House Guest & Weekend Pics

 (This convo took place before I left for work last week)

 Andrew: "Hey Babe, I forgot to mention... we're having someone stay with us this weekend."

(We often host interviewing med school candidates)

Jenna: "What!? But we had plans to do things this weekend... noooo, I'm bummed. We were going to go out on a date. Who is it?"

Andrew: "Well... it's a girl." (meaning I, Jenna, have to help extra to entertain)

Jenna: "Ughhhh... Where's she from?"

Andrew: "Well {Andrew hands jump on Jenna's shoulders} ...she has 4 paws..."

Jenna: "Penelope!!!!! (our bro/sis-in-law's cat) You trickster! Yay!"

So, we had this adorable house guest as my brother & sister-in-law went away for the weekend. She offered lots of entertainment and it was nice to have an extra living creature in the apartment.

As for our Date Night:

We ran a few errands at the mall & enjoyed one of our date gift cards to the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!

While waiting forever (1 hour!!!) for a table, we ventured around the adjacent stores to include Pottery Barn Kids. We read children's books & had a puppet show! I'm pretty sure the staff thought we were crazy.... I can't wait to read books to our kids someday. I love kids books!

 I also got my rings cleaned. It's amazing what wearing gloves all day at work does to rings. Eww. It makes such a difference to get them all shined up!

 We pigged out on our delicious burgers & didn't even make it to the french fries or cheese cake until getting home.

'Twas a nice weekend!

Valentines Garland

 I made this simple Valentines Garland with scraps of fabric from my Grandmother and a ribbon from a Christmas gift. All in all, this craft cost $0. Free is always a bonus! I Love this little touch of red & white mixed with blue in our apartment. This set up replaced our wedding finger-print tree that I'm currently working on finding a new spot for. Much of our wall art is getting a location swap. Sometimes it's nice to just mix things up a bit!

 1. Cut fabric scraps into long strips (You can even use old t shirts as scraps)

2. Tie around a ribbon, string, or rope. 

3. Display/Hang & Enjoy!

 The framed artwork was a gift from my sister that we received within the first few weeks of moving to Portland. It's a drawing depicting the West side of Portland and the bridges that cross the Willamette river. The buildings next to our apartment building are even in the picture! This is a favorite of mine and will be a sentimental piece to display in our home no matter where we live in the future.

 With the extra scraps, I changed out the Christmas adornments on our holiday welcome wreath with a little red/white bow. Again, super simple, but a sweet little Valentines touch! 

Church Search & Closet Mission

 Closet Mission: 

Maybe you're in the same boat as I am... When looking in my closet, I see dozens and dozens of items that I rarely, if ever, wear. I haven't worn some in years, yet I hold onto them because they are good clothes. So, my mission is to try and expand my wardrobe by going "shopping" in my closet at least once a week. Realistically, there are only about 2 days out of the week that I even need to wear something other than scrubs or sweats/cozy at-home-gear. If I find that I am truly not wearing something, I'm getting rid of it/ donating. I've already got a bag started in my closet!

This flowy Target dress for example (that I wore to church this week) is about 1.5 years old and I've only worn it twice. I wish I took the sweater off for the pic because the sleeves are my favorite. I'm also hoping this "mission" will decrease my shopping. My goal is to go 3 months without buying any new clothes (except 1 pair of jeans that I've been needing for a while). We'll see how it goes! 

Would anyone else like to take part in this "Closet Mission" ?? Let me know! 

Church Search:

Though Andrew and I have been here in Portland for almost 6 months, we have struggled to find a fitting church home where we feel that we can both grow & serve. The Church search process can be both exciting and frustrating. The church we came from in Tacoma was such a wonderful place for us and we found that every week here in Portland just made us miss our Tacoma church home even more. Furthermore, with working weekends during my residency program (5 weekends in a row at one point), it made it very difficult to consistently attend new churches as a couple with the right attitude and right heart. Don't get me wrong, there are tons and tons of churches (and great ones at that) in Portland! Maybe that is one reason it has been so difficult- because there are so many options! All this being said, we feel extremely encouraged from the last 2 weeks of trying new places and are thankful for this time of searching as it has fostered more prayer & Christ-centered conversation between the hubby and I. We attended a fabulous church yesterday and are looking forward to getting more involved/learning more. They are even studying the same thing in service that I have been in my personal reading & study.

Crush

 

We were babies..... Okay, we were just barely 16......  Check our that hair! We held hands for the first time this night! His story says I grabbed his hand. Mine says he grabbed mine. I'm right. Sweet memories. 

 

17 

 

Andrew: "Baaaaaabbeee, I forgot what you looked like! I haven't seen you in so long!" 

