Weekend Encouragement

Every so often, there's a song that can completely overwhelm me. It changes everything. Sometimes it's just simply declaring that the spirit of The Lord is here.

It's been a weird week. I've had more panic attacks than usual, more nosebleeds than usual, my boyfriend's in DisneyWorld without me, and my family is all together... 8 hours away from me. It's just been rough.

So this morning as I was driving into work, I just kept singing this one line over and over again. I could literally feel the atmosphere changing. I started getting emotional, knowing that I might feel alone, but that my God is always with me. His presence surrounds us constantly. We just have to be open to receive it.

Last Minute Gifts for a Graphic Designer

Let's be for realsies here, this holiday season kinda snuck up on me. And I definitely don't have the time (or patience) to join the last minute shoppers in the same boat as me. So let's say you're in the same boat. Have a graphic designer you're shopping for? Here's some hopefully good tips as to things they (or me, hint hint mom) might want this holiday season! And the best part? Everything I'll list will be available for immediate download OR Amazon Prime. Not that I'm promoting them, but let's be real, you shell out the money for it every year too.

1. What's the easiest gift you can get anyone ever? A gift card! I know people complain about how impersonal they are, but what about a gift card to a font website? Like this one here. Let them choose a gift that they've been lusting over, trying to justify spending another $30 on fonts.

2. Something to help them learn a new skill! || $26

3. Then once they've mastered that skill, they can do all the hand lettering their hearts desire with a Wacom tablet! They can vary in price and function, but the one listed here is $60. If they don't already have one, it's definitely on their wishlist. || $60+

4. Anything with the word Pantone on it. Literally. || Prices vary.

5. I have heard nothing but great things about the artist, Austin Kleon! These books are a must read for anyone in the field. || Less than $7 each.

6. A subscription to GraphicStock.com. I just discovered this beauty and went slightly nuts in the 7 day free trial. They can download SO many royalty-free (and non-crappy!) graphics that they can reuse time and time again! (Or an Etsy gift card can be a cheaper alternative.) || $49/month

7. An external hard drive. There is nothing worse than losing a finished piece of work. They'll never have to worry about missing another deadline from losing work. || $50+

8. This Kate Spade notebook is enough to make any designer swoon. I don't know what it is about ampersands, but they have us captivated. || $16

Have anything to add to the list? Leave a comment below!

Last EVER Sunday Social

Can I just say how happy I am that my entrance back to blogging coincided with the last ever Sunday Social? What are the odds?! This is one of the link ups that I've missed doing most, so I'm excited to at least get in on it. And the questions are right on point too. I'm going to miss it for sure!

1. How did you come up with your blog name?

Remember the scary little pub in Tangled?

I was watching that movie one night while thinking of a name for a new Etsy shop (that failed miserably), did a quick Google search for "The Snugly Duckling" (that's right, just one g!) found nothing, and snatched up every ounce of social media I could get with the name!

2. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

The community it builds! I so badly missed the friendships of people who truly cared about this little site.

3. What is one thing you've discovered because of blogging and now can't live without?

My voice. I've learned what I like and don't like, and how to say what I'm really feeling!

4. Facebook or Twitter? And why?

I started a Facebook page for the blog, but didn't really keep up with it. I think it still exists somewhere in the vast internet void. I still use Twitter on occasion though.

5. If one celeb read your blog, who would you want it to be?

Meg Ryan from the 1990's. I've always believed she was my spirit animal.

(Or present day Mindy Kaling, because we know that's the real question being asked here. And besides, I have a whole blog series based on her "card game" which I promise to get better at. Especially on the photography side!)

6. What is something you want people to know about your blog?

That it'll never make sense. I might have 8 different blog themes in a year. Or a story about going to the dentist one day, and a fashion post the next. It's a big messy hodgepodge that's just a look into my life!

Coffee Corner Inspiration

As promised earlier this week, I'm back for lots of blogging! Especially in home decor inspiration, because our unfurnished apartment certainly needs it. My awesome roommate and I have decided together to turn our dining area into a comfy cozy coffee corner. We both fell in love with this pin, so I went ahead and recreated it to match our hearts. Here's the space we have, and how we want to jazz it up beneath!

