me : this is not goodbye

Hi all! I'm interrupting this week's regular "thursday thoughtfuls" feature to bring you a BIG announcement: we're moving.

Okay, that's it, shows over.






Wait, what am I saying? Who am I kidding? I couldn't possibly call myself a blogger and let that be all I write about this event! And since there's really no great way to start anything like this, let me just dive right in. Joey is a Youth Minister and we've been here at Cactus Drive for almost 3 years now. When Joey started out as a Youth Minister he said he could do it forever. That he might be one of those Youth Minister "lifers" because he loved it so much. And he doesn't like it when some ministers use Youth Ministry as a step-ladder into a pulpit somewhere. He doesn't think that is fair to the YM lifers and to the kids.

But now, Joey is going to be a preacher at Hillside in Plains, TX. Some people are calling it a promotion, telling him he's moving up but that's not how we view it at all. It's just that the passion for preaching has been burning hotter and hotter in Joey and he feels like he's being called into a different ministry. Fortunately, the church we're moving to is a tiny little place and we'll get to continue to do Youth & Family Ministry as well as Joey getting to preach. Talk about some wonderful blessings from God. It's amazing how God knows exactly what we need and starts leading us there before we even know what we need.

We're very excited about all of the possibilities and potential we see at Hillside. Plains is a wonderful little community and even though people keep talking about how it's such a small town, in reality , compared to Summerfield, America (where I am originally from) it's quite the metropolis. It has a couple of restaurants, a little grocery store, a library, a bank, etc. So see... like I said in my "About Me" people who think they're small-town have no idea until they've lived in Summerfield. ;)

Joey is going to get to preach, work with youth, be involved in sports (including be on on the sidelines at football games! Yes, his little football lovin' heart went pitter-patter when he found out about that!), have coffee with men in town, etc. It's everything he's been wanting!

I'm going to get to work with Children's Ministry, Ladies Ministry, be a hostess (agh! I love that, I'm so excited!) and just be involved in a close-knit community. It's everything I've been wanting! So you see, the blessings are bountiful. The excitement continues to grow and we're so looking forward to it.

But every ray of sunshine causes a shadow somewhere. Our shadow comes in the way of leaving some people that we dearly love behind. People that have been loving and encouraging and supportive. People that I call my friends and I hope we can continue our friendship. But this is not goodbye. Our address will change, who we worship with will change, but the friendships are not over and this is not goodbye. But instead, this is just a thank you. Thank you for letting us worship with you for 3 years. Thank you for letting us spend time with you and your children for 3 years. Thank you for loving on us. You, the special ones, you know who you are. We love you. We hope to keep in contact and please come see us. I genuinely, sincerely mean that. ♥

February 14th, 2010

Volunteering at Carpenter's Kitchen in Lubbock. Teaching the Youth Group what *true* love really looks like.

Church Camp 2009

I stayed with the girls in their cabin. It really brought us closer together. Literally.

Church Camp 2009

Packing up to leave... we're all exhausted but sad to leave.

Collide : Youth Advance 2011

We got to see our "Total Package" baptized by his dad.

Collide : Youth Advance 2011

Love can build a bridge...

Collide : Youth Advance 2011

Overcoming literal obstacles teaches overcoming spiritual obstacles.

Collide : Youth Advance

Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the lord of them.

*************

Thanks for these 3 years. Don't forget us!

♥

me : out with the old, in with the new

Hi everyone! Man... do I really know how to pick the best time for things or what?!?! You know how Saturday I decided on a whim to give my blog here a little facelift? Well I've been thinking about re-vamping my entire business of blog, Etsy shop, Facebook Page, etc. and making one cohesive brand name. I've had the Vivat Regina thing going on since I started my Etsy and I first I loved it, but in the past several month or so I've decided that it's just not working for me anymore. And since I can't change the name of my site on Etsy, I've known that I needed to do a complete re-vamp soon. And today, I decided that I just didn't have enough going on in my life and I decided to start that re-vamp today. Ta-DAH! ♥

So... I've got a LOT of editing, tweaking, switching etc. to do but for those of you who love me and love following me on this crazy ride called life, here's some new stuff for you:

New Facebook Page: Live Delightfully

New Email Address: livedelightfully (at) yahoo [dot] com

New Twitter: (well, old twitter, new name) reginakayxo

New Etsy Shop: http://www.livedelightfully.etsy.com/ [note, there is NOTHING in this yet. I just created it. I'll add stuff... well, maybe in a few weeks.]

Like I said, I've got a LOT of stuff to change now but I know that change is good and eventually, all of this is going to mesh together so wonderfully and I'm just gonna LOVE it all!

