What I Wore Sunday

So this is a little late...but hey, better late than never.

I struggle big time coming up with winter outfits...far too many times I wear jeans and a long sweater (my way of justifying wearing jeans to church - if I cover my behind) and boots.  boh-ring..

Rosie always posts the cutest outfits for WIWS, and often she's mentioned that she "winterized" a skirt or dress from summer/spring.  So, she inspired me, and I give to you...my "winterized" What I Wore Sunday outfit (I think it worked...if not, let me know so I don't wear it again *wink*)

Yup, those are still Christmas decorations due to a. I love when our house is decorated and it makes me sad taking them down and b. storage in our house is very limited and the boxes for our decorations are at my parents...and I haven't been able to go get them yet.

Anyway - the shirt: a gift - I believe it's from Macy's

                      skirt - thrifted from 2nd Ave

                      boots and tights are old...can't even remember where they're from

Sunday's homily was fantastic.  The one big thing I left with, was when our priest was talking about how we can't pick and choose what we like and don't like about Catholicism.  We can't say, "Oh, I like this bible passage and that one...but those other ones?  Yea, I'll pass" (my wording, not his)  Which made me think, well yes, Christianity is not meant to be an easy road.  It's a daily lesson in putting aside our selfish ways and picking up our crosses and following Christ.

When I was in school I wrote an essay comparing my walk of faith to Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken [you can read the whole thing here]

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference."

When you think about it, Christianity is that "road less traveled by."  The "un-popular" way, the "going against the tide" etc. etc.

And for me, it certainly has made all the difference.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Go check out the ladies of FLAP for more WIWS

7 Quick Takes - Half of which are about BBC television

It's not Friday anymore...but Happy Weekend!  Joining Jen at Conversion Diary for some more Quick Takes...head on over there to check out more Quick Takes

1. The fact that Sherlock comes back tomorrow night has been forefront in my mind this weekend. I must know how he pulled it off (that was my way of not writing any spoilers)! I'm so used to watching it on Netflix that I know I'm going to struggle with having to wait a week between episodes...I could go all "we're such a consumerist society, we're even used to having out TV shows/episodes On Demand we can't even wait between episodes any more" but...I won't *wink*

Look at those baby blues!

2. So, the site that I got this picture from is an article about the character of Sherlock possibly being on the Autism spectrum!  Yes!  Every time I watch the show I "diagnose" him with ASD.  I have a special place in my heart for client's on the spectrum - while I was getting my Masters I worked with an agency as an in-home therapist working with children on the spectrum.  I loved it.  Check out the article here

3. Keeping with the TV show theme, after hearing so much about it, and reading the recommendation of a few different bloggers, I caved and started watching Doctor Who.  I am currently on the David Tennant Doctor (um, yum) aka Season 2.  I enjoyed season 1, but I'm enjoying season 2 waaay more.  And no, it's not because I'm shallow and enjoying watching David (although, I do), I just find myself laughing out loud more often this season.  So I'm going to go ahead and add my own recommendations to the many other Doctor Who lovers - it's a great mix of lovers who don't know they're in love, time/space continuum, aliens, and British accents.  It's fantastic!  (watch The Doctor - you'll get that)

I mean, he wears Chuck's...what's not to love?!

4. [Change of Pace] I haven't heard anything from Project Rachel...which is kind of a bummer because I would have really loved to work for them.  I have, however, heard from Pastoral Counseling and Care Ministries.  I have a phone interview with them next Thursday.  Prayers, as always, welcome!

5.  Chris and I live in a 2 bedroom townhouse.  I love our home, but it's always been a thought in the back of my mind that if God blesses us with children, we'll lose our guest room.  In our basement we have a huuge sectional sofa from Chris' bachelor days.  It's a super comfy couch, with three recliners and cup holders (perfect for a cold beer).  Our basement room is not large - it's a good size, don't get me wrong - but this couch takes up a ton of space.  Chris somehow managed to sell the couch to one of his coworkers this week.  He's a bachelor and was looking for a sectional for his apartment - Chris offered to sell him ours and he took the offer.  So this weekend we're heading out to scope MLK day sales for a new sleeper sofa to solve the space and lack of sleeping space for guests issue.

6. Next week is the March for Life in DC.  I have gone in past years and loved the entire experience.  Sadly, I won't be able to be there this year, but I'll be there in spirit and prayer for sure.  Is anyone going?  Post lots of pictures!

