"friday meetups" -- samantha plank.

this girl is one of a kind. i met her through "instagram" a while back & from there our relationship sort of turned into this random texting of encouraging words to each other. she sent me a card when i was living in atlanta on a day when i needed it most & now i view her as a kindred spirit. it's the little things like that, that show how big our father is. that card has encouraged my on numerous days & it is a constant reminder that he pays attention. God is so intentional with his feelings for us & his thoughts for us, it truly amazes me.

it is crazy how small this world is & how things like social media can put your feet on a path to someone that can change your life in small ways & in big ways. i feel like this young woman is going to change many lives & recently she has started changing her own. 

i am so happy to share her interview with you & i know you will fall in love with her just as much as i have. she is also a fellow blogger and you can follow along with her -------> here

 Describe yourself in 3 words?

Hmm.. this is a tough one because usually my answers would be: bubbly, loud, and sweet. But honestly when I dig deeper they would be: compassionate, loving, and spiritually encouraging.

We all see how inspiring you are with your incredible healthy lifestyle transformation, but what & who inspires you?

Honestly what inspired me to start taking care of myself was true love. I was being controlled by so many things in my life. My image has been a huge thing since I was a teenager. I allowed what others thought about me to mess with my emotions, which led to me over eating and not taking care of my body. So I decided one day that I was done with all of that, and now I'm here on day 121 and I've lost 60 lbs! I honestly never believed in myself enough to keep going, and I've accomplished so much. I'm definitely motivated everyday to be the best Samantha that i can be possible. Specially for my future husband. lol

** you can follow her on her fitness instagram  or her regular instagram

Do you have a plan you follow or are do you just go for it? 

I always thought I had to have a plan i needed to follow before I could start, which led to me waiting day after day after day. So I just decided eat as clean as possible and as little carbs as possible. I love veggies so it wasn't that hard to switch. 

Favorite songs to jam out too? like the ones you sing to the top of your lungs in the car when you think no one is watching? 

I'm pretty sure you are going to laugh after I tell you which songs they are. 

A whole new world, from Aladdin

Should've been us- tori kelly

Chains break-Austin Admec 

and oh my gosh, Let it go from frozen. Ive never even seen the movie (i have a 7 year old sister)

Definitely get weird looks when singing that song haha 

Favorite childhood memory?

My favorite memory would be the times when I was younger and my brothers and I would dance and sing for my parents in our living room. lol cheesy but unforgettable. 

Favorite homemade recipe?

Hmm..definitely,  Cuisine a la Samantha haha Homemade mac and cheese 

Best advice you have ever been given?

Don't ever settle for less than what God has for you in this life. -Mommy

if you could go anywhere today, where would you go?

I would love to say where I really want to drive right now but I'll have to leave that to myself. (someone special is not in my state right now) 

instead i guess i would love to be on beach beach getting a tan enjoying the sun and not having a care in the world. 

favorite quote?

Don't shine so others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him.

if you were given a few minutes to share with a room full of strangers what's on your heart at this very moment, what would you say?

Don't ever think that what you have to offer isn't enough. We need to stop looking at ourselves and thinking so negatively. Don't settle for anything less than what The Father has for you. We all have a past, and a lot of us tend to look down upon ourselves, but God isn't so why should we. He has so much love for us, and it covers all the stuff we have done or will do. We are not the sins we commit, we are not what the enemy calls us, and we are not what the people in our lives call us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of Jesus! Nothing you have done or will do can ever separate you from the love of Jesus. Giving my life to Jesus was the greatest decision I could ever make and I am so thankful for His love and how I can share it with everyone around me. 

who do you look up to & why?

