Heavens to Betsy: January 2012

Jan 31, 2020

Sponsor Spotlight: Annelise from Aunie Sauce

Today's sponsor spotlight is for Annelise from Aunie Sauce!

Check her out!

I was born in Seattle, Washington, but I have lived alllllll over. To be specific, Spokane, WA, Hot Springs, AR, Edmond, OK, Mason, OH, Redlands, CA, Boise, ID... and that's where I am currently! My dad had a job that moved us all over when I was younger so I have a LOT of friends. It always taught me to "bloom where I am planted."

If I had a shop it would be selling bouncy balls (I collect them and have over 800) or bonsai plants or something. If I could own a "business" I would want to have a dog rescue. I LOVE dogs.

Um... I collect bouncy balls. When you knock on my head, it sounds hollow. I have absolutely no sense of dancing coordination. In the shower I swear I sound exactly like Colbie Callait.

Check out Annelise at Aunie Sauce!

For info about how you can sponsor and be featured on Heavens to Betsy, check out my sponsorship details!

Jan 30, 2020

Haaaaaaaaaavvvveeeee you met Nick?

This weekend, it looked a lot like my blog was going to reach the triple digits in followers. (woohoo!) I was pretty pumped. I don't often talk about this little blog in real life, but I couldn't resist sharing this exciting news with some friends.

Somewhere in that conversation, I told one friend that if he was follower #100, I'd do an entire post on him. Honestly, I wasn't counting on it actually happening. But it did, soooo....

Nick is in my brother's band, Chromatic Wakeup. He plays the keys. He's also a pretty funny guy.

And ladies, he's single. *hint hint*

(Hey, if I have to post about him, I at least get to embarrass him a little, right? Right. So email me if you want his number.)

Here are some fun facts about Nick:
1. He just had a birthday earlier this month.
2. His favorite dessert is apple crisp or apple pie. And he knows that I like to bake, so he works that to his advantage.
3. He and I fake-dated on Facebook. Just for laughs. But some people thought it was real, and sometimes we like to reference our "painful breakup".
4. He's studying engineering.
5. He can do a headstand. He's been working really hard on it.

So there you go, Nick. There's your post. You can't say I don't keep my word.

And if you've stuck with me this far, bless you. And thanks! This little blog has grown so much over the past few months, far beyond what I ever intended for it, and the blogging community is such a fun one to be a part of!

Jan 28, 2020

oh how pinteresting!

Have I mentioned how much I love pinterest?

Because I do, I really, really do.

via

via

Now I'm feeling inspired (hooray!).

Jan 27, 2020

happy friday!

Hello hello & happy Friday!

I'm over at Her Umbrella today talking about one of my favorite trips of all time.

Come check it out and leave me & Grace some love!

(wondering where I went on this trip? here's a hint:)

via

Jan 26, 2020

your love

I love this song by Jesus Culture.

Specifically, these lyrics:

I just can't even handle it.

This is pretty much one of the most humbling thoughts ever. No matter what I throw at Him, God never gives up, never runs out on me. No matter how many times I decide that I know best or that my plan is the right one or that I've got a situation covered. No matter how many times He needs to reteach me the same lesson I just promised I finally learned.

His love

never fails

never give up

never runs out

on me.

This is currently my desktop on my computer, and oh, what a good reminder it is!

Jan 25, 2020

a photo shoot

I got new bedding last week and was attempting to take a few photos of it, when this little stinker decided to steal the spotlight...

At first, she was just interested in my camera strap...

Then, she figured out that the clicking noise of my shutter was directed at her...

And this is where things get funny...

Just look at the little poser....

She would sit up, realize I was still taking photos of her, and then flop back down...

I promise I'm not a crazy cat lady who does photo shoots with her kitten on a regular basis. This was just too cute...I had to share!

Jan 24, 2020

Sponsor Spotlight: Fran from Small Bird Studios

It's Sponsor Spotlight Tuesday!

Today, I'd like to introduce Fran from Small Bird Studios.

Hi! My name is Fran, and I am a wife & mommy of two. During nap time I squeeze in my design work & blog time.

I'm from Texas!

My blog is a place to share the beautiful mess our sweet girl left behind when she left this world. A place of healing, inspiration, photography and glimpses of our day to day life.

I recently opened up an etsy shop to share words that inspire.

I look for hearts in the clouds everywhere I go. Sometimes - every once in a blue moon there will be one. It makes Heaven feel a little closer. :)

Go check out Fran at Small Bird Studios!

Jan 23, 2020

a visit with friends

Last Sunday, I got a call from Nicole (below, in the black coat), asking what my lunch plans were for Monday. Nicole's in grad school at NYU, so I figured she probably just wanted to have a phone or Skype date over my lunch break. Turns out, she had a very different plan in mind.

