Friday Favorites

School's out!!! It's been a whirlwind of a school year with its share of "rainbows" and "clouds". But I am so thankful for those rainbows. And right now, I'm thankful that I'm on summer vacation!

Isn't it funny that it's so difficult to wake up when you have to and yet it's so easy to wake up when you don't? Oh, the human heart... I've been up since 6:30 and have already gone to an appointment, made myself a green smoothie for breakfast, had a cup of coffee and sat on my deck with the pup with a great book. A productive start to my summer, I must say! 

Happy Friday to you all! 

Last weekend, Y and I went to IKEA to pick up a few things and enjoyed this simple (&cheap) lunch. 

I have been consuming quite a variety of fruits lately but watermelon is definitely a recent favorite. And this video inspired me to try a new twist on the good ole watermelon and boy am I glad I tried! 

The World Cup is one of my FAVORITE sports events and we're repping our pride. (How do we hang out flags, you may ask? Binder clips, of course...) 

Wednesday was an incredibly long day but my sweet sweet husband brought me home my favorite. Yes, you guessed it. Sushi. And of course I ate it all in bed. 

I've always been a bit obsessed with handwriting. Dabbling my feet in replicating the look of calligraphy, inspired by this post

Wanderlust Wednesday

Tomorrow is the last day of school! I'm itching to travel and am excited for a few [domestic] trips planned here and there. But amuse me while I dream of traveling to faraway lands. 

Banff, Canada 

Provence, France

Dead Sea, Israel 

Cinque Terre, Italy 

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Santorini, Greece

Where are you "wanderlusting"?

Makeup Monday

Oh hello there! And Happy Monday. 

In light of it being Monday, I thought I would try something new: Makeup Monday. 

I love makeup.

And though luxury makeup products are appealing, I've said it once and I'll say it again: I love me a bargain. So my daily makeup routine consists of quite the fair share of drugstore products. (Hey, if you can buy something that works well for cheap, why not?) 

I go through phases: seasons where I try new things. I've been recently pushing the envelope and trying out a bold lip, winged liner.  But sometimes, simple is best (especially when you have to wake up at 6am for work).  

So here are the products I use for my current makeup routine:  

Foundation: Bare Minerals Original Mineral Foundation in Light

Powder: Bare Minerals Touch Up Veil

Bronzer: NYC Bronzer in Sunny *Would you believe that this bronzer is a drugstore matte bronzer that costs less than $3???* 

Blush: Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

Eyelash Curler: Shu Uemura

Mascara: Loreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black

Lipgloss: NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee

Happy Father's Day

In recent times, I've come to realize it's not easy wearing many hats in life and juggling the various obstacles and inevitable unpredicabilities that come. But for as long as I could remember, my dad has been doing just that: wearing many hats and juggling being a son, brother, husband, father, colleague, leader, pastor, counselor, chaplain, professor, dean.

one of my favorite pictures. i look like i'm guilty of having done something but my dad's expression is full of love and grace. we even have matching haircuts. 

Three (of the many) roles he has played in my life: 

1. Teacher - He taught me the importance of respecting others but also respecting myself. He taught me to appreciate differences. He taught me to advocate for myself, for others and to fight for justice. He taught me the importance of forgiveness: to forgive others, to forgive yourself.  He taught me a love for music, art and creativity. 

He taught me the love of learning. Receiving a doctorate in a country not your own studying in a language that's not your native tongue while raising a family must not have been easy (for my dad and for my mom). And though we didn't always have a lot, growing up our house had shelves and shelves of books (many that my dad would find in used bookstores - he even taught me to appreciate a good deal!) When I was wee little, I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare and would walk to the living room and see my dad reading, researching, preparing a sermon - learning. 

on my wedding day - dad's first look 

2. Coach - One of my fondest childhood memories is living on-campus of Drew University and following my dad to the tennis courts in the summers and watching him play tennis with his buddies for hours on end. I didn't know it at the time, but I learned a lot watching him play: camaraderie, self-care, sportsmanship, integrity. 

I can credit him for my love of watching sports. But I can also credit him for my love of playing sports and a constant pursuit of an active lifestyle. He taught me to play tennis, softball. He still coaches me in golf (whenever we have the chance for a round of golf). He taught me to swim, ride a bike.  

this is one of my favorite pictures with my dad because this was taken on a family vacation that i will always cherish. 

3. Supervisor - I am blessed beyond measure because I share a profession and calling with both of my parents. My dad teaches/trains/equips counselors and am pretty lucky to get "free" supervision. 

Though he is in a position of teaching and supervising others, he never stops learning and working on himself. I am inspired and challenged by his humility. I can only pray that I become half the counselor he is. 

wedding day: dancing with daddy. 

I am so thankful for an incredibly affectionate, ceaselessly expressive, wise, humble, sacrificial, caring father whose mission and calling in life is to point to the Father's love.  

Thank you for being my counselor, my fan, my friend. Thank you for being you. 

Happy Father's Day, dad. I love you.

Friday Favorites

As I was driving to work this morning, I realized, today was the LAST Friday of school of the year! Yahoo! That means summer vacation is just around the corner and summer vacation = travels, family time and free time! 

But even before we get there, I am excited for the weekend - two BBQs, date with husband, church time. Wishing you a wonderful weekend! 

Here are pictures from this past week! 

delicious pastries from last weekend's "Work & Faith" ministry event

I reluctantly followed Y to Home Depot (his favorite place) but was pleasantly surprised to find herbs and veggies. we brought these beauties home and planted them. 

writing a card to each of my student leaders with a jar full of green juice 

my indulgence: justin's peanut butter cups. dare i say they are better than reese's

this JUST happened. an epic feast to kick off the weekend! (BBQ #1 for the weekend was brought indoors but it was nonetheless amazing.)