tuesday tunes: eric vinson

back in may i pre-ordered eric vinson's new album, "rhythm of the world." after listening to it regularly since then, it's still on heavy rotation. some albums get better with more listens, and this is definitely one of them. and today he released it on itunes. so you should get it. it'll make your tuesday better. i promise.

oops.

last week i made chicken curry for my small group. it was the first time i had made it in awhile, and i thought i would post the recipe on here. but then i realized i already had done that. oops. here it is again anyway.

friday photos: 2011.31

friday, july 29






my mom, grandma and i took a quick trip to chicago to have dinner with my brother and his girlfriend.

saturday, july 30






the main purpose of my trip across the midwest was to watch one of my good college friends get married in indiana.

sunday, july 31






i love traveling, and i also love coming home.

monday, august 1






jen's melodica.

tuesday, august 2






one step closer to revealing pictures from april 17 & 18.

wednesday, august 3



flowers.

thursday, august 4



another day at the office. exciting.

the big picture

one of my favorite things about blogging and journaling is going back and reading old entries. i recently read part of my journal from my second year of college. at the time, i thought i knew what i wanted: the career i was studying in school, the boy i was interested in, what i hoped to get out of everyday life. eight years later (holy cow!) i found myself laughing at my former dreams. now that so much time has passed, i am able to see the bigger picture. i know now that had all those desires been met, i would have ended up pretty miserable. and i can also see now that not getting what i wanted at the time ultimately lead to where i am today. and life is pretty great today.

i would like to say that seeing the big picture of my past has enabled me to realize god has reasons for not giving my all of my current desires, but it's not that easy. but i think i'm getting there. one step at a time.

wednesday wisdom #18

"be brave. be strong. don't give up. expect god to get here soon."
- psalm 31:24 the message

tuesday tunes: stacy lantz

so if you know me or have read any of my previous blog posts, you have probably heard me mention my lovely, extremely talented roommate, stacy lantz. i have had the privileged of knowing her for six years now, and have enjoyed watching her grow both as a woman and as a musician. one year ago today our little group of friends celebrated the release of her first album, "patchwork plains". i posted about it here when it went up on itunes last year.

well, because stacy is such a kind-hearted generous lady, she is putting "patchwork plains" up on noisetrade where you can get it for free. and who says no to free things? crazy people, that's who. don't be a crazy person. nobody likes a crazy person.

also, feel free to leave stacy a generous tip. after all, she deserves it. and she's currently car-less (although most definitely not care-less) and could use a set of wheels to get around town, or maybe get to your town for a show. so be kind, rewind. wait, what?

traveler's rest

i just returned from a much-needed vacation, where i spent about 28 hours in a car, about 20 of which i spent in solitude. i have always felt a sense of freedom getting away from routine, with my favorite songs and the gently hum of the highway as the soundtrack. this long weekend was no exception.

i left town wednesday afternoon and drove 4.5 hours north to indianpolis where i visited with stacy g., my college roommate (not to be confused with stacy l., my current roommate whom i also lived with during college. confusing. yes. don't be.) anyway. immediately upon graduating college in 2006, stacy g. and i took a trip with the school to japan. while there, we frequently feasted on a dish called okonomiyaki. unfortunately, we have had much difficulty finding it in the states. but no more! a japanese steakhouse near stacy's home serves it, and i was pleased to revisit such a delicious experience.

the next day i drove 4 more hours to my home town of saint joseph, michigan. my mom and i did not let the rain stop us from attempting a trip to the beach, and as soon as we arrived the rain ceased.

friday afternoon my mom, my grandma and i drove 2 hours west to meet my brother and his girlfriend for dinner in their town, chicago. after dinner, it was 2 hours back east to michigan.

saturday morning i drove the 4 hours back south to indianapolis where i met back up with stacy and her husband, and we then drove 2 hours north to wabash to celebrate the marriage of angie and josiah. it was a festive day and one that truly reflected the personality and relationship of the happy couple. post-wedding we drove 2 hours south to indianapolis.

sunday morning i hit the road again: 1 hour north to anderson, my college town, to attend the mercy house. being part of that community before moving to nashville made a huge impact on my life and i can honestly say i'm a different person because of it. i briefly caught up with my friend matt before the service, and then after drove back down to indy for lunch, and finally the 4.5 hour drive south back to nashville.

pictures coming friday. stay tuned.