Molly's Favorite Things

Whether you like it or not, it's finally FALL (please ignore the 80 degree weather)!  Here are a few of my favorite things for this season that I think are worthy of you checking out and some little pieces of my fall wishlist!

1.  PAN AM

I'm horrible with series on TV, but I'm actually really into this one.  Pan Am is an ABC (find it Sunday nights at 9pm central) series about 1960's airline attendants and pilots as they fly around the globe.  I love timepieces, so their fabulous clothes and the way they carry themselves definitely drew me in.  Also, it might have something to do with Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me" being used in the previews.  And yes, the real Frank Sinatra ;).

  

2.  Music

Some music is just fall-ish to me, especially really chill, pretty things to ride around late at night with the windows down to.  Some of my favorites on repeat right now are:

• Dance With Me Baby/Out of My Head/Falling in Love/And Then You Love Someone - Ben Rector
• Lifetime/Hesitate/Thing About Us - Steve Moakler
• You Are More/Alive In Us - Hillsong Live
• We Owned the Night - Lady Antebellum
• My Story - Addison Road
• What I Know - Parachute
• Heartbeat - The Fray

DISCLAIMER:  I'm NOT one for country music, especially the new stuff, but Hunter Hayes has a beautiful voice and new album that I'm willing to forgive him for such a genre.  Check it.  Moving on.

3.  Pinterest

This is a very large reason why I can no longer take my computer to Microbiology or start on homework before 11:00 at night.  If you need an unreasonable amount of new ideas or a new addiction of which to spend an unreasonable amount of time, check out Pinterest.  Here you can find hundreds of pictures across the web at one time and one place.  It shows you things you might like (mine are all crafts, flowers, clothes, etc.) based on things you "like" while signing up.  Basically, it's just a virtual bulletin board that you pin photos on.  You do need a membership, but it's free and all it takes is sending in your email which later sends an "invitation."  You will find that lots of your Facebook friends are already pinning away and you can connect with them there, too.

4.  Cape Coats

This is one of my favorite things for this season fashion-wise.  How classy?  I'm glad that 30's-ish/60's-ish clothes are now-ish, but I think I can give a big "I told you so."  :)  This one is from Forever 21, but you can find them pretty much anywhere.  Yay.

5.  Raspberry Hot White Chocolate Mocha

I'm a long-time fan of the White Mocha, but drizzle in a little raspberry flavor, and I'm in love.  Playing around with flavors is so fun to me, and this one was definitely a success.  It's sweet and warm and perfect and all it needs is a drizzly chilly night to walk bundled up in.  With a scarf.  Yes.

6.  Ulta's Salon Formula Polish in "The Jungle Look"

It's hard to believe I'm into a non-traditional nail color, but I couldn't resist when I saw this.  Not only is this Ulta color $2, but perfect for fall.  I'm really into jewel tones this year and this one is great.  I have to admit, I thought it was more teal in the store, but it's definitely green.  I like it though, I think it's definitely worth a try.

Books I want to read:

• By the Time You Read This - Lola Jaye
• Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
• Fearless - Max Lucado

Movies I want to see:

• Continue with watching all of AFI's list of 100 movies everyone must see (http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx), only 79 more :|.
• Crazy, Stupid Love

Fall bucket list:

• Try a polka-dot cake
• And then 3 other new recipes
• Study more
• Stress less
• Start the "Beautiful Things" art project
• Finish the two books I started (Redeeming Love and Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire)

Stories

True Story:  This was an awful week.  I really haven’t even decided why I began to make that conclusion, but I did.  I knew it was going to be full of commitments and lots of the way too many things I throw myself into because I think I can do everything.  But I really wasn’t prepared for my brain to be completely fried and to eat my first kind of real meal today.  I had a developmental test Tuesday.  Over 4 chapters.  I found myself scrambling to find all the answers to the study guide late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, only halfway paying attention to the last two.  I had a Microbiology test today.  Enough said?  And surprise, surprise, I got half of my World Lit II mid-term sprung on me for tomorrow.  All of this happening at the same time that I had the privilege of doing Homecoming flowers for my high school.  I was supposed to leave early Friday morning for delivery, but that’s changed since the test is at 8.  Worship band practice was not a success.  In fact, it was almost a nightmare.  Our brains were not functioning and it had been a crazy week for everyone.  Being in the weirdest mood ever didn’t help either.  I just didn’t want to get out of bed.  I didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone or leave my room.  I love life, but that might be what a depressed person feels like.  Oh yes, and I realized that either I left my straightener at home or just flat-out (no pun indented) lost it.  Either way, my hair has been curly for two days.  Sad story.

