Insta-Fri

The idea behind Insta-Fri is every Friday from the past week (Friday to Friday) I will post a favorite photo from my Instagram (a_sweetfreelife), cool right?! :) This photo was taken while Hubby and I were on our weekday getaway this past Tuesday to celebrate our one year anniversary. We had nearly escaped being poured on and as we headed to our dinner reservation, in Estes Park, we spied two beautiful 'bows in the sky! Breathtaking. Good reminder, when God makes a promise He always keeps it. Feel free to link up in the comments with your Instagram feed and share your favorite photo from this past week! Yay for Friday! 

Love, 

Bethany V. 

Monday Reflections

It's  known fact. I've never been a cooking extraordinaire. Can I cook? Yes. Am I  any good? I'm okay. Do I enjoy it? Sometimes. I've alway enjoyed baking a whole lot more. I have a sweet tooth for sure and who can say no to carbs, calories and chocolate?! There's a family story about my cooking skills and it goes something like this: My brother Nathan is a very good cook, he's more like a chef. When I lived at home he made all the dinners during the week and it was divine. One day he was going to be gone for the evening. He was discussing with my mom what we should do for dinner that night.

I offered, "I can make dinner, if you want."

"What would you make?" he questioned. (Why he would question what I would make, I don't know...)

"Ummm [pause] I can make tacos?"

"Oh, yeah. You can make tacos."

Thanks, bro. Just tacos, huh? Yep. That's one of my cooking achievements is taco making. After all our travels I've really enjoyed cooking the last few weeks. I just feel like I keep seeing over and over how its the small things I take for granted. Its the small things in the day to day living I complain about and overlook how wonderful they are. When you're on the road it seems like easy, unhealthy food is the staple. The last couple weeks I've been loving using our dishes, pans, silverware and buying fresh produce! Dinners from scratch seem like a luxury. Even Hubby commented that it's been nice to have some home cooked dinners. No more microwave dinners for a while (at least for me) - yay! So next time I'm complaining (in my head of course, I never complain out loud ;) about making dinners, I'm wanting to remember that it's a luxury. Be thankful Bethany and enjoy it! I'm not saying this will happen every time. I know it won't. I'm hoping to catch myself at least 1 out of 5 times and be thankful. :)

Tonight I made dinner in my own kitchen, with my own  dishes, cooking supplies and fresh produce.You guessed it, we had tacos!

P.S. Above, is a photo of chef Nathan's tacos. They're AMAZING!

Love,
Bethany V.

Sweet Style // Emerald & White

When I lived in Colorado I didn't wear shorts all that often, but here in Oklahoma when it's upper 90s and into the 100s, shorts are WONDERFUL! These shorts are a great length, not too short or too long and the shirt from Old Navy is so comfy and dressy at the same time. I'm still trying to figure out how to take pictures without a tripod (Hubby if you're reading...Christmas idea ;). Right now Bret is working out of town and so I don't have anyone to take a picture for me. Soooo, I had to get creative. My make-shift tripod today was the grill and a piece of wood! Yeah. I really hope nobody was watching. What are you wearing to keep cool? Share in the comments, I'd like to meet you. :)

 Trying to get hair in my mouth and succeeding ;) // Shirt: Old Navy, Shorts: Old Navy,
Shoes: DSW last year, Necklace: Kohls Watch: Sense of Place

Until next time....

Love,
Bethany V.

Nebraska // Travels 1

I kept my promise didn't I? You thought I wasn't going to post for another six months, right? All I can say is it happens and you can't get rid of me that easy (lol!). Here's the first state we spent some time in. Nebraska! It has a special place in my Hubby's heart. 1) His grandmother grew up on a farm near Hebron 2) his grandparents had a dairy farm in Omaha 3) Hubby was born and raised in Omaha for the first few years of his life. We've been in Nebraska about three times this past year and I'd have to say it's gaining a spot in my heart too. What? Nebraska? I almost can't believe my fingers are typing this?! Well, traveling around has given me an appreciation for each state. From what I've seen, they each have their own beauty and they each have something to offer. I used to think Colorado had it all (okay I still think that, moving on!). We spent one of our nights hiking (Hubby hiking, me huffing and puffing) "The Monument" in Scottsbluff and the view was spectacular!

                 

                                 

This tunnel went right through one of the bluffs near the top of the monument! The monument itself towers about 800 feet above the North Platt River. According to the National Park Service it was the second most referred to landmark on the famed pioneer trails such as the Oregon Trail ("you have dysentery, would you like to stop?" Wow I just dated myself), Mormon Trail and California Trail. Okay, enough history, here are some more photos. ;)

Please don't tell him I took this photo, he doesn't know. It'll be our secret, okay?! He's just so darn handsome I couldn't help myself.

No, someone doesn't live inside this rock. I thought it was a chimney too (kidding). It's actually a surveyor's pole. I can't remember when it was surveyed and Google didn't provide me with anything (what's with that?). At one point in time the pole was flush with the surrounding rock, so you can see how much of the monument has eroded over time. I wasn't a bit surprised as it was very breezy up there! The view took my breath away. I tried to picture myself as a pioneer. After traveling miles upon miles of prairie, this would have been an inspiring spot to take it all in. 

I'll be back with some more of our state travels in the next weeks. I also have a DIY coming up and other exciting stuff too! Happy Tuesday and see you soon!

Love, 

Bethany V.

Monday Reflections

The last six weeks have been a whirlwind of activities and I'm happy to be back home! I will not bore you with all the details, lets just say I spent the last 6 weeks in 4 different states (more on that coming soon)! It was fun and a bit crazy at the same time. The last week was bittersweet as I was ready to go home and at the same time I was sad as it may be a while before I travel with Hubby. Why? I was recently handed the ticket to find another job. So I will be job searching for awhile here in good 'ole Okie. The reason I'm reflecting today is because I've noticed a pattern in my life where I don't really fully appreciate something until it's gone. Does that ever happen to you? No? Oh, well guess I'm the only one ;). In the last year and half a lot of things have changed for me: I got married, moved to a different state, adapted to a different life-style, got used to living with another person (who happens to be my best friend) and so on! I've been realizing there were so many things I took for granted and the sudden change brought out how comfortable I'd become. Being uncomfortable is challenging. I've found myself wishing for things to be back in my comfort state. Now with the recent job loss I had a sudden jolt of reality. How many times had I complained? How many times had I considered I would be happier doing something else? Now that it's gone I find myself wishing it back. It was comfortable. It worked. I knew what was expected of me and what was required. Now all that has changed. It's as if I can be unhappy with the present and then when it changes I begin to think I'd be happier with the past. Crazy, right?

I just finished a wonderful book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I'm sure you've heard of it or already read it, I can be behind the eight ball on these things! She writes on the attitude of cultivating a thankful, in the moment, heart of gratitude in Chapter 4: I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment. Wow. So simple and yet SO difficult to do. I'm purposing to not wish for what was. I'm not going (Lord help me) to wish for this season to be over. I'm going to ENJOY it right now. For tomorrow it will be gone. Reminds my of what my Lord said, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Matthew 6:34). It's easy to talk about, Lord, help me live it. Next up I'll be sharing some photos from our recent travels. Stay tuned......


Love,
Bethany V.