I look up to my mom so much. She is the most amazing mother/wife/friend I've ever known. She is a pure example of the woman I want to be every day. She loves God with all of her heart, and a prayer warrior. She has taught me to be all God has called me to be, along with how to love people. She is my best friend and someone I know I can always count on to be my biggest cheerleader. She's the type of woman people write books about. I am so thankful for her and seriously don't know what I would do without her in my life. I'd be lost. 

funny thing about this sweet girl is that we have never even met in person, (we need to change that one day)

please follow along with her if you need to be encouraged, if you just want to see her pretty little face more often or if you simply want to put more positive in your life. this world has so much negativity & there is such a need for people like samantha. she is a light in this world & she doesn't even know how many lives she is touching or will touch. my prayer for samantha is that everyday when she wakes up she knows where her worth comes from, that she knows how much the father truly loves her & that God re-energizes her fresh so she can go out & be the light that she already is every single day. 

samantha thank you for being willing to let me interview you, you are truly one-of-a-kind

last weeks meetup with wilderson is here

happy friday!

-E

cinnamon rolls y'all.

lets get real. you can never eat just one. nope, you eat one & then one becomes two & then two becomes 3 until your body starts shutting down from a sugar overload, but you don't care. just drink some lemon water take a nap & then start all over again. right?

working with yeast is something that took me a minute to get use to. its kind of like me- impatient & unpredictable. you can't poke it too much or it gets really upset & will ruin everything. it literally has ruined my days before. #breadgonewrong #ruinedcinnamonrolls you get the point.

so for these rolls i found this recipe here

this is everything you will need- if you are like me you organize everything before you start making it. i cannot even cook without my kitchen being super clean.

stuff you need:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 large eggs
6 cups AP flour
1 TB canola oil
4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup butter softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 TB milk

sidenote: i did not have a lot of brown sugar- i had like 1 cup, so i used that & organic cane sugar & coconut sugar

i also used haitian vanilla
instead of using the canola oil for the bowl i used butter.

first things first- microwave your milk for 3 minutes
now add softened butter
add 1/2 cup sugar & yeast
stir a little, cover with a towel and let sit for 5 minutes.

now transfer this little bit of stuff to a bigger bowl & stir in your salt & eggs

now mix in 1 cup of flour at a time

knead for 5 minutes

make a ball with your dough pick it up & butter your bowl (this is where she used canola oil)

put the dough back in and flip one time

cover and let is rise for 1 hour

*this is always super fun when you go back in an hour & literally see how it has doubled in size. you literally squeal bc you know you nailed it. its all in those moments when you know if you got it right or not. 

now after the hour is done punch the dough down and let it sit for 10 minutes. 

now divide dough in 1/2 and roll each half into a rectangular shape

now for the filling you will mix together the brown sugar & cinnamon.

spread your melted butter over each half & let the sprinkling begin. 

make sure to get to the edges.

now roll them as tight as you can. pinch the edges closed when your finished rolling. 

divide them into whatever size you would like. you can make huge ones or little small ones. 

now i used a 9 x 14 dish and let some butter melt in the pan and sprinkled the bottom of the pan with my sugar mix. lay each little roll down on the pan and let them sit for 1 hour bc they will get bigger. 

plop them in the oven 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

when you pull them out you can start on the frosting. 

its really easy. 

mix together

1/2 cup butter softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

4 TB milk

if you want it thinner add more milk. 

then spread it over those bad boys. 

fix a plate & get down to business. 

hope you guys enjoy these as much as i did.

my sweet tooth has been fixed..... for now. 

-- E

being present.

what am i listening to? - Ben Rector on Spotify- I am literally just shuffling all of his amazing music.

anyways back to the post. do you ever just sit and think about your life, how it is, or how you want it to be? well i do. i do it all the time & i am sure i have written about this before. my man is always telling me to be more like a sniper rifle instead of a shotgun. what can i say? i like to do a lot of things all at once.

i think about where i would really like to live. i think about things i would like to have or buy. i think about vacations. i think about cars. i think to myself, man if i had the money i would do this or that. i would go here or there. i have been feeling really convicted of this lately. the lord is constantly having to remind me to be present. to be thankful for the here & now. i can spend so much time thinking of what i wish to be that i forget where i am & what i have now. i am so blessed. i have every single thing i need right at this moment & it is so important for me to acknowledge that. we all need to be reminded to be thankful for every single moment & know that the lord takes care of us each & every day. everything we need for every day we live is provided & that alone is an amazing thing. lets all challenge each other to be present. lets encourage each other to take everyday on a day to day basis. lets be there for each other in the times when we don't have lot & in times when we have so much. lets pray for each other & stand beside each other as christians should be doing. most importantly lets take time each & everyday with the lord to show him how much we care about him even in the times when we don't have what we think is enough. lets spend time with him when we have more than enough. lets put just as much energy in our time with the lord as we do with our new fitness schedule, or with our newest hobby, as we do with our friends, or even with this blog.

lets be present.

