Pieces of Glitter

These nails really did bring me a lot of joy this week

Delish late night treats from The Crow Bar

Got the bracelet I won from Kristin's blog and love it so much!

It's made by Oia Jules, check out her other gorgeous pieces

We had our Rooted celebration at church this week (end of a 10 week long small group) and there were tons of people who got baptized. One of my favorite things to watch ever :)

McDonald's vanilla cone...never ceases to brighten my day

I love the houses on Balboa, and how they decorate for every single holiday possible

Most importantly, it is my amazing Dad's birthday today. Daddy: the older I get, the more I have learned to value what an incredible man you have been to me, your wife, and your family. Thank you for always providing for us, for loving and treasuring me, for knowing more about music and culture than I ever will, for being the "cool dad," and for allowing God to transform you and use your gifts in such beautiful and inspiring ways. I love you with all my heart and will always be your little girl :)

I'm out in Palm Desert with my fam and loving every minute of sunshine and desert air. Literally one of my favorite places to be. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you next week!

xoxo

Sara B

Beauty

Via

A topic I have been spending a lot of time thinking about lately has been that of beauty. Of what it means to be beautiful, what causes us to feel beautiful, and the sad reality that many girls (and women) don't feel beautiful themselves. It's amazing to me that beauty is so much more than what the world tells us is attractive and acceptable. That women that the world would see as gorgeous and beautiful can still feel so ugly and insecure inside. So that tells us that it starts with something beyond outward appearances. That beauty doesn't lie in the achievement of a "perfect body," a certain weight, flawless makeup, a cute outfit, or lovely hair. Beauty starts much deeper, in our hearts, and in the thoughts we've collected about ourselves.

I can't separate my thoughts and feelings about this (and many other topics) from my faith, so I will say what I know, and what has been true for me. But recently I have been so aware of how beautiful I feel. Part of me wants to feel embarrassed for admitting that, because it seems arrogant or prideful, but the other part of me wants to embrace it, relish in it, and shout it from the rooftops. Nothing outward about me has changed for me to feel that way, but it has come from an amazing realization that I am made perfectly and completely by the Creator of the entire universe. I hear Him speak words of affirmation, love, and acceptance over me and I know that He wouldn't have me any other way. He knows me fully and still chooses to love me, He knit me together in my mother's womb, called me wonderful, and thinks precious thoughts about me countless times a day (Psalm 139). He created me in His image (Genesis 1), gave me purpose, and destined me for great things. And it's in these truths that I found my beauty and worth. 

I wish there was a way for me to sit face-to-face with every girl who feels ugly, insecure, or feels the need to search for validation of her beauty in the attention (bad and good) from a man, and tell her that she is beautiful just the way she is. That her worth lies in something much deeper and more valuable than the temporary compliments or looks she gets on a day-to-day basis. And even more than that, I want her to hear the words of Jesus telling her, "You are perfect just the way that you are, I delight in you and love you more than you'll ever know. I have a plan and a purpose and hope for your future."

So that is my prayer for you and all the women I know. That we would experience this beautiful truth and be women that shine with a beauty from within that this world could never touch. That we bring beauty and peace with us where ever we go, and commit to fight a strong and diligent battle to preserve our beauty by protecting our hearts and bodies. You are beautiful, and you are worth more than you ever know.

From my heart,

Sara B

Dressing Up

Via

I miss dressing up. Not having a reason to get dressed up every day for work can definitely have it's perks, but I've realized that not only do I miss it, it also makes me feel less creative with my outfits when it comes time to actually be cute for something. It's like I'm out of practice. So in the meantime I live vicariously through my fave style blogs and fashionable friends. Here are a few looks I would love to copy and for now I'll just file them away as inspiration until I have an excuse to put my fancy pants (or skirt) on.

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xoxo

Sara B

Glamour Shots

Couldn't help but share some glamour shots of my gorgeous, freshly groomed, fluffy baby from this weekend, basking in the sun

Then there was me from this weekend

Who apparently needs to take tips from my cat on how to have prettier hair

(these wispies have been out of control lately)

Hope you had a restful, glamorous, and disheveled weekend my dears

xoxo

Sara B

Pieces of Glitter

Our neighbors trimmed their trees so now I can see the water from our balcony! Makes me so happy even if it's just a super small piece of it :)

New fave shirt from Forever (only $9) that perfectly matched my neon toes

Am working on getting better at cooking and being domestic so I made these stuffed bell peppers the other night. Used this recipe and subbed out the ground beef for ground turkey instead. Turned out pretty well!