True Story:  A couple of weeks ago, my director from this summer asked me to share on the CentriKid blog as a guest blogger.  I was so excited and debated forever on which amazing “God story” from this summer to share.  I chose the coolest moment ever with a kid named Jessie, who also lost her father.  The date for the blog to be posted was determined weeks ago, and today was finally the day.  To me, it was just sharing an awesome moment God had specifically put in my life and talked about the importance of, none other than, sharing your story. 

True Story:  This morning my phone was filled with messages from my teammates from this summer.  I miss and love them so much.  It was like a mini CK text reunion and it was the most beautiful thing.  They had read the blog and they were so encouraging.  There really isn’t a way to describe how good (good isn’t even the word) it was to just hear from all of them, especially ones I haven’t really talked to since camp.  This whole thing was exactly what I needed just to get up and do something halfway productive this morning.  Like studying for Micro.  Saying that I studied enough would be telling a story.

True Story:  After taking my Micro test, I was walking through the biology building and got a message from Jessica, my director, telling me to go look at the blog comments.  On my guest post, someone had posted a comment.  It turned out to be the group leader that came with the girl and his words were so perfect to my heart.  He was touched by the post and didn’t realize how blessed we as staff are to get to spend the week sharing the Gospel with the kids.  It’s so true.  Reading that, walking outside in the 85 degree October, I got chills.  It was becoming such a full circle.  I learned to share my story at camp.  That group leader learned something from my story OF camp in that post.  It was so apparent to me how all our stories are so interconnected and I just thought to myself “what awesome proof this is that God really did created all of us,” because there’s no other way we could all be so fitting for each other’s lives.  My heart was so overwhelmed and overflowing with the joy and knowing that God is so faithful.  He’s pretty good at writing a story.

True Story:  The joy that my teammates bring me is immeasurable.  And getting to talk to Kaci so much is a huge blessing.  Today, she told me a story about her and a girl she met at school.  She had no idea why and asked God over and over why He had placed that girl in her life.  Kaci told me about how they met and conversations they had and how confused she was about why all of it was going on.  I didn’t really have anything to say to Kaci, and I hated it.  I hate not having something to say to someone who needs answers.  I don’t like an open-ended story.

True Story:  BCM was beautiful.  During prayer time, a couple of my band mates shared that some of their family members were going through cancer-scares or other sicknesses.  I immediately thought back to my post and lesson that God had taught me about our stories and sharing them.  Even in these rough situations, it’s really cool to be able to share with them and let them know that I had gone through the same thing and could be there for them.  And really mean it.  The message was great too, about the Parable of the Sower that Jesus told (Matthew 13).  He emphasized how important it was to throw and sow our seeds EVERYWHERE, because we never know how the ground (other's hearts) will be where they land.  Cool story.

True Story:  This horrible, no good, very bad week has ended on the most beautiful, heart-filling, God-created note ever.  It’s practically Friday.  My psychology and micro test were both (drumroll) incredibly comfortable.  Even the last page of notes I didn’t have time to cram about DNA were brought back to my memory of taking AP Bio in high school.  My mid-term will only be 8 questions.  I get to go home after that.  I am almost finished with homecoming flowers (I’m really soaking in this fresh flowers in my room thing).  My blog is posted.  It touched at least just one person, and that’s all that matters.  I was encouraged the most when I needed it the most.  Worship band went 100 times better and we felt that much better about it, too.  The Parable of the Sower came in need.  Earlier I said that I had no idea what to say to Kaci about her new friend.  I realized right then that that was totally cool, because God was going to give me the words later.  I told Kaci about throwing her seeds of the Gospel all over the place.  I told her we might not understand why God brings certain people to us, even when we feel inadequate.  It’s because we don’t know if their hearts are thick soil or thing soil or covered in weeds or prickled with thorns or dry and thirsty.  So to make sure they hear it, the most important thing they ever need to hear, we have to just toss out those seeds.  I hope it helped her as much as it blessed me.  All because Jesus was really cool and knew I would need to hear that parable {a story J}.  Oh yes, and he gave me a pretty cool story, too.  And you.  So share it.  Because no one else is like you.  No matter what has happened, no matter how many pages have turned, no matter if you wish you could tear out a few chapters along the way or if you feel like you’re getting ready for the fairy tale ending, you have one of the most beautiful things from the most beautiful One: a story.