Dear Facebook, Instagram and Twitter...

Dear Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, 

You've hurt me. You've changed things. At first, I loved you. I trusted you. I thought you were going to help me feel more connected and closer to the people I love... but you lied. 

You tricked me. 

Everyday you ask me, "Whats on your mind?" but lately, I don't even respond. 

I don't trust you anymore. 

Since you came around, I feel more lonely and disconnected than before. I may get messages from people now and again, filling me with a small sense of hope that I am connected... but the lack of real, genuine, human interaction is missing...

I miss the way their eyes sparkle when they say something meaningful. I miss the way they move their hands as they describe a story. I miss the sound of their voice. I miss the wrinkles near their eyes showing years of laughter. I miss witnessing the tears as they talk about whats aching their soul. I miss being able to hug them as our conversation ends. I miss everything.. 

You have taught us to be lazy in our relationships. We spend hours each week keeping up, keeping tabs and adding to the noise. To "follow", rather than being present and doing life together. To "comment", hiding behind a screen, rather than speaking love and truth in person. You've taught us to tailor our pictures, our statuses, our posts, trying to prove that we are in fact...happy. You've given us the easy way out in relationships, that when things go wrong for one of us, we offer a quick spat of words, instead of being by each others side. You've taken the LIFE out of life and replaced it with thumbs scrolling aimlessly looking for connection, but 20 minutes later still feeling the same. 

I am tired. I am lonely. I am frustrated. Almost 900 people on my "friends" list and really I may only know the depths of a select few... and it certainly is not because of you. 

You distract me from being present because I feel the need to keep up with my news feed. I feel trapped. My heart says to get rid of you. To stop playing your twisted games and break free. Fears creep into my mind of all the others you've tricked and confused and it leaves me wondering... Will I miss out? Will I be forgotten if I don't add to the feed? 

Sincerely, 

Just one of the millions

A Campfire Gathering

I love parties. I especially love when there is thought put into the little details. Pinterest is an amazing thing and lately I get lost on it! Of course, it's advertisement and visuals of everything beautiful and pretty...So, I spend a half hour or two getting lost in dream world of all the things I would love to do, see, have happen or explore! I am fighting the temptation to go look at it now!!

Last Saturday, I put together a little party. It was for my birthday, but more so just an excuse to throw a party and invite a few friends over to enjoy a planned out event. I found a few ideas on pinterest and then had a few ideas of my own and when they collided... I was so thrilled with the outcome! I even made my first lattice top pie!!

I'd say it was an alright first try! I can't wait to experiment now with different pie crust tops!! After I got the pie in the oven... it was time to start making the homemade strawberry lemonade...LOTS and LOTS of lemons...

I then put the strawberry lemonade in these little jars that I made! Found the idea on pinterest!

I made a few other desserts and treats and then began to set the scene...

The picture above makes me so happy. It looks exactly the way I had dreamed it to look like after planning it in my head for the week before. Isn't it fun to make life pretty!!

We hung lanterns from string and put candles in Atlas jars around the walkways and the campfire... what fun Andrew and I had putting it all together.

Stay tuned... I have an AMAZING giveaway coming your way on MONDAY! I have contacted some of my very favorite shops and have rounded up some of the best to bring YOU a giveaway in celebration of me turning one year older!! You WONT want to miss this one!!

<3