January 13, 2015

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE NOW THAT SERIAL IS OVER?

January 13, 2015/ Laura Liira

Ok, I know you've all been talking about Serial for months...but I caught up QUICKLY. In December Joy the Baker posted something about the last episode and I took note. Immediately, I downloaded the first episode and I was HOOKED. This was a few days before Christmas when I was surrounded by boxes at my old house. I binged listened as I packed up the place. MY GOODNESS IT WAS SO ADDICTING! It's cray. Do you think Adnan did it? Why were Jay's testimonies so sketchy? AHHHHH. So many questions.

So now that season 1 of Serial is over, I'm on to find other podcasts!

I loooove listening to podcasts (especially now that my walk to work is around 30 minutes!) And I'll be starting to train for my next half marathon so I'm in need of your favourite audiobooks and podcasts!

Last year I listened to Elevation Church Podcast (love Pastor Steven!!!), the whole Divergent series and Unbroken. I highly recommend them all except watch out for teenage cheese in the Divergent series.

I also started listening to This American Life and I am a fan.

What is it about podcasts that are so alluring? I think it's something to do with that listening to them makes me feel all nostalgic. I imagine that I'm in the 50s listening to a radio show like they did back then...anyone else with me??

So what about you? Do you love podcasts and audiobooks? If so, puhhhleeeeeze send me your favourites!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

January 12, 2015

SSHEART BOOK CLUB

January 12, 2015/ Laura Liira

So here's a funny story. I have some friends and we all love books (my friends got brains!) A couple years ago we tried to start a book club…I think there were about 6 of us. Well at first we were all like YES, LET'S DO THIS, BOOYAH!! But when we tried to find a time to discuss the book, there was never a right time. It took us months to find a time where we could all meet and by that time, most of us were long finished with the book! So we gave up on the book club idea…but not on books. We all continued to read avidly, borrow books from each and even have short discussions about the books. Basically we were a book club without being a book club but still couldn't get our stuff together to actually be one! So I had an idea…why don't we start a book club on SSHEART!! We all read the book, put the invite out to others and then we can discuss the book in our pyjamas from the comfort of our living room.

And then I had another idea…why don't I get my incredible bestie/assistant/encourager/most read person I know- COURTNEY to lead the book club posts….and that way if no one joins the book club, it will still have two people…ha! She thankfully agreed. Take it away Courtney!

Hey guys! Courtney here. Do you know what I love almost more than coffee? BOOKS! I am completely and utterly in love with books! I have so many I cannot even count. I love the smell of the pages. I won't even buy a purse unless I know it'll hold a book! There's just something so magical about diving into the unknown world on the pages.

I'm super excited that the lovely Laura has decided to launch a Bookclub! Now, before you go getting all "I'm so busy, I can't join a book club!" Just take a deep breath because this book club is for you! No more rearranging schedules to get together at a certain time. Now you can read at your own pace and comment/respond while you're commuting or waiting in line at the grocery store.

I'm super excited to be on this journey with you! I am excited to share with you some of our favourite books as well as hear your suggestions and everything you have to say about them!

So here's the deal.

A new title will be posted and that book will be the one we read for a months time
We will have a half way point update with questions and comments as well as one at the end.
Some people read at different paces and if we are half way, please don't share spoilers from the end!
Please be mindful! We are all created differently (and uniquely!) and therefore will have different opinions on things which is so good! I love a good healthy debate. But please remember to be respectful and courteous when posting.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

C-Money

Yahoooo! So who's in!!?!?!?

We'll post the book in the next couple weeks and then we'll give it a read in February! But in the meantime please let us know what types of books you want to read and discuss!!

xo,

s.s.♥

January 11, 2015

SUNDAY STILL // 8

January 11, 2015/ Laura Liira

Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear.

-Psalm 112

May my heart be secure, ever trusting in Him.

Happy Sunday!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

P.S. Need some more encouragement? Check out these other Sunday Stills:

January 09, 2015

OUR HOME // LIVING ROOM (BEFORE)

January 09, 2015/ Laura Liira

Well hello there! It's about time I showed you some pictures of our home!! Today we're going to start in the living room. The living room is a very important room for me. When we were looking for a home I knew that we needed one with a good sized living room because I love to have people over!!! This is the first room that we will focus on decorating.

So let's dream shall we. I'm all about the bookshelves hugging the fireplace in the above photo. I'm not all about the bright colours.

Now let's look at what we have to work with.

I took that photo the first time we viewed the house in November. At first glance I could tell this house had a lot of potential. The living room is connected to the dining area and in those spaces are two very large windows aka lots of light aka my bff. I also liked the fireplace and oak floors are always a win.

Here are some more photos from the mls listing.

It's so crazy looking at these pictures because SO MUCH HAS CHANGED. We got the house December 15th and the very next day, James started working on it. You can't really see from the photos but all the walls are a crazy texture. We (and by we I mean James, my dad, his dad and all the other amazing people who helped) got rid of the texture first (in the living room, dining room, hallway and entrance). NOW THAT WAS A JOB and deserves its own post so watch for that one soon...I'm pretty sure James could start his own reno business after all the crazy work he has done!

