Friday Favorites - May 5th 2017
TGIF. Life is good. Life is fruitful. Life is flying by!
Welcome to the month of May. May is a time when the weather is a bit out of control as the last hints of cooler weather sometimes blow through battling the oppressive heat and humidity lurking before us. May is a time when you can feel the excitement of students of all ages anticipating the last weeks of school before summer break. May is a time when we all dream and plan for fun vacations and time out of the office. May is a time for less traffic on the roads and easier parking at work because of vacationing. Need I go on? May will be wonderful.
Speaking of wonderful, I'll dive right into my favorites over the last couple of weeks. I'm linking up with Andrea in sharing Friday Favorites. In no particular order:
Favorite #1
I was cleaning and organizing around my place to get rid of stuff and came across the photocopied chapter of the first thing I ever read on the treadmill. This photocopy was given to me by my friend Meagan and I remember thinking to myself, why not try to read while you run? Maybe that will make the drudgery of running pass more quickly. This was in 2012... I remember thinking, "HOLY MOLY! I've hit the jackpot!" Not only did I love the content of the chapter so much that it kept me intrigued, but it made the time pass exceptionally fast. That was the moment I began to always bring a photocopy and later my iPad to read books on the treadmill. What was interesting/sentimental to me about all of this is that the chapter is from Timothy Keller's book The Meaning of Marriage. While I loved this chapter enough to continue reading on the treadmill (and always relationship/marriage books at that), I didn't actually get around to reading the The Meaning of Marriage until the summer of 2016. I'll admit, I've loved just about every Christian marriage book I've read but this one is definitely in my list of top favorites. I wish I had read it sooner.
You can purchase the book below. The chapter I read that day was Chapter 10: The Mission of Marriage.
Favorite #2
I've been making a concerted effort to escape the hustle and bustle of my usual life's obligations in Houston these past couple of weekends and block off time so that I do not accept invitations for other things. I cannot express enough how blessed I feel to have the opportunity to do so many wonderful things and to see so many wonderful people, but that also comes with the cost of burning the candle at both ends and apparently high stress. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two weekends that I escaped the city to spend quality time with others and to get to see my (local) family. I am ever so grateful to have the best family a girl could ask for. Resort ambiance, great company, laughter, and wine will get me every time. =)
Favorite #3
I was thrilled to be invited to try on some of these fabulous dresses I've shared from Carrie Ann's ~ and have more to share soon! They are a small representation of the chic outfits and accessories she has in her boutique for any and all occasions. May presents a lot of opportunities to dress up: Cinco de Mayo (today!), Kentucky Derby (tomorrow), Mother's Day, and Memorial Day. Fortunately you can stop by there any Monday through Saturday to pick out an outfit or three, but even better will be next Saturday, May 13th when Carrie Ann's will have a Mother's Day celebration from 12-3pm when you can save 20% off your purchase! Hello sip & shop! My favorite combination. =)
Be on the lookout over the next week for me to share additional outfits from Carrie Ann's on my Instagram.
Favorite #4
This outfit. I'm not truly sure why I'm posting this as I can't precisely link in ANY of the items because I either bought them too long ago or I acquired them on some super sale recently that they're not even available any longer. However, I can link in similar items so thought I might as well because it was cute and extra comfortable for a fun, group dinner. The great thing about a simple outfit is that it provides a great canvas for accessorizing. This particular evening I wore (giant) chandelier Tory Burch earrings, but a statement necklace would have worked perfectly over the white tank as well. Plus, I loved the detail in the wedge of my shoe as you can see in the flat lay below.
You can click here, click on either of the two picks, or copy and paste this link into your browser to find similar items to the first picture: http://www.shopstyle.com/collective/everypiecefits/42839722
Favorite #5
One of my BFF's, Rachel, is leading a class every Wednesday in May to bring awareness about human trafficking and to end human trafficking. I could not be more proud of her efforts in fighting something so horrific that is absurdly prevalent in our city right beneath our noses, and that she has taken the lead to organize this class and push herself at God's promptings to step way out of her comfort zones.
If you are anything like me, then you are relatively naive to the fact that sex slavery is happening all around us all of the time and that it affects both genders, all ages, all nationalities, and ALL social classes including the very affluent individuals in Houston. Of course, this spans across the US and other countries as well. However, we can join in the efforts to fight against it in our city.
If you can attend the class you will be enlightened in many ways. If you cannot attend the class then I encourage you to email endslavery@bayoucityfellowship.com to find out more information and ways that you can help the victims and our city.
This is definitely not the end of my favorites from this week but I will save it for next week's edition. =) I'm wishing everyone a wonderful (and safe) weekend celebrating Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby, as well as any other fun things you may have planned!
XOXO
