stripes, stripes, and more stripes...

As I said in the post before this, I am toying with the idea of stripes in my soon to be sis-in-laws bathroom. While googling the other day, I found this beauty of a room:

I don't know what it was that caught my attention: the giraffe pillow, the symmetry (I used to get in trouble in school for always making my projects symmetrical), the black and white pictures framed above the headboard, or the lovely tone-on-tone stripes on the wall. When I saw it, I stared for a good minute taking it all in.

Google has this new way of searching images (I haven't decided if I love it or hate it. Nobody ever likes change though...) and it doesn't really show you what the website looks like where the image is coming from. So, I saw this image, clicked on it, and then saw the faded out background of this. 3 things:

1) most shades of green catch my attention

2) the simplicity of the website was intriguing

3) any type of signage that is unique draws me in

So as you can see, I was hooked. I sat on my computer for at least an hour as I devoured picture after picture of weddings, scenery, design, anything. My favorite part of her website is under the "categories" tab, then "fabulous Friday find." I don't know where she's getting these images, but they are AMAZING. I'll show you a few more stripes pictures that snagged my attention (all photos from Diana Lupu Photography).

varying widths...LOVE

tone-on-tone with accents of robin's egg. stunning!

zebra rug, enough said.

After emailing with her and checking if I could use some of her pictures, she graciously allowed me to...and even sent me a few more blogs that she frequents! That's another post for another day :) Thanks, Diana, for having such a stunning website that caught my attention!

On another note, last night I made this batch of cookies with the help of Nora and Kendall. They are phenomenal. No doubt about it. And I don't even really like chocolate chocolate chip cookies. But trust me, they're worth the effort (and it's truly not that much!). Nora got the wonderful recipe from Kendall Porter (you can look at her blog here--she always has fabulous goodies!). We then headed to OU's campus (cookies in hand!) to see Katie, Lyndsay, Gracie, and Sarah's dorm rooms. One more stop by Bryce's new pad and then it was time to hit the hay. I have known most of these kiddos since they were in middle school...so to see them moving into the same dorm that I lived in is surreal!

The heat index is supposed to be 108 degrees today. I think I'll stay inside most of the day...toodles!

the one where chandler takes a bath...

I am in the process of helping my soon to be sister-in-law (yay!) redesign their main bathroom in New Hampshire. Most of our work is done via email which is a little bit odd in the design world (it's hard to read a person's immediate reaction to a piece you suggest when it's all in writing!), but seems to be working out. She is a very clean and organized person, which is what inspired me to create a spa-like bathroom for her. Not everyone (i.e., me) can have a perfectly spotless bathroom...so I decided to live vicariously through her. That might be a little bit true, but in reality she loves the color blue and a simple and modern, "spa" bathroom is truly what I saw her loving. I have a color in mind for the bathroom (we might end up doing stripes! Perhaps a tone on tone with two different shades of blue? We'll see...) but just had to share some of these lovely blue bathrooms!

I love old houses that have built-ins like the one pictured above.

A little bright for Tina, but I adored the shower curtain. We are probably going to order this one for her bathroom.

Doesn't a bathroom like this just make you want to curl up in the tub with a good book?

Black and white tile floors always catch my eye. They make such a statement, but also go great with a lot of different styles.

This pic looks like it's straight out of a European hotel. Loved the blue walls with the pale wood combination. To.Die.For!

Although I'm not a big fan of the tile in this bathroom, I did love the giant sink and periwinkle walls. Who doesn't love a turned leg sink though?

I may have found a great new addition to my blog: making Friends references with each post. Although I'm sure some people will role their eyes at me (Mitchell), I see nothing wrong with a little humor.

Today's episode from Friends is titled, "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath." In this episode, Rachel and Ross are trying to decide on names for their baby. It makes me laugh, every single time.

Ross: So, I uh… I called the doctor and now we both know the sex of the baby.

Rachel: What?

Ross: That’s right. The student has become the master.

Rachel: Ross, I swear, I don’t know.

Ross: Oh, come on, you know it’s a girl!

Rachel: A what?!

Ross: You really didn’t know?

Rachel: We’re having a girl?

Ross: No.

Rachel: That’s what you just said!

Ross: No.

Rachel: You said girl!

Ross: Yes. I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

Rachel: I’m not! We’re having a girl! Sometimes I can’t believe it’s with you—But still! We’re having a girl!

Ross: I know! I know. You know what? I’m putting Ruth back on the table!

Rachel: Oh, yes! We’ll have ourselves a little baby Ruth…

Ross: Permission to veto.

Rachel: Yes, please.

the one with the apothecary table...