And if you haven't yet, you absolutely need to go enter my Starbucks giveaway!

Happy Housewarming! (And a Giveaway!)

Hi bloggers! I have been off this blog for a LONG time now, but I have been slowly planning my comeback. I've drafted and re-drafted posts, but figured the best way to come back was to just hop back in! I'm in a really exciting time of my life, that I absolutely wanted documented, so here I am! What's so exciting? I just moved into my first, non-college, big girl apartment!

I've been doing so many decor sets on Polyvore since we have almost no furniture, and wanted somewhere official to keep them. So seriously, expect to see A LOT of home decor ideas on here. And if that's not your thing, I'm hoping to get back into WIWWs and maybe even starting a new blogging series and have some free prinatables. It'll be a big hodgepodge of awesome!

And in honor of my housewarming/coming back to blogging, I wanted to host a tiny, easy to enter giveaway. Nothing fancy. Maybe just a set of candles from World Market? Like in the Mexican Pumpkin scent? And a $5 Starbucks giftcard?

Yes, that's definitely it: 3 Mexican Pumpkin candles (in a variety of sizes) & a $5 Starbucks gift card. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Internship Week 8

Because, you know I missed the 7 weeks in between and have been a horrible blogger. And now I'm struggling to come up with the words to describe how just absolutely, insanely perfect these past 8 weeks of my internship have been. So to start this awkward post, here's a link where you can see some of the work I've been doing. I've done maybe 10-15 of the latest post's cover pictures.

But showing you my work, doesn't show you the work God's doing in me. Even then, how do you write about such intense life changes? I first have to stay, that I am still so blown away that I was chosen to be here. It is an honor that people thought I was good enough to join the team that I'm on.

Elevation has changed my life.  It's where I learned to put Jesus at the center of everything I do. It's where I learned to fully rely on God. It's where I've learned to have full faith, even if my progress isn't visible. To give Him all my worries and find peace in Him. It's where I learned I still had room to grow. It's where I learned to stop comparing myself to people I'm not. It's where I learned to put others before myself. It's where I learned the importance of church participation. It's where I've learned how important community in the church is, building Godly relationships. It's where I've learned to praise God in any circumstance: joy, sorrow, peace, turmoil, God is always on the throne.

I'm sure these things could have been taught to me at most Godly churches in America, which still leaves the question, "Why Elevation?" Simply put, God has called me to be here. When we talk about Elevation's culture, the things we stand for, our mission statement, all of it, I'm brought to tears. We are creating a movement out of Charlotte, NC, and I'm so blessed that I've been called to it.

Something I noticed early on is that God keeps calling me back home to Charlotte, but I kept coming back the wrong way. Like my last time back, I had two jobs, an internship, and was in school part time. If I ever had the rare Sunday off, I'd watch online from my bed. And let me just tell you, there is a HUGE difference between watching church online and being there in person. Another funny thing about God's timing is that He's been pushing me to apply for this internship for years. But I'm noticing now that I'm here, His timing for this season of my life could not have been more perfect. He probably planted the seed for me to be here such a long time ago, because He knew I'd finally have the guts to apply this season. The people that He has surrounded me with this summer could not have been better for my spiritual health & growth. It's been so perfect working alongside them.

And to end the post, here's a random photo dump for those of you who don't stalk me on Instagram. You can see a description of each picture on my account! (I can't believe how few pictures I've taken.)

Internship: Day 4

Today. Was. Amazing.

It was long, tiring, and crazy.

But it was awesome. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

We all know how much I loved day 1 of my internship, right? Well today's day 4, and everything about it was above and beyond perfection.

It started with a 6AM history walk. We walked all over the city and got to see some amazing parts of our church's history. We saw our very first campus (we're currently at ten!), our second, and our third. And it was only 6.4 miles! The only reason it felt like it went so fast is because we set timers for 8 minutes to try and talk to every single intern in the group. I got so many life stories about how people got saved, and just what exactly this church meant to them.

Straight after this, we changed out of our stinky clothes, and went to our first weekly staff rally. Which was the most amazing experience I've ever had in a workplace. We basically just worshipped God so hard. They had the full band and read personal testimonies of what Elevation has done for their lives. It's so great to be reminded that we are having a HUGE impact on this city.

