The wonderful gift of love

This past weekend I was blessed to have spent possibly the most memorable night of my life with those I love. Seven of my best friends threw Jake & I an engagement party to celebrate our upcoming wedding and wonderful past year we've spent together. I will blog more about the night in the next few days, but I just wanted to share the overwhelming sense of love I was overcome with throughout the evening. Aside from the time, energy and creativity that went into the party was something that I think that our society is neglecting to fully embrace: love. As dear friends and sisters stepped up, toasting the love they have for both Jake & my relationship, I couldn't help but smile at the joy it brought me. My sister of a friend (and bridesmaid) Adrienne said something so wonderful that has remained etched on my heart these last few days. Concluding her toast to us she remarked, "Jake, I love you for loving Emily so." Something so beautiful to hear come from the mouth of a dear friend as one welcomes a soon-to-be husband of another. What a blessing it is to have those close to me to share in the love I have found in Jake and the marriage we are preparing for. Thank you to all those who have shared yourselves with us & continue to help us along the way as we begin to share our lives together.

Home Away From Home

I never realized more fully than now how much God really does have everything planned out PERFECTLY. After graduating from UD in May, I really hoped to remain in Dallas and find a good job, but He had other plans for me. I reluctantly returned home and worked for eight months, saving up and enjoying quality family time. What I didn't realize at the time, however, was that home was exactly what I did want at that point in my life. The loving confines of my home in South Florida was what I needed before embarking upon my new, independent life as a young professional. There were so many life lessons that are cultivated within the home and it was just a matter of time spent with those I love that I came to understand that to the fullest. 

Come December 2012, however, God had a surprise in store for me! A job was placed in my path in Dallas, but I had no one to live with (so I thought). One evening as I was online, I messaged Becca Burns, a good friend from UD who graduated with me. Little did I know, she was actually living in a Dallas townhouse with an extra bedroom just waiting to be occupied! Before I knew it, I had a job, a beautiful place to live with a welcoming roommate and the next day a FIANCE! What a week of change it was! As of January 5, 2013 my new life in Dallas began. Here are some pictures of my favorite things in my new room: 

Antique books graciously given to me from Jake

Stationary Collection 

A few favorite reminders 

My quilt from Urban that I couldn't live without

Sweet calendar from Mama Hines 

All Things New

Welcoming in the Change 

Hello blog, I'm back! Please forgive my negligence from your viewing, I promise I have not forgotten about you. But a lot has been happening in my life since we last spoke. If you notice my new blog title, I am dedicating this blog to "All things New" in my life and those surrounding me. The year 2013 has already brought me such great joy in the changes occurring, I figure it's only fitting. I invite you to join me in this walk, a joyful year filled with all things new! I hope that you can find great comfort in my words as I share with you some of my little, sometimes seemingly mundane, moments in life that I would like to capture and share. 

Recently someone shared with me something so providential. He said, "What is it holding us back from life's greatest adventures? On our tombstone one day there will be two dates separated by a dash. What do you hope to be marked within that seemingly insignificant dash?" What will be held within my dash that I want the world to know? Just wanted to share that with ya'll, because it has resonated with me all week. I want to find life's greatest treasures and share them with those I love and cherish and I hope you will do the same. Smile because you are alive! 

He is our guiding light

The Beauty of Life

Today marks the 39th anniversary of one of the most destructive cases against human life: Roe v. Wade. It's hard to believe that we live in a society that has accepted the killing of the most innocent human beings: the unborn. We are living amidst a culture that has accepted this but we cannot become complacent. This weekend I joined 10,000 Americans in the fight for life. We began the Dallas March for Life at the Cathedral and concluded at the courthouse. What an experience! To be surrounded by thousands of people defending the sanctity of life. Let's start this year with a respect for the unborn and stand up as the Pro-Life generation that stands firm in our protection of life. 

Dallas March for Life 2012

Washington D.C. March for Life 2011 

Jane-a-day

This past Christmas I stumbled into a secondhand bookstore where I found my lifesaver. Meet Jane-a-day, the most creative way to journal. There are 365 pages with Jane Austen quotes on each. There are 5 lines to fill in what you did on that particular day for 5 years. Just starting off it doesn't seem to be all that exciting, but just think how wonderful it will be to page through it years from now. Who wouldn't want to keep track of all the little day-to-day things that keep making us smile?

This is just another one of my New Years resolutions that I really hope to continue.

Welcome to a World of Tradition

I will never forget the day I was introduced to the wonderful world of Old Mill. It was a Saturday evening my freshman year when a van pulled up to me, little Laura (Papania) Sercer sticking her pixie head out the window told me to hop in! There we went! That night her and her four wonderful roommates, more formerly known as 'The Pixies' introduced me to Old Mill. We began our journey wandering through the art village, where Chelsea was working diligently on her exquisite senior project, while sipping on a corona. It was at that moment I fell utterly in love with the carefree artist she is. We then continued our journey through Old Mill where I was introduced to the humble Pixie abode. I was immediately told to sit on the couch, while handed a tall glass of wine and a stack of Rome scrapbooks to peruse. What more could a girl ask for?

The Playful Pixies 

After hearing bits & pieces about how each of the Pixies met, I was taken to the apartment next door, more formerly known as the 'PB & Js.' It was as if I had been introduced to a whole new dimension of UD... the upperclassmen! As I looked around at the new faces, my excitement grew. At this point in the night I just kept thinking to myself "How on earth could UD get any better?" But then came the really UD aspect of the night... playing games & talking for hours and hours about Rome. It was such a wonderful experience, almost like that of a dream. Yet it still remains vividly alive in my memory. 

The Photogenic PB&Js

To think that I live in that apartment where I was taken to that night my freshman year is not a coincidence at all. Those two generations of girls welcomed the underclassmen into their lives with eager arms. It was the little things that bring such joy to my heart, like Anne's homemade biscuits after a big night or Katie O'Keefe's bed after an eventful Progressive. Both apartments of girls truly helped start a tradition. It was Apartment 1118, now more formerly known as 'The Womb,' where it all began and where it continues to grow.

The Wonderful Wombies 

My four wonderful roommates or wombmates as we call ourselves, thanks to Paul Spring & Andrew Esherick's coining of our abode as 'the womb,' now occupy apartment 1118. Why the strange nickname you may ask? Well, if you've ever visited our apartment it is very red, very warm and very homey...need I say more? Katie, Adrienne, Kate, Sara & I each have tried to continue the legacy left before us by hosting the Long Island Iced Teas on Groundhog, spontaneous dance parties, open couches (and beds) to all those that aren't fit to make the walk to campus and a very open door policy. The five of us have had such an incredible experience thus far, especially this past fall with my sister, Julia, and Kate's sister, Andrea, joining in the family legacy. We're all looking forward to a wonderful end of our senior year and plenty more lasting memories with those we love. 

Cheers to the spirit of tradition that rests in the hearts of UDers!