Thanks for following along with all of my shennanigans! ♥

inspiration/goodies : shades of summer s11:f9

Hi ya'll! Have you missed the shades of summer series? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my beloved series. In fact, it's been only the opposite. I decided that I loved this series so much I want to continue doing it year 'round. But then I had to figure out when I would switch to fall/autumn and all the logistics of everything and well... I suppose you don't really need to know the inner working of my crazy mind, but know this: shades of summer will continue through August but because I started it so early, I'm skipping a week or two here and there to even things out. The creative side of me likes to start things and new ideas and just embrace them. Then the OCD side of me kicks in and has to make everything even and equal and bring order to my creative chaos. Really, there's a constant battle between my left brain and right brain. It can be exhausting sometimes. haha.

Anyway, I say all of that to say this: I will continue the shades series throughout the year, the fall/autumn series will begin the first week in September and here is the next edition of shades of summer. Enjoy! :)

Welcome to shades of summer s11:f9

This week's inspiration comes from this beautiful photograph:

{hot pink}

clouds at sunset after the summer rain

the very middle of the white peony flowers that grow in Granny & Papa's yard

{goldenrod}

dandelion flowers

sunflowers growing in Papa's garden

{navy}

Papa's Dickies that he wears so often

the curtains blowing in the breeze

And now for some goodies inspired by these lovely colors:

1. Chalcedony Necklace - $29

2. Dryer Balls or Baby Toy - $17

3. Howlite Beads - $1.91

4. Tote/Messenger - $31

5. Paper Star - $20

6. Boutonniere - $7.50

7. T-Shirt Bracelet - $4.75

8. Navy Pearls - $2.15

9. Bikini Ornament - $6.50

Summer is wrapping up. I can feel the change in the air. In the mornings when I go start the sprinkler and sit out on the patio for a few minutes, it feels cooler and crisper... maybe it's my imagination but I feel like fall or autumn is on it's way and I'm SOO excited! I know pretty soon we need to go on a back-to-school shopping spree for the kiddos. It's crazy, we weren't sure we were going to have them all of the Spring Semester and here we are about to start the Fall Semester! I guess that just goes to show that you can trust CPS when they say it's a 0-3 month long placement. Yeah right. But it's totally fine with me! I'm loving it!

Seeing all of the Back-to-School items popping up in all of the stores reminds me of You've Got Mail. When NY152 tells Shopgirl that if he knew her address he would send her a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. [insert hopeless romantic sigh here] "Don't you just love New York in the fall?" -- I think I would like to visit New York next fall... yep, that sounds like a pretty grand plan don't you think?

Which brings me to the question, what do you call it: Autumn or Fall?

fashion : shabby apple double take

I'm so in love with all things Shabby Apple... like this ensemble I just put together on my Polyvore:

Shabby Apple 3 by reginakay featuring gold earrings

Top
Gold earrings, $18
Gold bracelet, $39
Dorothy Perkins flower brooch, £7
Dorothy Perkins flower brooch, £7
Shabby Apple - North Shore
Shabby Apple - Jayden, $45
California Sunset, $25

inspiration : blog facelift & garden daydreams

I didn't wake up this morning and decide to makeover my blog. Nope. Not at all. In fact, I woke up this morning with grand plans of grocery shopping and cleaning house. But as I sat down at my computer and looked at my blog, I decided to add this and change that which meant changing all of those and tweaking some of that. One thing led to another and before I could stop myself, my blog had a new header, a new blog button, a new layout and resized buttons. Whoa!

And now that the grocery shopping is also done I'm about to go start some laundry and vacuum the house, but as I do, you should know that I'm day-dreaming about gardens and outdoor parties. Oh to have the money and time to create these looks... maybe one day... hopefully one day soon. ;)

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This is gorgeous landscaping...

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This is what my dream garden looks like. Although mine would be full of delicious fruits and vegetables.

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And of course, with my lovely garden and landscaping, I would have lovely garden parties...

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Where I would serve all sorts of delicious and decadent goodies...

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And at night we would sit under a tent with fabulous lighting...

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Or perhaps we'd sit out on out-door couches, under the stars and twinkle lights.... ♥

That's what I'm daydreaming about today, what are you daydreaming about?

inspiration : thursday thoughtfuls

Hi ya'll!! Today is Thursday which is kind of becoming one of my favorite days of the week. Most of the hard part of the work week is over. The weekend is on the horizon but it's not here yet so there's no pressure to try to cram all of the many things I want to do into one Saturday and part of a Sunday. 

Thursday is hopeful... relaxed...productive. It's brimming with possibilities sans pressures. Yep, I really love Thursdays. Plus, I get to bring you: 

And I do really love thursday thoughtfuls.

