Summer favorites

This little Dooney&Bourke bag was a life saver this summer. My arm still gives me trouble from time to time and there are some days I can't carry a large bag on my shoulder. This was a gift from a friend for my birthday and I love it! 

I'm still interested in trying the Clarisonic but my Mary Kay skinvigorate has been great to use!! 

This extra large hearing pad has been another life saver. I suffer from severe back pain at times and sometime this is the only thing that saves it and..... it covers my entire back!! 

I wore this JustFab bag to death over the summer. It's a nice size but its not so large that I can stuff it full of stuff! Which if you know me i could! lol 

Without a doubt my favorite book over the summer was the YaYa Prayer Group series by Neta Jackson. 

The Tone body wash and the Lubriderm lotion have been favorites all summer. I have been having issues with dry patchy skin and the Lubriderm lotion is the only thing that seems to help heal it. 

I picked up this set from Catos around Easter. I love that you can wear it dressed up or dressed down! I've worn it with dresses and jeans. 

Speaking of Dresses!!! I wore way more dresses this summer then I've worn in a while. I loved this one soo much I picked it up in two colors. lol 

My daughter said this looks like a kids changing pad. It's not! lol But if your a 50 year old women you will appreciate having a chill pad in your pillow. This thing doesn't have to be refrigerated either. It just rechills itself after about five hrs! So at night when I get hot I am resting my head on a cold pillow. It's like heaven!!! lol Nicki got it from a friend.

Lastly I really love the Coconut Lime Breeze bath and body set I got for my birthday and I love, love my spa robe from Target. I just wish I could get refills of the body wash. 

I can't believe summer is coming to end. Anyone else besides me feel like this year has flown by? I mean there are already Christmas stuff up!! At the moment I can't even think that far ahead!! 

Stepping out of our comfort zone!

This week has been a week of change and stepping out of our comfort zone for both Marc and I! For the first time ever Marc dressed down for our first official dress down Sunday which will take place on 5th Sundays at WABC, and I led worship during the start of our evening bible study! We both had to step out of our comfort zone but knowing its where God has been leading us seemed to make it a bit easier. I am the first to admit I don't do well with change. I'm a planner by nature..it's just in my DNA. But my plans don't always (more often then not don't) coincide with Gods plan for me! Lets face facts. There are many places and things I would not have gone or done on my own! But God has led me to places and caused me to do many things I never imagined. Sometime we expect things to be a certain way when in fact God is telling us to find a new way! Even in his word he makes it clear that new is sometimes better! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says...Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

We tend to cling to the old when God is asking us to embrace a new thing! If we really have confidence in God then ask yourself why are you afraid? Why do you keep looking backward rather then forward? 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path! 

If we really believe in the scriptures why do we have such a hard time applying them to our daily life?? At the end of the day Marc survived not wearing his suit one Sunday and even though my voice cracked during worship I made it through the set without passing out! 

What fear do you have that's keeping you from doing and being all that God has called you to be? Often we are distracted by things that mean very little to God and it keeps us from fulfilling our bigger purpose!

^{6 in all your ways acknow}

Bookshelf!!

I'm a bookworm and I don't apologize at all for my addiction! Other then the purchases I made at Ikea and the Container Store books were the only other thing I picked up while on vacation! Notice a pattern?? I mean why wouldn't a wedding planner want to read about weddings??  lol The larger book on the left had a whole series of books and I plan to go back and get the rest if I like this one! I don't know if you have an Ollie's in your area but if you do next to the thrift shop this is one if the best places to pick up books for cheap. None if these books cost more then $4.00 each! They also have a slew of cookbooks, coffee table books, travel books, fiction as well as autobiographical books and tons of children's books. They are usually discontinued books but you can't beat the prices. And it has one of the largest fictional Christian book collections I've ever come across.  

Ikea and Container Store Haul

Its almost fall and around that time I start getting the organizational itch again so being at the container store this weekend gave me an opportunity to pick up some shoe boxes so I can finish organizing my bedroom closets! I also so this little cord wrap thingy and took the plunge (a whopping $3.00...lol) and added it to my cart !

A few years ago I picked up a bunch of these packing bags for Marc and I but I was still short a few after using them a couple of times so I picked up an additional set this weekend. The ones I originally brought were navy blue to match my luggage but they didn't have those this time so I grabbed the pink ones. 

I've been really into fresh herbs this year but I suck at keeping plants alive. I thought maybe if I brought this cute green watering can that I might be more motivated to stay on top of the job!! 

If you haven't figured out by now I'm a bag and box person. I've been known to get more excited about what the gift is on rather then the gift! So when I saw this cutie for $1.00 I couldn't pass it up! I can carry it around in my bag for emergency shopping trips!! 

My last purchase of the day was this rod and hooks. I'm going to use it on an upcoming kitchen project!! 

