writing letters.

I love handwritten letters. Snail mail. Mail art. Packaging. Pen pals. etc. etc. etc

Tonight I wrote to a dear friend of mine who lives far far away, and it was so refreshing. I think that letting people know that you care about and love them is so important.

I want to write letters more often.

compelled by love.

This month our church has been doing a sermon series titled "Compelled by Love." It has been amazing. Yesterday morning the executive pastor Jerry Justice spoke on identifying love. What is love? Is it just thinking happy thoughts about another person? No, it is much more.

Jesus put it quite simply in John 13:34-35: "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples--when they see the love you have for each other."

Wow, we are to love each other in the same way that Jesus loved us. That is a very high standard of love.

I also love how this scripture says that people will recognize that we are followers of Christ by our love. Not our perfect church attendance, not our pushing our beliefs on others, not our efforts to appear perfect. Our love.

I could go on and on about this, but it would really be easier if you just listen to it for yourself.

It's such a simple message, but oh-so-good to be reminded of these things. I want to live a life on unconditional love for other people and for my God.

possums and postcards.

Yesterday I received a postcard in the mail from my dear precious sister Miranda who is currently living in Indiana at a horse ranch working and learning dressage. I was so excited to: 1.) be getting mail {I LOVE snail mail!} and 2.) be hearing from my sister who I miss. But little did I know the terror that awaited me.

As you can see, the front of the postcard has an opossum on it. If you did not know this about me already, I will let you in on a little secret...I am terrified of opossums. I have literally had nightmares of them chewing on my neck {I blame this fear on watching The Princess Bride one too many times as a kid...opossums really do resemble R.O.U.S's.}

My sister thinks she's just so funny.

I happen to have quite the collection of possum postcards from family members who find my fear to be quite entertaining.

Also, I am quite curious as to why postcard companies choose possums to be the cover of many of their products?!

Terrifying possum aside, it was great to hear from my little sis. I miss her greatly.

Miranda and her dog Gypsy.

{all photos by me}

he's my favorite.

this is who i get to spend the entire weekend with, and i am so excited about it!
husband has had a busy week with lots of meetings and tests to study for, so i have missed him a lot. the fact that we get to spend the entire weekend together with no other plans or obligations makes me oh-so happy.

i hope you'll all have wonderful weekends as well! :)

p.s. this picture was taken when husband had a bit of a beard goin' on during Christmas break. he looks so rugged.

when it's raining...

{via heidillustration.}

pretty clothes.

I really love vintage finds and clothes that have been made by hand. Maybe one day I'll buy a sewing machine and learn to make my own clothes. If I didn't already have way too many hobbies I probably would already be doing this.

I have mentioned before that I love the blog Grosgrain, because she is constantly displaying clothing she has made herself and other handmade or vintage finds...and I think it is lovely.

Here are some recent favorites:

I think these reusable grocery bags are adorable! I might even use one as a purse on occasion! There's even one that has Abraham Lincoln's face on it!

This tutorial on how to make your own apron is wonderful! Again, if I had a sewing machine, I would probably attempt to make something like this. I have been wanting to buy a nice, cute apron ever since Jonathan and I first got married.

This dress is a vintage find that Kathleen altered and re purposed. I think it is the cutest thing ever! I would most definitely wear this.

This white dress is oh-so-pretty and oh-so-simple. I picture this as being the perfect dress to wear while reading a book under a towering oak tree on a sunny spring day. Love it.

How about you? Do you love vintage finds or handmade favorites? Or, do you ever make your own clothes {or wish that you could?}

photo shoot with my beautiful friend jennifer.

My friend Jennifer and I went out last week and I had the privilege of getting to photograph her. She is so beautiful and was very fun to shoot! We had a fun day.

Here are some of my favorite images from our shoot:

{all images by me, Tiffany Zajas}

Click here to see the rest of the images from this shoot.

little goals.

Sometimes making little changes in our life can make such a big difference.

Here's what I want to do:

1. write more thank-you notes.
   
2. write more hand written notes in general.
3. get up when the alarm first goes off {snoozing makes me feel so icky.}
4. read my bible more.
5. write in my journal as i'm winding down for the night {it always helps me clear my head before going to sleep.}
6. listen to fun music while doing menial tasks around the house {i did this last night, and it made doing the dishes go by so fast!}
7. read more books {i love to read, i don't know why i don't do it more often.}
8. bake more {it's so therapeutic to me. plus, it makes my husband happy...i made him his favorite pie last night.}
9. pray more {i want to include God in even the small things in my life...he cares about it all.}
10. not spend as much time on the computer {which is hard, because my work and most of my hobbies include the computer...but sometimes it can be a black hole of time waste.}

So, there you go. Just a few things I would like to start changing/doing in my life.

What about you? What are some small things in your life that if you did them would make your life better?

today is a good day to have a good day.

I think that oftentimes joy and happiness are decisions we make. A decision to not let any bad circumstances that may come our way to get us down and prevent us from enjoying the life we have been blessed with.

There are many things and circumstances in my life that make me happy: my husband, my family, friends, my dog, morning coffee, the home we have made for ourselves, yogurt and berries for breakfast, a good book, photographs, sunny weather, etc. All of these things...big and small are blessings from God.

But sometimes something not-so-good happens, or something takes place in a way that is unlike how I would like it to occur. And then I come down with a case of tunnel vision, and all I can see is the negative. I really don't like that. At all.