And even though I don't start out having a theme for the week (except for cases like Mother's Day and HP 7.2 release), it seems that every week things come together just so and I end up with a theme. This week, the theme is truth. In a world where people see grey, not black and white, it's important to remember that there are truths out there. Truths to believe in, truths about myself, truths about love. Here are some truths that are especially true for me:

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Here's a truth about me... it's hard for me to apologize. I'm usually not the person to start out apologizing, but that is something I'm working on. Joey has learned throughout our marriage that it may take me a while (hours, days, maybe even months) before I apologize, but when I do, he knows that it is very sincere, I've put lots of thought into it and I mean it with every fiber of my being. But don't worry, I'll keep on working on apologizing more quickly.

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Yes... Amen.

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If Joey came to me and told me he was going to let me choose: an expensive diamond necklace, or spending all of the money he would have spent on the necklace to buy me flowers throughout the next several months, I would pick the flowers. Flowers just make things better. That's why you give people flowers when they lose a loved one. ♥

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Oh this is so true... so, so, so true.

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I love this. I would love it in red with white print for my office. My life is far from perfect, but it's wonderful to me.

Do you have any truths that you believe in whole-heartedly? Care to share? :)

fashion : shabby apple splendor

An outfit I put together using some absolutely LOVELY Shabby Apple goods...

shabby apple set 1 by reginakay featuring a floral tote

Floral tote, $25
Gold Bracelets, $25
Passionate, $25
Gold Fill Champagne Swarovski Earrings, $25

fashion : the summer of weddings, dresses but not wedding dresses

This summer I've been to 4 weddings. That's quite a lot considering I've only been to I think 5 weddings in the past 5 years and that I went to my first wedding (since my own almost 5 years ago) just last year. Like I said, this summer has definitely been the summer of weddings. But it's also been the summer of dresses. I've bought 5 dresses in the past 3 months, which is a lot since before that I've probably bought 5 dresses in the past 5 years. I'm just really loving dresses this year for some reason and I think they are perfect! Maybe it's because I like that I just have to buy one thing instead of buying an "outfit". Maybe it's because I'm losing a little weight and feeling better about myself. Who knows why really? I could sit here and psycho-analyze myself all day, but then, that wouldn't really fall under the category of "fashion" and wouldn't be nearly as much fun to look at.

Here are some dresses that I've bought this year:

via Target

Simply Vera via Kohl's

Not gonna lie, I don't wear the belt with it. Also the gathers at the top ripped and I had to restitch them. But I actually think it looks better this way than it did before. Eat your heart out Vera Wang... ;)

Not pictured I also have a LBD by Daisy Fuentes from Kohl's, a tan number that I got from Maurice's for only $4 and a psychedelic dress from Cato's.

Here are a few dresses I'd like to have:

via Shabby Apple

I desperately want this dress to wear with my cowboy cowgirl boots I got for my birthday this year. And of course, I'd have to wear some big flashy jewelry with it. :D

via Maurice's

These would look awesome with my peep-toe wedges!!!

via Shabby Apple

I kid you not, I've wanted this dress from the moment I saw it. Once I hit my first big weightloss goal, this baby is MINE!

And of course you can't have new dresses without new shoes/boots. Here's what I'm wearing with my new dresses:

Candie's via Kohl's

These are INCREDIBLY comfortable! Seriously! I absolutely love wearing them because they look awesome and they feel great. Joey doesn't appreciate the nearly 5 inch platform to much but he deals with it. ;)

Merona via Target

Old West

My birthday boots! I love them!

What are your "go-to" dresses and shoes?

me : and the moon

Tonight, after the kids were tucked away in bed and the kitchen was clean, I sat out on the patio, enjoying the cool, quiet stillness of the evening. I watched as the moon quitely peeped over the tree tops and shown brightly in the sky, illuminating the few clouds hanging softly in the heavens. I thought about the moon, all the poems, paintings, stories about the moon. I thought about how the moon is the same for me, as it is for people in New York, California, Arkansas. I thought about how many lovers have stolen kisses under its light. How many people have stared up at the moon filled with hope, wishes and prayers that someone else was looking up at the moon at that same moment and thinking of them.

And I thought about the followers of my blog. I have 82 followers. 82. 82 people who feel it's worth their time to click "follow" and to read (however sporadically) the meanderings and ramblings of this one, red-haired girl. I know it's not a lot compared to some of the giants of blogdom with their thousands of followers, but to me, it's wonderful. If I could have a party and have 82 people in attendance who all share some commonality with me, that would be lovely. Oh the conversations we would have, the ideas that would spiral out of us! What an enchanting thought! But, that probably will never happen because life and circumstance does not always bring people together in the way we think it could (or even should). But for now, the fact that you're following along my blog, my journey, my outward pouring of inward emotions and thoughts and ideas and all these things that I love... that means so much to me.

