dear SSA {a love letter to my blog}

I love you. Like, really truly big puffy pink sparkly heart you.

I devote so much time to you, and yet I don't get everything I want to do to you done. Posts are forever silenced in the drafts, the spacing is all wonky (not my fault; blame Blogger) and the photos are less than amazing most of the time, but you never complain. You take what you can get, which usually isn't what you deserve.

You are the place I come to say my piece, to share my opinions, fangirl, and share my faith. My two cents on life. I'm not afraid to shout from the rooftops how much I love my youth group or my undying devotion to peanut butter sandwiches and apple as a school lunch. I can be random and I can be serious. I am free to do what I want and say what I want to say here.

Probably the best thing that has come out of you (bad mental picture) is the friendships you've made possible. For reals, the online friends I have are amazing & I love them so much. To think that I wouldn't know these people if you didn't exist makes me fall into a depression.

I love you SSA.

Inspired by this post by the slap your knee hilarious and drop dead gorgeous Erin @ Living in Yellow.

hello monday {30}

{hello monday}

{hello chilly morning}
{hello alarm. i very strongly dislike that beeping machine.}

{hello QT}
{hello breakfast of comfort food: english muffin toasted with peanut butter.}
{hello new history book}
{hello quick break to watch Netflix. shhh, don't tell!}
{hello anatomy reading}
{hello chores}
{hello lunch of grilled cheese and chips}
{hello anatomy coloring}
{hello afternoon of math}
{hello cleaning the bathroom}
{hello shower in said clean bathroom}
{hello emails & a little of the Voice on Hulu}
{hello Dad home from a long day at work}
{hello dinner}
{hello kitchen clean up}
{hello bath for the pup}
{hello Monday TV: the Bachelor & a new Castle episode. one of the best!}
{hello sweet heated bed}

{hello monday}

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This post was inspired by the one and only Lisa Leonard. If you'd like to take part in this blogging meme, make sure to give credit where credit is due. Don't forget to link up in Lisa's comments as well!

how muchloveilly brightened my {gray} day

 {Shirt} Target {Skinnes} Old Navy {Headband} Gift-MuchLoveIlly Etsy shop {Watch} Gift-Target

The Christmas I received my second handmade headband from Emily, purchased from the one and only Ilene's shop, Much Love Illy. Seriously, I was SO thrilled when I opened the package I squealed. Or at least I did in that ol' mind of mine.

It is oh so comfy, and the elastic part of the headband NEVER gives me a headache like the el cheapo Walmart ones. Plus, it's just SO stylin'! I'm be remiss if I didn't mention just how many compliments I received on the headband alone. Everyone loved it!

So the gist of this post? Go buy a headband (or brooch! or poppy ring!) from Ilene. It'll make both hers and my day, I'm sure. And, in parting, I'd title this photo "Hey! I have no idea how to look cute in outfit posts. Help?!"

All photo credit goes to sweet Emmylou!

Happy Thursday, readers. I hope your day was not quite as awkward as that photo up there.

it's the little things {link up #4}

One of the most gorgeous and talented blogging women you'll ever met, Lindsay, started hosting a link up called "It's the Little Things" to remind us that God blesses in a not-so big ways. A whole day can turn around when I get a special little something in the mail or my favorite show is on TV that night, and it's great to document the little things God puts in our day to show us he loves us!




...applying for part time jobs. Frustrating because I haven't been hired anywhere, but excited because HOLY COW I'm filling out a job application. & I'll get monies in mah pocket.
...puppy snuggles from a ::ahem:: no pooping dog. Bullet needs to learn that the grass is his bathroom. That is all. 
...sitting in the Coffee Shack writing this post. & eating a panini with the jazz music blasting behind me.
...reading blogs on my Kindle Fire. Thanks to Emily for reminding me about
...wearing my brother's shirt. Forget about waiting until I'm married to wear men's clothes...I can go into Clark's closet and have plaid shirts all ready for me to wear ;)
...lock-ins at church with my best friends. 

Happy Friday readers! I'm off the aforementioned lock-in for WOL girls...pictures to come!

blimey cow

A year or so ago, I used to love Julian Smith. My friends and I would laugh our heads off at this video...and this one. And maybe this one too. Oh yeah, can't forget this one. TOO funny. Then we fell off the bandwagon and I forgot the awesomeness of funny YouTube videos. That is, until I watched this video that's circling around the blogosphere (and Facebook. but, ya know, i wouldn't know about that).

