quick and easy summer dessert

5 minute Mousse
1.5 cups of cold milk
1 {3.9 oz} package of Jello instant pudding
1.5 to 2 cups of heavy whipping cream WHIPPED

Found this here and I'm excited to make it!

spring jacket

{via Gap}

{via Old Navy}

{via Jcrew}

{via CupofJo}

{via Jcrew}

I'm feeling like I need a spring jacket... This morning it was super sunny out and warm in my house-- my coat options were my blue peacoat (which I LOVE) but is way too heavy for sun, or my black rain jacket which really didn't make sense in the sun. I need somehting like these... What do you think?? Portland weather is hard this time of year because its cold before work but after work it's totally changed..

orange+gray

Brian's absolute favorite color combinations are gray and orange. Maybe he is onto something... These rooms look great! I know he could make that painting behind this couch. There aren't a lot of other colors mixed in here- a little white and a little black...

{via casually defined}

{via design*sponge}

more

{via design*sponge}

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine and you shine for me too
I love you

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

-Matthew West

2 things I love around my home

YAY 2 things. Check out Kassi's blog!! What are your 2 favorite things? Be sure to link up on Kassi's page and share!!

1. "Love" sign - I fell in love with this at a vintage shop and had to have it. I ha(ve)d a slight obsession with this pattern of black & white!!  It now resides in our home on one of our built-ins!

2. These pictures hanging in our hall. One of our bridal parties and one from our engagement session. I just looove them both-- really special to us.

larger version:

lyrics

Last night Brian and I went to the Passion Pit concert. I love my husband SO much. One of the things that I love about him is that when he finds something he loves-- he REALLY loves it. So for the last... 4 months? Passion Pit is what I hear in his car when we are driving. When your wonderful husband has this trait of loving something to (literal) death, it's hard for you to always jump on board with the things he loves. Naturally, as any one would, you grow tired of hearing the same songs or watching the same TV shows or hearing him talk about the same topic for months on end when it's in a phase where he is obsessed.

But- trying to look past that- I bought him tickets for the concert for his birthday and last night we got to go. In all honesty I think I loved them last night more than I ever have in a car ride. I realized that when Brian and I listen to music we hear different things- he hears the combination of instruments, beats, measures-- the music behind the music-- and I hear lyrics. The problem with Passion Pit (to me) is the lead singer has such a high pitched voice that I could never understand a lyric he sings (except "higher and higher and higher, higher and higher and higher" which quickly became my favorite of the bunch months ago-- probably unknowingly for this reason).

Last night I feel like I got to see music through Brian's eyes (or ears) and really hear the incredible music that they were playing and combinations of beats and instruments- I was surprisingly impressed. A special "Thank You" to Brian for teaching me this without planning to.

Oba!

I love the Happy Hour at Oba! The margaritas are fabulous and so are so many things on the menu. My favorites are the grilled baja chicken tacos as well as the tostada. It's not necessarily the cheapest happy hour around but it is a lot cheaper than going to that restaurant for a regular meal. If you want "fancy" restaurant food at a not so fancy price- Oba! is a great place to go! And the portions are good sized as well. Check it out if you haven't and let me know what you think!!

(favorite margarita choices: traditional lime, guava and mango)

Happy Hour Times:

4:00 - 6:30 p.m.,daily

late night happy hour: 9 p.m. - close, daily

all day sunday

dream job

Home Organizer. I love it. There is no better feeling to me. Yesterday I went to Lindsays house to help her switch bedrooms. We had a blast. There is something about making something new, going through the old-- it does something to your soul as well as your home. A closet, a kitchen, a bedroom, a drawer or a whole house. I LOVE IT.

what God's teaching me

It's no coincidence that the days I seem to feel so strongly about what God is teaching me is early in the week -- after church. Solid Rock is so incredible to me right now. Not the church or even John Mark but just want God is doing through the pastors there.

