friday flicks - explorer.

{thanks to lynds for sharing this!}

mad props to ford on this commercial. reminds me of my first car - my own '96 explorer!!

tuesday tunes - brandon heath.

i've told you about brandon heath before. he was a third of the talent at the infamous mc live event i did exactly one year ago.

brandon is an incredible songwriter and has just released his third album- leaving eden.

i haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but if it's half as good as his last album, what if we, i am confident i'll be a fan.

(and doesn't brandon look good in his promo shots? styled by the lovely amber lehman, of course.)

here's a video of the first single- "your love"... i love this video because it's a great song, but also because it's filmed in my friends rusty & sarah's backyard :)

the year of {expectant} hope.

so i claimed 2010 as the year of contentment. the year brought a lot of trials in which i had to fight pretty hard to remain content... battles for humility and gratitude that often left me feeling defeated. but for the most part, i finished the year more appreciative of what God has done and continues to do in and through my life.

and as we entered into 2011, i've heard God tell me His banner over this year for me is hope.

just as His mercies are new every morning, the start of this year feels like a new season of hope in my journey.

and not just any hope -- but expectant hope.

i've been learning how to differentiate between expectant hope and hoping in expectations.

and boy has this idea of where i place my hope been a long time comin'... my longing for desires fulfilled, for a tree of life, just never go away. (and hoping in expectations will always result in hope deferred.)

God wants us to hope expectantly. to anticipate that He will hear our cries, that He does answer our prayers, that He is present- never leaving or forsaking us.

it's amazing in 3 short weeks how i've already seen God do exceedingly more than i could ever ask or imagine. in every area of life He is reminding me that He is faithful. that i can be hopeful not only for the possibility of change, but for the present moment.

the author of Hebrews tells us that this hope - the certainty of God's promises - is a sure and steadfast anchor for our soul (hebrews 6:19). i picture a ship, anchored to the shore in calm waters unaffected by winds and currents... though the waves roll and the winds blow where the ship is, the anchor remains firmly set beneath the quiet water of the harbor, keeping the ship secure.

expectant hope is placing our trust and faith in the God of the universe - secure, anchored in His presence... protected from the waves of doubt and the currents of deceit.

there will most definitely be storms, we can expect that, too. but we can hold fast to this hope, because He who promised is faithful.

the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "the Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." {lamentations 3:22-24}

friday flicks - NYC timelapse.

{thanks to my friend jamie for showing me this}

if you weren't already aware...

I ♥ NY

tuesday tunes - elevation worship.

i've mentioned elevation worship before here -- i still love their "give me faith" song. but i've discovered that i love that entire album, kingdom come.

i'm always in the search for new worship music, and these guys are my current fix.

their songs are birthed out of experiences from their church in charlotte, nc - elevation church. but the band wants them to extend to the Church at large, and unite other worship leaders and churches around the country.

kingdom come is their 3rd album, and carries the theme of hope and faith. i really do enjoy this whole album, but "mercy reigns" definitely takes the cake as my favorite...

friday flicks - josh groban sings kanye.

a week late, but still funny...

my favorite things - january 2011.

if oprah can do it, so can i. (don't worry - that's not my new life motto or anything)

ok, so here are some things i'm lovin' lately...

my duvet slippers from restoration hardware. santa brought these to me and i don't want to take them off my feet. seriously the most comfy, cozy thing you can wear around your house.

rejuvenating lip balm with acai berry from burt's bees. i'm a fan of most things burt's, but i'm seriously lovin this newest lip balm. if winter is as harsh on your lips as it is on mine, i highly recommend it!

caldrea for target. i especially love the kitchen candle - it does wonders for covering up some i-just-cooked-something-not-so-pleasant smells. (ie: when my roommate makes scallops...eww.)

lulu lemon run:dash crops. i've spoken of my love for lulu many times (and it doesn't hurt that half of my best friends work at our nashville store!) but i hadn't found an active pant that i truly felt worked for spin class and the treadmill (i love my groove pants for yoga though). but the run:dash crops (or tights) are awesome. they're super supportive and look good on every body type!

bonus: i got them 70% off :)

my cozy reading nook made up of my new loft armchair from target + knitted pouf ottomon from cb2. i literally could sit here all day long.

what are you loving lately?

#appstuff - instagram.

my recent iphone app obsession = instagram.

last year, hipstamatic came out as a funky, vintage-y way to take photos (remember i used it a bunch in europe last summer). but - you actually had to take the photos through the app, and for additional "lenses" or "filters" you had to pay extra. boo.

then, over the last month, i started noticing people sharing photos on twitter & facebook with instagram. it's fabulous - you can treat new photos or already existing ones on your phone. then, share them through the feed on the app, and on any social network site.

oh, and it's free.

cost: free

category: photography

here are a few from new years parties...

{jars of clay pre-emptive new years party: 12/30/10}

{new years eve: 12/31/10}

tuesday tunes - florence + the machine.

i've been wanting to tell you guys about florence + the machine, but had to get through all the holiday tunes first...

i don't think i've mentioned this yet, but i'm seeing a little band you may have heard of called U2 in nashville on july 2. yah, pretty epic. and i'm stoked. equally exciting is the fact that florence + the machine are the opening act!

flo has been getting quite the buzz lately.

the single "dog days are over" even got covered by GLEE a few weeks back (is that the new standard of "making it"?)

this fantastic british lady is something else. she says this about her music:

"i want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you're being sucked down into the ocean and you cant breathe...it's something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you're either going to explode with it, or you're just going to disappear."

her debut album lungs (july 2009) has blown the world away. as spin magazine says (who named florence + the machine artist of the year) - this year "...her record - and her reputation - blew up". i love the whole album and cannot wait to see flo & her band live.

here's "the dog days are over"... i bet you can't get this out of your head.

dear blank, please blank.

have you seen this site? so clever. i particularly love today's...

dear noses,

please stop running. that is our job.

sincerly, feet.

amen! my nose has been constantly running for a week straight now.

so. sick. of. it. (pun intended)

music monday.

it's no tuesday tunes, but i just had to share this little gem i discovered...

so, i'm hanging out at my favorite east nashville coffee shop (ugly mugs, duh.) and i look up from my couch and see a cute little couple walk in.

first thought: man, they look so familiar, do i know them?

well, if you count watching parenthood (don't even get me started on how much i love this show) every tuesday as "knowing" mae whitman, then the answer is yes. (um, did you know she was bernice in hope floats, too? i love her even more.) so i'm trying not to stare, but i recognize the guy, too -- it's landon pigg, a local musician, who i "know" as well as mae...but we do have some mutual friends.

naturally i decided to google them and see if they are actually a couple...

yup.

and they have a DUET together! precious.

enjoy... and happy monday!

friday flicks: golden voice.

i know he's received a ton of exposure this week (here's the interview on cbs), but still pretty cool...

tuesday tunes - street corner symphony.

it's probably not very surprising that i love a capella groups.

so i obviously watched the sing off every week.

and of course cheered for nashville hometown boys street corner symphony.

frontman jeremy lister is super talented (he's actually an old TOTer!) and it was so fun to see these guys make it all the way to the end of the competition (2nd place!).

so naturally, as soon as we saw tickets on sale for their first ever concert post sing-off, annie and i bought some. and tonight was the night...

joined onstage with other sing-offers the whiffenpoofs & committed (the winners), these boys made you forget instruments exist. (here's all of them singing the final song, "fix you")

there were also some nashville special guests... oh you know, like ben folds & alison freakin' krauss.

(i've got an amazing little video of alison singing her song "maybe" with the guys here.)

and here is my favorite from the season - the street corner version of radiohead's "creep"...