Recently, I have been helping my brother and his fiance design their living room. Perhaps I'll do another blog post of that (with their permission of course!). Anyway, we've been doing a lot of googling to find things on the internet (they live in New Hampshire...so it's a little bit hard for me to go shopping with them in person) for the room that they spend the most time in. One thing we've been looking at are apothecary jars. Let me take a slight detour and let you know that I cannot hear the word "apothecary" without immediately thinking of the Friends episode so perfectly titled, "The One with the Apothecary Table."

I am a Friends fanatic who loves incorporating Friends quotes into my everyday life at all times possible. Movie and TV quotes in general are always great to throw into normal conversations, but that's a whole 'nother blog post for another day. Back to apothecary jars...

Of course Pottery Barn has some of the best options around, but I feel like that is too simple an answer. While googling away, I stumbled across tons of pictures of apothecary jars that I absolutely drooled over. The contents of the apothecary jar are what usually made me want to run out and purchase whatever was inside of them immediately...so without further ado, here are some images to get your juices flowing!

Being the Interior Design graduate from the College of Architecture, I loved the old rulers and scales in the tall, skinny apothecary jar. You can get the jars themselves here.

I actually have one of these little guys (hint: mine did not come from PB. Try Ross for $5)

In my opinion, you can never go wrong with apples or pears (or anything green!) in a jar. They add so much life to a room. I love love love the apothecary jar on the right with the skinny based bottom.

Too much green? I don't think so. I believe this image is from Southern Accents magazine.

How pretty are all of the multi-colored and shaped soaps in the squatty apothecary jar?

How about some holiday decor? I've GOT to do this "boo" idea...however, you could also do something along these lines at a wedding or rehearsal dinner and do "_____ & _____" (their names), with one name in each jar. The wedding date might also be a cute option! I couldn't find any examples of vintage pictures in jars, but I've seen them also.

Antique ornaments...in a glass hurricane...on a tray? Yes, please!

This was at one of my great Interior Design friends rehearsal dinners (Casey and Collin!). The picture quality is not the best, but you get the idea! The theme for the desserts area was "Love is Sweet."

I stole this picture from another great Interior Design friend Kristen. One of her best friends recently tied the knot and had this adorable dessert section at the wedding.

Hope these images inspired you for some future apothecary ideas :)

a look into the past...

Scott Meier, McFarlin Youth Director of High School Ministries, has recently been scanning and finding old gems from past mission trips. And by gems, I really mean very awkward pictures that you often like to question things like...a) what was I wearing? b) did I think I looked good in that outfit? c) what are we DOING?! You get the idea. So without further ado, here are a few "goodies," some of which date back to 2002.

My first inner-city mission trip with Center for Student Missions (CSM): Los Angeles, California, summer of 2002. We worked in a housing project leading a Vacation Bible School in addition to working at soup kitchens, visiting nursing homes, feeding the homeless in parks, etc. One thought with this picture: Why did I think it was okay to put my hair back in TWO half ponytails? Enough said.

Chicago 3-week Internship with CSM--summer of 2003. This was my first time to be away from home for 3 weeks...and that was back in the day when cell phones were not a commodity. We lived in a brownstone for the 3 weeks while we served throughout the city. Our mission work included: working at a kids day camp for 2 of the weeks while we were there (the little girl in the picture was from the day camp), helping pass out flyers for new churches, eating at EVERY DIFFERENT KIND of ethnic restaurant you can imagine, serving at food kitchens and homeless shelters, and many other things. Those 3 weeks began to mold my life into who I am now and what I want to be doing.

Summer of 2004: EASTERN EUROPE! 2 weeks with your best friends in some of the most amazing cities: Prague, Budapest (as seen above), Krakow, Auschwitz, and most importantly: Kiev, Ukraine. Every four years, the McFarlin Chapel Choir takes an international trip so that every high schooler has the opportunity to travel abroad. This wonderful tradition has been going on for many years and is something that should never stop. Anybody that knows me now, knows that I don't travel light. But I would like it noted that Rosemary Sebestyen and myself traveled to Eastern Europe for two weeks with bags that could have been checked as carry ons. How is that possible? Any one of my friends would tell you that I wore the same pair of black, spandex jazz pants for approximately a week. I'm wearing them in the picture above, if only they were visible. I will have to do some digging to find a good picture of these pants. Everyone will be happy to know that I have retired them to my box of clothes that I cannot get rid of but no longer wear. You're welcome. I had to post one of my absolute, all-time, favorite pictures below. Taken in Prague, on what I remember as the last night of the trip. We got dressed up for dinner and had wonderful food. I believe this picture was taken outside of the restaurant (or maybe in our hotel?).

from l to r: Rosemary, Amy, Karen, Lydia, Anna

Spring Break 2005: Mexico! This was my senior year of high school. The green beads are because it was St. Patty's Day...unfortunately, I don't have an excuse for the sunglasses. My thoughts on this picture: Who in the world let me wear those sunglasses? I vividly remember having many sunglasses shaped like that and they must have all looked HORRIBLE. Moving on...