From there, I got to do some designing, eat lunch and meet even more new people!

Then 4:15 rolls around.

If you're not from Charlotte, One7 is a great outreach partner that we had the honor of serving. They bring in refugees and make a safe and loving environment for the children. They all came from a life of hurt and suffering, but through One7, most have been brought to life in Christ.

And this is where I'm going to start getting emotional.

Of course the first week they bring us, they just happen to be baptizing fifteen children. It was beautiful and heartwarming. They each had a story to tell, and I sobbed at like 90% of them. Some were raped, beaten, disowned for their newfound faith, but the love stretched out to them has restored their faith.

After baptisms, we had the most energetic worship that I've probably had since middle school. It was exhausting, but at the same time, it was really hard to stop. Now, I'm finally crawling into bed and am planning on staying there as long as I possibly can. :)

So while it might have been a 15 hour "workday" on 4 hours of sleep, every single second was worth it. 

What I Wore Wednesday

Good morning friends! As most of you know, I'm currently back in North Carolina for the summer and am so stoked to finally be here. I started my internship this Monday, and was rocking my orange. But my favorite thing about this outfit was the necklace. It's the Charlotte skyline, and I thought it was perfect for my first real day back into Charlotte. Since the rest of the outfit is kinda hard to see, I added a Polyvore set below to give you a full idea.
(And really quickly, I wanted to give you the link where I bought this necklace. It's not a paid review or anything like that, just me trying to give some love to the amazing artist! She was so very helpful, and even helped me out with a custom order. You can save 20% at her shop if you use the code KP20OFF.)

Have a safe and blessed rest of the week. I'm linking up (finally) with The Pleated Poppy!

Internship: Day 1

I feel like it's been forever since I've written a post of actual content on here. And mainly because, it's a shameful truth that I haven't posted anything real for 3 weeks. Mainly because I was busy packing and moving 7 hours away! I know you've heard of my internship by now. (If you haven't, it's amazing and perfect, and I'm beyond honored to be doing what God's called me to do.) Today was our first day, and it was a really great time to meet new people who were all in the same boat as me. We each had our own stories how God had brought us there, and it was a really great environment to be in. It's always been a struggle to talk about religion in the workplace, but now it's all we talk about. You can't even imagine the love and support in this group. Before we started the day, a few of us met up at Starbucks to go in with the right encouragement, and calm our nerves a little.

We read out of 1 Timothy together which was so ironic, because it's what I read the night beforehand.

Then we actually got to the church and took a super group selfie:

Seriously, these guys are amazing.

Just one more quick note, I wanted to talk about how awesome it is to have a supervisor directly over you who can see your goal and continuously encourage you throughout it. He and I got to talk for an hour today about what I'll be doing design-wise, and it completely blew me away. He understands my heart for this church and kept reminding me that this is something God chose me for. It wasn't random, it wasn't an accident. I am here for His glory.

Anyways, I'll try to keep this blog a little more updated over the summer. Have a safe week!

The Polyvore Files: Last Week

Hi bloggers! Welcome to our very last installment of The Polyvore Files. I know it's kinda sudden, but Joni and I just really weren't feeling it anymore. We've loved the few loyal followers who have stuck with us on this, but I just have to laugh, because these are the only posts I've put up in the past 2-3 weeks. It's become a bit of an obligation over enjoyment. If you want to link up, today is the very last time!

All that being said, I wanted to try something a little more new and fun this time around. I've seen a couple of these on facebook this week, and decided to give it a try. I'll give a few quick hints, and you can comment below what you think it might be!

1. Tom Hanks
2. Tall. Decaf. Cappucino.
3. My favorite movie ever

If those aren't the best hints ever, there's nothing more I can do. ;)

Come link up here for the last time!!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Polyvore Files

Welcome to The Polyvore Files link up! Joni and I have been running this awesome link up for a few months now, and it is still just my favorite. No rules here in the slightest, just link up your Polyvore sets below. :)

Yall know about my Vera Bradley obsession right? And of course, by obsession I mean I own like two things, but a girl can dream, right? Anyways my favorite pattern lately is the Blue Bayou, and with my move to North Carolina this thursday, the Duke blue only seemed perfect.