-- E

rentals- cheap tricks to add color.

i have been looking all over the place to find cool projects that can spruce up our soon to be rental home & i have found a few ideas that really stuck out.

simple & cheap. with rental properties i feel like there are all kinds of rules. one of my least favorites is the "you cannot paint the walls" what? wall color is magical even if you are painting the walls bright white. so. pinterest & my mind have been on this daydream binge of finding the remedy to my dilemma.

i plan on hanging colorful art- & using furniture as statement pieces. my sister is an artist & i want her to do some pieces for me as well as buy this one piece i have been wanting for a while.

                                                 these living room ideas are my favorite.

i am on the lookout for a really cool functional couch. i love this burnt orange!

i also love the idea of hanging old art work from when i was a kid. i have a ton of that stuff just boxed up so i plan on having a craft day & framing some!

DIY wood ideas to brighten up the space too.

i thought about doing this one, but changing hello to welcome.

or this piece where they blew up a hymn & framed it.

you can also add some color with a rug. i have always loved those cow hide rugs & ikea has a black one that i really really want. 

add a couple of throws to a sofa of your choice too!

i am a black, white & grey girl through & through, but bright colors do not scare me. 

add some color to furniture you already have! i have this really cool cabinet that i cannot wait to paint and use as my craft closet! that will be a full post in itself. sometimes the closet space in rentals are really small, but you can make do utilizing furniture you already have.

i am thinking of doing this color with the cabinet i have! its bright & will look so good with the black & white throw folded o top!

lamps are another way you can add some color or make them a statement piece.

there are plenty of ways you can add color by using things you already have to spice up a room. i am really excited to be moving and take pictures to show you guys the changes i will be making.  i love DIY projects & hopefully by then i will have another computer and can use my camera again.

in case you didn't know someone stole my husbands bookbag with our mac in it :( sad day.

cheers to future makeovers,

mrs.estes

weekend recap.

whew. i am sitting at my desk right now about to pass out. sleep was not good to me last night. wedds spent a few days with us which i was thankful for. he is so sweet & i am just so happy he is here.

friday he went to whitewater with sarah & the youth group that was staying at the mission house we run in atlanta. he had so much fun & met some new friends. when he got back we went shopping at old navy. he wanted to pick his family out some gifts & we decided to get him a few cute things of his own.

 we all slept in on saturday. literally until 12:00. it was nice to not have anywhere to be.

cory got up and went on a little trip to krispy kreme. 

& i made a press.

thank you sweet husband. your the best. when wedds finally woke up and saw cory, he said "man you look nice", it was so sweet.

we goofed off watching so much stuff on tv. we watched UFC, afv, & we finished karate kid 2. that kid loves karate kid. he announced that he was hungry so we took a trip to popeyes for some chicken.

seriously, he is the cutest.

cory had some stuff to take care of so i packed a bag & got wedds things ready so we could head to carrollton as soon as he was done. while we were eating our lunch we started talking about wing eating contest & he decided he could win one. so we set up one for that night between cory, nick & wedds. hahahah! you guys, if you even knew how big these dudes are. poor wedds, he is so brave.  

we head to carrollton so wedds can win $20 eating wings, stop by sonic and get some ice cream and slushies. mm. ocean water is all i have to say.

so. here are some pictures of the competition. the one i took of cory chowing down was blurry & i was sad bc it was awesome.

wedds did not win, BUT it was so fun & he ate those wings so fast. 

cory was #1

nick was #2 

wedds was #3

good game you guys. 

cheers,

mrs. estes