I took the above photo a couple days into the reno...what a difference smoothing out walls make!! I don't even think it was even painted at that point!!!

Now let's get on to the dreaming!!!

So what I envision for our living room is a cozy, calm, and inviting environment....

1 // 2 // 3

Now the planning...! My amazing friend Amy is coming over Saturday to help plan and measure. She has an incredible eye so I'm excited to hear her ideas. James and I are not ballers so we'll be slowly working on these rooms but we're hoping to go to Ikea at the end of the month to find a few pieces.

James has also painted and redone the floors (SUPERMAN, I KNOW! I'll show you soon.)

Here are the next things to do for the living room:

Find a rug. A BIG RUG.
Get curtains...people we know keep saying, "I drove by your house and saw you in the kitchen." ha. Our house is at a fairly popular shortcut for many people I know and we have massive windows that give you a good look in...it could get awkward so curtains are a priority!
Bookshelves to go beside the fireplace? I really like the bookshelves in the first photo, but now it's just to find the right ones.
Mantle. We (and by we, again, I mean JAMES) ripped off the old mantle. We're going to replace it with a cedar beam or something along those lines.
New chair eventually...not a massive priority but definitely on the list.
Plants!! I really want to be like every other blogger alive and own a fiddle leaf fig tree....fingers crossed I won't kill it like I've done to almost every other plant (except for the avocado plant that my dear friend Becca gave us!)

So there you go! Those are my plans! But I'd love your feedback as well. Got any home design blogs that you love? Send them my way!

oh and HAPPY FRIDAY! Hope you have the best weekend :)

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

January 07, 2015

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014

January 07, 2015/ Laura Liira

Okay, one last post on 2014...I promise! I just couldn't leave 2014 without looking back on the BIG moments. 2014 was a wild year. Here are my personal highlights...

I RAN MY FIRST HALF MARATHON

It has been a long time goal for me to run a Half Marathon and last May, I DID IT!!!! I was hoping to run the Good Life one in October but things didn't pan out. I'm hoping to run the Goddess one in June though! I talked a lot about running last year, and I plan on running just as much. Now that we're all moved in, I have NO EXCUSES.

CLICK TO READ MY HALF MARATHON RECAP

I WAS A BAND GROUPIE IN REDDING

Last Summer I travelled down to Redding California with James and some others on our worship team. The team all did Bethel's School of Worship. I went to a few sessions but mainly sweated my face off, ran, swam at the local ymca pool, did summit homework and hung out alone at the house we rented. To be honest, it was a lonely time for me. But it was a REAL GOOD time for me. I looked back on posts and realized I never did actually candidly shared about my time.

I absolutely loved the first Sunday we were at Bethel. The worship was incredible (obvs) and then Kris Vallotton spoke on empowering woman to be leaders and preachers...come on!!!! I was over the moon. During the week I spent a lot of time by myself. Now we need to get one thing straight..I am an extrovert. I am a people person. I can spend time alone but I don't love it. I love being with people. I love talking with people. I LOVE PEOPLE. Extended alone time makes me go crazy. Thank goodness I listened non-stop to the Divergent audiobook to make me think I was with people. The crew was at school almost all day and night that first week. That was hard. They were experiencing so much and I barely had time to debrief with James.

And the conversations I did partake in (with James and others), I didn't really find myself agreeing 100% with. I was frustrated!! I wanted to relate, but I couldn't. And then the next Sunday came. Martin Smith led (amazing OBVS!) and this Ray guy preached. I totally did not relate to his message AT ALL. And at the call (which I can't remember) I found myself as one of the few who did not stand up to respond. But then he makes a statement where I had my "Thank You Jesus, I'm not crazy" moment.

He shared an analogy that some people are like boats and some people are like buildings. He didn't say being one was bad and the other was good. He said how the church needs both buildings and boats. I would go on to quote him more but I would totally get it wrong....but let's just say artsy/creative/musician types tend to be the boats and non-artsy/more analytical/I guess a bit more consistent? (ahhh, I'm really not trying to offend anyone!!! Sorry if it sounds offending!) types tend to be the buildings. I had a revelation right there. I WAS A BUILDING IN A ROOM FULL OF BOATS!!! No wonder I wasn't relating to anything.

It made me realize two things: 1. I missed my building people. 2. Our churches need a lot more of them boat people in leadership because often it is the building types who are in leadership.

Once I realized how differently I was programmed than everyone I was surrounded by, I enjoyed myself a lot more. We are all unique and that is a good thing.

We had a ton of fun on that trip and God showed up in massive ways. I'll never forget it.

I LEARNED ABOUT BLOGGING AT ALT SUMMIT

My assistant/encourager/bestie aka Courtney and I travelled to Salt Lake City to attend ALT (I attended and she explored). Never have I ever had a desire to go to Salt Lake City. The city was kinda blaaah in my books but ALT was amazing!!! I learned SO MUCH, heard from Oh Joy! and MARTHA FREAKING STEWART! Ate amazing food. Met amazing other bloggers (like miss Annie Reeves!!) and just had a really fun time.