REJOICE  is what I've got this week... more later.

finished office

OKay. So... we finally finished one of our rooms (it's looked like this for a while I just needed a lampshade to complete it.. ) We don't have a lot of money to spend so we worked with what we had. We hated our office before. We felt like it was full of junk and clutter. It felt like a cold and dark space where we didn't want to be. We would always grab our computers and take them into the family room to work. We changed it completely with a few different things

Things we bought:
1. Paint: Orange & White
2. Curtains to hide the closet
3. New lamp shade

Things we changed:
1. moved switched walls where Brian and my desks were. His is now the focal point (it is a nicer desk)
2. Made all of the accent colors be the  same- stuck with navy blue, orange, white and black
3. cleaned up clutter and stored it in the closet

The great thing about doing this is that you get a chance to de-clutter your space by getting rid of things. We went through piles of papers we had, things that need to find a home. We have file drawers but we get to lazy to use them. Everything has a place and if you stick to that philosophy things will be great! There are also so many things that we think need to be "seen" but they end up being perfectly content in a closet with a curtain over it and you win because your place looks less cluttered

Before and Afters:

 

what do you think??

I love my

Pacific City, OR--  I have never loved a place more.
({all pictures I've taken.. or someone in my family}

just dreamin....

I hate having to work at an office. In my dream life/job I would get to work from my own home, make my own schedule and get to do it all on my terms. It's not like I have a problem with authroity or I feel like I'm entitled to anything, I'm just straight up saying I work better that way. I feel more motivated and inspired. Last year when I didn't have a job, I made Wild Canyon Games my job. I had to work super hard to create a system for volunteers and I loved it. It was something I loved doing, believed in and was excited to watch happen. I would love to be able to work from my basment that looks like this (I wish) or from a coffee shop where I could meet with YL girls throughout the day as well.

wish I was here

It's been a long few weeks of me being sick. I am ready to be over it and back to my normal self. I have been so tired, mentally and physically. I am really excited to rest with my husband this weekend.. (too bad the Masters is on). I got to "relax" this week at home but it was terribly boring and I felt sick the whole time so it doesn't count as a good rest :)

I love dreaming with Brian before we fall asleep. I love chating about all the things we want to do in our life, what our house will be like, what our kids will be like, where we want to go on our next vacation, what our dreams are. It's a sweet time we get to spend together (until Brian begins to snore and it's apparent to me that he is no longer listening). I had this mental image in my head last night of where I want to be with him right now. On this boardwalk about to walk onto this beach. Partly to swim in the ocean, party to cuddle in the sand, partly to go on a walk and have a great conversatin, partly to skip and play and partly to lay and get some color on my skin!

{via the wanghouse}

barefoot for the day

are you going barefoot today?

My sister is the TOMS rep for the University of Oregon. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook for more TOMS info throughout the year!

Impassable

"that's simply impassable"
"You mean impossible?"
"Impassable. Nothing is impossible"

Being sick on the couch today, I watched Alice in Wonderland. This little bit of dialogue caught my heart after John Mark's message (Hope is risen) on Sunday. Nothing is impossible. If Jesus can fulfill the prophecy of the resurrection-- He can achieve anything. It's always important to remember that He isn't going to do just anything that we ask Him to but if we ask Him and leave our hearts and lives open- He will do everything that He can to fulfill the will that He has for us. He can move mountains and with Him we can as well. So often in my life I know that power of God to be true but I never align myself with it or truly believe it in my heart. If I lived my life to think that nothing was impossible and the deeper I seek Christ the more that things can change for me. I can change and circumstances can change, relationships can changes, dreams can come true. It's unfortunate that these things are so easy for me to understand but a whole other story to actually do. We are just so used to doing life on our own. How many times do I have to tell myself that HE IS BETTER THAN I CAN EVER BE.

JOHN 10:10

This is why I have a relationship with Jesus. Abundant life.

