Compassion

My dearest readers, near and far. Today I feel called to share with you Compassion International, a truly amazing organization that I have been sponsoring two children through, for the last few years.

They have dubbed the month of September "Blogging Month" and they set a goal for a certain number of children to be sponsored. Of course, I had all intentions of writing a post earlier in the month, in hopes to help get more children sponsored, but alas, life got in the way. (How terrible is that?)

That is why today, the last day of "Blogging Month", I appeal to you to please sponsor a child. There are a little over 100 children left that need sponsoring (from their original goal) and it would be a huge blessing to get the rest of these children sponsors!

If you feel lead to do this, please click this photo and follow the instructions on their website

If you're still unsure, let me take a moment to share with you how exactly a sponsorship with a Compassion child works.

Here are the two girls my husband and I sponsor

Yetty(L) is a 4 yr old girl from Indonisia and Safiatou(R) is a 6 yr old girl from Burkina Faso.

At least 4 times a year we receive letters from them & at any point throughout the year we can send letters to them. We can also send small gifts and photos to them with our letters. (And we get photos of them about twice a year.)

We get updates on their community groups, their country, their needs, their prayer requests, and much more.

We pray for them, and they pray for us, & we can even visit them through Compassion trips at a various times throughout the year.

Our donation does not just get handed to the family with a  "good luck" label. Instead, our money goes toward directly affecting our sponsored child, her family, and her education, church, and community group as well as medicine and emergency relief that may be needed.

(If you're still curious about where your money will go, click here.)

Click now to become a sponsor!

So, what's the bottom line, you ask? 

$38/month to sponsor and positively affect the life of one child in poverty.

That's just over $1/day and less than you spend on coffee on your way to work.

It's really not a large commitment financially, but inter-personally it can make a world of a difference.

Please take a few moments to change a life and help bring a child out of poverty.

Many thanks,

Niquelle

Delicious & Healthy Avocado Sandwich

I've always been a fan of sandwiches for lunch.

Sometimes they are filled with turkey & cheese, and sometimes they're not.

This is one of those times.

Today I share with you my all-time favorite lunch,

here's what you'll need: 

Use ~ 1Tbsp of mayo and 1/2 of the avocado, so you can save the other half for tomorrow... or later. 

No shame here.

In order to make it delicious, I suggest you do it like this:

Spread the mayo on the bread - right out of the toaster - lay down the avocado, thinly slightest tomato, fresh lettuce, and a dash of salt and pepper.

 (But I guess whatever order you do it in is probably okay too ツ) 

This healthy sandwich is definitely worth a try, (or two, or three, or ten),

 but I'd also love to know what your favorite thing to eat for lunch is... so please share some ideas below!

-N

Marry Your Best Friend.

Dave and I are part of a small group of young married couples through our church. We're currently reading and discussing Tim & Kathy Keller's book, The Meaning of Marriage. Although I am only half way through, I would highly recommend this book -whether you're married, dating, or single- because it really puts into perspective a lot of important aspects of marriage and things that should be considered before you marry.

"[when people are] looking for a spouse, [they] are looking for a finished statue when they should be looking for a wonderful block of marble... When Michelangelo was asked how he carved his magnificent David, his reply is reputed to have been, "I looked inside the marble and just took away the bits that weren't David."

For many young people, marriage sounds like a prison sentence, but I believe (along with Mr. & Mrs. Keller), that people are just looking for the wrong person to marry. 

"It often happens that you have a good friend of the opposite sex, with whom you share common commitments. You trust this person's wisdom and you find you can open up and share many intimate things without fear. He or she understand you well and listens to you and gives you advice. But the person does't attract you romantically. Maybe he or she doesn't have the body type that you find appealing. You feel no sexual chemistry at all. Then imagine you meet someone else to whom you feel very attracted. This person has the physical and social attribute you have been looking for and is interested in you, too. So you start seeing each other and you have a lot of fun together and things are moving along into more and more romantic intimacy. But if you are honest with yourself, this person you say you are falling in love with does not make nearly as good a friend as the one you already have, nor is that likely to change... Your spouse has got to be your best friend, or be on the way to becoming your best friend, or you won't have a strong, rich marriage that endures and that makes you both vastly better persons for having been in it."

All that to say, don't go wasting your time looking for this "Christian Grey" character who is just make-believe. (Yeah, I said it.)

Instead, take a moment to look around you, and understand that being married to your best friend, who may be a bit pudgy, or super corny, or shorter, or balder, or less rich than you imagined your "dream husband to be" and know that marrying someone you love and helping them become the person God is shaping them into is more important and more meaningful than any of those other (often temporary) things are. 