While Seven Lies about Homeschooling is amazing, Stupid People Who Do Stupid Things on the Internet convicted me while making me laugh so hard tears ran down my face. Just watch...




Convicting, right? I mean, I do things for the sole reason of telling ya'll about it. It's not nessicarily a bad thing because it keeps me accountable on projects, New Years resolutions, etc...but when it gets in the way of your life, that's when it gets bad.

Let's vow to share the good AND the bad with each other without losing who we are in the process. Agreed? Agreed.

hello monday {28}

{hello monday}

{hello after Christmas crash}

{hello after 9:30AM wake up call}

{hello lying around}

{hello WOL Quiet Times}

{hello childhood breakfast of a brown sugar poptart}

{hello chores}

{hello web surfing}

{hello playing with the pup}

{hello PB sandwich with apple for lunch while rewatching Doctor Who}

{hello afternoon watching Bullet for Clark [he went into town with Mama]}

{hello cleaning up puppy spills}

{hello fire}

{hello 2 hour puppy nap & blog design working}

{hello refreshing Dr. Pepper}

{hello laundry}

{hello Mama & Clark with FOOD}

{hello singing along with my new shower radio}

{hello dinner}

{hello Netflix watching on my New Kindle Fire ::squeee::}

{hello second game of Yatzee}

{hello blogging}

{hello rerun of Castle with the family}

{hello Hunger Games reading [book review coming AS SOON as I finish]}

{hello lights out}

{hello monday}

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This post was inspired by the one and only Lisa Leonard. If you'd like to take part in this blogging meme, make sure to give credit where credit is due. Don't forget to link up in Lisa's comments as well!

hello monday {27}

{hello monday}

{hello early wake up during Christmas break}

{hello unloading firewood with Sam, a camp friend}

{hello stubbed toe [dropped a huge piece of wood on my left big toe] & something in my eye}

{hello chore filled morning}

{hello lunch}

{hello trying to find some relief for my eye}

{hello blog reading}

{hello little road trip for the afteroon}

{hello second fire of the winter}

{hello quick catnap and resting my eye [felt much better]}

{hello Monopoly with my boys}

{hello leftovers for dinner}

{hello kitchen clean up [i love turning around and seeing a sparkling kitchen before flicking off the light]}

{hello more Monopoly in front of the fire}

{hello shower}

{hello working on blog posts}

{hello Terra Nova season finale [Clark got into it so we follow along]}

{hello Hunger Games [i'm on Mockingjay. dude, intense. but more on that in another post]}

{hello lights out}

{hello monday}

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This post was inspired by the one and only Lisa Leonard. If you'd like to take part in this blogging meme, make sure to give credit where credit is due. Don't forget to link up in Lisa's comments as well!

a christmas tag

In honor of it being one {ONE?!} week until Christmas, I'd thought I'd to a little Christmas tag. But really, it's just an excuse to do yet another tag. I'm sorta addicted to them. Casey did it as well so I know it's pretty cool ;)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate & popcorn is my favorite nighttime snack. Not ever lying when I say I'll have it days in a row. 

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them...although this year Santa ::cough cough Mama & Dad cough cough:: is getting behind in setting out the presents.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. Traditional all the way.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I've always wanted to but never have. Mostly, it's because just so darn high up in the trees & heights are not my friend.

5. When do you put your decorations up? I make myself wait until after Thanksgiving, but this year we were a little late getting everything up. 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Tough question...I'd have to say green bean casserole. I'll totally addicted to the fried onions.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Again, tough question. A couple that stand out in my mind are my little bro getting a fire truck bed {he was REALLY into fire trucks that year} and reading two or three books in bed one Christmas morning waiting for everyone to get up.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? My parents never "did" Santa...plus it wasn't hard to figure out; my parents didn't hide the fact they were Christmas shopping for us.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Every year since I can remember...and it's always PJ's.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It's not a themed tree by any means. Just full of our yearly ornaments with regular ol' lights.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? LOVE IT! Sorry, all capitals had to be used. It's my favorite weather type after all. 