I KNOW the love, and it tastes so much better than any other love out there. The love that is lasting, the love that is real, forever and unconditional-- "and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" Eph 3:19. A love that is sacrificial and unfailing- unfathomable love until you have it. The love that we chase after every single second of every single day.

I know the joy I've experienced- the joy it is to be among believers and be filled with laughter, to spend every weekend in conversation and games instead of drunk and throwing up- the JOY is so much sweeter and the memories irreplaceable.

The PEACE I've experienced is unreal. How does the rest of the world make a decision and know it's right for them? I feel SO blessed to be filled with the Peace of Christ. He makes my every choice a certain one (in His timing of course). The peace that He has given me about hardships- the ability to be comforted and let go; to move on.  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Phil 4:7


I am so grateful that I know truth. I know what real life is. I know the truth about who Jesus is. I know what kind of life I can have and how much sweeter it is than if I did not live in truth. We all search our entire lives for truth. We walk around with a void in our heart, a hole. To know what fits in that hole is truly a gift. To have been able to identify my need for Christ and ask Him to enter into my heart is a true true gift. I am so grateful for a living God who wants to have a relationship with us.

3 day weekend

If I ruled the world.. we would have 4 day work weeks and 3 day weekends. You need: 1 day to relax, 1 day to get stuff done and 1 day to be with family and friends. I'm still sick and exhausted. My eyes are swollen shut. I would love to be in bed right now just relaxing with my husband. It's going to be hard for me to make it through the day, I can already tell. What can help me? Maybeeee this magical tea?

{via oh hello friend}

Design*Sponge DIY Eggs

Design*Sponge's post about these eggs are incredible. SO adorable. See how HERE.

lead me to the cross

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

GOOD friday.

am thankful today for the The Cross and what Christ has done for ME and for YOU.

"I will not forget you. See, I have inscirbed you on the psalm of My hands" Isaiah 4:15-16

"Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth."  EPH 1:7-8

"Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. "  Col. 2:11-15

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  Gal. 2:20

"If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily." Gal 2:21

wish I was here

I wish I was home watching FRIENDS.

it's one of the actual best things of my life.

25 things

SO... I totally forgot about this from facebook , over a year ago, this little game was going around. I'm pretty sure that I was unemployed at the time and did one.. I thought it would be fun(ny) to share. I would say most are still true. Not sure if I would still pick all of them as 25 things.. maybe there is no order and never was but here are: 25 Random Things (about me from 1 year ago):

1. I have the most amazing God who has made me and my life what it is today. The amount of things I have experienced because of Him is unreal. I have met amazing people, been changed and felt His unfailing love. My goal everyday is to strive to serve Him and pursue growth in my life.

2. I have a fiance who I fall more in love with everyday. Seriously. There is no other explanation of why we are together other than the Lord bringing us to one another when His timing was right. He makes me better and is my very best friend and most favorite.

3. I think that my sister is the coolest girl I know, I want to be more like her. I love when we get referred to as the "Reilly sisters" or something of the like.

4. I believe that singing at the top of my lungs is the best cure for anything. My girlfriends and I in high school used to do this multiple times a month.

5. I can't imagine Brian and my kids going to any other high school than Sunset.

6. I have a fatty birthmark on my wrist.

7. I was born in New Jersey and often think about what my life would be like if we had not moved to Portland. I wish I had a Jersey accent and think that Glen Ridge/Montclair are some of the cutest towns I have ever known.

8. My sister and I are pretty convinced that my dad is in the Mafia and most all of his best friends in NYC are as well.

9. My dad was an Olympic fencer and my mom was a model in New York City-- Anna and I got nothin...

10. I lead Young Life at Sunset and I love my girls so much. If I was a junior in high school they would FOR SURE be my best friends. They are so rad.

11. My neighbors were my family. They moved away and I miss the amazing times we used to have as kids, I treasure all of them and will forever, and our fabulous summers playing outside until it was dark.