Comfy Roadtripping by kara-stone featuring a laptop rucksack

An InLinkz Link-up

Also, you know you're a bad blogger when your only post this week is the link up you host. It's just been so busy packing up everything! BUT speaking of Vera Bradley, I won an agenda at work for selling the most this week, and I plan on using it to bring my blogging some organization. You should be hearing lots from me this summer!

The Polyvore Files

Welcome back to The Polyvore Files link up! We've loved the ones who have stuck with us through it all! For anyone who wants to join along, create ANY set on Polyvore and come link it back either below or at my co-host Joni's blog! Unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about sports. I pretend I do. I can get into football, but I don't have super favorite players, I don't track stats. I just know that I like LSU and HATE Bama. When it comes to horse racing, I know FAR less. I don't understand the training, the appeal, or pretty much any of it. BUT I do understand cute dresses and floppy hats. When else do you have an excuse to block everyone's vision with your hats?

Kentucky Derby Style by kara-stone featuring plastic sunglasses

I couldn't bring myself to pick a huge floppy hat, but I fell in love with this straw fedora the second I saw it! You can understand, right?

An InLinkz Link-up

Thankful Thursdays!

I feel like it's been forever since I've linked up with Sarah for Thankful Thursdays. I'm just thankful for so many things this week, I knew I had to come link up!

One thing I'm most thankful for is old friends. You've heard about my internship right? It's only all I ever talk about on here anymore. ;) Anyways, I'll be staying with the sweet Melissa and her family while I'm there. At any given time they have at least three dogs, and then foster many more, so it seemed like a perfect situation for Colston and I.

IF you haven't for some reason heard about my internship, this essentially describes it so perfectly:

CreationSwap Video Tour - Elevation Church from CreationSwap on Vimeo.

I'll be worshipping at my home church, making a global impact through their main websites. It is honestly something I've been thanking God for every single day.

Come link up with Sarah too!

The Polyvore Files: Pin-spired

Welcome back to The Polyvore Files! The rules are simple. Make a beautifully amazing set on Polyvore (or pull out some ones you've never posted), and just come link it up either down below or at my co-host Joni's blog.

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite hobbies is finding cute outfits on Pinterest and creating them for MUCH cheaper in Polyvore. I was so set to do that today, until I searched for a black striped shirt. When I saw this beautiful one by Marc Jacobs (that I could never afford), I didn't even consider looking further. So instead of making this affordable at all, I added in some $80 sandals, a $185 shirt, and so on. I could almost promise the look could be recreated for so much less though.

(PS for anyone wondering, the amazing "pin-spiring" pin is sourced to right here.)

One of my pet peeves, is that some people strictly think scarves are for the winter. As I'm packing for my summer internship, I've already got at least 10 scarves packed away, and I cannot wait to show them off.

An InLinkz Link-up

Detroit!

Why hello again. I'm so excited to tell you that I spent the first half of this week just north of Detroit with my grandparents. We spent all of Tuesday in Detroit, and I was so surprised at how beautiful the city is! Yes, it is still terrifying, and I got SO many creepy looks, and there is graffiti on almost every building and almost every street sign, but the architecture is gorgeous! All of these pictures were taken on The People Mover, which is basically a huge monorail around the entire city.

Maybe not the best collage, but you get the idea.

And I was super stoked to be able to add to my Starbucks "You Are Here" mug collection.

Source (And where to buy!)

Hope you all have a lovely and safe weekend, no matter where you are. :)

The Polyvore Files: Easter Sunday

Good morning loves, and welcome to the first fashion day of Spring! You know you've been waiting patiently for this day. Time to put away the sweaters and pull out the skirts and tank tops. If you want to link up with us for The Polyvore Files, we'd love to have you. Just post any set on your blog and come link it here!

An InLinkz Link-up

And yes, we love Easter for fashion days, but for realsies, this is what it's all about right here. Just take a few moments to listen to this amazing song that I've had on repeat all morning. ;)

"Great was the debt that we owed

And how high was the price of our healing

Paid in full by the One who is worthy

Come let us worship him"

My Mindy Project: Week 12

Hello loves & welcome back to My Mindy Project!