It's really that simple.

-N

DIY Recycling Bin

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. I was sick just about all of last week, and then had to try and make up for all that lost time this week, so now I'm finally caught up on just about everything.

Here's a quick DIY that everyone should do because recycling is a super simple way to help lessen our impact on the environment. (Minor environmentalist rant complete).

What you'll need:

An old cardboard box (we clearly had a ton from moving)

2 Rolls of Duct tape

Scissors (if you're particular like me)

Paper & Pen (for a label)

Oh, and a shelf/place to put it ツ      

__________________________________

Total  Cost: About $5

Using duct tape is a great way to make the box last and keep away any leaks or pesty bugs.

I actually had a blast being all OCD while sitting in front of my TV and watching an episode of Law & Order.

Enjoy creating yours!

-N

Home Sweet Home (3 of 3)

Sorry for the wait, but this past weekend was filled with about 20 hours of driving and two weddings in different states. Although it was a very tiring weekend, (that flew by!), Dave and I were very grateful to be a part of such love-filled, God-centered, beautiful weddings.

Now I am excited to share with you the final part of our apartment tour, our bedroom:

That amazing paper crane sculpture was created by our friend, Emily. She gave it to us for our first anniversary gift last year, and we love it so much that we needed to hang it somewhere we could see and appreciate it each day.

How do you make a PhD students' textbooks and scholarly papers look nice on a bookshelf you ask? 

Well, I'm still not totally sure, but I did give it my best effort.

On the other hand, my bookshelf was pretty easy, and I love how it turned out!

Just a peek at the hubby's side of the bed. He found a perfect spot for his guitars, and a painting by one of my oldest friends, James. He is a very talented artist, and I highly recommend you check out his work.

Finally, our desk (we're sharing one, for the first time ever... wish us luck) with the coolest chair -circa 1960- which was a gift from a my high school mentor.

Again, I urge you to decorate using pieces that have meaning and stories behind them! It makes even a small, white-wall, city apartment feel like home.

I hope you enjoyed a peek at our apartment. Check back often for new DIY projects and tips that I share as we continue to make our apartment our home.

-N

Home Sweet Home (2 of 3)

Today I share with you our kitchen and bathroom. These two rooms were recently renovated, which made a huge difference for us when we were deciding which apartment to choose.

The kitchen is a bit small, with limited counter and cabinet space, but we make it work... sorta

Just a close-up of the cutest calendar picture, ever.

We are very glad that they built in that microwave! Could you image how much less counter space we'd have if they didn't ??

And finally a basic [hand-me-down] bookshelf to make up for the lack of room (please ignore that narrow tower of appliances...)

Another one of my favorite parts of our kitchen is that "hot beverage bar" you see in the middle there. I think it's pretty adorable, and it's full of all things delicious! (and caffeinated!!)

Next, we have the bathroom. Again, it's a bit small, but it works (literally and figuratively).

Thankfully the bathroom set we arbitrarily registered for (2 years ago!) ties everything together very well.

These are some of my favorite decorative pieces in the whole apartment! We had these frames lying around our old apartment and before we left I got the idea of grabbing some geometric/aesthetically pleasing plants to use as art in the frames. Not only does it look cool, but we brought a few pieces of our old town with us.

Last, but certainly not least, our awesome rug. 

The colors, shapes, feel, (and size!) fit perfectly in our bathroom.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed part deux of the tour. 

Check back soon for the final post - featuring our bedroom!

Until then,

-N

Home Sweet Home (1 of 3)

Since we've been in our new place for almost a month now, I figured I would dedicate a few posts to an apartment tour, as promised. I decided to break it up into a few different posts so they won't be too photo heavy or (let's be honest) too word heavy either. 

It seems appropriate to start in the entryway & living room/dining room which is the first area of the apartment you walk into.

(Sorry in advance for the poor picture quality... all photos were shot with my iPhone because my DSLR is still broken...)

Our beautiful hideous periwinkle couch.

This lovely lady was painted with watercolors by a local artist. 

Those flowers are actually from my grandmas funeral. I dried them for a few months and then put them in my favorite wine bottle. They dried really beautifully... this picture doesn't do them much justice.

I like to decorate with items that have meaning or story behind them. It really helps make a place feel like home, and gives the opportunity for some great conversations with guests.

Well, there you have 1/3 of our apartment.
 Keep an eye out for the kitchen & bathroom post coming next.

Ta-ta for now,
-N