wwiw: ruffles, aqua, and pink

shirt: zara//sweater: j.crew//jeans: banana republic//boots: target//watch: target

a simple lazy day outfit: blouse, sweater, jeans, and a colorful headband. done and done! 



october goals.

so I really like making lists....and goals, so why not combine the two things?! plus, I been needing a little more structure and accountability in my life. not that I've been slacking on responsibilities, just that I realize some things are missing, like keeping in touch with college friends. also, I love october. favorite month hands down.

1. Get pumpkins and decorate them with the roomies! I really want to paint one this year. thank goodness for pinterest.

2. take the LSAT, and do as well on it as I possibly can. ( I take it this saturday. prayers/well wishes are welcome)

3. Go hiking

4. Work out on a more consistant basis- like 3 times a week perhaps?

5. Run the Ardmore 5K (october 20th!!)

6. Finish my advocacy project at work, and attempt to get my idea written into the grant proposal

7. finish my law school applications

8. work on building community within the house more

9. attend more church functions, and wake up for morning prayer more often

10. have a no-buy month for the month of october. so no new clothes/shoes/accessories/anything not essential

11. keep in touch with more friends from college. I've been slacking, and thinking that this has been making me more focused on being here but honestly I've just feeling disconnected from everyone.

12. decorate the TAP house more 



ps. I got the idea to post goals for this month from Shay at So Shay, so go check her out!

refocusing

so the TAP house has been having some problems lately. actually, there have been problems since the beginning, but many of us tried very hard to make it work and to still build community.

there's been tension and stress, and just overall bad vibes in the house for the past month.  we've tried mediated conversations between all of four of the TAP interns, but it quickly became apparent that those weren't working either.  grace was given, but not received in return.

unfortunately, Maryls has decided to leave the Abraham project. I know I speak for the rest of house when I say we hope for the best for her, and I hope she finds what she is looking for.  she deserves it.

a big sigh of relief has gone through the house. tension and stress has been lifted, and divisions are falling apart.  it finally feels like home.

prayers and sayings have gone up on the fridge, praying together is happening more often, pancake breakfasts are happenings.  happiness is finally spreading, and I can see how much we are going to learn from each other this year. instead of falling apart because one person left, we're getting closer. it's honestly been awesome to watch, and so reassuring.

we're refocusing.

what I wore wednesday



shirt: banana republic//skirt: h&m//shoes: steve madden//watch: target

today I woke up with 15 mins to get ready. I also get to enjoy my first work webinar today. should be great fun (jk).

linking up here today.

two months down, eight to go..

exactly two months ago, I arrived in winston-salem.  which means I only have 8 months left.
whoa.

I have one of those weird feelings where it feels like it's gone slow and fast all at the same time.
today, while driving for work, I thought of the blog post I did the morning before I went to the church for the first time to meet everyone in my programs. it was a list of intentions for the 10 months to come.
I honestly could not even remember all of them (terrible but true), so it's definitely time for a check-in...

the main thing I've noticed is that I definitely do not have as much free time as I thought. 30 hours at the food bank and 10 hours at the church does not leave as much time to things as I thought....and I thought I was going to be bored? that was naive.

so far, this program has been so much better than I expected and completely different than what I expected. we were welcomed with open arms, but at the same time kind of tossed into the fire and left to figure it out. it's all a learning process

I'm looking to the next 8 months, and hopefully they'll be even better than the past two.

intentions for the next 10 months:

- be present where I'm at - not worrying about people or things in chicago/iowa (I haven't had facebook for a little over two months now, and that's really helped)
- make a difference (working at the food bank allows me to do this on almost a daily basis-even if it is frustrating)
- grow spiritually (attending morning prayer as often as I can, and church every Sunday)
- read as much as I can. having a year off from school, especially after being a history/international studies major, is a welcome break but I don't want to learning for a year. (studying for the LSAT has pretty much foiled this intention for now)
- go hiking
- get back into running/yoga (starting to-registered for my first 5K! and went to yoga this week)
- learn to trust the process more, and not try to rush things.
- learn how to budget better/money isn't everything - should be easier since my stipend is tiny! (not easier at ALL! but I am forced to budget so that's good)
- cook more meals (I cooked with the crockpot yesterday, and have made a pie! progress)
- learn to cope with my grief (working on it)
- be true to myself, and really take this year to figure out what is going to make me happy.

high five for friday

1.beautiful morning drives

2. mat kearny pandora station

3. birthday celebrations

4. it's boot season! yay for first day of fall.

5. I'm going to carolina oktoberfest this weekend. bring on the beer samples!

linking up with from my grey desk here.

what I wore wednesday

shirt: The Limited//jeans: Forever 21//flats: Target

so when I got dressed this morning, I though to myself 'how many trends can I put into one outfit?' -ok, not really, but I did unconscienously ended up rocking the peplum, colored jeans, and animal print all at once today.

too much?

linking up at http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.