words + best friend

when you find someone you love, you bond with, you laugh with, and you trust. keep them. don't ever let them go. don't take them for granted, or use them but be there for them. be there for each other, through the hard and the good times and never let go. because when you find someone you love, you won't find someone exactly like them again. ♥

it seems silly to be this in love with a best friend, really, I know it does but I cannot tell you how much this girl means to me. she is always there for me through thick and thin and we have SO much fun together, she's just the absolute greatest. she is a walking example of Christ's love, and I am so proud of the person she is. I love you Lex. 

finding the joy

(the so beautiful and joyful Olivia. this picture is perfect for this post.)

"when you're sad, you're not really sad. you are merely oblivious to the good things in your life. there is always a crack of lightness in the dark. find it." I found this quote on tumblr today and it is so so true. When I moved to Duluth and was depressed for a short while, I never ever found the good in anything. I was hiding away from the light that was shining through the cracks in my rough time. Even during the days when nothing seems to be going right, there is always something to be joyful about, always something to be thankful for, and always joy somewhere, even when it's hard to find. 

proverbs 10:28//the hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

on with finding joy & i'm praying for all of you to have joy always, even when life isn't going so great. :) 

graffiti graveyard + adventurous friends

 Nina, Jess and I adventured down under the bridge here in Duluth to graffiti graveyard, full of thousand of colors and paintings and art on the bridge walls. It's a beautiful mess down there. Nina and I have a crazy sense of adventure. We have plans for next summer that include blogging together at small cafes in towns you've never even seen on a map, running barefoot through corn fields and dealing with broken down cars. When things go wrong, life moves on. No, but really I can't wait for this next year. I can't even explain how excited I am to start a new year of adventure, fun, living to the fullest, and deepening my relationship with the Lord. Check out this girls blog to read about her story + awesome life, and check out my blog to see all the pictures from graffiti grave.

reflecting 2012 & goal setting for 2013

The countdown begins ya'll. 15 days until Christmas. I like to refer to it as Jesus' birthday since the word Christmas can be said without evening thinking a second about the real meaning of the day. I mean, people who aren't Christians celebrate, but it's more a day of presents and cookies and trees decorated with fun colors. Do not forget the real meaning of Christmas. Celebrating the birth of our wonderful Lord and savior. 

We've got about a foot of snow, and it is BEAUTIFUL. I traced out into it yesterday to take some pictures and loved the white fluffy substance my boots collected. (and my oh my do I love those boots.) I want to encourage my readers to spend the last few weeks of 2012 thinking  about their year, how it was spent, all the good & bad things that happened, and maybe journal some. Count your blessings, think of the places you went, all the people you met, the new adventures you took. Oh boy is life ever exciting. Goals for 2013 isn't such a bad idea either, how do you want to grow on your walk with Christ? How do you want to form relationships with close friends? I really just can't wait for another year of excitement. 2012 for me, was one of my biggest years. I met so many new people, did a lot of new things, grew in a lot of different ways, figured out who my real and fake friends were, worked a lot harder in school, and started off in my new journey in Duluth. 

I'll leave you off with one of my favorite verses:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. 

There's my two cents for the day. Have a wonderful week!

duluth lift bridge

I have memories, at least once from each summer, of coming to Duluth as a tourist and stranger to the area. I loved growing up coming here at least once a year to spent time at our favorite places. Canal park and the lift bridge were always the highlight of the trip. We'd sit out in the sun with hand scooped ice cream and watch the bridge lift just enough for a small or huge boat to fit underneath. We'd listen to stories from when my dad was young, growing up here. Most were about his experiences of delivering pizza with the lovely Sammys pizza. I never expected to move here, ever.  Duluth went from being my favorite place in Minnesota, to somewhere I was bitter about living at, to my beautiful home. I am truly happy with this beautiful place. The lift bridge lit up at night is the most beautiful site around. 

2013 traveling plans

Over Thanksgiving I was able to travel a little bit. We went to Eau Claire, WI and I know that's not a huge deal or very far at all but I love Wisconsin and haven't been there for a while. Plus sometimes I feel like I see too much of Minnesota because Duluth is on one end and the cities is on the other, so I kind of see it all. Not to mention, I got to see family that just moved over to the states from Greece. They were missionaries there for so long, and I have seriously seen them under 10 times in my entire life. You see some pictures of them and I here. 

