Sweet Carolyne

I had the absolute pleasure today to help host a bridal shower for a dear college friend/roommate Carolyne!

Carolyne asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding this November, and so I helped plan the shower for her, and it was such a joy! Carolyne is one of the sweetest friends I've ever had, and I just loved being able to shower her with love today as family and friends gathered in her honor. 

For me, it was so fun to plan the theme and decorate for the shower! Being quite the follower of pinterest, I was inspired by this image:

I love mason jars, and I wanted to do a rustic romantic shower for Carolyne. I thought this was perfect because Carolyne grew up on a farm and loves country things!

We had a sweet tea shower and used mason jars for both drinking and decoration--it was so fun! I also used some twine to make the jars a little more rustic looking, and I think they turned out fabulous! I've always wanted to try floating candles in mason jars, so that was also part of the decorations for today. 

We learned this weekend that Chris sometimes compares Carolyne to sunflowers, so we loved that those were the flowers we had chosen!

We had some fun designing bridal gowns with toilet paper too! Our models were such good sports :)

We shared some sweet time of prayer and enjoyed watching Carolyne open all her gifts for her new home. 

 

Such a fun and sweet time together!

Here are the bridesmaids and the bride-to-be!

And here are some more fun shots from today!

Thanks for being such a great friend Carolyne! I cannot wait to stand beside you in a week when you become Mrs. O'Connell!! Love you!

"Bite-sized cheddar fish-shape crackers"

So the whole cooking a new meal every week hasn't exactly happened the way I thought it would! So it's been a little while but last night I made something new out of my cookbook once again! I was in a big rush, so I chose from the "convenience cooking" section of the book and found a fun recipe called "Crunchy chicken strips"

Since I already had some frozen chicken breasts, I chose this recipe. The other ingredients were also on hand--the first being "bite-size cheddar fish-shape crackers." This made me laugh! What a great description of goldfish when you can't use their name for trademark issues! The other ingredient was ranch dressing.

I crushed the crackers, and dipped the chicken in a shallow bowl of the ranch before dipping them in the bowl of crackers.

And that was all I had to do! I baked them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes (the recipe called for 10-15 minutes)

It actually tasted really good, and was so easy! So even though it was a quick rushed meal, it was still something from my cookbook, and something new :)

Learning to Cook!

I was given a Better Homes and Garden cookbook recently as a "welcome to Campus Outreach staff" gift, and so I decided (along with the other younger single staff) to cook something from the cookbook every week!

We all decided that we really need to learn to cook, and since we are all in our early 20's, now would be the time! :) 

So for our first recipe and week one of this new tradition, I decided to make "Citrus-herd marinated chicken" since I already had frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. 

I thawed the chicken breasts overnight.

Then I worked on making the marinade:

1/3 cup lemon juice (or orange juice)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1 tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (which I learned are green onions!)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 Then I put the chicken breasts in a plastic ziploc and poured the marinade in, and mixed it around. I let the chicken marinate for about 3 hours in the fridge (the recipe called for 2-4 hours)

 Once marinated, I put the chicken on tin foil on a baking sheet (the recipe called for a broiling pan, so we made do with what we had)

We also cooked up some asparagus as our side, using olive oil, salt, and pepper on the stove top

We broiled the chicken for 6 minutes, then turned them and put more marinade on them and let them broil another 9 minutes.

We topped our asparagus with some parmesan cheese also.

It was actually much easier than I thought, and I enjoyed making something so tasty! Everyone loved it :) 

I'm excited to see how many things I am able to make after this year with my single staff friends! 

Back to Jax...but not as a student

I'm still trying not to freak out or being weirded out by the fact that I am back to Jax and won't be sitting in a lecture hall this Monday.

I'm telling you, I don't know if I'm ready for this or not. But God is good, and I am so excited to still be a part of my college campus as part of the staff team of Campus Outreach Florida.

