montana, part numero uno

I am finally home for a little bit...long enough to update my bloggy blog! Each trip from this summer holds a special place in my life, which means I'm probably going to get a bit long-winded writing about them (surprising, I know. Lydia, long-winded?).

Our first stop on the really, really, really long drive to Montana was at Mount Rushmore. Super glad I got to check this off my bucket list.

(from l to r: Nora, Kendall, Tayler, Lydia, Lyndsay, Gracie, Katie, Allison)

After that, we kept on trucking to our final destination: Browning, Montana, home of the Browning United Methodist Parish. Before getting started on our mission work for the week, we headed across into Canada to see Glacier National Park in Waterton, Alberta. I could post a LOT of pictures of this, but I'll just give you a glimpse :)

Entering into Glacier National Park. Amazing.

The border between the United States and Canada...pretty cool!!

Bus 9 crew, aka TLC

First spotting of a deer! They walk around in Waterton like people walk around in NYC.

This one had fuzzy antlers!! I LOVE that you can see the fuz on them!

Lydia, Kendall, Nora, Lyndsay

The water is a b-e-a-Utiful color of teal. Absolutely breathtaking.

That ends the first portion of our trip...part numero dos will consist of the worksite! Here is a little preview of what is in store :)

#2: a wisteria in bloom

Have you even heard of the company called Wisteria? They have some amazingly cute things that I would die to have in my home someday.

One of my favorite things to do (you will find out) is to find ideas through company's pictures (websites, catalogs, magazines, etc.) and figure out how I could make something similar for half the price (or less!). So here are some of the jewels I found on their website today:

Why not begin at the entry? This rug is $34...a steal I would say for it's cute factor.



I've always wondered where you could find these neat candelabras...$34





I am always a sucker for anything numbered or lettered. Never have been able to figure out why. A few months ago, Pottery Barn had these neat throw pillows that were numbered...check it out below.
Set of 4 mixing bowls...$59, set of 4 small bowls...$29.







If money were no object, I would buy every one of these trays. $39.00 each



There's a lot that I like about this picture: 1) I'm drawn to anything the color of the tray pictured. 2) I love the old-looking antique-y hutch juxtaposed by the vibrant green tray and reflective mirror. 3) did I say I'm drawn to that color green?




I suppose that's enough ramblings for now. If you've never been to Wisteria's website, you ought to check it out for sure!

number 1

As the world of blogging truly becomes full-circle, I bit the bullet and decided to finally create one. Having debated about creating a blog for well over a year now, you can see that I don’t make decisions quickly. Would people read my musings? I’m sure this blog will vaguely resemble the random thoughts that pop into my head all day long. So from one run-on sentence to the next, you will have to forgive my haphazard way of thinking.

One of my main concerns with creating a blog was its’ soul purpose. I have a few specific ideas for blogs, all of which would be COMPLETELY different. So today I decided to quit worrying about which blog’s life would be fulfilled and to merge them all. Throughout the next blogs I hope to leave you with some of the following (hopefully):

-random occurrences in my every day life (church, friends, etc.)
-design tips and ideas that spurred my creative juices in some way
-weddings (with my brother getting married in the fall, I’m absolutely taken by anything wedding now. Actually, I’ve been taken with anything wedding for as long as I can remember. So having my brother’s wedding in the near future at least creates a valid reason for me to be wedding giddy).
-projects of my own
-anything interior design related
-and whatever else happens to be floating around in my noggin’ that day

Oh, and one more: pictures. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have an unhealthy habit of taking a lot of pictures. Today, I will leave you with one of my more recent sunset pictures in a small town outside of Saltillo, Mexico.