I feel like a little school girl who has a crush on a new kid in class! I seriously love my husband SO much it blows my mind. The crazy thing is.... we literally haven't seen each other in 3 days except for once last night for a few minutes before I left for work. With our opposite schedules, it sometimes takes extra measures just to let each other know that the other still exists. We are learning not take time together for granted. It's treasured and rare. We are learning how to support each other without even seeing each other. Though working nights is not ideal and is really getting to me, I'm learning to make the best of it in my relationship with Andrew. I've also been making it a priority to spend time in prayer for Andrew each day. What a difference it makes to center my thoughts and prayers on him and God's will for him. By praying for him, I am able to re-frame my thinking to be less selfish, less upset with our situation, less frustrated. I am reminded through prayer of all he is doing to provide for us even while slaving away in med school. I am reminded of God's beautiful picture of marriage and the true gift it is for His children. I'm so thankful for a loving husband and I'm grateful we can still "pursue" each other and feel like we did when we were 16!

 

He always kisses me goodnight (or goodmorning) & embraces me when we see each other.

Love notes left on pillows... & love text messages= my Favorite!

 We enjoyed this same sunrise together this week (though we were in separate places)

"Dinner" and surprise dessert (my favorite store-bought cookies) waiting for me when I got out of the shower for work. This is hubby-proof dinner -- microwave burrito & apples/carrots. It was all just what I needed. Thanks Babe!

 Home
<3 

Toad in a Hole

Here is a simple, light-hearted post for you! AKA- I just got home from work and need to sleep!

 

 Toads? Holes? I'm not a fan of the name, but... If I'm feeling ambitious after working nights, I'll come home and try to make something resembling a breakfast (technically, it would be my dinner). This week, I literally scarfed a bowl of Nachos down and crashed... but a few weeks ago, this was my creation. My latest Breakfast in Bed combo = Toad in a Hole! I have no idea why it is called this or where the toad came from, but It was a fun, quick make and it made Andrew smile when I woke him up with this simple grub.  I love coming home from work on weekends because there's a husband in my bed!

I think this may be a winner for guys out there! Super easy & fun! You could seriously win some Hunk points with the ladies! 

I wouldn't have my toast any other way! Ok.. now I'm starving. Off to find something for breakfast before hitting the pillow.  Have a splendid Wednesday!

Craft Room Envy

I'm having major craft room envy! Look at these amazing crafting spaces! I'm getting tired of spreading out on the floor or couch while crafting and then having a sore back the next day- oh boy, I'm getting old. Let's just say that a craft room/space is definitely included in my dream house. I'd spend far too much time in this space, but just think of all of the beautiful things I could create. Never hurts to dream right?

  

 

 Here's an example of one of my craft corners/shelves. When it's craft time, I just spread out all over the apartment. There's at least 2 other random bookcases with craft supplies + a stash in our storage closet.

On another note: I just finished having roughly 6 days off!!! Though I sure don't have much to show for it, the time off almost makes up for working a crazy holiday schedule & I'm thankful to have seen my husband a bit more over the past few days.

Girlfriend Dates & Current Projects

 Every girl loves a good pampering! I enjoyed a fabulous pedicure with my dear friend Laura this week. It was JUST what I needed! A rainy, tired, icky day was made so much better by friend dates with both Laura and my friend Anna (I didn't get any photos- but we enjoyed a tasty lunch and catch up session at Noah's Bagels in Bridgeport). 

Inspiring women: 

Laura- She's following through with her life dreams of becoming a pharmacist! I'm so proud of this girl and continually impressed by her persistent hard work. AND, I can't wait for another year and a half to have her live in Portland. 

Anna- My beautiful engaged friend also works so hard & just happens to be on her way to Africa! She's on her way to becoming an elementary school teacher & to marrying her sweetheart. She's my fellow military "soon-to-be-wife" and I look forward to staying in touch with her throughout the years and maybe ending up around the same posts!

I'm so excited for what God has in store for these beautiful women and I'm blessed to have them as my friends. 

Though I'm wide awake and it's 3:30am... I'm looking forward to a date night tonight with my man & a quick weekend friend trip to Tacoma/Seattle. Then it's back to work... (you'd think with all of these blog posts that I never work... trust me.. I do.)

*** Current Project***

This is my current project! A t-shirt quilt for Andrew (these are just the cut-outs lying on the floor). I have no idea what I'm doing, but I have a plan and I think all will work out fine. At least that's what I told Andrew so that he'd let me cut up his t-shirts. He had tons of old neglected soccer shirts in his closet. So- this is where they're going! I have some surprises in store for the back... stay tuned!

When I'm randomly up in the middle of the night (like now & most nights), this is what I'll work on.