2011

Well, believe it or not, 2010 is coming to a close.

Which is something kind of hard for me to believe...

I mean, where did 2010 go???

*sigh*

Well, no going back now...

2010 was an epic year.

Had the best summer ever.

Got a new best friend and grew closer to old friends.

Started a blog...a personal blog open to the public. (Why, this one in fact!)

Read the least I think I ever have in one year (darn this lack of good literature!).

Learned and grew all the way around.

Figured out my sense of style...always bounced around with what I really like, but I think I've got it down now ^_^ totally unique and nothing classifiable. oh yeah.

I've been reading about how, instead of resolutions (which never really work out do they?) having aspirations. Love it (total credit to Hannah!)

I aspire to step out of my comfort zone more.
--for me, that really means just not caring about what everyone thinks...for real and especially not just brush off all of the kids I know from when I was in public school. (You know...the ones that are well...the reason I left in the first place)

I aspire to not look at reading my bible and spending time with God everyday as a chore, but as something I long to do, and do wholeheartedly. To grow in my walk with Christ and see Him do great things with His church this next year (things are changing, can you feel it?).

In short;

I aspire to live.

a blessed new year to you all, at this time for endings, and new beginnings

SteamPunk Fever

I don't know if any of you are familiar at all with steampunk, but its one of my all-time favorite styles!

Steampunk (aka Victorian Punk) is a cross between the fantastical, the fictional, and the historical with a hint of gothic (but not the death kind).
According to Dictionary.com:

n; a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power

Some of you may be familiar with the epic novel Leviathan by Scott Westerfield?

Well, thats steampunk.
Another good example is the not-too-well-known Sean Connery movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.



I've liked it for a long time, the whole style in general...clothes, jewelry, books, movies...but I never knew what it was called 'til earlier this summer when I ran across this dress...

NOTE: this is NOT my picture, however due to content deemed [by me] offensive to most of my readers, I have not included a link to where this picture/item is sold at

...which was described as "steampunk".
Now, I'm not typically one for dresses, but this is definitely an exception! (However, let it be noted I, would in all likeliness wear it with a t-shirt and possibly leggings)
And so it was, that I finally had a name, for the style.

Though I have an Etsy shop I have never quite browsed the site before.
I, being the fan of leather journals that I am (see post here) decided yesterday to peruse the potential that Etsy had to offer.
And boy was I surprised, because not only were there some fantastic items but I officially and totally LOVE Etsy!!!

Here are some of the fantabulous journals I found!








These, while not leather, are definitely worth mention because this is some cool sewing going on with the first one, and the second one not only has a TON of space for drawing and writing but its eco-friendly.



While on my epic journal hunt, I stumbled upon this cool piece of writing material:




And of course, that got me set on a steampunk well...frenzy!
And Etsy is an epic source in itself!

I thought this was just SO cool! Its Kat's pin from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! 

And I LOVE these! The first is a ring, and the second a locket. Steampunk style!


This butterfly necklace is SO cute! And the antiqued copper mask is a nice, and truly steampunk touch. The copper flower though, L-O-V-E it! My mom used to work with copper quite a bit and I've always loved it.

This choker is fantastic. I love layering lots of necklaces, and a choker makes a great top layer.

Now this, is a cool necklace. Not only does one side have a cool dragonfly motif but its also reversible!!!

And being that I love hats and scarves, I of course couldn't pass up mentioning this brooch with steampunk flair!

Finally, since I'm sure you're all tiring of this, my final two installments of discovered steampunk awesomeness...shoes!

These beauties are yummy! With their lace up appearance, easy access side zipper and not-too-high kitten heel, not to mention the fantastic dark caramel color! Unfortunately, the fact that their WAY above my price range (at $115) combined with the fact that they don't come in my size (sad day), these boots and I just aren't meant to be.

These, on the other hand...while not vintage and having a higher heel, are still fantastic! And they come in my size *squeal with delight*. Did I mention they're a fraction of a price of the others? (Coming in at a slashed $69.48...which is still rather too much for my budget!)

Though there was much, much more steampunk epicness to be seen, I didn't want to include it all and overload!

Hoping you're all having an epic week!
I myself am off tomorrow to see my best friend, who I haven't seen since July and usually only see once a year! Awesome times to be expected!

blessings~

Capturing Creation Photo Challenge Day 7

Day 7: Let There Be Rest

"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. The God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." --Genesis 2:2-3

Today is Day 7 of the Capturing Creation Photo Challenge, that nzkiwigirl is hosting at her blog Yours Truly.

For me, taking a nice walk with the camera, now that is peaceful and restful...at least to me.

On that note, here are a couple peaceful pics!

I captured that one of the first days we had our new 9mp Kodak. I'm not particularly fond of Kodak, but I'm able to get better pictures, especially scenic more distance pictures with the 9mp Kodak than the 7mp Canon. However, I like some of the Canon's features better...though the Kodak has some macro settings that I love (I love taking macro shots) that the Canon doesn't...but off with this rant about cameras.

I wanted to point out, that none of my pictures have been enhanced or edited in any way beyond the little bit of words for my logo. All my pictures are of the original shots.

This picture, I took with a Sony 3.2mp Camera. Yes, I'm not kidding. And technically, it almost didn't qualify as a digital camera per-say, due to the fact that it took 3" cd's for memory...which did cause quite a few problems...but, I'm not complaining! It was the first camera (well...only camera...) thats been mine. And at the time it was given to me, it was a HUGE step up from the family 2mp Kodak. But this spring/early summer we invested in a couple really well priced, higher mp cameras; the Kodak and the Canon.

blessings to you all this Wednesday!

Quotes and Design

I write
NOT for the sake of glory
NOT for the sake of fame
NOT for the sake of success
but for the sake of my soul
--rachel joy scott
{from the cover of her last journal}

Hello lovely readers, it being the day after Christmas, the new blog design is up as I promised.

I wanted to feature one of my favorite quotes in my header this time around, and so I chose a quote from Rachel Joy Scott.




For those of you who don't know who Rachel is, she was the first casualty of the April 1999 Columbine school shootings.

After the shootings, Rachel's parents released a book entitled Rachel's Tears that was Rachel's spiritual journey in a compilation of her journals.


Last year, being the 10 year memorial of the columbine shootings there was a re-release of a slightly different, expanded book that I have yet to read.

Rachel's story and spiritual journey greatly impacted my life and my walk with Christ, and many of my all-time favorite quotes are ones that she has penned.

I am NOT a beer chuggin', pot trippin', drug dealin' Christian
I AM a God lovin', satan slammin', Jesus freakin', world changin', Christian.
I AM A WARRIOR FOR CHRIST
--Rachel Joy Scott

What if you were to die today? What would happen to you? Where would you go? Tomorrow is not a promise, but a chance. It may not be there for you. After death, then what? Where will you spend your eternity? Will you have eternal life with your loving Father? Or will you be ripped from the arms of your Savior. Eternity is in your hands; change it! written by Rachel Joy Scott

“And as Christians, we need to remember to walk our talk.”--rachel joy scott

“Go after God. Whatever it takes, do it. And don’t give the excuse, “I am just a teenager” or “I’ll do that when I grow up,” because it doesn’t work that way. God wants you NOW.” --Rachel Joy Scott {from a book she was writing}

“I am not going to apologize for speaking the Name of Jesus, I am not going to justify my faith to them, and I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything…I will.” --Rachel Joy Scott {1 year before her death}

More information and some cool stuff to get involved in, you can check out RachelJoyScott.com and Rachel's Challenge.