I hemmed and hawed about purchasing this large wooden cutting board but for $10 Marc said I would be crazy to leave it behind (I was considering purchasing a much much smaller one for $6.00). I'm so glad I listened to him. It's huge and it fits perfectly over my counter (it has a lip at the end). I've been wanting a large wooden board for a while but the prices for them were outrageous! But this one...well you couldn't beat that price with a stick!! lol 

I usually love shopping but this trip I was more excited about exploring then buying a bunch a stuff. The purchases I did make were well thought out and were things I thought would add to my life rather then just add more clutter! 

Stayvavation: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!

Wednesday Marc and I went back over to Yorktown to walk at the waterside.

We met my mom, cousin and my godmother for lunch and then headed to Colonial Williamsburg to walk around.

Originally we had hoped to vacation in North Carolina and tour the Biltmore Estate and other local landmarks but that just wasn't in the budget this year.

Thankfully my mom allows us to come and stay at her country estate whenever we would like. LOL On Thursday morning we packed up and headed up to Northern VA to visit a family friend in the hospital. The traffic was crazy coming back (as usual) so we stopped at The Container Store and Ikea before heading back home. As of right now we don't have any further vacation plans as Marc is about to head back to school next month to finish up his final year before graduating in May with a Masters Degree in Theology. After that we "plan" to take a family cruise (hopefully with Disney for the first time)!!!! 

Now though its back to the daily grime, which meant grocery shopping on yesterday and hopefully back to eating some healthier meals.

Stay vacation! Sunday through Tuesday!

This past weekend we traveled to my home county for a family celebration and my home church Homecoming service. On Saturday we celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my cousin Trice and her husband Andy. On Sunday we attended service in the church that I grew up in, was baptized at and first learned how to serve.

Monday morning we went to breakfast with family and chilled the rest of the day at my mom's.

Tuesday Marc, my mom and I explored Yorktown.

 

Sometimes I forget how much history was made in my backyard. LOL

After we sent sightseeing we had lunch at a hotel that I know has been around since I was a child.

It had been raining off and on all day but it cleared up briefly and allowed us to visit the Nancy Thomas gallery.

That evening we hung out with more family at (93 years young) aunt's home! I love spending time in her company! 

Celebrating A Legacy

Last weekend I attended a celebration with Marc that highlighted the families in the area in which we live, including his grandparents. This is Marc and I after he received a plaque in their honor. It was actually one of the few neighborhoods in this area at the time that black families owned property. Today we live on that same street in which he grew up on family land.

Marc with his aunt who was honored as being one of the long tine seniors of this community. 

This picture shows Marc's paternal grandparents. There were several dignitaries there including Pat Robinson (CBN Founder), Phillup Kellam (Commissioner of Revenue), Mayor William D. Sessoms, Sandra Brandt (Congressional District Chair), and several pastors from within the neighborhood. Marc is actually the Civic Leaque President for our area and did the opening prayer.

Our Women's Ministry Workshop

This past weekend we held our annual Women's Ministry workshop. The theme this year was "Garden Getaway...where women walk with God". I love using the retreat kits from Group Publishing. I'm always amazed at how well the themes are received by our women. This year we even incorporated the songs. My favorite by far was 10,00 Reasons (Bless The Lord Oh My Soul).

Registration and Continental breakfast was served that morning at 8:30 AM.

After a time of worship and a praise dance by a family friend we started our sessions.

Our first session was about Exploring the seasons of our lives.

My favorite part of the workshops were the group sessions. I made an effort this year to put down my camera and join in with the other ladies. This is very rare for me in the 6 years that we have been doing the workshops. I'm trying to be more like Mary and less like Martha. LOL

Our second session was all about inner beauty. How often do we focus on the inner beauty giving little or no time to the beauty God wants for us inside our hearts! Or even the beauty that is around us?

After the second session we served the ladies a bag lunch.

After lunch we discussed walking with God. The ladies were given time to walk around the building and spend a little time conversing with God by themselves. Originally they were to go outside but the rain made that impossible so we played soft music in the background while the women moved from one area to another every few minutes after a prompt from the facilitator.

One of my favorite things about the kits from group are the service projects session. I love that we are encouraged to give back to someone else.

In this case we created a special gift to give to women who may be going through a difficult time. This session was all about caring for those in a season of need.

I know the ladies enjoyed this session because it spilled over into the time for session 5! LOL

Session 5 focused on the difficult seasons of life! This session was very interactive and allowed the women once again to be an active participant!  

I led the last session which was all about recognizing the joy in every season and celebrating that! 

Setting up a workshop like this is super easy and in most cases budget friendly. Group provides everything you will need that day from workshop materials to music, to promo material. Of course you can add your own touches as I have done. The best part is that you don't need big name artist or speakers and you can ask friends, family or women at your church to facilitate each session (that material is provided as well). Like I said we have been using them for over six years and I am never disappointed with the outcome. Whether you have a small group of women like us or a larger congregation you can benefit from these kits and your ladies (of all ages) will love them! You also do not need a large facility to pull this off. Most of our sessions were done in the sanctuary with the exception of the service project which required some table space.

Of course I can't just do a workshop without adding decorations! If you would like some ideas for a Garden themed event you can check out my "Treasured Creations" blog.