12. Can you ice skate? I absolutely love it, but I can't say I'm amazing. At least I don't fall down a lot.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Probably Just Dance 2. So many memories playing that game!

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Remembering that it's not about ME, but about Jesus. Without him, we would be nothing...and there would be no Christmas at all. Harsh, but true.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Crockpot candy. Recipe coming!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  Opening up the pajamas, of course! 

17. What tops your tree? A gold star that my mom spray painted YEARS ago. This year we intertwined lights inside it as well...looks amazing!

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? While I love receiving {I mean, who doesn't?!}, getting the perfect gift for someone & seeing their face light up makes me oh so happy.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? YUCK! Can't stand peppermint/mint. It's a wonder I can stand brushing my teeth.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Confession: I'm not into the holiday movies. We're going to watch It's a Wonderful Life for sure!

21. Saddest Christmas Song? Mary, Did You Know or You're Here. Total tear-jerkers.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Amazingly, You're Here. I'm a sap for sure!

Merry one-week-til-Christmas, readers!

happy birthday Simply Sarah-Anne!

Wow, time flies doesn't it? Seems like just yesterday I was pulling together Etsy sellers & writing up the giveaway posts for my first blogoversary celebration, waiting in anticipation to see who won what giveaway. But in reality, that was a year ago and you're 2 now. So, happy birthday Simply Sarah-Anne! Here's to many more blogoversaries over the coming years. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I just wrote a birthday post on my blog FOR my blog and yes, I realize that I do the same thing with human friends. I'm certifiably crazy and you can commit me to the mental institution now.

But, this blog connects me to my human (blogging) friends and I'm so grateful for that. Simply Sarah-Anne is like that mutual friend that introduced you and your best friend. Through my blog I've met so many inspiring, Christian, gorgeous (Yes, I just pulled the beauty card, but I seriously follow all the blogs that have the prettiest authors out there.) bloggers. Is it possible to be in debt to something that's not alive? Because I am forever in debt to my blog for leading me to all these wonderful ladies.


This blog means friendship to me and through that I'm encouraged on a daily basis, both in my walk with Christ and life in general. I hope it means the same to you and my readers stick around for another year...and another and another and another. 

In addition to the friends I've made, I've grown as a writer and challenged myself in so many ways. From my photography (I bought a DSLR and just this year, switched to shooting in all Manual), outfits (I used to wear blah stuff over and over again no matter what), and projects (like i said, inspiring people inspire you) I've grown so much. Call it peer pressure, but it works for me...seeing someone else do something so I can take the plunge and do it yourself.


So, happy birthday to Simply Sarah-Anne. Here's to many more friendships to be made and blog posts to be written!

the ABCs of thanksgiving {2}

Remember last year's ABCs of Thanksgiving where I linked up with Hannah's mama, Rachel? I'm doing it again this year {but different than my ::shudder:: scrapblog thing...forgive me? it was a newbie blogger mistake} and you should too!

{Another year from God} Blogging Friends, Birthdays, Books {Cameras, Camp, Clark} Dance Parties and Dad {Email} Fires, Football, Family {God} Heaven and Holidays {Inspiration} Jesus {Kindness} Laughing, Love, and Laptops {Movies and Mama} Naps and Netflix {Outfits} Playdates [the teenager kind], Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Pinterest {Quirkiness and Quiet Times} Religion {Seasons} Texting {Unfailing love [from God]} {Vacays} Word of Life program {X [just the letter. stealing that one from Rachel herself}} Youth Group {Zest [for life]}

Happy Turkey Day {gobble gobble} readers! Hope you and your family had a grand time eating yourself into a turkey coma...I know I did :)

authenic people {blog party}

You could interpret my choice to post yet another blog party {my such and such, in fact} many different ways. 1. I'm a sucker for blog parties. and 2. I'm a lazy blogger and like the "pre-made" blog posts that blog parties provide. And...yeah, that's it. Both choices are true, BTW.

Wanna join me in my laziness? Then head on over to Abigail's blog, read up on the rules, and link up to win some sweet prizes!

"Hiya! The name's Sarah-Anne, but some people call me SA...mostly because it's all around easy to say & remember. You're free to do whatever. I'm a homeschooled high school junior {say wha?!} at SC Academy, and love to take pictures of things that make me happy. Blogging is fun too! Stay awhile will ya?"

