friday five!

for my friday five this week, i am going to introduce to you some new words! these words come from all over the world, but can most likely apply to your life &/or give a name to those feelings you can't explain!
jouir! enjoy!

1. gezzelig.
(dutch) adjective.
describes much more than just coziness - a positive warm emotion rather than just something physical. connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.

i love this one! it is a word that gives a name to a cozy feeling i experience with my family all the time. maybe i am more dutch than i thought!

2. meraki.
(greek) adjective.
pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something, such as cooking; and doing so with soul, creativity, and love.

again, love this one. i hope i live my whole life with some meraki! think of how passionate our relationships would be & how delicious our food would taste if we honestly 'poured ourselves wholeheartedly' into them! also, side note, think of how warm & wonderful the greek culture is! this word is commonly used with young children, they are teaching their children 'meraki' from the beginning!

3.trepverter.
(yiddish) noun.
a witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. literally, the word means, staircase words.

gah! i hate when this happens! everyone has experienced trepverter before. i always think of the best "burn" when i have walked away!

4. komorebi
(japanese) noun.
the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees.

this one is seasonally fitting. we are in the most beautiful part of fall. the colors, the light breezes and the komorebi, that beautiful sunlight beaming through the aspens! it makes sense to me that this word is japanese, they have such an appreciation for nature deeply embedded in their culture.

5. cafune
(brazilian portuguese) noun.
the act of tenderly running your fingers through the hair of somebody you love.

sweet, sweet romance. this word comes from a country that is incredibly in tune with their emotions and sensuality. the joke of the "brazilian lover" came from a place of validity after all! think of how romantic and comforting is it to have someone you love run their fingers through your tresses.
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all of these fabulous words & their definitions came from my new favorite coffee table book:
 LOST IN TRANSLATION. 
BY: ELLA FRANCES SANDERS. 

enjoy your weekend everyone!

i am my own worst enemy.

comparison is the thief of joy. - theodore roosevelt

& boy, did mr. roosevelt have it right. 

everyday we are tempted by envy. look at how great her hair is. i wish i had her body or her clothes. we wish & we want whatever it is we don't have. her job is always going to seem better & the grass in her white picket fenced life…greener. 

it is so incredibly easy to be sucked in by jealousy.

but what we sometimes, well, most the time, don't realize is that every time we pick out the great things in her (or his) life, we amplify the things we dislike about our own. i do it to myself more often than i'd like to admit. i am one day feeling happy with my life, my success, my job etc. & then i see someone with more. suddenly, my life is lacking, my successes dimished & i want to quit my job! we open our social media accounts & immediately rob ourselves of our own joy and accomplishments.

…………….

WHY? why, oh why do we do that to ourselves?

look down at your body. does it breathe for you? does is house your soul safely? do you have a job at all? a roof over your head? did someone else's successes take all of yours away?

i am totally a pot calling the kettle here, because i duel with jealous thoughts daily; but i am writing this post in hopes that it'll urge you & remind myself to be thankful for what we have. i think a small amount of envy is appropriate, it keeps us working hard & ignites our ambition to achieve more, but the fine line is often crossed & that envy can turn to hate and swallow whole, the beauty in our own lives.

besides, if God gave you the life of another, think of all the things and people you would have to give up. hardly seems worth it, even if i did end up with mermaid hair :) so be thankful for what you have today and every day. put your focus and positive energy on all the wonderful things and relationships your life has to offer you, the grass is not greener on the the other side, it is green where you water it!

"if you have enough, then you don't need more."

happy tuesday!

the days in-between.

when all the parties are over & all the celebrations have ended, there is still so much going on. so many amazing happenings to appreciate and document. this post is dedicated to the days in-between the days that are totally blogworthy. its a post to take a second and jot down all the moments (&pictures) that happened on the days where we do nothing out of the ordinary, but they are still the best days ever. the naps, the swinging, the walking and the eating. sounds really crazy right? these are the days where we stay in our cozy clothes and just wait for daddy to get home. these are the days that make up LIFE. my life. they are as sure as the breaths i take. heres to you, normal days! gosh i think you're spectacular!

a trip to the pumpkin patch!

every fall, my family goes to this adorable open air market, Osborn Farms. they have a little bit of everything there, jams & jellies, candles, furniture,a petting zoo, carriage and tractor rides, & of course, a pumpkin patch! we always leave with some handmade treasures, a snack dip for the next family gathering and a bag of kettle corn. we met up with the Sals & cruised our stroller around looking for this years goodies, it ended up being a jalapeño jelly. who knew! with smiles planted on our faces and it being arrow's first time this year, we took our family picture. it had three silly characters instead of just Grant & a very pregnant me like last year :) enjoy! & if you get a chance, swing by osborn farms this weekend!

the big ONE!

so, you may have already heard, but my little sweets turned one! woohooo! and if you know anything about me, it's that i am a party thrower. i love it. the food, the decorations, the music, the invites, the favors, I'm all over it. so when arrows first birthday came around….. party time!! invites were sent, paper flowers were made & balloons were ordered!

it was a wonderful gathering of friends and family & presented a great opportunity for people to get to know arrow a little better! she is so naturally sweet & loving, she doesn't know a stranger, she is a passy sharer & across-the-room flirter. she is generous & gentle (most of the time) & curious about anything and everything! she had more interest in the tissue paper than her gifts & played it cool when it came time to smash a cake - i gave her a little boost!

^^ sharing is caring ^^

the menu was delish & very fall-ish.

artichoke dip

shredded chicken sandwiches

bacon mac n' cheese

veggies dips

fruit & angel food cups

pumpkin cupcakes w/ cinnamon cream cheese frosting

mini donuts (of course!)

caramel apples

& her sprinkled smash cake!!

thank you again to everyone who came from far & wide to help celebrate a year of life with this little peanut!

a year of light.

oh arrow, where do i even begin? i've been mentally planning this post for a month now & now here i sit, my keyboard eager to meet my fingertips; blank. i am finding it difficult to put how much i love my sweet daughter into words. i could easily put it into tears, remembering each memory, milestone & moment. 

one whole year of life. 

52 weeks of wonder. 

365 days filled with happiness & love, sticky fingers & middle of the night snuggles, laughter & plenty of crying, hugs & hand holding, tummy tickling & open mouth kissing. the moment i saw her, she changed me. she took all the pieces of my life that were suspended in the air, gently tucked them into place & opened my heart to a whole new kind of love. turned me from a wife to a mama and grant & i, into a family.

for the past year of my life i have been blessed with a front row ticket to the arrow show. i have watched her infant features become more childlike with each passing nap time. i have witnessed her smile turn terrible days around & her giggle set fire to a room. everyday, she fills my heart and soul with more love than i even thought possible & my every day is brightened because of her sweet existence. i simultaneously dread & look forward to her getting older & growing into an independent little lady. with dreams, hopes, and goals all of her own. but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. one is just, one. thank goodness.

i love you with everything i have little miss.