree and I know that it's not all going to happen in the space of twelve months and non of it can happen without the first one! 

Rebuilding Kristy - emotionally, physically, spiritually. 

So to start out I signed myself up for a swim club with a triathlon club. (Say what! That's the same thing I asked myself too...). But you know, it felt good! I loved it. And by the end of it I had swum over 1000m in one class. Something I never thought I would be able to say. 

It is time for me to claim back what depression took away from me. And rebuild the journey to the dreams I have and that HE has for me, or discover new ones!

I know I can't go back to the way things were. Things have changed too much, BUT that is what rebuilding is all about. A chance to rebuild into what I want to be, not what I was. It is kind of like rebuilding a home, adding a new skylight here and new flooring (which by the way, you should check out Laura's renos!)  

It's so exciting to think of all the things I had wished and dreamt for in my life and what's crazy is that God's dreams, I know, will blow mine out of the water.  My expectations for God are big this year. I often set them low because of past hurt or disappointment or fear.  BUT I can remember that it's God's dreams, not just mine and seeing what he pulled me out of last year, I can declare that this year is going to be great!

Thank you for reading, thank you Laura for having a place to be brave and write.

Loves.

one word 2015

Thank you again for sharing Kristy!

Want some more inspiration? Check out these previous one words- Sarah // Laura // Our Breakfast

xoxo,

s.s.♥︎.

 

PRETTY MAIL // MARCH BIRCHBOX (CANADA) REVIEW


The prettiest mail!

It's time for more pretty mail!! The March Birchbox came at the most needed time. I had just dropped James off at the ferry for a five night tour and I was pretty bummed on the ride home. But my mood turned around when I got home because waiting for me on my doorstep was March's Birchbox!! BEST EVER!!! And not only was it packed full of good stuff...it had a freaking FULL SIZE BEAUTY BLENDER!!! I will explain all about that below but let's just say a full size is $26 at Sephora!!!

Incase you're wondering, Birchbox is a monthly beauty box that I subscribe to..$15/month for a box full of goodies...heck yes!...click here to order it!

The Prettiest mail!

Such an amazing box hey!!!

birch-4.jpg

1. NO 4 HYDRATING SHAMPOO

Ok, at first I was a little bummed to receive this because last month we go the clarifying shampoo from this brand BUT once I tried it I was soooo stoked. This stuff is GOOOD. I liked it waaaaaay more than the clarifying stuff and it has such a nice smell!!!
So would I buy it? HECK YES!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS SHAMPOO

pretty mail!

2. BEAUTY BLENDER SPONGE AND CLEANER

Ahhhhhh. You guys. This is the most magical sponge ever!!! I have one and use it ALL THE TIME. You squeeze it under water and watch it expand then squish it under a towel then you apply your concealer/foundation with it. It puts it on soooo smooth. There's really no finish that compares to it. I love love love it. And the reason why sometimes I didn't use mine all the time was because I was too cheap to buy the cleaner but now I have their legit cleaner which is in a soap format aka it'll last forever!! Can you tell I'm stoked on this!!!
So would I buy it? Always & forever!!!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS BEAUTYBLENDER

LIPSTICK YES PLEASE

3. PARTY PROOF MATTE LIPSTICK IN PEONY

Another lipstick for me to try! This one went on super smooth. I loved the texture and the colour was pretty too! 

lipslipslips

Bad lighting I know...But you can still see the pretty colour!
So would I buy it? You betcha! I wanna try their other colours!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS LIPSTICK

MAGIC CREAM

4. EMBRYOLISSE LAIT-CREME CONCENTRE

Now this box contained another magical product. This concentrate is a 10 in 1 kinda product. It's a primer, moisturizer, make-up remover, etc, etc. I used it for all three of those purposes and it was beautiful. I loved the smell as well.
So would I buy it? Yes, I'm totally going to scoop it up when my sample runs out!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS CONCENTRATE

spring fragrance

5. HARVEY PRINCE IMPERIAL GARDENIA

And last but not least we have Harvey Prince's Imperial Gardenia. It's a beautiful floral fragrance that's perfect for spring! The only thing is, it doesn't have the greatest lasting power. That may not be a big deal for some people but it's a big deal for me.
So would I buy it? Probably not as I have a bajillion fragrances and only get new ones if they are AHHHHMAAAZZZIIIINNNG!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS FRAGRANCE

 

So there you have it my March Birchbox review. Lots of you have asked if I think it's worth the $15/month. By now you should know the answer to that question...ha! A cute box filled with goodies sent right to my door? So worth it! If you want to subscribe CLICK HERE!

Hope you all had a great long weekend!

talk soon,

s.s.♥︎.

HE IS RISEN


Happy Easter everyone! I made this print for you to celebrate that Jesus has risen!! (scroll to the bottom to download!) If you're in Victoria and looking for a church to attend, I want to personally invite you to Glad Tidings- check our instagram for service times. Let me know if you're coming!

HE IS RISEN

He is risen.

Death was defeated.

Love conquered all.

The veil was torn.

He has invited us in.

 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HE IS RISEN PRINT

 

Hope you have a great rest of the long weekend and hope that it's filled with LOTS of mini eggs!!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

 

NO GREATER LOVE


image via 

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
-John 15:13-17

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:7-8

It's Good Friday. It's a big day for me. For some it may only be an extra day off work. But for everyone it's a day where the greatest act of love took place. This act was for you, for me, for believers, for unbelievers, for everyone.
Christ died for us so we could know and experience full love and life with God.

You are dearly loved and were worth dying for.

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

OUR HOME // BATHROOM (BEFORE)


image via

I can't believe I've shared almost all of the befores of our house! So far you've seen the suite (before & after!), kitchen, living room, master bedroom & dining room. All that's left after the bathroom is the office/studio and guest bedroom.

Now the bathroom is the room that most definitely did not win me over....

The old owners had a serious "under the sea" vibe going on. Now don't get me wrong, I love the little mermaid but I do not want the little mermaid or any of her fishy friends in my bathroom. 

We immediately painted the whole thing white which made a world of difference. We (and by we I mean Mike, my brother in law) put in an awesome super powerful yet super quiet fan. It was very weird that there were NO FANS in either the upstairs or downstairs bathrooms. All this talk about fans is riveting hey? 

We obviously still have a ton of things to do...rip out that piece of wood over the shower...it's very odd, it makes showering very dark, add tile to the place, redo the floors and counter top...this again will be a pricey reno so it will have to wait till the time is right but in the meantime I'm free to plan and dream! Here's what I've been dreaming about for this space:

1 // 2 // 3

Obviously I'm all about the subway tiles for the bathroom. I also want to do a cute penny tile somewhere...maybe the floor? And I'm really digging having a lot of black masculine elements. BUT I'm also (big surprise) tossing around the idea of a lot of gold...but I think black is winning me over...!!

To see what else is inspiring me follow my DREAM HOME board on pinterest! 

Hope you have an amazing day!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.