I love love traveling. I don't travel much, but when I do I'm kind of willing to go wherever. This next year I have a hopes/dreams to travel to Chicago, Indiana, California, and somewhere on a mentorship. It'd be so fun and exciting and adventurous. Can you tell I love adventure? 

Where are you traveling in 2013?

thanksgiving

I debated posting about thanksgiving or not. Obviously there are so many things I'm thankful for but everyone does the same old posts on Thanksgiving. I don't really care though. Here it goes...

Thankful for my family. Not just my parents and siblings, but my aunt and uncle, my grandparents, and my cousins. They are truly all family family though. We fight like siblings, and get annoyed with each other super easily. At the end of the day though, I love them and am so blessed to have them all.

Thankful for a beautiful house.

Thankful for new friends in Duluth that make it easier to adjust to somewhere I'm not a huge fan of. 

Thankful for my talents of photography. They've gotten me somewhere, and I love it so much.

Thankful for this season. I LOVE Thanksgiving, black friday (not really a holiday) and Christmas. Seriously cannot wait, I just love it all. hah.

What are you thankful for?

<3

forming friendships

These are the feet of a forming friendship. These are the feet of two girls who came over to my house. The laughter, the singing, the strumming guitars, and the eating of pizza rolls which we hadn't had for a long time. I've been meeting people here, forming more friendships, learning more about people in the youth group, and living more of a fun life, full of laughter. I can honestly say it's not miserable anymore. I don't cry myself to sleep anymore. I get excited over the little things, and I still miss my friends back home and prefer the cities over Duluth any day, but I do love it here. The crisp fall air is beautiful, and I had a photo shoot with two beautiful girls. I'm enjoying life, and not worrying about when I get to move back, or when I get to visit again. I really am learning to love it, and embrace each day. Thankful for every time I meet someone new, or get to hangout with a friendly face. I am blessed.

fake vs. real

I wanted to write about my surprise birthday party on here. The time where I came rolling over the hill to my best friends house and thought the limo was for my moms birthday, not mine. The time where all of my closest and best friends came to surprise me, and spend time taking goofy pictures and singing silly songs in the back of a limo while touring Minneapolis, and St. Paul. This blog was meant for more then silly feet pictures, I hope you know that. It's about me, my life, and how He has blessed me so much. It's a place to leave thoughts that I don't like leaving on my regular blog. Let me write about my friends for a minute. I just really have some amazing friends. Sometimes you really have to search though, deep down to find who are your real friends. They're the people you wouldn't think you'd ever be that close to. I love when you get to know people. When friendships form out of nowhere really, but you just become close. Where you can be yourself and laugh with each other. I just love real. Real is so much better then fake. I was extremely happy with who came to my party, I sat in that limo singing Party in the USA (ewww, Miley Cryus) with 9 of my best friends, and I looked around and I realized everyone there was real. They were there for me, they cared. They always have been, and I haven't always opened my eyes to it. Somehow my struggles become theirs, theirs become mine, and we're just there for each other. For awhile I think I was attracted to fake, to fake friends, because they made me look better, more popular, more pretty, more fake, more this and more that. Well friends, heres to a new life of more real and less fake. 

wedding adventures

Today I shot a wedding with one of my favorite Duluthians. I’d say we make a pretty good shooting team. I realized how much I love love (which, really I’ve always known) and how exciting weddings really are. The joy in peoples eyes and even the tears shed during every part of the wedding, it’s all just so special and great. The brides final touches to her gorgeous attire, and the grooms smile when he sees her for the first time. True love is amazing. I’m so incredibly blessed with my talents and my big gigs. 

baby feet

crisp leaves, cold air, naked trees and a fall (quickly becoming winter) breeze. remember how I said adventure could be in your own backyard? well, I had never known because I hadn't ventured back there yet. today I took all three siblings of mine and breathed in the fresh air. life is so beautiful you guys. my eyes needed to be opened. 

introduction

I guess the best kind of adventures are the ones that start at home.