7. I linked up for Theme Thursday this week and posted this and got lots of wonderful feedback!  Thank you!  I'll post pictures of the finished product (which will hopefully be done sometime this weekend/early next week).  I'm considering posting it on my Etsy shop, but it would take me months to make for someone who ordered it and I don't know if that would be a deterrent for buyers...

Happy Weekend everyone :-)

Theme Thursday #2

I feel like I should be hash-tagging this...instead of #tbt -  #tt...amiright?  No?  Ok, moving on.


So, this is only my second time linking up with Cari for Theme Thursday...because I'm lame.  But today's theme is craft/ing/y/ilicious ... seriously, how could I pass this up??  This whole blog was essentially started because of crafting!

What you are viewing in the form of poorly lit basement phone photos is a baby blanket I am alllllmost finished making for a dear friend's baby who is due next month!  Not your average baby blanket colors, right?  When my friend first found out she was pregnant she had said she wanted to do a rainbow theme for the nursery.  She changed her mind and she and her husband ended up basing the nursery on this wall decal:

My thought was to sort of combine the two ideas, my goal being to incorporate the colors of the wall decal into the blanket.  I followed this pattern and LOVED it (see the caps?).  The texture is fantastic, I don't know why, but I love baby blankets with texture.  I just get an image of baby tummy time and the baby playing with all the texture on the blanket  - I swear I'm not creepy...  All that's left now is a couple more rows and then the border...I can't decide what I want to do with the border/what color to make it.  My initial thought was to do the cream color for the border...but now that I'm looking at the wall decal again I'm wondering if maybe a gray would work?  Hmm I don't know.  Feel free to weigh in if you'd like.  And offer up some prayers for my friend, her husband, and their little baby boy! 

What is Marriage?

Some of you may have already seen this, but I just came upon it and wanted to share.  I thought it was beautiful.  Plus, I love Jason Evert, so...enjoy :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47LaozR2NCs&list=PLqhxRU_hZjzt7vHqbxZHr5O0eJkZITi1o

A Return to 7 QTs in which I recap everything

I can't remember the last time I linked up with Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes, so I'm glad to be back!  This may be a little all over the place so I apologize in advance

1.  I have yet to upload photos/do a recap of the holidays - but they went a little something like this.  Drive to NJ Christmas Eve.  Go to mass.  Go to neighborhood party.  Sleep.  Wake up Christmas morning, relax, let dog out to run around in backyard.  Dog is about to come in from back yard and his paw is bleeding profusely.  Look more closely - one toenail is missing from paw.  Drive dog to emergency vet - large sum of money later - dog is in a cone and his paw is well wrapped.  Open presents.  Laugh over events of the day.  Drive back to MD.  That's the abridged version.  You're welcome :-)  Christmas was great and it was really nice being able to spend the holiday with Chris' family - even after my worries about missing out on my traditions.

Poor pup

2. We had a New Years party - probably our last - it was fun but I definitely feel like I'm getting too old to be staying up til midnight (read: 3 a.m.).  Anyway, it was amusing to hear all of our friends joke with us that 2014 should be the year of a baby for Chris and I.  Although my friend who is getting married in September loudly protested that I need to fit into a bridesmaid dress haha  It was also funny/random that a woman I went to grad school with sent me a message yesterday saying she had had a dream in which she was visiting me in the hospital after I had a baby.  Whoa.  As I said in my response "from your lips (dream) to God's ears"

Two of my best friends from high school

3. When I was in grad school, one of my professors asked me why I wasn't going on to get my PhD.  I took this as a compliment, but responded that I had gone straight into grad school after undergrad without a break...and boy did I need a break from tests, papers, textbooks etc.  Yesterday though I totally thought of research I would love to do for a dissertation - something along the lines of "The Effects of Christian principles on school behavior of middle school students"  There may be tons of research on this already but I could possibly find an avenue that hasn't been looked at yet.  I'm just noticing at the school where I work, a lot of the students that I know are religious, their parents take them to church, etc. get into a lot less trouble (no, they're not perfect) than the ones who I know aren't religious.  Just interesting.  Maybe I will go back to school....(no, probably not)

4. Do you ever sit down to type something and then don't?  I've been doing that a lot recently.  I may start writing something and then delete it because I'm worried it'll be taken the wrong way, or will be to controversial, or this friend or that friend might get insulted when I didn't mean for it to be insulting.  I think waaay too much about all of that when I'm writing a post - which is probably why I've been silent for a bit.  I'm still...finding my voice I guess you could say.

