Things I’m loving right now

Hey, all! Happy Thursday! What is everyone up to this weekend? Thursday I am headed to my very first blogging conference, BlogHer ’13 here in Chicago! I am excited but terribly nervous – as usual with this kind of thing, I hope I can play it cool and be the fun, upbeat girl and not the weirdo with too much cat hair on her sweater. True life.

Since things have been a little on the cray-cray side around here these past couple of weeks, I thought this week might be a good time for another “Things I’m loving” post! I don’t know if y’all even enjoy these, but I kind of have fun sharing some things about my life that aren’t necessarily related to food. Believe it or not, I do sometimes leave my kitchen!

1.) My new apartment: I moved in this past weekend, and let me tell you – I LOVE this place! I will share more photos when I get all of the boxes unpacked and things squared away, but this apartment is so much more open and inviting feeling than my old place. I actually can’t wait to host my church small group here. Even more exciting? I have north, south, and west-facing windows. BIG ones. In my living room, kitchen, dining room, AND bedroom. My options for photos – especially in the winter when you’re chasing daylight – just quadrupled. Food blogger’s dream!

2.) My Sseko sandals: Remember last time how I raved about my new Noonday jewelry? Well, soon thereafter, my mom ordered a pair of the Sseko (pronounced say-ko) sandals and a couple different straps for each of us from the Noonday site, and they’re just great! Basically, you buy the sole of the sandal, which has little loops on it, and then you buy different straps, which you can change out and lace up in a million different ways! They’re perfect for wearing with everything from shorts to skirts to dresses to pants, and can be super casual or even dressy! My mom especially likes them because she has super skinny feet, and most shoes are too wide on her, but these can be laced as tightly as her skinny feet need! I assume the same would be true for wide feet, as well.

3.) My King Arthur Flour dough whisk: I know I have told you about this whisk about a million times already, so you’re probably sick of hearing about it by now, but I really do love it that much! It is so perfect for pulling together quick bread batters. I have no idea how the science behind it works, but I’m just happy knowing it does. Make sure to check out Tuesday’s post for a chance to win one of your own!

4.) My Erin Condren Life Planner: Nerd alert. I cannot lie, I totally geeked out when this planner arrived in the mail. I definitely have a bit of an obsession with office supplies (ironic, since I don’t actually work in an office anymore), and I am the type of person who depends on calendars to keep my life organized. Between tutoring sessions, blog posts, extra meetings, and my personal life, I have quite a few different things to try and keep track of, and this planner helps me do it all! There’s even extra room for keeping weekly to-do lists and storing things like receipts and bills to take care of later. Plus, it’s super cute and full of inspirational quotes.

5.) This video: It gives me goosebumps. One of my majors in college was International Studies, with a concentration on developing societies; I took classes with names like “International Human Rights” and “Politics in Developing Societies” and “Race, Racism, and Anthropology”. I spent a lot of time learning about all that is broken in this world, but this video is a beautiful reminder that music prevails, and it can bring with it hope, love, and belief in something bigger, something better. God can make beautiful things out of the trash. Literally.