my poolside wish list

The weather has been so amazing here and I am thankful for every minute of it! I love summer because it holds so many memories. My family would always head down to Florida for a few weeks in the summer to enjoy the gulf coast and white sand. A bunch of my family would rent out beach houses and we'd have spaghetti dinners and late night swims at the pool. We'd celebrate all the July birthdays (me, my brother and my sister) and watch the Olympics while eating Klondike bars. It was always lots of fun :)

Summer in the east bay is a lot different (colder and rainier) but so far it's been good to us and I'm praying it stays that way! I mentioned before that we are moving into a new place this summer and one of the exciting features is the little community pool. I'm not into laying out for a tan (I'm pretty pale and try very hard to protect my little white self when outside) but I want to start reading by the pool and going for dips while the weathers nice. So naturally I've been seeking out some poolside necessities :)

FredFlare, $12

My mom would always have these kind of brown sunglasses with the leopardy? texture,

 I've been hoping to find a good pair. I find myself gravitating towards lots of things that remind me of my family recently. 

These pretty ones are from Forever21, less than $6. I love Forever21!

I've been pretty stuck on my heart sunglasses lately (I just love the smiles I get when I wear them :) but there's a pair I found a few weeks ago that I can't stop thinking about! The weird thing is, I don't totally remember what that wonderful pair of sunglasses look like (.. I'm weird) but I keep thinking about them. That must mean I like them... right?

Macy's, $106

My swimsuit drawer generally consists of just a few suits but this week 

I've been contemplating expanding my swimming horizons. 

I especially love this pretty one piece from Macy's.. I might have to go find it at the mall this weekend. 

Macy's, $88

Target, $25

And of course you need a good cover up/tee and a solid bag when planning for pool + beach visits. 

I use to love my terry-cloth-hoodie-cover up when I was little.. I'll have to keep looking for one of those :) 

Feather 4 Arrow on ScoutMob, $25

My mom always has really bright big beach bags and currently I have none! 

I'm in love with the yellow + blue combination but I'm wondering if I should try to make my own soon. 

jayciMay on Etsy, $40

FredFlare, $26

I hope the week's been going smoothly for everyone out there. 

I have a feel this is going to be a really wonderful summer.

I love this face.

I could become a crazy cat lady so easily. I feel it in my bones.

life in pictures

I've been battling a bit of a cold/allergies this last week. Lots of soups, resting, cat cuddling and television finales.

Saturday night I sat down and watched the first feature film Stan was apart of making. I couldn't be more proud of him. Stanley is constantly inspiring me through his work and self discipline. He's always willing to listen, learn, and make changes. I can't believe I have such an amazing leader and best friend to spend every day with.

I know great things await this man and I'm so thankful that I get to be apart of them.

The last few weeks have been busy busy! We've been off to Florida for a wedding and were able to spend lots of wonderful time with college friends. Since being back we've been hosting family and traveling around the city. 

I'm looking forward to having some alone time soon, but it'll be a busy month packing up to move into a bigger place across town :) 

I know it's going to be different but with every change in life there's growth, so I'm excited!

I want to be making changes especially as we transition into this new place.

I want to relax more. Recently I've allowed myself to get stressed or worried over all sorts of things. And I'm tired of it. Sunday my eyes were opened to the truth that whatever you are willing to tolerate is what will shape your life. I'm not going to tolerate sudden fear or anxiety anymore. It will not shape my life.

I want to live loved. I want to wake up every morning fearless because I understand how much the Lord loves me. I want to operate in that love throughout the day. When I'm interacting with people, when I'm working, when I'm driving. When I'm dancing while I'm driving. To consistently be acting in the love that I've been given.

These are my new goals.

As I write that statement I'm reminded of my failures. Of all the times I've done this before, said I would change but slid back into my old habits. But we can't allow our past to keep us from moving forward. I'm not perfect. I can tell you right now I will fall short in accomplishing these few things. But I'm hungry for more. If these few things can move me into more, I'm going to start changing my thinking.

Never stop looking for ways to grow. Never let past failure keep you from moving forward.