Slowly Making NC My Home

Hey y'all! 

Hope everyone has been doing great! Things over here have been beyond hectic. I've been helping my parents move into our new house and decided that wasn't enough excitement - so I broke two toes and am now wearing the most fashionable boot and get to walk with a new swag (limp). 

As I slowly start to unpack, I keep thinking about all of the great decor to go along with my room. My colors are navy, gold, and white. So I've been on Pinterest looking at all the beautiful DIY gold spray paint projects. I'll be posting pictures as soon as I start them! But meanwhile, the house finally has its first decor .. a Saint Mary's flag - Go Gaels!! 

Since our house isn't quiet liveable just yet (no wifi - not okay!), we have been residing at my aunt and uncle's. As a thank you, I've been helping my aunt (a fellow Fall lover) decorate with Fall goodness. The monogram pumpkin door decor in the previous post was my DIT gift to her for her birthday. And last night I decided her pumpkins needed an extra special touch as well. 

I used white acrylic paint and added some sass! You can never go wrong with chevron and polka dots and they look adorable when pulling up up to the house. 

That's all I've been up to for now but will be in touch soon! 

Until next time,

                     Michele 

Harvest DIY Time

As y'all will soon learn, I am a Holiday fanatic!! Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years: from September to December, I feel like a little kid again. (Just writing this post is getting me excited!)

In honor of Fall being in full swing, I thought now would be a perfect time to share some Harvest DIYs.

These two are my latest Fall door decor. Not only do these spread Fall cheer, but they are super easy and budget friendly.  

Harvest Hydrangea Wreath 

What you'll need:

- a twig wreath

- Harvest colored fake hydrangeas

- hot glue gun

- brown ribbon 

I made this wreath a couple of years ago, so I do not have a picture step by step, but I promise it was very easy!

1. Trim down the stems on the hydrangeas so that the base of the flowers will lie directly against the wreath. Keep the leaves for later.

2. Arrange the flowers to where you want them. I arranged mine closer together, to create a fuller look. 

3. Once you have the flowers placed where you want them, use the hot glue gun to secure them. I personally used quite a bit of glue, just so I knew everything wouldn't move at all.

4. Once the flowers are secure, sporadically add leaves where there might be any gaps or need for some green. Once placed in their spots, add hot glue beneath them.

5. Lastly, find a twig where you can loop your ribbon through. Tie the ribbon into a bow, allowing for the length of your choice and then hot glue the place where the ribbon attaches to the wreath. 

And that's it! Like I said, very simple and all products were purchased at Wal-Mart and Joann's.

Monogram Pumpkin 

What you'll need:

- I purchased the pumpkin monogram via Jane.com. (Unfortunately, Jane only keeps listings for about two days. So this exact pumpkin is no longer available. But every night, there are new listings - so keep your eye out for one coming soon!)

- Krylon spray primer 

- orange acrylic paint

- brown acrylic paint

- Krylon spray sealant

- burlap and orange chevron ribbon

1. Begin with Krylon spray priming the wood and allow it to completely dry. I gave it a couple of hours.

2. Next paint the pumpkin orange and the stem brown! Do as many coats as you need - I did two and then let that dry over night.

 3. Once it is completely dry, use the Krylon spray sealant to keep it all protected. This too a couple of hours to dry.

4. For the bow, my mom actually helped make this and it did take a couple tries. Here is a tutorial I found that is exactly what she did! How to Tie a Bow with Ribbon

And that's it!!

Hope you enjoyed these Harvest DIYs. As you know, I just moved to North Carolina (via CA) and our house is finally done!!! I am soo looking forward to decorating my room, so I will be sharing many more DIYs very soon!

Until next time, 

Michele

 

God is the Real MVP

Happy Friday Y'all!

As a way to slowly become a more active North Carolina resident, I have recently begun joining my cousin to her church and young pro events. At first, this experience was more of a culture shock than moving across the country. All of these young adults were offering their whole hearts to God, and while I found this to be inspiring, I felt so out of place. I remember the first time I saw a girl raise her hands in praise during a song; it truly sent a shiver down my spine as I thought I could never, ever do that - the thought of being so charismatic was completely intimidating.

