Celebrating 25!

Check out who is queen for the day...

Sugar

Best kept secret in Charleston, SC= Sugar Bakeshop. This weekend I indulged in one of these beauties. So why do they beat all the other cupcake chain bakeries? They taste like they came straight from your Mom's kitchen instead of the grocery bakery. Even ED couldn't stop me from the enjoying this treat!

Next time you visit the streets of downtown be sure to pick you up a sweet treat!

XOXO,

JM

TGIF

This has been the longest week ever! The fam, two dogs, and I are off to Charleston to stay with my sweet sister (have you looked at her blog lately?) and brother-in-law. The rest of the fam will be joining us on Saturday for the celebration. When asked what do you want to do this year for your birthday...on request...Tea party at Fuschia! Its my favorite little spot downtown and the perfect place for afternoon tea and cupcakes. I am obsessed with this best kept secret in Charleston. So excited that Buddy will be joining us for teas as well. Hopefully some spring shopping will be thrown in there as well! Cheers to a great weekend! (yes...I do love being the princess for one day of the year!)
XOXO,
JM

Spring Fever

I am so excited to be heading to Charleston tomorrow to celebrate the big 2-5! The weather is gorgeous today...but the blizzard is unfortunately approaching and I have a bad case of spring fever today. I busted out one of my new Lilly headbands today just to brighten my day. I have a little feeling this may be coming my way very soon... too bad its only January 28th and I have a long time till I can wear it.
This picture does not do anything for this dress...so much cuter in person and the ruffle stands up a lot more. Remember my obession with ruffles!
Oh another must have this weekend:

Cupcakes make me far happier than cakes!
XOXO,
JM

God can use our failure to bring new growth.

My devotion for today says this:
"We can always start again when we turn our will and life over to God and allow God's power to quietly work."
Do you ever feel like your life is a jumbled mess? You just can't seem to get anything together and nothing seems to be completed? This coming from a girl who is obsessively organized and labels all tupperware... is making me feel like I am a big pile of mess or like my devotion says, a pile of old garbage. Thankfully, God can use our failures to bring new growth just like he can turn a pile of vegetable scraps, old leaves, and other garbage into fertile soil making a heap of compost.

At Carolina House, we used to take turns taking our leftovers and scrapes to the compost in the garden. I despised this task because I thought it was absolutely disgusting. There were bugs and other "critters" that I did not want to have anything to do with. I remember thinking to myself who would want this in their yard? As time went on, I saw the beauty that came out of the compost. Our chef would show us the rich and nutrient-filled soil that "old scrapes" turned into and how it helped our seeds and little garden and moldy bread grow into lush plants. Now that is a miracle from God. Only He could turn yucky banana peelings into such beautiful things.

God can turn my jumbled life into something beautiful as well and I can not forget this with each day. "He has made everything beautiful in its time." -Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV) Only with God can my life have meaning and true pleasure. Without him nothing satisfies, but with him we find satisfaction and enjoyment.

XOXO,
JM

trapped...

Another start to a new week. I am probably one of the few people that like Mondays, because I always look at this day as a new beginning and I need one now more than ever. I can't believe it but a week from yesterday (January 31st) I will turn 25!!!! AHHHHH that just seems so very strange to me. Part of me is of course excited to begin the celebration and then another part of me wants to take three years back from my life. I am not at all where I thought I would be in life at 25. I will give me credit that I am on my way to doing my ambition in life (teaching youngsters), but I feel very trapped right now. I feel almost like I am suffocating in my own body!

There are so many things I want to do right now and places I want to see, but too many things are obstacles in my way. My biggest goal for the future is to be able to live by myself in my own spic-n-span apartment/small house. Don't get me wrong, my Mom and Dad are my best friends, but our house is getting smaller and smaller with each day. We are finding it very difficult to live together and I desperately want my own space and privacy. WHY you ask I HAVE NONE!

Now before my Mother reads this and goes wack-o, I will be happy to admit that it is completely my fault that I have no privacy because I am not the most trustworthy person when it comes to my illness. What I hate most is that I am starting to get really angry inside almost to the point that I want to throw one of my temper tantrums like I used to when I was 5 or maybe 15 (remember I have redhair)! I want all of this negativity to vanish and me to be free. I want to be free of the burdens of having an eating disorder. I want to be able to leave the house without telling anyone where I am going. I want to be able to keep a bowl of Dove Dark chocolate on the coffee table. I want my mother to be able to get a full nights sleep and know that I will wake up the next morning. Most of all I want to enjoy life and unlock the cage that I have been living in for two years...
"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:5-6.

XOXO,
JM

Look what the mailman brought today!

This week I won my very first blog giveaway! A special thanks to Looking4Lilly for my adorable new hair accessories! I can't believe she makes all of these wonderful things out of Lilly fabric.

I hope everyone had a great Saturday. Today I worked at Pink on Main and unpacked lots of the new spring collection. One word comes to mind...AMAZING! Once again, Lilly puts out another great season!

Have a good weekend and GO TIGERS!!
XOXO,
JM