influence meet and greet.

two posts in one day! i couldn't put our [love series] aside.. but i also am excited for this fabulous meet and greet, therefore - i'm double timing! :)

[influence] is right around the corner!!! i am so excited!

so excited i have a countdown on my phone and tablet!

woohoo! i am pumped!

so along with that... today is the meet and greet so others get a chance to get to know me more :)

if you haven't bought your ticket yet.. you totally should! it will be so amazing and i would love to meet you too!

so here we go!

three getting to know me stats:

one - i am super shy when i am out of my comfort zone and don't know anyone else [hint, hint. be prepared for the first couple hours.. i know i'll be shy...] but don't worry - once i get more comfortable i am the complete opposite! i will eventually open up and enjoy being the crazy goof ball i am! lucky you ;)

two - i am obsessed and need my coffee. i love coffee so much, i could drink it all day long and surprisingly still fall asleep at night. maybe this says something about my addiction? so addicted it doesn't have an affect. well...unless i don't have it.. then i go through major withdrawals and major headaches!
three - i am a big dreamer. sometimes i feel like i dream a little too big. but i know my God is big enough, i just need to pray and make sure that my dreams are in accordance to his will :)

two looking forward to the conference stats:

one - i am so so so excited to meet all you fabulous women! i can't wait to sit down and talk with some of you over a cup of coffee. [i will admit i'm still nervous no one will want to connect with me, but i'm trusting that those are lies from the enemy :)]

two - i can't wait to check out the amazing workshops! it will definitely be hard choosing which ones to attend, but i'm definitely looking forward to how God is going to use each speaker and how he is going to encourage, stretch and grow me throughout the weekend!

one can't leave home without stat:

other than my outfit for the stripes party ;) i don't know what i would do without my notebook and pen. i am a total note taker and doodler! i love being able to jot down notes, ideas, dreams, envisions, thoughts, encouragement... all while practicing my fonts and designs!

if you want to know more about me you can check out some more stats [here] and [here]

now i'm off to go and get to 'meet' you! :)

month of september.

oh me oh my! i am SO excited for september.

not only is it one of my favorite months because fall is starting to kick in. the leaves are starting to change [and we have some beautiful trees here with gorgeous colors in the fall!!], warm apple cider starts coming out, i get to bring out the fall clothes, cooler temps [i love comfy sweatshirt weather].

here are the wonderful things i'm looking forward to this month.

- labor day vacation [i took yesterday off too, so i'm loving my 4 day weekend!]

- amazing awesome changes coming to the blog that i am SO excited about!

- a mini surprise vacation to celebrate our one year anniversary!

- our one year anniversary [that is photo of our entire party. what a wonderful day it was!]

- a week recap of our love story leading up to our one year on the blog!!

- celebrate mr. b's cousin's marriage to one of mr. b's college friend/roommate at their reception

- going on a road trip with these two friends and baby t to visit another wonderful friend and go to the country living fair

- some guest posts for some wonderful blog friends

- taking engagement photos for one of my besties [but not the official ones.. i'm not that good :)]

- going to a bridal show with miss riss and help with more wedding plans for her!

- taking one year photos of mr. b and me!!!

- another bestie is coming to stay the night with me and we're going to have a girls night!! woohoo! [sorry..gotta kick mr. b out ;)]

busy month huh? but it's going to be so fun!!! a lot of this falls on weekends.. so we will be so busy on the weekends, some of it falls during the week. we have a huge fair in the town i work in that is thrown into all this as well, which will make things even more crazy busy. but i'm so excited! can't wait to share all our fun adventures with you all too.

stay tuned for a fun-filled month!

thankful friday letters.

i am so thankful it's friday! there is so so so much i am thankful for. i decided to switch things up a little big and make my friday letters a one of pure thankfulness!

dear picmonkey - i feel so dumb.. but i am SO thankful for you! holy cow you've made photo collages an amazing thing! you help save me so much time. i can't believe i used to go through ridiculous loops to get a half-decent looking collage of photos. AND you have so many options! woohoo! i am so thankful for you!

dear mr. b - i am thankful that the swelling in your eye is going down. crazy allergic reactions.. but i'm thankful that you're okay :) and i'm thankful it wasn't any worse than that!