1} What's the nerdiest/geekiest/weirdest thing about you?

It's no secret that I love Doctor Who, I'm a new Hunger Games addict, and I'm not grossed out by flesh-eating beetles like the ones on Bones. Yeah, I let my inner nerd shine all the time, no exceptions. As for weirdness, I'm so organized that both my closet & drawers are color coordinated.

2} If you could live in a fictional universe from any book, movie, or television show, what would it be?

 Dude, that's hard. CHUCK has my heart, so I'd have to say it would be pretty darn cool live in Cali & be a spy.

3} Little or big, practical or frivolous, what is one of your favorite items in your house?

 Our blankets. We live in a reaaalllyyy drafty & cold house so we have about 5 blankets in the living room to curl up with on cold nights.

4} Do you like animated movies? If so, what is your favorite?

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Toy Story 3 have my heart.

5} What is your favorite household chore?

Laundry. Something about separating the loads by color and getting them all folded nice is soothing.

6} What's your favorite thing to get at Starbucks (or your favorite coffee shop)?

No secret on this: I love <3 a good Pumpkin Spice Latte.

7} What is your favorite pizza topping?

Supreme without mushrooms or onions, pleaseandthankyou.

8} Waffles or pancakes?

Dad's pumpkin pancakes are amazing, but waffles are so few & far between that I'd take them over a pancake. Sorry, Dad. 

9} Do you like to play games? If so, what is your favorite?

Yes, I play board games and physical games, but I love a good game of football.

10} Have you ever let anyone win a game?

Oh probably. But usually only if it's a little kiddo I'm playing against. 

11} Have you ever dyed your hair?

Nooo. And I never plan too.

12} Do you make your bed every morning?

Yes. Another weird & obsessive thing about me.

13} Picasso or Norman Rockwell?

Dude, I'm NOT a art person so I could not tell you the difference. 

14} Do you like carpet, tile, or hardwood floors?

Hardwood floors! I love carpet too but our 70's blue and maroon carpet give me nightmares. 

15} If you could put one thing in a safe under your bed, what would it be?

Myself. Also, my box of treasures, the book I'm currently reading, and my camera, but that's 4 things.

16} What's your favorite condiment?

Mayo! Love the stuff. 

17} Have you ever thrown up on someone (excluding when you were a child)?

Yes, my mom {but who hasn't?} I also manage to throw up on MYSELF from time to time if I'm just so exhausted from puking for 12 hours straight. True story. 

18} What was the last thing that made you laugh?

A text from Jack. Or maybe it was his bro Sam...it's hard to tell who's who when they take turns trying to confuse me. 

19} Think fast...what's the first song that pops into your head?

I always have a song playing in my head, so that's not really a fair question to ask me. BUT! Jar of Hearts has a special place in my ::ahem:: heart. 

What are you waiting for?! Go link up with Abigail already!  

the hunger games

I adore Lauren for introducing me to Doctor Who...more specifically, the Tenth Doctor but that's a whole 'nother post. Trust me & Lauren on this one. She's awesome in about every other way too, from her awesome slikkz in the kitchen and her camera to her bold outfit choices. I love her to death. Ilene's style inspired me to do outfit posts in the first place, and I love every.single.one of her pieces in her Etsy shop. And then there's Samantha...we basically have the same blog name {great minds think alike} & she has the best Pinterest posts. Plus, she's oh so pretty and has a great sense of style. She also influenced my opinion towards Tim Tebow. That's all I'm saying on that.

These 3 girls all share a common bond: their love for the book trilogy The Hunger Games. My cousin Sam had read the books last spring but I though they would be too weird for me. That was at the beginning of the year...and when I watched the trailer {which released yesterday}, I decided to give it a try. A few texts later, Sam arranged to give me the first book so I could see what all the fuss is about.

I've got one book to finish but I'm afraid that I'm going to put that one aside to start the Hunger Games. Anything I should know about it? Do tell!

**UPDATE** Yeah, I couldn't wait. I read the first two chapter last night {stayed up wayyy late to read 'em} & had to restrain myself from reading more. I'm going to have to physically hold myself back until I've finished the other book. If you're looking for me during Thanksgiving break, I'll be curling up with a cuppa tea & the book. Kthanksbai.