5. I've loved reading all of the "word" of 2014 posts and see what Saints were generated from the Saint Name Generator.  I got Saint Damian - twice.  No joke.  Clicked it once, got St. Damian (patron of physicians and surgeons).  Clicked a second time, got St. Damien (patron of those with HIV and AIDS).  I'm thinking I should start praying more for doctors.
When I think about a word for 2014...I've had a rough time settling on something.  My go to is Hope.  "Hope does not disappoint" Romans 5:5  I have hope that 2014 will bring a better, more fulfilling job.  I have hope that 2014 will be the year our family grows.  I have hope that 2014 will be a good year for my sister and her family.  I have hope that God will leads us where we need to be.  I have hope that He will give us the strength to keep going - to accept His will even when it is difficult to do so.  I have hope.

At least I thought this would be my word...read on (the anticipation, I know)

6. This feast of the Epiphany was really special for me - although I'm not really sure why.  I recently discovered that my name (Tiffany - in case you've somehow missed that *wink*) is derived from the word epiphany.  So I've sort of taken the feast of the Epiphany as my name day (because there is no saint Tiffany...yet - as my mother likes to remind me).  Chris and I went to mass at a Church that is not our parish, but one we frequent because of their many mass times.  When I walked in, the way the church was decorated took my breath away - these pictures don't do it justice

And then the homily.  I had been in a "funk" (for lack of a better word) the entire weekend.  I was feeling really down and kind of depressed - about a few different things.  The homily talked about finding our own star to lead us to Christ, and the different people in our lives who help us follow our star are our own magi.  Sometimes we may follow on star thinking "this is it" but we need to change direction.  I think that's where I am...in a "I need to change direction."  But the magi in my life have been pretty fantastic :-)  As I was walking to receive communion, I was suddenly out of my "funk" and thinking about how ungrateful I've been for all of the blessings in my life.  All I've been focusing on is what's "missing,"  what I still "need" and "want."  I thanked God for everything He's blessed me with, and apologized for not being more grateful.  And BAM!  That's my real word for 2014 - GRATITIUDE.

7.  And I will leave you with this.  I saw this last night on Simcha's blog.  I cried from laughing so hard.

Go Check it Out.  Or I'll just leave it here for your convenience

Happy Friday everyone!  Go check out Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

2014?

Wait, what happened to 2013?  Anyone else feel like it flew by?

Reading all of the "recaps" other bloggers are writing made me a bit nostalgic myself.  But to go along with the feeling that the year flew by...my memories of the year feel like a blur

2013 brought me a new job - my first "big girl" job.  In fact, today marks 1 year that I've been with my current agency...mixed feelings about all of that

We celebrated my niece's first birthday.  It's still hard to believe the family's little miracle baby is almost 2 at this point!  (And, happy news that I'm now allowed to share - I'm going to be an aunt again!  Prayers for my sister and the little one would be greatly appreciated!)

I started this blog...I'm still not even entirely sure why I decided to start a blog, but I've enjoyed having this as an outlet - a place to post about my crocheting - and a place to meet like minded bloggers!  It's been fun

Chris and I celebrate one year of being married - we traveled up to the Hamptons and enjoyed a super relaxing long weekend.  I can't wait to celebrate many, many more anniversaries with him

Two of our closest friends had their first baby - which isn't something that happened "to" me in 2013, but hey, she's our goddaughter so it was important!

After getting my first "big girl" job, I also started another job hunt a few months after starting for various reasons.  It's been a very difficult hunt, with a lot of ups and downs.  Speaking of...I'm yet again asking for prayers.  I had a phone interview today with an agency called Project Rachel through the Archdiocese of Washington.  It's an agency that works with post abortive women.  It isn't necessarily a counseling position, but I would definitely be using smy counseling skills.  I'm super hopeful.  But trying not to get my hopes up too much.  Again.

We celebrated many fun holidays with family and friends - including Christmas and New Years which will need a whole other post.

I have a good feeling about 2014.  He's hoping for a new job, and who knows, maybe this will be the year we're blessed with our first child???

Happy New Year to all!