dear miss riss - i am so thankful for your friendship. i'm thankful that you came and surprised me this week at work with such encouraging words! i am so thankful for the ways the Lord is using you in my life and the lives of others. you're a wonderful, wonderful friend!

dear caffine - wow i am so thankful for you this week. pretty sure i've been drinking you all day long, every day. i don't think i could have made it through the week without you. for some reason i've been so tired and can't get myself awake. with you - i'm able :)

dear garden - i am so thankful for all the wonderful fresh veggies you're giving me lately! i got to enjoy you by yourself, and in meals. i even made guacamole with you [which is amazing!] AND mr. b made a compost so we're not just throwing rotten stuff out for no reason :) i love this 'going natural' stuff! thankful for you being able to provide meals for my family.

dear twitter - thanks so much for all the wonderful tweets people send out. it's awesome to hear other stuff people find or suggest so i could buy some kick booty cords!! [thanks ali @lifeonleroy!!!]

dear mia - thank you so much for listening to my [letter] to you last week! i'm so thankful that you also didn't dare go on the other side of the fence and be served as breakfast, lunch and dinner to the crazy neighbor dog. thankful you're alive and still just as crabby as always :)

dear mr. b - i am SO SO thankful for your help around the house, on projects, through struggles, and just having you in my life forever. you are the biggest blessing and i am so thankful for the man you are and how God is working in and through you!

dear Jesus - thank you for your word. thank you for your wisdom. thank you for answered prayers. thank you for dying for us on the cross. thank you for your new mercies each morning. thank you for your never-ending grace! you're amazing :)

xoxo.

influence conference.

it's true! i am officially going to the conference! you can see part of my decision process [here]. wow. lots of hots then colds, yes then nos, ins then outs, ups then downs...
i'll leave the rest to katy perry..

i have been praying for the Lord to show me whether or not i should attend.
i wanted to really bad but didn't know if it was a smart financial choice for us right now.

here's how it went..
i mentioned the conference to mr. b. i told him it was a blog conference. i shared about all the awesome bloggie friends i would meet. then i told him it was Christ-centered. from there we prayed. we prayed that the Lord would reveal if i should attend. [the price was still early bird pricing at this point]. it wasn't black and white.. i felt it would be beneficial and a great opportunity.
but then my insecurities stepped in... would anyone like me? would i fit it? would anyone talk to me? how would i find my roommates? would we have anything in common..? i don't have kids... nor am i pregnant. i don't own a store.. or sell anything else for that matter. i even emailed all my worries and insecurities to one of the community leaders and she encouraged me to attend and not to worry. she even gave me some names of women attending who are not mommas or business ladies either.
after this i still was wishy washy about going. isn't it horrible how people can encourage us and we STILL believe lies? my poor husband...
one day i went and looked and the price had gone up. no more early bird. i thought hmm it's $30 more now.. [which would really tug on our financial strings - but still thought it would be worth it]
i said i would make my decision by august 1st [when the price would then increase another $50].
wrong.
that didn't happen either.
so then i thought we can't afford that.. it's just not fesible right now. i can't go. [although deep down i really still wanted to]
well.. then yesterday i was catching up on some fabulous blogs and i saw a post with influence in there. i clicked on it to see what she had to say - and to my surprise it was the news that she was no longer able to go and selling her ticket. for the early bird price she was proactive about and purchased it at!
i thought alright Lord... i'm going to email her. and you will answer.
she emailed me back. someone else beat me to the punch - but wasn't sure if it would work out.
i prayed for the Lord's will to be done.
if it's available - i'm going.
if it's taken - i'm not.
she emailed me back a couple hours later.
the ticket is mine :)
and what a blessing it will be!

i love the desires and intensions behind what this conference is. if you wanna know more check it out [here]
if you are going, let me know! i would LOVE to meet you!!

there is going to be an awesome kick off party
filled with lots and lots of
stripes!

so now.. i get to decide what outfit i want to wear to the party :)
i was looking online last night and saw these choices

dress?
 

//[1]//[2]//

tunic?