Freshmen moved in yesterday, and so campus is starting to be busy with people again. No more quiet runs around the river, instead there will be the bustle and excitement from all the new 18 and 19 yr olds who have decided to call JU home for the next four years. I think they've made a great choice...but maybe I'm biased :)

Praise the Lord I have reached 60% of my support, and I am praying that in the next two weeks, I'll be able to jump even higher! The sooner I can get fully supported, the sooner I can start working on campus! Please join me in praying that God will provide these finances quickly!

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The staff team graciously gave the three women on staff a ladies getaway to St. Augustine and it was so wonderful! We are blessed! Here are some of the photos from our trip

Fun ladies night!

Lighthouse

Day on the boat!

Sunrise on the beach

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Currently reading: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, just finished The Guardian by Sparks (my roommate has all his books, and I've decided to read them all!)

Also recently read The Hunger Games and The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers (really recommend this one!)

Currently listening to: Bon Iver and the Civil Wars

Currently eating: Lots of pasta! :) always has been my favorite

Currently: running, trying to see if I can manage to get enough training in to run the Marine Corps Half marathon in October...we will see!

Listening to...

So here's what's been playing lately :)

You Know It's True

Home

Cowboys and Angels

10,000 Reasons

Enjoy!

Summer lovin'

Not only have I been blessed to have spent a month in Puerto Rico this summer, but I also got the priviledge of spending some time in the Keys with a dear family I nanny for. What a fun time we had! Snorkeling, fishing, and lots and lots of swimming! The kids are just precious and I'm happy to be a part of their lives. 

I always miss them when I am away in Jacksonville!

This summer I have been busy getting ready to work for a year with Campus Outreach Florida and I have been learning how to trust God to provide for all my needs :)

Here are some verses that have really been encouraging for me this summer and hopefully can encourage you too!

Philippians 4:19
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in Christ Jesus."


Psalm 56:3-4
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"

Seriously bad at keeping up!

Ok, so I did have every intention of keeping up with this blog while I was in Puerto Rico, but that didn't happen did it? We were kept really busy for the whole month that we were staying in San Juan, and it was all just wonderful. There were lots of laughs, excitement, joy, adventure, some tears, some frustrations, but lots and lots of love. Feeling the love of God, love from old and new friends, and love from local Puerto Ricans was sometimes overwhelming but in such a good way. We were received by the local church with open arms and I just loved being a part of their community for the four short weeks we were there. 

I started friendships in PR with people that I know will be life-long friends and for that I am very grateful. I don't really want to ramble on about our trip, but I do want to give some great highlights and pictures from the trip!

+stretched! my one word to describe my summer

+kayaking down to a bioluminescent bay and getting a glimpse of God's creativity

+time alone with God

+helping local PR elementary students leave their hand prints on the Dr. Seuss mural we painted at their school

+coldstone ice cream runs

+driving a minivan throughout the island of PR and getting lost countless numbers of times...thank goodness for google maps on our phones!

+iguanas!

+beautiful beach view from our windows

+the awesome breeze that made the hot temperature a little more bearable

+discipling three amazing women

+making best friends!

+spanish class 

+worshipping in Spanish at church

+jamming out in the Kia's to all sorts of music!

+the radio station that played country music in the mornings :)

+hilarious rally skits

+wonderful teaching from wise leaders

+friday morning breakfasts at the nicest Denny's I've ever been in

+my leader's D-group, exploring fancy hotels

+salsa dancing and shag dancing!

+late night pillow talks with the girls

+exploring the El Yunque rainforest

+baby Davis starting to walk!

+Nadia's pasta making skills

+the avenida ashford strip where we were staying

+watching friends jump off cliffs--I couldn't bring myself to do it!
+relaxing beach trip to isla verde

+surveying students at the University of Puerto Rico

+trying to order drive-thru at a Taco Bell after hours

+heart felt conversations with friends :)

Enjoy these pictures in no particular order :)

Children's church ministry

Surveying at the university

Backyard!

Cueva del Indio cliffs

My beautiful girls :)

El Yunque rainforest

San Juan bridge

Isla Verde

Best day!

painting our theme banner! one word!

My favorite Marsh baby :)

I'm so excited to start working this fall at JU with Campus Outreach Florida and have the joy of discipling girls as my job!!