Summer Snapshots

 

"Some things are precious because they don't last long" 

~Oscar Wilde 

Summer Favorites | No. 4

Hello, hello, hello! I'm a bit late again posting the favorites. Anyhow, here are my latest ones from this week.

Darling Magazine had a great article on Being Quietly Awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed it.


Last week my cousins and I went to see Jason Bourne. I've yet to see the first three, but I loved this one and Bourne Legacy so I've gotta see the first ones!

One of my favorite photography resources is Click Magazine- I love, love, love this magazine! It's so high quality and has amazing photographs and helpful articles for shooting, editing, and running a business. Plus tons and tons of inspiration.

Iced coffee is a favorite during the hot summer months- I don't do anything fancy; I just use leftover coffee from the morning poured over some ice cubes, half and half and a drizzle of maple syrup for some sweetness. Its yum.

A simple reminder from a childhood friend:

"What day is it?"

"It's today," squeaked Piglet.

"My favorite day," said Pooh. 

What have your favorites been this week?

 (I really do love hearing from you so comment away!)

A Week in the Catskills

 

Our summers are always full of music. Every July we pack our bags and head to the Catskills Irish Arts week for a week of classes, concerts and lots of other fun stuff. 

Summer Favorites | No. 3

Summer has suddenly started flying by here! I've been enjoying lots of different things lately so here are my Summer Favorites No.3.

I love all the videos on Ascension Presents youtube channel, especially Caffeinated Conversations! They're short, fun videos covering a variety of topics related to the faith and today's culture.

I finished Downton Abbey as soon as I could when I got home from school and I absolutely loved the final season. I think it was my favorite season.

I don't wear much makeup, but with the little I wear, I try to use non-toxic products. My favorite mascara so far has been MineralFusion's volumizing mineral mascara.

The photography by em the gem for this wedding is gorgeous.

Future plan: travel to England to the lake district and stay in a house like this one. Or live in one. :) 

"See to it that you are not suddenly saddened by the adversities of this world,for you don't know the good they bring, being ordained in the judgments of God for the everlasting joy of the elect." 

 -St. John of the Cross

Happy Wednesday! 

Summer Favorites | No. 2

This article on being content but not complacent was so inspirational.

I just read (for about the five millionth time) By the Shores of Silver Lake; one of the Little House books. I've been reading these since I was just a little thing and I still get a lot of enjoyment out of them when I'm looking for a lighter read. I love reading about the simple and vigorous yet joyful life of the Ingalls family.

Blessed Chiara Luce, who died of bone cancer when she was only 18 said, "I suffered a lot but my soul was singing! I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, and with that I can always love."

I love a simple dress that you can just pull on and wear comfortably. Boden always has gorgeous clothes and I love this dress from them.

Summer is a season full of green grass, trees and lots of golden afternoon light filtering through trees, perhaps enjoyed by a book in hand with some ice coffee or as you prepare a meal. I loved this photo when I saw it because it sums up the calm beauty of a summer afternoon.

When I saw these brownies on Cupcakes and Cashmere I pinned them TWICE because I thought they looked so delicious! (actually I pinned them twice by mistake. but they look so good they deserve to be pinned twice, haha.)

Comfy Tees and Being Uncomfortable

 

One of my favorite shirts is a navy blue, super comfy t-shirt that I got in the first week of school. Not only is it super comfy, but on it is probably one of my most favorite quotes ever.

"The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness."

-Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI-

When I first got the t-shirt I thought, "woah! What a  great quote!" And the more I thought about the quote, the more  realized how relevant it is to our generation. 

The world is obsessed with comfort, and the media that is fed to us young people is full of lies which tell us how to live our lives, also telling us that comfort equals happiness. But have you noticed that all those people we look up to, the role models in our lives and the great saints of the church- they haven't remained comfortable by the worlds standards. Not only saints but people in our lives who have achieved success in school, work or sports- they haven't remained comfortable; they pushed themselves to be great in their field by going beyond mediocrity and just doing things "good enough" and instead worked hard and did their best. As Christians, it looks a little different than just excelling in our field. It means that we defy the lies which are fed to us everyday as young people- we abandon the 'comfort' of serving ourselves and being disrespectful or unkind and embrace the discomfort of putting on a smile and treating everyone with kindness no matter what; we abandon the 'comfort' of leaving things we don't care about half-done and embracing the extra time and discomfort of doing it to the best of our abilities and with love. We abandon the 'comfort' of being looked at as normal by the eyes of the world and embrace the discomfort of knowing how precious, unique and loved each one of us is in the eyes of Christ. We abandon the 'comfort' of ignoring our sins, weaknesses and failures and embrace the discomfort of humility and contrition. We abandon all these comforts because as Pope Benedict says, we were not made for comfort. We were made for greatness. That means that we will not be happy in living comfortably; but we will be happy when we seek the greatness for which we were made. 

God has blessed us as young people with great energy and a love for fun and adventure. To be truly great we don't need to wait until we're older- we need to start right now and use those blessings in the right way, get out of our comfort zones and dare to be great in a world that tells us to be comfortable. Imagine the difference we as young people can make if we just get out of our comfort zones? 

Soli Deo Gloria!

Summer Favorites | No. 1

Hey hey hey! How was everyone's fourth? It was pretty quiet here, but still an enjoyable weekend! This summer I'm trying to post a bit more regularly (although I'll admit I haven't been the most regular so far), and I've realized that I work better with a lot of structure so I'm starting a weekly series for the summer time- Summer Favorites. (So original, I know, haha.) I'll share favorites from the week that I've been enjoying on summer break. So here's the first edition.

Want to Change the World? Tell Stories -I loved this article from the ISI institute on the power of teaching by stories.

Home Fires - My mom and I loved the first season of this Masterpiece drama set in the English countryside during WWII. It follows the women of the village as their world changes from the war and how they contribute to the war efforts. Its so charming and well done and I can't wait for season 2 to come out in the U.S.

This awesome quote from Pope St. John Paul II.

Loose and easy tank tops are my favorite this summer! I love this and this from LOFT.

This photoshoot from the oh so talented Janelle Putrich is just gorgeous.

Baking Magique's recipe for Gluten Free Sourdough Bread looks amazing and I can't wait to try it!