//[3]//[4]//

i will let tell you, i didn't end up selecting any of the above - you'll have to attend to see what stripes i'm wearing ;)
or wait for photos after cause we all know i'm going to do a recap that will probably last the whole month.

but more than just what outfit i'm going to choose for the stripes party and all the fun we're going to have... i'm even more excited about the gospel being spread.
this is something i am SO
excited
and
passionate
about.
excited to meet other bloggers/social networkers/friends with the same heart and passion for Jesus!

i am thrilled to see how God is going to move in each one of us and how we will come back changed and more like Christ from this conference.
can't wait for october! i already started packing

friends and food.

seriously.. one of my favorite combos! or coffee.. or even just friends. i love it! i am so excited when i get to hang out with other women! don't get me wrong.. i love love love my husband dearly, but we need girls too! I need girls too!

last night i got to meet up with a wonderful woman of the Lord for dinner. hanging out with her for a couple hours was wonderful - and the fact that we went to olive garden for unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks.. talk about bonus!

it was such a blessing to talk with her and catch up on everything in life - it's been over a year and half since we've last seen each other! mr. b still sees her in classes, but it was a joy for me to just talk and share with her about our struggles, passions, hurts, blessings, dreams.. life!

she has such a passion for the Lord and it shines through her! i am so thankful and excited to see how she will be used for God's glory and where he leads her next. she is and will be a blessing to everyone she encounters through her ministry! [she even has a [blog] if you want to go read what's on her beautiful, genuine heart]

i adored our time together and look forward to the next! this time it wont be as long i'm thinking :)

hope you all are having a wonderful week!
and sorry for no photos lately.. life is busy - but i'm making sure i take time to enjoy it, i just don't always remember the photos.. i'll get better with time :)

me lately.

so - i have a fabulous friend here in the bloggie world. she is doing a link up, so i thought i would join in! and these little 'if you really knew me...' things are fun and easy way to get to know each other more!

if you really knew me.. you would know...

- my plate is too full and i need to adjust some things around and re-examine what i'm doing with my time.
+ i am addicted to looking at vacant land and dreaming of building our future home someday.
+ i am trusting in the Lord to do big things with our lives here on earth.
- but i struggle with trusting his timing and plan for everything to come about.
+ i have a project i'm working on every night right now until it's completed. i am always dedicated to my crafts when i enjoy them!!
+ i love love love snail mail. that means others love it too - so i want to send some love to some wonderful people in my life soon.
+ i don't like to start something and then not finish it. it bugs me majorly to have something sitting there waiting to be completed. and then i get stressed.
- i have been a complete failure at waking up early enough to get everything i need done before i head out the door to work.
- i try to please people more than myself. i do this too often. it usually ends up making upset that i can't please everyone. i need to work on not being a people pleaser.
+ i am falling more deeply, madly and passionately in love with mr. b every day. every day i get with him is a blessing.
- i long to have a Godly woman in my life to pour into me. praying for this prayer to be answered soon.

i adore my bloggie friends.

good morning friends!! i am so super excited to introduce you to a precious sister in Christ!

i am on a weekend vacation [that is MUCH needed right now] with some fabulous friends of ours! don't worry, i will let you all know how much fun we are having through twitter, instagram and blog posts to come. :)

until then, here is the lovely monica!! 

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Hello 'one43' lovelies!!
I am so excited to introduce myself to all of Jennifer's follower/friends. She is a total sweetheart and a joy to get to know better. (:

I am Monica, the girl behind Captivated By Love.
I have a passionate adoration for the Lord. I am a self-proclaimed romantic. I always try to find the beauty in life. I fall in love with my husband every single day. I love my tea sweet but I am California-raised. I think I laugh TOO much, which is what happens when you have joy (joy joy joy) down in your heart. I am a relationalist and a textaholic. (I don't think those are words.. oh well)

 I love to blog about things that inspire me and captivate my attention. I am on this journey as a new wife and discovering more and more of who I am. I would love for you to stop by and hopefully make you smile. (:
 ♥ Monica

 

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now go show her some love because she is just one of the most sweetest people i've ever met!! i adore her and i know you will too! :)

happy happy saturday and happy happy weekend!!