Don't know what I'm talking about when I say My Mindy Project? I'm slowly going through Mindy Kaling's "Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself" on this blog. I'm hoping to do one question a week(ish) for the entire year!

While picking my card for the week, I just about died after laughter when I saw this one. It seemed like the pretty obvious winner. My questions on the back are even somewhat relatable to the week I've been having. So you know, a win-win-win.

What is more embarrassing to walk into an interview with: a giant, throbbing pimple or noticeable pit stains on a silk blouse?

Thank goodness my interviews this week were on the phone. I didn't have to worry about any of these. But obviously I have to go with the pit stains. Zits can be covered up to an extent, but pit stains? Those can't be fixed as easily.

What was your first professional job like and who was more excited about it: you or your parents?

Speaking of my interviews this week, I'd like to throw this on the radar as my first professional "job." Yes, it's an internship, but it'll require the hours of a job, will provide awesome experience, and is basically what I want to do for the rest of my life. So I'm counting it, because NONE of my retail or fast food jobs to date count. I think I'm more stoked than my parents, simply because I have to move 7 hours away from them for a few months.

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Also, most importantly, just a quick reminder that today is Good Friday! Spend the rest of your day with your family, celebrating Easter weekend.

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
- I Peter, 2:24

Forever Changed

There are a lot of moments you can look back on and think, "Yep, that changed my life forever." Whether it be accepting Christ, meeting your husband, moving to a new country, taking a new job, you name it. I'm on the verge of one of those moments.

This March, I turned in an application for an internship at Elevation Church. (You can read all about it and what it means to me here.) Since that week, I've been praying and believing God for a crazy miracle. This is one of the fastest growing churches in America. I'm not even sure I want to know how many people applied for this same position. But what really blows my mind, is that they chose me. God chose me. I still get a little overwhelmed and teary-eyed when I think about it all. Do you know how astonishing it is to hear things like, "Your name is the only one we're submitting" or "We need you on our team"? It changes your life.

Source

All that being said, I'm honestly terrified. This is my first "big girl job." I've hardly worked in this field. And it's such a huge church. And it's my dream job. And it's all happening so quickly.
But God is bigger than my fears. He knows why He called me. He wants to do perfect and amazing things through me. In the end, isn't that all that really matters?

Source

I can't wait to blog about it throughout the summer and share these life changing experiences with some of my favorite people.

The Polyvore Files

Hello followers! Welcome back to The Polyvore Files, where you can come link up any Polyvore set you might have with Joni or myself. I just saw this shirt on H&M's website this week and just about fell in love. I bought it right away and waited patiently for it to arrive. It finally got here, and I was kinda shocked to see it was all chiffon and SO see through. (Though, I suppose it makes sense since I didn't read the product description.) But I figured with a perfect purple camisole, it'd make a great summer outfit!

Zebra Love by kara-stone featuring Sole Society

An InLinkz Link-up

Music Monday

Hi friends! Just thought I'd share a little inspirational song in case you're like Garfield and I with an icky case of the Mondays.

I thought there'd be no better way to start this Monday than sharing one of my favorite songs, and start our days fully worshipping our God. I hope you lovely bloggers have a safe and blessed week. :)

The Polyvore Files: Blogging Jammies

Hello loves, and welcome back to The Polyvore Files! Joni and I post this fun link up every Sunday and we'd love to have you join us. Just make ANY set on Polyvore and come link up below!

I don't know about you, but I'm feelin' 22, but I love Sunday mornings. It is my time for (sometimes poorly) planning out my blog posts for the week, checking PostSecret, and simply relaxing before heading off to church. So when I saw the jammies below at Forever 21 this week, not only did I laugh out loud and immediately run to the register, I knew I had to make a Lazy Sunday Polyvore set around them.

An InLinkz Link-up

My Mindy Project: Week 11

Hello loves & welcome back to My Mindy Project!
Don't know what I'm talking about when I say My Mindy Project? I'm slowly going through Mindy Kaling's "Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself" on this blog. I'm hoping to do one question a week(ish) for the entire year!

My question of the week is:
"Did you think high school was going to be like Clueless, or did you think it'd be more like My So Called Life? Which one was it for you?"
I hadn't seen either of these by the time I was in high school! (I've still never even heard of My So Called Life.) Unfortunately, my middle school days were filled with the dreadful High School Musical. And. I. Was. Hooked. You can imagine my extreme disappointment when we got to school freshman year and no one broke out into song & dance.

