jessa

This evening I ran out to take some photos of the sunset, and ended up attempting to take some pictures of my puppy, Jess. One of my brothers noticed that I was having a little trouble getting her to be still, (it's hard when her attention span lasts all of .32 of a second! jk #butalsonot!) So he started waving a stick above my head and gosh,that dog paid strict attention! But instead of epic dog pictures, like this one, or this one, I got classic Jess, and it turned into a hilarious shoot. (part of the hilarity was probably from the fact that I have had way too much coffee today, though. :)

Jess is a complete sweetie, though, despite all her faults. (The biggest of which is her car chasing, and barking frantically up and down the fence every.single.time a car drives by.) She is great with kids, and loves to just sit and be with me. She also came into my life two weeks before the hardest weekend of my life. (moving to a place I did not want to live, and putting my horse down.) and that makes her even more special. Plus, we're perfect for each other. We make quite the klutzy, ditzy pair. (seriously, we both fall up and down the stairs regularly, trip over things, run into walls, fences, people... etc. ;) But I love my ridiculous, silly girl. :)

she does close her mouth occasionally. lol

5 Books I Will Never Recommend // a list

The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
I'll be honest. I did recommend this one a couple of times. But after trying to explain the plot and characters to people and seeing their horrified expressions, I won't be recommending this book! (It's not a bad book, in fact I thought it was brilliant and fascinating. But it's narrated by a character that is, quite literally, Death, and it sounds morbid and terrible when you try to explain that Death travels around the world carefully collecting souls... See, you probably think I'm super weird now. ;)

The Master of Ballantrae - Robert Louis Stevenson
I love most of Stevenson's books, but this one is one I read once and will never read or think about again. (although it's sitting on my bookshelf and I won't get rid of it because I'm a book hoarder.) It was just strange, and the ending was so ridiculous I laughed, although I think it was supposed to be a depressing ending.




Jacob Have I Loved - Katherine Paterson-
I've actually read this one twice, but it's so weird and depressing, (not to mention that she basically falls in love with a 70-year-old man when she's 14. STRANGE!) I don't know what I think about the story. It's sad.

Hard Times - Charles Dickens
UGH! I usually love Dickens, but this book was just positively awful! I finished it simply because I'm working though all of Dickens works so that someday I shall have the satisfaction of knowing I read them all, but unless you want a similar accomplishment, DON'T BOTHER WITH HARD TIMES!!


Call of the Wild - Jack London
I really intensely disliked this one. I think the perspective (from a Dog's point of view) was interesting, but so far fetched and absurd that I didn't enjoy it, and I actually don't let my siblings read it. (I do most of the previewing for my family.)

margaret from happyinheels // guest post

Hi! My name is Margaret and my fashion blog is happyinheels

Because I am passionate about fashion, sometimes I find myself looking back and wincing at a bad outfit I wore long ago. But I try to correct myself because God does not want us to live in sorrow (or embarrassment!) over mistakes we have made, whether big or small.

     My little message to you is look forward, not backward, because the future is bright! God wants us to acknowledge our mistakes and then move forward because our life is short and precious!

Be sure to check out my blog and sign up for email notifications! 

hhtp://happyinheels.blogspot.com

Dog Mountain // Hiking

I was able to go hiking over the weekend with an awesome bunch of friends. We tackled Dog Mountain, and it was just as lovely and stunning from the top as the first time I hiked it. (My sincerest apologies to everyone who had to wait for us at the top for awhile, though!!) I was missing my bestie the whole time, because last time we hiked it together, and I like hiking with her. :) (She was at her older brother's wedding, though, so she had a valid excuse!)

i love this river so much!

The flowers on the hillsides were gorgeous, although a little past their prime. The first time I hiked it, the girls and I dubbed the flower-covered hills the "As You Wish Hills." Personally, I can totally see myself toppling down them quite by accident. ;) I texted my sister-in-law a photo of the view from the top, because she was working all day. My view was totally better! :)

 I just thought these ^ flowers were darling. :) They remind me of pom-poms...

We were even able to stop off at Multnomah Falls on the way home for a wee bit. It was lovely as always, and incredibly busy! We snapped a few selfies, and decided not to hike up to the bridge because of how many people were already on it. :)  

Hiking is so satisfying. I love pushing myself, accomplishing something, and then getting to the top and being able to soak in a perfect view. It totally makes up for the aching calf muscles, dust and sweat. :)

how was your weekend?

it's a girl thing // coral and silver

The Details:

Maxi Skirt: Kohl's {12.00}

Sweater : Goodwill {6.99}

Cami: Forever 21 {1.90}

Shoes: Payless {19.99}

Earrings (not pictured, they're two sets of diamond studs): Claire's {8.99}

I bought this maxi last weekend because I was shopping with my sister-in-law and really can't resist maxi skirts. :) Plus it was totally almost 60% off. (Mom was slightly perturbed when I brought it home because it's not the third striped maxi I own. But they're in different colors so they really are not that similar. haha) 

This outfit was actually an accident. :) When Eden asked me to do a Fashion Friday for her this weekend, I planned out a cute summery outfit featuring my favorite polka dotted dress. But when I woke up that day, (actually after I had several cups of coffee and could finally see and think coherently.) I realized that it was pouring rain outside and freezing. I wasn't upset at all though, because it gave me the perfect opportunity to pull out my favorite sweater and pair it with the new maxi. (It's actually the only shirt I own that works with the skirt. I'm gonna have to remedy that. ;)

Currently my brain hurts because I'm working on some math stuff. Early, I made a quadruple batch of oatmeal cookies and four loaves of bread, wrapped a friend's birthday gift, and washed the car. (although I have a sneaking suspicion that as soon as I drive it down the driveway in the morning it will look just as bad as it did before. #lifeonagravelroad :) Later I will probably do laundry, play with my dog for awhile and then we're going to hang out at the river this evening. :)

How has your day been?

xx,

Lydia // smiles and manicures

I think this child becomes cuter every day. She's the most serious baby I've ever seen. Most of the time she stares around her, just observing life, so smiles and giggles are a big thing. ;) 

okay, I totally get to be the awesome big sister who does cool things like manicures on the baby. (I've been painting her toenails since she was just a couple months old.  It's harder than it sounds because, 1. her toenails are unbelievably tiny, and 2. she doesn't understand the concept of holding still. Nevertheless, the results are adorbs.)

This morning Mom propped Lydia up in the middle of her bed and started sorting though a bunch of stuff. I came into the room whilst mom's back was turned, and found Lydia destroying a pile, (and working on eating it! :) with her headband around her chin. She was convinced that she was helping. :)