I have attended Catholic school my entire life, so the discussion of God and faith was a rather regular occurrence. I was Baptized, had my First Communion and continued on to become Confirmed. I served as an altar server for 9 years, and then served as a Eucharistic Minister after Confirmation. I loved going to Catholic mass; the routine was the same every mass: we sang the same songs, recited the same prayers, went through the same motions, and every time I received the Eucharist, I felt complete again. As you can tell, I attended a very TRADITIONAL Catholic Church, so when I saw that girl raising up her arms, feeling the Spirit moving within her, I about had a heart attack. Catholics don't do that!! You get ready nice and early, put on your best Sunday dress, and then sit their quietly for an hour, only moving when it was time to stand, sit, kneel, and walk to Communion. After mass, you would say hello to your fellow Catholic school mates, get a donut and head home. No where in there were people getting up in the aisle dancing to the tune of Jesus! 

After the initial culture shock of experiencing a true Southern God - loving experience, I began to feel my faith was lacking compared to these believers. Why was I not feeling compelled by God to get up in the aisle and sing for him? Were God and I not as close as I had thought my entire life? I attended Church, did community service, went on Kairos (LT4), and even attended Catholic college...How could God and I not be close after all of that! 

I have been in North Carolina since the middle of July, so I have been experiencing about three months of doubt in my relationship with God. While I felt completely inadequate and undeserving of His love, I continued to reach out to Him, praying that one day I can feel His presence like my peers can. Thursday night is Young Pros night at Summit Church, even though I still felt uneasy, I forced myself to go. For the first time, I could feel the music a little stronger and was truly singing from the heart. I was finally feeling the connection I wanted with God and while it was truly exhilarating, it was very familiar. I realized last night that I was more concerned on comparing my relationship to what I thought it was supposed to be like, rather than focusing on what God was actually trying to tell me. I focused on my feelings - NOT on Him. God never loved me any less because I wasn't singing loud enough or dancing at Church. God loves me just the way I am and I need to remember that - like the title says: God is the real MVP!

I hope that y'all have a wonderful weekend and remember that God loves you!

- Michele

Enjoying The Season

As my first blog post, I thought this would be a perfect time to tell you a little about myself. 

I am a recent college graduate from Saint Mary's College of California (Go Gaels!) and a new resident of the wonderful state of North Carolina. The last year of my life has been a series of (good and bad) adventures, testing my will in so many unimaginable ways. These adventures are what lead me to you. As a young girl, I had every second of my adult life planned out. I would attend SMC as a biology major, find my true love, ace every course, apply and get into dental school in San Francisco, become engaged to my loving boyfriend, and live happily ever after. Reality check: I did not graduate with a biology degree (thus no dental school), I met several gentleman in college - none of which were close to true love, I am still single and no ring in my near future AT ALL, and I now live in North Carolina, not a cute loft in San Francisco. 

The move to North Carolina was exciting because I could not wait to leave all my problems back in that sunny state. I imagined my new life to be the real life Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts. However, I quickly learned, the struggles I experienced in CA would also exist in North Carolina. For example, the boys. Southern boys still use Tinder, chivalry is a lost art, and they have strictly one thing on their mind. ( I know this does not apply to every southern gent, but I haven't been proven wrong yet.) Also, the delicious fried food and biscuits they have going on down here - LOVE THEM, however, my waist line does not. 

I don't want you to believe my move has been all that terrible, I wouldn't change this experience for anything. The one person who supported me during my time in California, has continued to shine in my current life. God. I have attended Catholic school all my life, and while I may not have appreciated it fully during those awkward high school days, I am completely grateful for every moment learning about being a Christ centered woman. I have been wanting to share my God filled experiences, just like all the Christian autobiographies I have been reading lately. But I felt my stories wouldn't be unique.There is a surplus of literature discussing how people found God and their lives will never be the same. Then last night as I laid in bed crying to God, feeling so lost and hurt by the evils in this world, I felt God compelling me to share my story. To show other 20 somethings that I too experience very raw and vulnerable moments, when I reach to God praying to be filled with His peace and knowledge. Each of our experiences are truly unique in every way and deserve to be shared. 

My hopes for this blog are to share experiences along my journey in finding God, while living a full life as a 20 something. From career searching, to relationships, to fashion and pretty things, all while maintaining a strong relationship with God. This is not only a place for my experiences to be shared, but also yours! Please please feel free to comment, send me emails - ANYTHING! I am hear to be a sounding board and to simply remind you, you're not alone!!

Until next time - 
                   
                         Michele Paulina