"What do you think is the biggest scam in Hollywood when it comes to depicting high school?"
Once I finally did see Clueless, I was completely taken aback. I think it was either my sophomore or junior year, and I remember just laughing. They made it seem like parties and drugs were so accessible, which I know they were to a lot of people, but I don't even think I could've found those things if I wanted to. 

AND skipping school just seemed like the easiest thing in the world. Kids would just walk out the front doors, and come right back at the end of the class. Ridiculous.

SO bloggers, did you ever skip class in high school? Did it come this easily to some of you as well?

The Polyvore Files!

Welcome to The Polyvore Files link up! The rules are simple, in that there are no rules. Just get as creative as possible on Polyvore and come link it up with either myself or Joni. We'd love to have you!

I am super excited to be blogging today, because I can finally say that I'm buying my dream bike. I seriously walk past it every time I'm in Target, and I just about die of cuteness every time. Well, after stepping on the scale earlier this week, I decided to venture out and try to keep myself a little better toned. Since I'm limited as to what I can do when working out, I knew a bike was my perfect option! The adorable bike is down below, and the dream outfit I'd be wearing on top of it is there too.

(Side note: Did yall know Vera Bradley sold hair accessories? I went in their store for a craft I'm hoping to post this week and just about lost my mind.)

Do yall ever bike? If so, where do you go? We have a little bike trail close by, but I think I'd use the little driving distance as an excuse not to just go around our block a time or two.

An InLinkz Link-up

Oceans

Today was just one of those days. I bet you know what I'm talking about. You wake up with a song in your head. You drive to your errands and play the song to get it out of your head. Then you turn on the radio, and the song is on. Then you get back in your car and the song is on again. Then you turn on Pandora and it's the first song played. Maybe you know the song I'm talking about? It's pretty great.

So finally after my third time hearing this song today, I just let myself get into the song. I just discovered it a few weeks ago, and as soon as I did, I played it on repeat for about 4 hours. I know it's been everywhere for the past year, and I've been apparently living under a rock. But I'm wondering if the reason I'm just now discovering it, and hearing it 19374189624 times a day is because of how badly I need this song these next few months.

It can be so easy to get caught up in the day to day monotony. Day in, day out: go to work, go to bed, repeat. Some days I just can't help but scream, "This isn't what God has planned for my life!" 

I've been struggling lately knowing what God has planned, and not even feeling close to achieving it. It's discouraging and heartbreaking and overwhelming and exhausting at times. That's why today, when I heard this song over and over again, I was so uplifted and encouraged to know that yes it's hard, but God is right there with me.

"When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace."
There is nothing more clear than that. Life gets hard and discouraging, but we have the upper hand.
We have God.

"We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God who saved us in the first place and then called us to do His holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all His idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now." 

-2 Timothy 1:9-10(ish)

The Polyvore Files: If My Blog was an Outfit

Hello again, and welcome to The Polyvore Files link up! The rules are simple, in that there are no rules. Just get as creative as possible on Polyvore and come link it up with either myself or Joni. We'd love to have you!

I'm almost positive everyone and their mom has seen these posts going around this week. And you know you love it. It's such a cute idea, I couldn't pass it up!

Blog Outfit by kara-stone featuring a hair band headband

Feel free to come link up with us! Whether it be your own blog outfit, or whatever you'd like.

An InLinkz Link-up

My Mindy Project: Week 10

Hey bloggers, welcome back to My Mindy Project. Don't know what I'm talking about when I say My Mindy Project? I'm slowly going through Mindy Kaling's "Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself" on this blog. I'm hoping to do one question a week for the entire year!

What are some non-traumatic things that make you cry?

• My dog breaking one of his nails
• The ending of You've Got Mail "I wanted it to be you, I wanted it to be you so badly."
• Almost any Budweiser SuperBowl commercial
• The symptom checker on WebMD
• Strangers' proposal videos on YouTube
• "That shirt is HOW MUCH??"
• Ending a series on Netflix. "Well what will I watch now?" (I'm actually between series at the moment, if anyone has any suggestions!)