So I have decided that today is a good day to have a good day. Every day is a good day to have a good day, don't you think? And what is keeping me from having a good day every day? Myself. My own reactions to the situations and circumstances around me.

So, today I decide to change. To not let negative things affect me {sure, I won't ignore them...but I won't magnify them either.} I'm not going to let anything get in the way of celebrating and being thankful for the blessings in my life.

How about you? Are you going to have a good day...even though it's Monday?

oh, hello spring! {and our easter photo shoot}

Spring is finally here...officially! And the weather outside is evidence of the fact that today is the first day of spring.

This week at work {Carrie Workman Photography} we had a promotional Easter shoot for an upcoming Easter egg hunt. There were lots of little kids running around in their Easter outfits carrying baskets and eggs. I was so happy that I got to be a part of this as a second photographer.

In celebration of the first day of spring, here are some fun springy images that I took at this week's shoot:

i love spring.

To see all of my images from this shoot click here.

To view my boss' images from the event click here or here and here. She's an amazing photographer, and I am so blessed to get to learn under her.

Hope you're all having a wonderful first day of spring! I love this time of year. :)

"signs" a short film.

This short film by director Patrick Hughes is simply fabulous. You really should take some time to sit down and watch this 12 minute video on communication. {Thanks http://twitter.com/natetallman for sharing this!}

free arby's roast burger {when you purchase a drink}...yum!

The other day Gloria from Fun and Frugal posted a coupon on her blog that let's you get a free Arby's Roast Burger when you purchase a drink! Jonathan and I went to a late lunch yesterday and tried it out. I thought that it was pretty yummy {it probably helped that it was free, and I was very hungry.} So, I wanted to share the free food joy with you. Go here to claim your coupon, print it out, bring to Arby's and buy a drink...and voila! Free sandwich. Enjoy! :)

Oh, and this coupon expires on Friday {March 20th}, so you'll need to hurry to get your free roast burger!

P.S. I have started getting into couponing and this thing called CVSing {I'll probably blog about it later}, and I have to admit it has been so much fun! It's like a thrill when you're able to save a ton of money on your groceries. I love it!

hello, how are you?

Hello friends, how are you? Did you have a nice weekend? Are you having a good start to your week? I sure hope so.

Jonathan and I had a really great weekend. We had a fun date night of burgers & fries, going to Target to buy each other mysterious $7 gifts {that was so fun}, and cuddled on the couch watching The Importance of Being Earnest {a favorite of mine.} I had lunch with some friends and Max met a new puppy friend of his own. We spent time with family and I got to go shopping with my Mom {she's the best}, I always love getting to spend time with her. It was a lovely weekend.

This week is a rather busy one {but good busy, not bad busy.} I have taken on a couple extra projects in addition to my normal workload. It will be nice to make some extra money, but I don't think I'll have quite as much time to dedicate to the blog. I have so many ideas for blog posts dancing around in my head right now, but I may not have the time to write them out as quickly as I normally do. I'm sure you understand. :)

Husband also has quite a bit on his plate this week. He's got work projects, and studying for difficult tests, in addition to doing the normal things {like work, classes, internship, practicing, rehearsals, being a wonderful husband, etc.} I admire him and his work ethic and ability to do so many things at once...and to do them so well. I love him.

In the midst of this busy {but wonderful} week, I would love to hear how you all are doing and what you're up to. Feel free to leave a comment, send an email {using the nifty new form Jonathan added to right of our blog}, or let us know where we can find your blog or Twitter so we can see what you're up to.

We always love hearing from you.

Love always,

-Tiffany

{all images via papered together.}

i can has cheezburger.

Here's a little something to bring a smile to your face on this Monday morning.

If you haven't discovered icanhascheezburger, then you simply must.

I am quite entertained by looking through their daily entries.







This last one reminds me of my parent's cat, Hiro. He does this all the time.

have a lovely weekend.

{photo by me}

I hope you'll all have a very lovely weekend. Any exciting plans? Maybe you'll be enjoying a nice weekend at home putting your Netflix to good use, baking chocolate chip cookies, enjoying your new firepit in your backyard by roasting marshmallows on it, and read a good book? Maybe those are some things that we'd like to do this weekend.

For your weekend enjoyment...

Here's a recap of what happened at jonathan & tiffany's this week:

• We introduced you to our precious newborn niece Kate!
• We celebrated the fact that Spring is only a few more days away.
• We talked about how wonderful pajamas and free food are.
• Max, my couch buddy, kept me company.
• We went on lots of evening walks.
• We dreamed of the beach.
• We encouraged you to join Twitter.
• We decided to always be happy for this moment.

Here are some things that we discovered around the web this week that you might enjoy:

• I'm loving this photographer/crafter's office/studio. What a wonderful use of a small space!
• This set of classic books is sooooooo lovely. I would love to have these perched on my bookshelf.
• These silhouette murals are adorable.
• This is rather inspiring.
• Mmmmmm...this lemon bread looks scrumptious.

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

bicycle love.

Talking about the beach the other day got me thinking about how lovely it would be to ride a bike through a nice, not touristy, beach town {like Pass-a-grille Florida.} I really do miss owning a bicycle.

Here are some bikes that I find to be quite charming:

this.
{I love the look of these beach-comber style bikes, but would love
to find one that also had hand brakes, and possibly multiple speeds...
with still having this look.}



this {i am obsessed with yellow bikes.}

with a little basket on top.



doesn't Ellen Page look chic riding a bicycle wearing a dress and heals?
{via Copenhagen Cycle Chic}