We all just want a little corner of life where we are loved whole-heartedly. Not for what we can offer or what we can give but simply for who we are, right now, in this moment. And tonight, I'm thankful for this blog, this little corner of life that I have. And I'm especially thankful for you, reading this right now, for allowing me to be me.

I have no idea why this came out sideways... but sideways, upside down or right-side up, I'm looking at the moon and thinking of you. Wishing happiness and peace for your life.

God Bless ♥

inspiration : thursday thoughtfuls : for wizards and muggles alike

Good morning all! Well, unless you've been living under a rock (or just choosing to ignore it because you aren't a fan), you should know that Harry Potter 7.2 comes out tonight at midnight. This is HUGE! I was a late-comer to the Harry Potter books. It was late high school I think when I first started reading them, but I've read them all and loved every one of them! I know there was a big hub-bub about them being evil... blah blah blah... but they're not. But this week's thursday thoughtfuls is brought to you by the JK Rowling and all that Harry Potter goodness! 

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I'm part of the HP generation.

Are you going to watch the movie tonight or this weekend? Sadly, I'm not, I'm too busy. But hopefully, very soon, I'll get to go watch it! :)

inspiration/goodies : shades of summer s11:f8

This week is flying by! Literally flying. Like zoooooom.... there it goes! Tomorrow is Thursday but it's actually my Friday since I don't work on Friday because I'll be traveling to Oklahoma for, you guessed it, another wedding. But I think this is my last wedding of the summer so things are looking up. ;) Anyway, I can't believe things are going by so quickly so without further adieu, let's get on with this week's shades of summer feature.

Welcome to shades of summer s11:f8

{light blue}

swimming pools

{white}

beach towels

lawn chairs

{red}

the wild plums when they are fully ripe

life saving floatation devices

This week's inspiration comes from this photograph:

image by JulienDenoyer

Gosh I want to be by a pool right now. Ugh... anyone got a pool they want to invite me over for a play date? I'll bring snacks! ;) Growing up I had many pools. When I was really little my dad had a big pool at his house. He later sold it to my grandparents' neighbors so I did actually get to swim in it again.

At my granparents' house I had those kiddie pools. No, these weren't the fancy-shmancy inflatable ones that kids have today. No, sir. These were vinyl and had a blue bottom  and the outer sides were stiffer with a white background and super colorful scenes all around. The force of the water actually held the sides up and if ever you pushed the side down enough that water started running over the side it wouldn't take long before ALL of the water was rushing out.

When I was a little older we had a bigger pool. It was like 3 or 4 feet deep and had metal sides... it was pretty awesome. I remember waking up early in the morning ready to go swimming and staying out there practically all day. Unfortunately, my brother and his friends also swam in it and they kicked off the sides so much that they eventually broke the pool. Granny and Papa replaced the first one but after they broke the 2nd one, no more pool. And that pretty much ended my pool-owning days until much later when I lived in apartments with pools and even later rented a house with a pool. I know that pool-ownership brings with it lots of chores and responsibilities but I definitely want to own a house one day with a pool. That's a dream of mine.

But enough about my ramblings, how about some pool inspired goodies like these:

1. Pillow - $59

2. Vintage Cup - $14

3. Twine - $8.95

4. Milk Glass Vase - $46

5. Necklace - $21.07

6. Fox - $79

7. Print - $34

8. Chalkboard - $159

9. Pearls - $5.95

Do you have any pool memories?

wishlist : skeleton keys

I'm not sure why, really, but I've always been drawn to skeleton keys. I've always loved them and for a long time in my highschool/early college days I had this brass skeleton key on my key ring. I have no idea where I got it (or where it is now) but one time as I was out walking around the mall with my brother we stopped at a shop that had these huge wooden and glass knick-knack cases that locked. All of the cases were locked and the keys were taped to the inside of the glass, but strangely enough, the keys looked just like my key. So I got out my key and unlocked one of the cases!!! It was crazy! Okay, it was crazy to me then and still makes me chuckle even now.

Anyway, even though I have no idea where that skeleton key is now, I still love skeleton keys and I think I want to start collecting them. Here are some great ones that I love...

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I love how old this key looks...

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a scarab? a key, a flower and a scarab? this set is just too cool!!

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LOVE it!

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love the key.... love the octopus

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I just love this tiny key... I think I need it to kick start my new collection!

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I would wear this every day!

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Strangely enough, I just realized I don't have any skeleton keys at all anymore. That's it! I'm going to start collecting them. I am now officially on the prowl for skeleton keys.

♥

What do you collect?