She happened to have a car for the week and the day off, so she swung by Hannah's (below, gray sweater, red scarf) house, picked her up, and they both drove all the way to PA to spend an afternoon with me!

Words can't describe how blessed I am to have friends like these two. We all spent a semester living in an apartment together last fall, and when I graduated in December, the biggest heartbreak of leaving Gordon was leaving people like this. As I've adjusted to life back at home, I've realized how valuable surrounding yourself with like-minded people truly is. Gordon was a place where I grew and changed, and was really known. I'm definitely still learning and growing here in PA, but spending a short afternoon with these girls renewed a part of me that hadn't gotten a lot of attention in a while. Our conversation drifted from boys to racial stigmas to life in our parent's homes. We grabbed lunch and a cupcake, took a tour of Reading, and ended up at my house drinking tea and reflecting on all the ways the Gordon community changed and molded us and our world views.

In a lot of ways, it was the perfect afternoon.

Jan 22, 2020

questions, questions.

Grace over at Her Umbrella recently tagged me to do the blog buddies questionnaire! I thought it was fun, so here goes!

The rules:

1. You must post these rules.

2. Each person must post 11 things

about themselves on their blog.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for

you in their post and create 11 new questions

for the people you tag to answer.

My questions for Cassie, Emily, and Amy:

1. Do you have any nicknames? What are they?

2. If you could move to any state/city/country, where would it be?

3. What's the best book you've ever read?

4. Do you prefer writing with a pen or a pencil?

5. Who was your favorite teacher you've ever had and why?

6. Where did you go on the best trip you've ever taken?

7. If you could own any type of pet, what would it be?

8. What's one thing you can't live without?

9. Favorite warm beverage....

10. What was the last thing you ate?

11. What's the worst/most embarrassing CD you've ever owned and do you still have it?

Have fun, ladies!

Jan 21, 2020

what's in my camera bag

Over the past year, my stash of camera equipment has grown exponentially.

Besides maybe my laptop, my camera is probably the one material object I'd save in a fire. It goes almost everywhere with me (thanks to my beautiful Kelly Moore bag!).

I'm a Nikon gal, and, as you'll see, I'm pretty loyal to the brand.

Here's a run-down of my most-used equipment!

I do most of my shooting with the D7000 and my favorite lens is the 50mm f/1.4. For a good mid-range (and fairly inexpensive) zoom, the 18-105mm really does perform nicely.

Adding the Bower battery grip to the D7000 not only makes it feel like an even more solid camera, but it balances it nicely. There are shutter release and aperture/shutter speed control dials on the battery grip, so when you're shooting in portrait, you don't have to bend your wrist around the top or bottom of the body.

Finally, the bag. Oh, that bag. I've talked about it before, but it's the most wonderful bag ever. It's incredibly stylish (people don't believe me when I tell them it's a camera bag!) and it's oh-so-roomy! I love it, and highly recommend it!

Are you a photographer? What's in your camera bag?

Jan 20, 2020

baked oatmeal with fruit

A friend and I made baked oatmeal with fruit last week and it was ah-mazing!

My mom makes a pretty kick-butt baked oatmeal, and this recipe gives it a run for it's money.
The warm blueberries, the slightly-crispy oatmeal and pecan top, the layer of bananas on the bottom. Yum.
Also, you can tailor the recipe to fit whatever sorts of berries might be in season.
(Though using blueberries sort of makes it seem like you're eating blueberry pie)

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted, divided

½ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

¼ cup maple syrup

1 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.  In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Stir with a fork to combine.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.  Spread the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish.  Top with half of the berries.  Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer.  Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats.  Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set.  Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

source: Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson via The Curvy Carrot

Jan 19, 2020

another quote

I love finding a good quote on Pinterest.

And recently, I've also been working on flexing my Adobe Illustrator muscles. They're pretty tiny, and I'm working on regularly doing some bicep curls...figuratively speaking.

And the combination of those two means I've started creating things like this when I've got some spare time on my hands.

Jan 18, 2020

lately {via iphone}

I feel like I haven't been saying much in this space lately. Sure, I've been blogging a lot, but I feel like they've been pretty empty posts. I apologize for that, and I promise I'll get back to writing some at least semi-substantial content soon.

Christmas and the holidays just sort of threw me for a loop. They came, they went, and even though it all happened a few weeks ago, I still feel like I haven't caught up in some ways. I think it's due in part to technically being on break from school but actually being busier at work than ever before. While I've been out of college for a year now (gasp!), I'm still adjusting in a lot of ways (it really takes me a while to adapt to change...don't judge).

But anyway...here's an instagram update from life since the holidays!