Leave your non-traumatic list in the comments, and maybe some Netflix suggestions. ;)

The Polyvore Files: Reading Nooks

Hello again, and welcome to The Polyvore Files link up! The rules are simple, in that there are no rules. Just get as creative as possible on Polyvore and come link it up with either myself or Joni. We'd love to have you!

Hi friends, I want to super apologize for missing the link up last week! I was in North Carolina, and blogging slipped my mind. Not to worry though, because I have the best set for you this week! Target had a huge home decor sale this week, leaving me with the table and lamp below. Along with two blankets that were $20 put together! It was really a beautiful thing, and I hope some of you got to take part in it.

Dream Nook by kara-stone featuring blue throw pillows

And now my dog is practically begging for me to take him outside, so I hope you ladies have a safe and blessed week!

An InLinkz Link-up

My Mindy Project: Week 9

Hey bloggers. It's been a long week. If you didn't see my last post (Yes, I might have written the word episode there first. Can we please acknowledge how addicted I am to Netflix?), I had a great vacation last week. And now I'm back to work and responsibilities. And actually blogging. I took a way too long break last week and feel like a stinker.

ANYWAYS. You know the drill with My Mindy Project now? I post a question from Mindy Kaling's 50 Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself and answer it. Not rocket science, correct? Anyways, my card for the week looks like this:

And the question of the week is:

"If you were to design personalized stationery, would you go to classic monogram, vintage-letterpress, or vibrant pattern design route?"

This question is tough. I love all types of design and I've been falling hard in love with stationery. (Is "falling hard in love" a term? It is now?) So I turned my sights to Etsy and made this precious Polyvore set:

Stationery by kara-stone on Polyvore

Do you own personalized stationery? I might dabble in designing a few styles tonight!

Questions You Didn't Ask

Fair warning, this post is going to be all over the place.

I just came back from one of my favorite vacations ever. (Hence the HUGE blogging break I accidentally took.) And yeah, it was only to North Carolina. I say "only" because a lot of people might not see that as a big deal, but to me, it's kinda everything.

So let's first answer the question everyone has been asking:
"If you love North Carolina so much, why did you move to Ohio?"
That's simple, I love my family. It's been great being around them for the holidays, and spending time closer to them. I've loved helping our church grow and learning through the experiences.
Even more though, I needed to get out of my situation in North Carolina to step back and set my priorities straight. In Charlotte, I was working 6-7 long days a week, living in a very odd situation, and mentally/emotionally depleted every single day.
I can easily say that God brought me to Ohio for a specific purpose.

Second question I've been getting a lot of lately:
"So you'd be going/coming back already?"
I have not committed at all to spending a long period of time in North Carolina. Yes, I've applied for an internship/job that could change my entire life and quite literally is my dream job. Yes, I know for a fact it's what God is calling me towards. No matter when or how it happens, it IS going to happen. There is such a strong pull in my heart towards this church. It's what inspired me into my field, and is easily something I could see myself doing forever and ever. But if I don't get the job, I could see myself staying in Ohio for awhile. I think that's part of what makes this job such a calling instead of a "career." There's pretty much nothing I wouldn't be willing to do to follow God's heart for my life.

Now you're probably wondering,
"What is this dream job?"
Here's where we're going to get a little emotional. I think I said it pretty well in this Facebook post yesterday:

This was immediately after I left the service, and I honestly just cried and cried such happy tears. I knew His presence was right with me in that moment, telling me "Pursue this."

Maybe just to expand a little bit, I should add that this is the first church I ever chose for my own. I grew up in churches my parents picked, which have always been phenomenal in their own way, but there is just something about Elevation Church that I cannot shake. The atmosphere is so loving and caring and giving and compassionate and accepting and I could literally go on forever. 

Last question you didn't ask:
"Why is she telling us all of this?"
I honestly don't know. I haven't even been accepted to the internship. Who knows if I actually will be? Maybe just to ask for your prayers and love. Partially just to get all my feelings spoken and heard.

And lastly, as I was leaving Elevation yesterday, I had this song on repeat over and over, and I simply had to share it. A 7 hour car ride can do that to you.



Thanks for listening to my ramblings.