Speed Date

One of my most favorite people in the world is hosting a super fun blogger "Speed Date" linkup party and I thought it would be fun to join in! Come on over to Nicole's blog today to link up with other bloggers and learn more about them! Here are some random, quick little tidbits about me. Will you give me a rose at the end of our date? ;)


I was home-schooled from grades 5-12. Yes, I turned out normal. And yes, I know it's not for everyone but I would totally recommend it if you're considering doing it for your littles. If you have more questions, email me.

I grew up with two very adventurous parents and sailing, hiking, camping, and exploring were a huge part of my childhood and have shaped me greatly. I want the same thing for our kids.

I have completely changed my original plan for our baby girl's nursery. It's gonna rock.

When we moved out-of-state last year, 8 other couples that we were friends with did so also. Now we are all over the US, in Hawaii, AZ, Texas and Florida. It makes me sad.

I'm still friends with friends from elementary school, junior high, high school, and college. I don't believe in "out with the old and in with the new." I've always strived to keep the Girl Scout Promise :) I can not stand people who float from one friendship of the moment to the next. I've been one of the friends of the moment, and it stings.

My husband's job annoys the crap out of me sometimes (mainly, the inconsistent schedule), but I'm so thankful for it after years of job loss and instability. We haven't paid a dime for this baby yet and we won't after she's born. I'm thankful for things like good insurance, and a hard-working man.

I won't be reading the book "Fifty Shades of Grey" and I can sum up why in one sentence: Phil 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Can I get an AMEN.

I have an awesome group of girlfriends here in AZ and almost all of them are married or dating men that work with my husband. I love that work drama has never affect our friendships. It's such a cool testament how people can live in unity with one another.

I'm Casey Wiegand's virtual assistant and take care of her emails and anything else that she needs help with. I love her to the moon and back. I've never met her, but she was one of the first people I called to tell that I was having a little girl. It's amazing how God can bring people into your life, some that you've never even met-- to grow you, strengthen you, and teach you to love more.

One of my closest friends lives 4 doors down from me. And she loves me so much that even though her and her husband decided to buy a bigger house, they are only moving 28 doors down and still on the same street. Hahaha.

I am addicted to Sour Patch Kids and really need to get a healthy grip on weeding them out of my life.

I'm super cheap and hate to spend a lot of money on one big item. I'd rather take the money and go buy a ton of little stuff. My husband is the complete opposite.

Speaking of my husband, I met him when I was in a relationship with someone else at the time. I told my mom I was gonna marry him. And although I almost backed out of my first date with him, my mom told me that I would always regret it if I didn't go. Man, was she right ;) You can read more about our story here.

I've lost some relationships in the last couple of years, and although it's been hard, I feel like God always has a way of removing relationships from your life that are either toxic, unhealthy or do not lift you up. And sometimes it's just because you say the hard thing, and they don't like you anymore.

I'll always get deep with you, rather than surface level. Sorry, I can't talk about shoes for 25 minutes, it's exhausting.

My spiritual strength is the gift of encouragement and organization. My love language is words of affirmation. And my Myers-Brigg's assessment is ESFJ. I'm an ESFJ 100%.

I've grown more and more introverted over the years. I enjoy time alone now. And I've 100% been delivered from my fear of man issues that I've struggled with over the years and have really noticed that my "people pleasing" issues have changed in the last year. This is such a "God thing."

My biggest fear is of Joshua dying. And I have to fight that toxic thought ever single day that he leaves, closes the garage door, and goes to work.

I miss home a lot, but not enough to move back. If my parents moved here, life would be complete.

I will tell you that no one, not one person-- has successfully guessed our baby girl's name on this blog (starts with an "E"). I'm so glad her name is unique!

Joshua and I finally saw "The Avengers" last night. I'm so glad we sat on the end of the aisle because at 30 weeks pregnant now, the bathroom is my new best friend. Oh, and the movie was awesome.

Last year, I was a e-commerce marketing coordinator working for a chain of luxury resorts in Mexico. I went to paid lunches, dressed up every day for work, was flown down to Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta on business trips and was bring in a second income.

This year, I'm preparing to give birth to our firstborn. I wear gym clothes most days, make lunch in my own kitchen, and am about to embark on the most unglamourous, exhausting, thankless job known to man: motherhood. A career won't keep me warm at night. I wouldn't trade this upcoming "job" for all the riches known to man, because I know it will be the best job in the whole world. This blog post got me all excited to be a mom, wow, just wow... what a beautiful priviledge.

Sponsor Love: Suzels Says

Allow me to introduce you to an amazing & talented model... ahem, I mean, blogger Susan of Suzels Says! But seriously, doesn't she look like one?! :) So gorgeous. And she's beautiful inside, too.
Learn more about Susan below and be sure to check out her super fabulous blog! xo

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Please tell us a little bit about you and your blog!