Cinnamon life cereal + vanilla soy milk + strawberries + sweet tea = breakfast

Still happy about these

Still wearing my leopard pants

Woke up early to walk with a friend and was in awe of how beautiful the morning was. I've been such a stay up late/sleep in person lately that I forgot how amazing mornings can be (once you pass the point of wanting to hurt somebody when your alarm goes off)

So peaceful

Hiked El Moro Canyon (Crystal Cove) with a friend from college and it was so wonderful! Perfect mix of sweaty exercise, peaceful strolling, and beautiful views

First Ducks game in so many years! And we won!

Midnight showing of Hunger Games. With my birthday cake Oreos. The movie was uh-mazing. I would easily make another trip to the theaters for round 2

Happy Friday to you. I hope you have a magnificent weekend!!

xoxo

Sara B

Catching Up...

Instead of coming up with a blog post for today, I'm spending my night catching up on some reading, which is always somewhat stressful since I find myself in the middle of about 4 books right now (see below).

(started this so long ago and just haven't gotten around to finishing it, I really need to)

I also really want to read The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller, a book I've had multiple friends recommend. Way too many books and not enough time!!

I'm also catching up on my sleep so I'll be good and rested for tonight's midnight showing of Hunger Games!!!!! Seriously so, so excited.

Are you guys reading any good books? Headed to see Hunger Games tonight or this weekend? 

Hope you have a marvelous Thursday!!

xoxo

Sara B

Glitter Rain on Gray Nails

I think I might say this every time I paint my nails, but these are definitely my new favorite. Stolen straight from pinterest, I decided to try these nails and was so happy with how they turned out!

I used Essie's Cocktail Bling as the base (2 coats) then Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday for the glitter (best glitter polish ever). 

For the first coat of glitter I dabbed it along the top of my nails, making them almost like a glitter french manicure. Then for the second coat of glitter, I painted a little bit farther down on the nail, allowing the top part to become thicker with glitter and the bottom to have a more sparse glitter look to it. So easy and I love how they look! Makes me think of gray skies that are being invaded by glitter rain :)

They look pretty similar to my inspiration don't you think?? (I just need a better camera...)

Original source - The Nailasaurus. Such an awesome nail polish blog.

If it's raining where you are, I wish you glitter rain to brighten up your gray skies. It's supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees here today so I'll soak up the sun extra for you :)

xoxo

Sara B

Blog Love

Just felt like giving a few shout-outs to some fab friends of mine who happen to have equally as fabulous of blogs! Love this creative world we live in.

For awesome fashion and fun lifestyle/nail polish posts, check out Bettina over at The Kinas

For healthy living and great recipes, visit Tiffany at Tiffany, Naturally

(Fun Fact about Tiffany: we met when I was the ripe age of 3 and her family bought the house my family was living in! Our families have been friends ever since). She's also a part of the Invisible Children family whom I respect and support so much!

Kim at Forward Home has awesome home and DIY posts and has a great eye for design herself.

Kristin's blog Life & Food shows incredible recipes (local Californian and Mexican cuisine) and has beautiful photography. (How yummy does that chia lemonade look?? I think I need to make some).

Enjoy some fun new blog browsing and have a terrific Tuesday!! If you want even more blogs to check out, look to the right and click through my "Fabulous Friendsies."

xoxo

Sara B

Favorite New Snack

Hi friends and Happy Monday! So this might be my most random post to date but I wanted to share an amazing snack secret I recently learned with you! One of my mom's best friends taught this to us and I am blown away that I didn't know how to do this until now. If any of you have ever had Lavash Cracker Bread, you will definitely appreciate this. We grew up with that as a favorite snack (with melted cheese, tomatoes, black olives...all kinds of toppings on it) but it's next to impossible to find in the stores. So anyways, here's a quick and easy substitution for it!!

1. Take a regular flour tortilla

2. Put it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes (you don't even need to use a plate - as long as your microwave is clean of course)

3. Then Ta-DA! A crispy delicious tortilla comes out that's somewhere between soft tortilla chips and a big cracker!

I tear off big pieces or crunch it into smaller ones and then you can dip it in salsa, guacamole, bean dip, hummus, etc. You can also put toppings on it, such as cheese, or vegetables and then put it back in the microwave or oven to heat it up. So quick, so easy, and so so yummy!

Sorry if this is totally old news for you, but I'm so happy I discovered it!

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Sara B