New York City, 2006: Working with CSM around all 5 burrows of NYC. Nora and I are pictured here the night we all went to go see the Producers on Broadway (not the most church appropriate, but it was great!). Let me preface by saying NYC in the summer is INCREDIBLY humid. Hence the shiny faces. My other comment: cool chandelier earrings, Lydia. I think they were blue...

Summer of 2007: Charleston, South Carolina. High school summer mission trip to do hurricane relief work with a Methodist organization. My group (the seagulls!) got to raise the floor of a bathroom 16" to make it wheelchair accessible for a family. We also built them a ramp and repaired their roof. We were not prepared for the humidity that Charleston has, so after a quick run to Target and a few tank tops later, we were set. Apparently I thought dressing like a watermelon was a great idea. One of the best parts of the trip: Kendall (shown above) and I ripping out a plywood closet. Crowbars up! Ching! (Home Alone quote)

Summer of 2008: Camden, New Jersey. My first summer to work with Urban Promise, a wonderful organization that gives inner city kids a safe place to go during the summer and during the year after school. We spent a day in NYC shopping, and Jeremy (my brother, shown above) actually got to come shopping with us. Good thing he shaved his little beard thing off his chin. My hair is what has me thinking in this picture...apparently a little windblown?

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Summer of 2009. The middle school mission trip to New Mexico was a close-knit group of strangers who formed so many inside jokes and different bonding memories that it's hard to describe. We painted a few rooms at a church in a small, hispanic neighborhood, and also helped lead the Vacation Bible School for kids in the area. Again, my thought with this pic: the hair? I don't think I had mastered the poof yet.

Summer of 2010: Montana, baby! Apparently, I was really excited to be chipping away at the old paint off of the building. If you need to read more about the trip to Montana, check the past 3 posts.

Whoops...found the Eastern Europe pictures after all. Here is your PROOF that I:

a) can pack light if necessary

b) truly did wear black spandex pants

and c) had not been introduced to what a straightener was

Hope you enjoyed this post :) feel free to rag on any and all of the pictures above.

montana, the wrap-up

Montana might have some of the most beautiful views of all the states I've been to (which is a lot...46 I believe. Maybe 44...). There are mountains in every direction you look...which makes for some great photo opps. I tried to do my best :)

This Obama sign was painted on a building in Browning where we served for the week. Loved how they incorporated Native American symbols (dreamcatcher, horses, feathers, etc.) into an Obama sign. How creative!

This beautiful church was just down the road from where we stayed. It was literally breathtaking every time we drove past it. I'm also a HUGE fan of the old water tower (with a teal roof!) in the background.
I'm a sucker for a good sunset...so here is my sole sunset shot of this post.

This is the view of Browning from a hill just outside of the city. I don't know what it is about this picture that I love so much...

It's not a trip for a Frost unless we write some postcards. Kendall and Katie are looking quite intense in the back as well...

Hope you enjoyed all of the Montana posts! More summer trip entries to come :)

montana...part dos!

During the week in Montana, I worked at a site called the Nurturing Center. This building houses children that may have been abandoned, taken away from their families, or are simply needing a better environment to live in. The exterior of the building was in shambles and desperately needed painting, so our team of +/- 15 youth worked religiously on the outside for the 5 days that we were there.

Day 1: chipping, chipping, and more chipping...

a work in progress...

The finished product! The white trim was in horrible shape as is evident from the previous photos, and parts of it ended up needing 3 coats of paint! I couldn't keep track of exactly how many gallons of paint we used, but it was around 18. That's a LOT of paint! But it was well worth it in the end :)

There were 3 sections of the building that had these incredibly high peaks to them. Our problem: only one ladder was tall enough to get to the top!

ta-da! after :)

We had some of the most talented artists at our work site...so we put their artistic skills to use. Each bedroom was basically a blank palette...here are a few of the murals that our group members painted :)

Brother Bear

a friendly moose :) we named him Chocolate!

Nora's pretty mountain scene

a wittle, baby bison!

my little pony :)

Might have to do one more posting of Montana pics...the scenery there was so stunning. Be on the lookout for more!