About six years ago I ventured down to college in the South. I liked sweet tea and the word y'all so much that I decided to stay! Now I'm in the real world, trying to figure out who let me graduate and how to act like a grown-up. I love Jesus, photography, my friends and family, and my boyfriend...who happens to be a minor league baseball player (not as glamorous as it sounds!). My blog, Suzels Says, is a reflection of the above and this charming little life that God has blessed me with.

What inspires you to stay creative?

I LOVE photography. One of the challenges is trying to find things to take pictures of every day. I think, "That sunset isn't pretty enough" or "Those people aren't doing anything picture-worthy." But when you step back and realize that God has created this beautiful masterpiece, things are ALWAYS picture-worthy, it's just a matter of looking at it through His eyes. HE inspires me to stay creative.

What are a few of your favorite blogs?

Arg! Are you really going to make me do this?! I have too many to just name a few! Besides Finding Beauty in the Ordinary :) ... Jenni at Story of My Life, Pioneer Woman, Lauren at From My Grey Desk and Sar over at Life of Love. I am always finding new blogs that I love, so this list is always changing!

What's something about you that we don't know?

I was a division one athlete in college. I played lacrosse and my senior year my team was ranked 5th in the country! It was a lot of hard work and many added hours of commitment on top of the usual school work...but it was such a blessings to experience being on a team with 30 girls. I learned a lot about myself and hopefully was a good role model for some of the other girls!

blog // bloglovin' // pinterest

Cup Half Full: Dream Big

Sometimes in life, we encounter some really amazing people that come along and inspire us to dream big. They are people who have an immense thirst and hunger for God, who ask deep, hard questions, and who are truly genuine, remarkable human beings who are impacting our world.


A friend of mine who falls into this exact category is Heather Boersma. A fellow blogger and most recently, a published author, she is continually inspiring me. A few months ago, she emailed me and asked if I would be interested in reading her new book, "Dream Big" and reviewing it for you, my wonderful readers, AND giving you the chance to WIN A COPY OF HER BOOK!

The answer to that question was an immediate, "Of course!" and "DUH!" and "When can I start reading?!" I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't get on it as soon as I would have liked with everything that has been going on in my life in the past couple of months, but once I started it, it had a profound impact on me. One of major quotes from the book that summarizes a huge barrier in growing closer to God: "Many of the challenges we face in our friendship with God are directly related to the fact that we can't experience Him physically." That really has made me think over the past couple of weeks.

I will also tell you that I married a big dreamer and I am the complete opposite. If there is one thing we probably butt heads about the most, it's that I'm a realist that's clashing his dream or he's a dreamer clashing my reality. On our way to our most recent doctor appointment, Joshua and I had a conversation about dreaming big and he straight out told me that I put God in a box by not dreaming big. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it's true. When I look around me, everything I thought couldn't come true because "it was too big to dream about" has come true (baby, house, a puppy, husband's dream career, new adventure, etc). He challenged me to focus and dream big and even dream big about the little things.

So let me tell you, God has been blowing my mind lately on this topic. Little dreams and prayers I've given over to God have been coming true, down to dreams that even seem stupid and petty to me but they matter to Him, it's crazy. He takes care of me, of us. And on the first day I started this devotional, I opened up a fresh journal to take notes and the quote at the top of the page was, "We need time to dream, time to remember, and time to reach the infinite. Time to be." Gladys Taber. I knew God wanted me to strap on my seat belt because He was certainly about to teach me something.

It's amazing how God has used Heather and her book, along with my husband, to help me dream big and stop doubting what God is capable of doing in my life. If you are looking for a new devotional, I can't rave enough about this 30-day book. The book is divided up into 3 parts that will help you discover God's will for you and unlock His plan and dream for your life. Part 1: God’s Dream For The World, Part 2: God’s Dream For You, Part 3: Unlocking Your Dream-- all which will teach you so much, I promise.

“How you live toady shows God whether or not you are ready for what He has for you tomorrow,”- Dream Big

Here's a trailer for the book!

To enter to win:

Like Dreaming Big on Facebook OR if you don't have Facebook, leave a comment telling us what you are hoping to learn from this book.

Extra Entries (separate comment for each):

Follow Dreaming Big on Twitter

Follow Dreaming Big on BlogLovin'

Tweet about this giveaway (this gives you an extra point!) using my Twitter username @FBintheOrdinary and Heather's @HeatherBoersma

If you're interested in purchasing Heather's book, you can do so here and you'll also receive 10% OFF by using the coupon code: HEATHER

Giveaway ends on Monday, June 4 at 11:59 MST
Winner will be picked via random.org

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Cup Half Full LinkUp Party

The goal of this link up party is to have a place where women can come each week and simply link back to posts where they find beauty in their life. This is not a subject-specific link up party, but simply an overall theme of contented, thankful way of living. I don't really care what you want to link up, as long as it promotes a general positive, thankful, my-cup-is-half-full vibe.

• Link up to your specific blog post, not to your blog's main page.
• Make this an interactive link up party by trying to visit a few other blogs while you're here and stop and show them some love-- because everyone loves comments! :)  
• Grab a button or link back to this post so that your blog readers can come and join in on the fun, too! 

<a href="http://findingbeautyintheordinary.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i349/FindingBeauty19
/Buttons_%20Heather/Cup12Full.png"
alt="FindingBeautyintheOrdinary.com" width="125"






height="125" /></a>

Sponsor in June

Yes, that is little 'ol me!

Wanna sponsor in June?
I would LOVE to have you!
All my XL spots are full but I will tell you that all of my other sizes are
ON SALE until my little peanut comes in August!
Email me at
heather [at] findingbeauty [gmail] dot [com] for details & rates!
Happy weekend, holla! xo

Pinterest Inspiration & Goals for Our New Home, Room by Room

I love Pinterest, but it's not one of those websites I try to spend a lot of time on.
It's great for recipes, ideas, and inspiration, but a lot of time it can leave one feeling inadequate. I mean, seriously? How are we supposed to get our homes, our dinners, and our bodies looking that perfect? Photoshop and perfect backdrops are a beautiful thing ;)

Like most things, there's a healthy balance and I've learned that with Pinterest.
For the most part, I've been loving going on to get inspiration for our new home. We've barely been here a month, and it already feels so comfortable. This is the first place I have ever moved where I had a really easy transition into. I think my heart was just THAT ready for this house :) We went on a walk last night around the neighborhood and ran into 3 couples we know on walks, too, and I just love that! I love this community.

These pictures below are some of the ones I've pinned and collected for specific rooms of the house. Although the house we bought was only 6 years old, it had been abandoned for almost a year and was owned by the bank and needed a little TLC. We are finally almost done with all the painting and now the fun stuff is happening (decorating and nursery planning)!

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Kitchen

Our goal in the next 3-9 months is to repaint the cabinets white and add silver exterior hardware. The cabinets are currently a standard brown that comes with track homes. We like the look of white as it's crisp and bright. Joshua wants to tear out the counters and replace them with concrete counter-tops. If you're not familiar with the look of them, you can see a pic here. We are kind of obsessed with the look. We'd rather go to Fiji than put in granite, so this is our affordable compromise ;)

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Backyard

If you're familiar with AZ, most back yards are a combination of a patio, and rocks-- lots of rocks. Fortunately, we found a house that does not have backyard neighbors but instead has a view of the local, green lush pecan groves. It adds at least some greenery! We want to plant some trees, add a raised garden, and put in grass (fake or not, TBD). Another goal, one of the biggest, is to get a fireplace. The stars and weather are amazing here at night, and we need to get out and enjoy it this summer!

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Walls

I've spent the last month or so picking up wooden frames at thrift stores for $.50-$2. Right before we moved into our new house, Joshua spray painted them all white for me and I have a few walls where I'm planning on doing a collage with the frames. There are so many interesting ways to display them, and if you have any recommendations on this, please let me know!

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Master Bedroom

I found this picture the other day and gasped! This is pretty much exactly our bedroom wall color right now. It caught Joshua's eye, too, because I was scrolling through and saw this picture when I was sitting next to him on the couch and he said, "Wait! Back up! Show me that picture again!" It's simple, chic and I love the pop of yellow. We have never had bedroom furniture in 5+ years of marriage. I guess we've just rather spend our money on traveling :) Time to grow up and get the bedroom pulled together, though... Joshua wants to make a headboard and we currently have two really cute nightstands that I might repaint again.


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Office

The office is the same light grey wall color as the rest of the house (similar in the picture above) because we couldn't be too picky. We had to get in, paint, move out of the old townhouse and move into the new house and it was just easier to paint everything, well almost everything at once. Maybe moving forward I'll switch up the color. For now, I'm trying to focus on repainting the beautiful antique desk I bought at our local thrift store for $30! Some color suggestions were teal, mint, and coral.

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Upstairs Bathroom

I love this wall color and I think I want something similar for the upstairs bathroom. It will be the bathroom where we have bathtime with Baby E and I want something kid friendly and light and yet still have contrast with the white trim. Joshua is not a fan of anything too pastel, so this would be a good compromise.

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Entry Way

We recently put up an almost identical shelf, but I love the idea of the frames behind it and the chalkboard below it, so cute!


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Downstairs 1/2 Bath

This eggplant wall color is super bold, but I'm kind of obsessed. My sister-in-law has a similar color in her bathroom and I've always loved it. She said she wouldn't mind if I copied her a little :)


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Laundry Room

How cool is this?!! A ladder to hang clothes to dry on? Brilliant.

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Linking up with The Vintage Apple