12. I think that my house is located in the most terrific place ever. In Cedar Mill, off of Burton with Hartung Lake in my backyard.

13. I am obsessed with all things having to do with water.

14. I HATE the cold and being cold more than anything.

15. I absolutely loved high school. Besides struggling being a teenager at times, I was so blessed with great friends, community, church...

16. My world was shattered when all of my best friends went to different states for college. Just recently in the last year have I been able to deal with change. I still wish sometimes it was senior year again and my friends and I were all together again.

17. I am still in love with Mary Kate and Ashley and wish I could be best friends with them,

18. My sister legitimately thinks that if Lamarcus Aldridge met her, he would want to marry her. I agree.

19. I keep things written on 4 calendars-- not because I will forget but I just want to be organized.

20. Making lists is my most favorite thing. Along with making collages

21. I think the magazine Real Simple will forever be 2nd to the Bible.

22. When I was little, the only thing I ate was rolls.

23. Relationships are my number one priority. My love language is quality time and God has placed MANY people in my life whom I love where that is not their love language...

24. Any night that I felt lonely in high school I would watch The Labyrinth by myself ... a Jim Hensen movie from the 80's starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. My sister and cousins and I adored it.. and still do.

25. I am absolutely obsessed with FRIENDS and wish that I lived that life with best friends like they do. I laugh out loud multiple times in each episode.

want a chance to win..

this super cute jewelry traveler?? Allison is doing a giveaway! Go here for more details to win!

2 things I love around my home

YAY I'm excited for another round..   I let my husband pick these this time because our house is messy and I didn't feel like picking up to get the things I love.

1.  This vase and flowers (not sure why exactly... he did inform me though that he hates this picture frame... good to know??)

2.  Our built-in shelving unit. We LOVE this. It's easy to decorate and change. Here it is right now for spring and also how we decorated for our first Christmas

What are 2 of your favorite things in your home? Be sure to link up here.  Thanks Kassi!

GMH

SISTER! Thanks for sharing this! Let's stop wasting our time saying FML and get some GMH!!!!

Check it out here

the front

Right now, our house is white with green trim. We hated the color when we first moved in and for some reason have started to like it more? I think we are just fooling ourselves. We don't want to re-paint the entire house but would like to make some small changes. I found this on design sponge and thought it was gret! Just a little bit of a color change can make a hosue look so different. I love how they used the light aqua color along with the ... black? navy blue? (not sure what it is exactly..)

What colors would you reccomend to accent a white house??

i want to own this

{from here, saw them here}

my life's seasons

I've been wanting to document my life in scripture, Joy encourages me to do so, we always talk about our life verses or them verses, but what they really are seem to be season verses. I've decided to start putting them into order. We know how much scripture shapes our life situations. When we are struggling with anything though of this world we need to combat it with scripture (eph 6:17). At different points in my life where I have used different scripture, together they tell a little bit of a story of my life. Here it is so far: (will probably edit/add etc..) 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path

Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

2 Corinthians 3:17: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Hebrews 12:1-3  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Psalm 62:5-6 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 15:1-8 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Eph 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

exodus 13:17-18 "It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn't lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, "If the people encounter war, they'll change their minds and go back to Egypt." So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea. The Israelites left Egypt in military formation." (message version)

what are some of your "season verses"?

goodnight

everyone, Hope your weekend has been great. I'm excited for church tomorrow with 2 of my great friends home finally from Spring Break and Maggie being in town for hers!! Then my brother-in-laws 7th birthday bowling party!! Great day ahead.

{via Portland to Peonies}

mini makeover.. one room at a time

I had a little inspiration from this from Real Simple:

to redo my laundry room. It didn't seem worth it to do a whole bunch to it but this is enough that it makes it a little bit more enjoyable/organized (if you can't tell we're on a kick in our house to make everything look a little nicer.... hence this and this).

Finished product: