black and white and red all over

Remember the silly jokes you (or your annoying little sib) used to tell as a kid? Well, black, white and red just so happens to be my favorite color combination, both to wear on my person and to decorate my living space with. It's just so crisp and classic, never goes out of style, and always makes me look good, even on a bad hair/clothes/body/makeup day. And Lord knows I have plenty of those!

So today, even though I am indeed having a bad hair day (calling for both a hat and a ponytail!), I feel pretty darn cute because I'm in my favorite color combo. Black just makes everything better. Even blurry pictures with stupid poses. Maybe?


current favorite jeans- Gap
black cowl-neck sweater with button detail- tagless
white scarf- wal-mart (!!)
hat- also wally world (I so rarely shop at the Blue Giant, that I was surprised to see these cute accessories when I dashed in for cat food- and for super cheap! The hat is even wool.)


I'm particularly fond of these shoes. They're just the right height to give enough of a lift without being uncomfortable for the shopping I'm going to be doing with Rob after work.


Check out the super-cute holiday earrings I got for my birthday from my Mom via my friend Johanna's Silpada jewelry collection. Could they BE any more festive?? (also... do you all think I can pull off the dark eye/nude lip combo? I feel funny with such pale lips)


All wrapped up in my favorite jacket. It's winter white wool- with ruffles!- from Urban Outfitter last year. I smile whenever I put it on.

Now that I've posted my outfit of the day, let's move on to the outfit I'm currently lusting over.



I'd love to try this year's obsession with plaid, but I'm not much for looking schoolgirlish or Scottish. Buffalo plaid juxtaposed with a feminine cut sounds like fun though! And I'm horrified to admit that I only own one crisp white shirt, which I don't even wear all that often. I think I may attempt to mimic this outfit with any Christmas money I [hopefully] receive. I'm loving the little patent leather booties, too!

Speaking of Christmas, Rob and I still have to get prezzies for our little nieces, Amanda and Ella, and for the gift swap that my family is doing. I have no idea what we're going to get. That means shopping tonight! I don't know why I'm so excited to be out in the Christmas crowd (especially on the beginning of the last weekend before the big day) maybe I'm crazy, but I really am looking forward to it. We have to make the trek to the Mall of America (oh so far at 45 minutes away) because that's the only Urban Outfitter around, and I need to exchange some gloves that are tearing in the thumb. So we will definitely be fighting crowds, but I'm jazzed about it. I love going places with my Babes, and, honestly, I do love being in a crowd. There's some kind of energy in a large group of people that I really like. After our shopping expedition, we're thinking of hitting up Acadia Cafe for this show. Any Minneapolis readers want to meet up? Let me know! Good times, folks!

wedding daydreams

This morning I stumbled across some jaw-droppingly gorgeous pictures of weddings on various blogs that I [now] follow. They have made me want to have 5 more weddings just so I can try out a bunch of different styles. Same groom, thanks. ;) I loved my wedding, even now I wouldn't change anything about it (okay, a few minor details, perhaps) but overall, it was absolutely the wedding of my dreams. So that's not what this is about... it's just an appreciation of beauty and creativity of other people. These pictures make me wish I was artistic and creative... and my job was something along the lines of "magazine writer" or "interior designer" or "fashion photographer" or "event planner" or even "crafty person". Alas, Mom didn't pass down her talent or love for sewing and designing. At least, it hasn't surfaced much yet. Until I discover my inner designer, I look at pictures for my "creativity fix". And these are lovely.

Beachy casual
The bridesmaids are all wearing vintage prom dresses! This just looks like FUN.




Mis-Matched
I'm still kicking myself for not letting my girls pick out their own dress to wear in my wedding. I so wanted to do this... but somewhere along the way of wedding planning, something happened to throw me off this idea. I can't even tell ya what it was, probably a combination of things. But this eclectic style has always intrigued me. It's so... individual and expressive.




Rustic and elegant
Oh. My. Gosh. This is pretty much perfect. The dress, the birdcage veil, the feather shrug (!!), the lighting, the contrast between the old-world elegance of the attire and the rustic setting... did I mention the birdcage veil? It all just trips my fancy. Oh yes.





Town Hall
While a JOP wedding isn't my style, I can't get over how absolutely gorgeous this wedding is. Of course, it's in San Fransisco's town hall, so that's saying something. This is THE way to do a town hall wedding. Simply stunning. (I'm sorry, I can't find the original blog I found the pictures on... hence the size) Take particular note of the detail of her dress. Perfect.




Again, notice the birdcage veil. I'm in love. I've decided that if I had the chance to rewind and do-over, I'd alter my headpiece to be this classic style. I think. Although, I did love, no, ADORED my veil; it was my mother's and she hand-made it for her wedding in 1976. I've wanted to wear it since I was tiny. But I think the actual headpiece would have worked perfectly with the birdcage. Ces't la vie. As it was, my wedding was beautiful and special and fun. And I still wouldn't change a thing. It was "me". :)

Three of my favorite images from my wedding: (because I can!)







(Edit: Okay. I've tried everything to make my images appear as a smaller version of themselves. Nothing works. Frustrated.)

two and a quarter

This may be a silly date to recognize, but today Rob and I have been married for 2 years and three months.

In the last 24 hours I have been realizing through various examples what a fragile thing a truly good relationship is, and I do not take one moment of the last twenty-seven months for granted. Each day we share on good terms is a gift that I want to be aware of more and more. I've seen and heard of so many marriages that have fallen apart either outwardly (legal divorce) or inwardly (legally married, but divorced in every other way), and I know that my marriage is not immune to the attacks of the enemy. Only by pure grace do we both want to love each other and be conduits* to each other of the grace that we have been the recipients of.

Today, I am asking for another two and a quarter years with Rob, even though I don't deserve it based on anything I have done, and neither does he. But I proceed forward knowing that our relationship- past, present, and future, is a blood-bought mercy, based on the righteousness that we have in Christ. And on that basis, I ask for MORE. More sweet times, more tough times, more to learn by, more to grow through, more opportunities to be patient, kind, loving, and tenderhearted... more laughter, and even more tears. I'll take it all, with no reservations.

Cuz I can't get enough of you, Baby!




* a general term for a means of conveying something [grace] from one location [God] to another [Rob]

vintage loveliness

I want to dress like this vintage beauty:


There are some people who can pull that off so well, but I think you almost have to style yourself like that all the time in order to really do it well and not look like you're dressing up in a costume. But still... so lovely. ::sigh::

Maybe I'll try something vintage-inspired for my company christmas party on Saturday.

so dang fun

I know I've already blogged like three times already today, but I don't think there's a limit... is there? Bsides my readership is pretty small, so it's not like I'm bothering a lot of people. ;)

Anyway, I just wanted to pop on and say that my husby makes my life SO fun. Not extravagant fun; just the simple, easy, favorite-jeans-that-always-make-my-butt-look-good kind of fun. :)

Tonight our plans got a little messed up by circumstances beyond our control, and we found ourselves at home instead of out. Rob suggested a low-key dinner since I hadn't planned on making anything, so he popped a coupla corndogs in the oven while I opened a can of *gasp* cream o' mushroom soup. (hahaha, we never eat like this!) When the corndogs came out of the oven and the soup was hot, we had a wordless conversation (you know, the kind where girl makes a questioning noise and boy answers with an affirmative grunt), shared two quick kisses that honestly made my heart race, and now he's playing an old-school video game and I'm surfing the web. He just told me that we're gonna go grab late-night happy hour at the Green Mill down the road. :D

I love my life. I love my man.

pomegranates

Rob showed me the best way to... peel? hull? break into? a pomegranate tonight. Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold water, cut the fruit into quarters, then hold each piece under water to break the seeds loose. Easy-peasy! No red splatters or stains, no little particles of white flesh sticking all over (it floats, the seeds sink! Genius.) and the cleanup is really simple too.

I didn't take any pictures of the process, but here's the end result- a bowl of luscious seeds, practically begging to be popped into my mouth:

definitely in the top three

Love this shirt.

(And the song.)

I hope you had the time of your life...

Comment with one memory of a time that you and I spent together. It doesn't matter if you know me well or not, just post anything you can remember. Although... some of you might have some interesting memories that I'd rather leave forgotten! Just kidding. I think. ;)

I'll respond with my own memories of us, too!

Bonus points if you know the song from which this post's title came from. :)

my dadster

That's a mashup of "dad" and "pastor", because my dad is my pastor. :)

As long as I can remember, Dad's been a pastor; he was ordained in 1980 after apprenticing under Albie Pearson for six or so years. We have pictures of him preaching at his first little church in Reno with my brother David on his shoulders... so this pastoring gig has been a way of life for us Storeys. I used to hate the pressures of being a "P.K.", but now I'm grateful and appreciative for the sacrifices that were necessary, and the grace that the Lord always gave us as Dad dedicated himself to full-time service.

I can remember many, many times that anyone would have given up trying to shepherd and gotten a "real job" with grateful recipients of his labors and a steady salary, but my Dad has held fast to what the Lord has called him to with unwavering faith and steady determination. I don't think I personally know anyone with stronger faith than my Dad. Without fail he always, always trusts the Lord, no matter what opposition he encounters, or no matter what the situation look like in the moment. I know there were many months that rent was paid at the last minute, or dinner came from Grandma, but Dad never gave up. Even now, when he hasn't taken a salary raise in 15 years and making ends meet isn't easy, and there are still people who gossip and slander, he presses on in the calling that the Lord gave him. He is faithful.

While there are many traits that go into making up a good pastor, my Dad excels in the number-one most important: being immersed in the Word. I can remember getting up at 3:30 am when I worked at Starbucks during college, I'd come out to the kitchen to make coffee and there Dad would be, on the couch, Bible in hand, reading and praying. I don't know why it surprised me every time I saw him there, but it did. Who voluntarily gives up their sleep at 3:30 in the middle of the night?? Apparently my Dad does. And he has been keeping that pattern for years, so my Mom says. Now I know why the enemy has been held at bay in so many areas of my life, in our family, and in our church. Dad knows how to call on the One with unending strength when his own strength fails.

Dad's also a man of prayer. My guess is that he spends roughly 15 hours a week in actual active prayer. Whenever I ask Dad for advice on a seemingly impossible situation, his answer always ends with "go to the Word. And, honey, you just have to pray more." It used to frustrate me. I wanted an answer, darnit! None of this live-by-faith stuff, Dad... just tell me what to do! Oh how glad and grateful I am that Dad pastored me to go straight to the Source and seek His face for my answers.

The amount of Scripture Dad knows never ceases to amaze me. He's read his One-Year Bible through (and finished early!) for the past 15 years, and he always carries some form of the Word with him at all times, whether its his little pocket Psalms & New Testament, or a full-size Bible in whatever translation he's currently reading and mulling over. The man is steeped in the Word, I tell ya. Whenever I'm having trouble recalling where a certain verse is, or who said "be tenderhearted and forgiving", he knows pretty much right away that it was "Paul in Ephesians 4... maybe around verse 32 or so". Even when I'm looking something up using Bible software, he almost always finds it first, either in his own mind or in a hard copy Bible. He just knows his stuff. He never quits learning.

But more importantly than knowing where verses are, or what Greek word is used, he lives it out. He truly is a servant-leader who lays down his life for his church and his family. His sermons are always full of truth, he truly delights in praying and worshiping for hours, and he longs to see the glory of the Lord fill the earth... and I know he won't stop preaching the Gospel until he's called home. Then he'll revel in the glory he spoke of for so long.

And there will be many, many, MANY there enjoying that glory with him, because of his obedience to the call to preach the Word.