Fabulous Nails

I have a friend who loves painting nails. She's pretty awesome at it.

I've never really gotten into nail polish since I have to keep my nails short and clean for playing piano. But my friend has given me a number of fun "manicures" which I've loved.

She's given me strawberry nails:

(these pics were taken after most of the nail polish had rubbed off)

Silver sparkles:

Pink roses:

And even blue roses:

Do you like painting nails?

Memories, Dreams and Reflections Part Two

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this post up! Here's part one.

15. Celebrate! 

 Putting up the Christmas tree is always a cause for celebration!

17. I Miss You

 I miss being with you, my friend.

18. Beautiful

 I love this photo - the delicacy of the lilacs reproduced in the background. It's especially awesome since it's one of the few times I've achieved bokeh!

19. Dress Up

 For a music major's dress-up party, I dressed up as a fairy. My lovely next-door neighbor came up with the costume, since I couldn't think of anything. Didn't she do a nice job?

20. Macro

I love taking pictures of eyes - and this one just turned out rather clearer and scarier than I thought it would. It certainly is striking, is it not?

21. Holidays

 My family has a tradition to make beaded cross ornaments to give as gifts at Christmastime. I love the way they remind us about the real reason Christ came to earth - to die for our sins.

22. My Favorite

 This is my absolute favorite picture I have taken this year. I love the color palette... the soft, radiant innocence of the white rose against the warm, rich background and the muted green of the leaf. So Gorgeous.

23. Don't Ever Change

 I never want to pass by beauty. I want to always make time to stop and stare... and try to capture it, in some way.

25. Hopes and Dreams 

For 2011, my hope and dream is to be an impact. I desire to first of all be satisfied in Christ, and then when I am, I can pour His life out through mine to others. I want to be real and deep and genuine, so I can show others that by God's grace they can be the same.

Well, there is my year in pictures! I hope you've enjoyed the brief overview, and that you continue to come along for the ride in 2011. :)

Memories, Dreams and Reflections

I'm linking up to Ashley Sisk's "Memories, Dreams and Reflections" linkup.

1. Me!

There's so many things that went on in my life last year... but one of the biggies that I'm proud of accomplishing is recording my CD. It's still not out yet (hopefully will be soon!), but even just the coordinating and composing and recording of everything was a tremendous achievement.

2. I Love You

 I love you sweet friend - don't you ever forget it! :)

3. Still Laughing...

One night, when it was especially loud outside my dorm room, I went out and encountered this! Hall study party. Whatever works to get that homework done! ;)

4. Winter Wonderland

 The view at my grandparent's house at sunset. This is all their property - gorgeous, isn't it?

5. Birthday& 6. Friends

 When I saw this picture I knew I had to combine these two (Birthday & Friends). For my birthday this year, I had three close friends over and we did a little photoshoot. I can't remember whose idea this picture was, but it turned out really cool!

7. I Was Inspired... 

 Words, writing, the feel of a pencil beneath my fingers, scratching down my thoughts, emotions, ideas... all of these things inspire me.

8. Spring Fever

 This sweet flower seems to capture the very essence of springtime: delicate, rain-dappled, and perfectly exquisite in its frailty.

9. Travel/Vacation 

 I snapped this picture in the reflection of my brother's sunglasses as we were driving to visit my grandparents last January. And what's funny is that the camera in the reflection has since then been replaced - twice.

10. Summer Days 

 I actually can't take credit for this picture - my friend Jess over at Image-ine took this picture of me on a photoshoot we did. Whenever I look at it I can almost feel the warmth of the sun on my face...

11. A Day In My Life

 A typical day in my life at college starts like this: walking to breakfast in the cold, watching the eastern sky begin to glow.

 After classes and whatnot, I usually end up here - in a practice room. Yep, these little (tiny!) rooms are were I spend most of my time. ;)

12. All Smiles

Me and some of the girls from my hall. ;) Some of us are smiling... some laughing... and some making exasperated looks at the camera (*coughBrecough*)

13. Autumn Harvest 

 This picture just speaks autumn to me. That rich, vibrant color that God streaks in reds and oranges across the world.

14. Family 

 I try to refrain from posting pictures of my family on the internet, but I found this picture and I think it's perfect. I love my family so very much. They are my inspiration, my support group, and my best pals.

Since this is such a long linkup (there's 25 categories in all!) I thought I would stop here for this post. I'll be posting the rest of the linkup soon!

I Love Loving People

You know what?

I love loving people. Going out of the box... out of the blue... and letting them know just how much they are loved.

Complimenting them, saying the sweet things you think but feel too shy to say. Being genuine - smiling - telling them just how special they are.

Being willing to be vulnerable and let them hear what you really think and feel. Let them see who you really are deep inside.

Loving people is scary, because you can't get close until you're willing to peel back the layers. But the end result is truly beautiful.

A true friendship is like two cups, constantly pouring into each other. If only one did it, that cup would soon be dry. But when they both pour their love, laughter and lives into each other, encouraging each other and lifting each other up to God, the picture of their lives becomes truly beautiful.

I love loving people.

i heart faces - teens

Well, this will be my first time doing i heart faces, but hey, I always love trying something new!


The theme for this week is Teens, so the photo must have been shot by a teen (which I still qualify as). Boy, was it hard to decide what photo to post! But I finally picked out this one:

Like our silly faces? I actually took this like a typical "myspace picture" (i.e. holding the camera out and looking up at it). It turned out surprisingly well!


Also - I changed the look of this blog! What do you think? Anything you think I should change? ;)