ashley & husband

autumn is here.

2011-09-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

if you know me at all you know that i LOVE the fall. some may even say that I am slightly obsessed. there is just something about the coziness, the crisp weather, the soup, the outfits, the candles burning in your house, the pumpkins, the leaves crunching beneath your feet, the honeycrisp apples, pears, pomegranates, and being outside that brings a grin, errr maybe a giant huge smile to my face.
the adams' household has alot of fun celebrating to do over the next few weeks... we are celebrating my dad's 60th birthday this weekend, my firm gives us a half day off for opening day of the state fair, a certain family that i LOVE is moving here, another sweet gal JUST moved here, my sweet niece's (2nd!) birthday is tomorrow, and austin and i celebrate four (WOAH!) years of marriage in just a couple of weeks. so, fall is off to a great start with lots of celebrating and enjoyment of the ones we lurrrrv.
even though the weather in big d is at a "crisp" 96 degrees i will pretend in my head that it is bundling up weather. a girl can dream, right?!

these.were.tasty.

2011-09-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

notice past tense. were. holy smokes, these cookies are SO tasty. seriously get off your computer and go make these right now! i am taking these to Colleen's cute apartment tomorrow night for dinner and hopefully everyone's socks will be blown off under the dinner table. i know mine were. maybe even a couple more articles of clothing, yowzers! ps. just kidding. nothing but the socks. ps numero dos.. i apologize for the poor quality of photos. my nikon is a little under the weather- not that i can use that as an excuse, because i always post iphone photos. baby steps, people.

made

2011-09-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

a couple of things I have made around the casa as of late... my dad's father's day card (forever ago, i know), a gray felt valance for our front door- first we frosted it, then hung this over it- i love how the light comes through it, and a little banner for a great friend who found out she's having a babe... also get excited- i am making some cookies this afternoon and they are looking pretty stellar- you have to refrigerate them for 24-36 hours...I'll let ya know how they turn out... recipe here...

my daddy and my mama.

2011-06-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

my parents were so cute and hip. ahem i mean are so cute and hip. just love these two.

i am so thankful for them and all that they have done for us. they are so supportive of Austin and I and what we do and I wouldn't be where I am today without their love, their guidance, and their protection. they also gave my my sweet sees who i admire and look up to. love you mama llama and daddio!

i just read this article- so beautiful and makes me teary. gives me a glimpse of my God and the life that He has given us. you mamas out there will LOVE this.

summer o' crazy

2011-06-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

summer at the adams' abode is hectic, to say the least. austin is gone every other week for camps & mission trips so we do what we can and make the most of the time that we do have together. this year, i get to go to new orleans on a mission trip so I am SO thankful that we get to spend that week together and not apart and that we get to serve together and hang out with amazing junior highers and highschoolers. in order to lessen the craziness between his schedule and me traveling for work mucho we make sure to plan date nights and fun friend hang outs in between! tonight we are seeing ben folds at the DSO with some fab people and tomorrow we have a date night! its also very helpful to put awesome messages on the chalkboard at home and purchase peonies! but most of all, in all of this, we know and continue to learn that Christ is sufficient and enough no matter what and provides for us at the exact time that we need it. ps. like my new rug!?!? its from my AMAZING IN LAWS!!!!

ps. i noticed that my "page one" still has christmas posts on it so im trying to be a better blogger :)

up close and far away.

2011-06-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

i took these on our nyc trip last fall. isn't THIS SERIES of shots beautiful!? i love how you can see her shirt fluttering in the air. oh nyc how i heart you. dear work, please send me to NYC STAT!!!

india block printing

2011-03-29T02:09:00.000-07:00

makes me want to go back...[but what doesn't, rightttt?]! see a really cute one here, also for west elm. reminds me of sweet meryl.

i love this dude.

2011-02-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

this weekend at church there was an amazing sermon on marriage and how it is a picture to the world of the gospel. it will be on our website by tuesday, right here, you should definitely take a listen :) obviously this guy can say it way more beautifully than i can! we are called to realize that our marriage is bigger than it just being about us and our comforts and what makes us happy and live in the bigger picture that we are painting- our husbands are to love us as Christ loves the church and we, as wives, are called to submit (which is not generally a word that i am drawn to) because our husbands love us in this way. so its not hard to submit to a man that loves us the way Christ loves the church- this is HUGE and this truth changes everything. i pray that our marriage would be a reflection of this and am so thankful that God calls us to live this way. also very thankful for a man that its easy to (er, submit) to because of the way he treats me and leads me. honestly, our marriage is far from perfect, but i know that God is continually rooting out the bad and making us more like Christ if we allow Him to. this message was a beautiful and encouraging reminder that life isn't about us but that we are to point to the One it is about. the world has shattered everyone's view of marriage but if we love the way Christ loves us- in a sacrificial, generous, kind, unconditional, and outpouring way then we are free to offer forgiveness, acceptance, and restoration just like Christ's death on the cross offered us. So its not about trying harder or what we do ourselves, its about letting God work through us, we offer nothing, HE is everything.
here is a cool quote that he gave us: "The key question is this: will we approach marriage from a God-centered view or a man-centered view? In a man-centered view, we will maintain our marriage as long as our earthly comforts, desires, and expectations are met. In a God-centered view, we preserve our marriages because it brings glory to God and points a sinful world to a reconciling Creator." CJ Mahaney

those are some sexy legs

2011-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

goooooood story. so, my office is located in a somewhat industrial-ous (love my made-up word) area/ a bit outside the design district. last friday i wanted to do my own thing on my lunch so i ate what i brought quickly and headed to THE LULA B's (complete with eames chairs and classic midcentury mod items) just up the road. i took several pics & headed back to the office. i happened to email austin one picture of a kitchen table that was reasonably priced and told him how much i sure did love it. he said we could look over finances and if we needed to, go look at it on saturday. cool, no big deal. (fridays are austin's day off). so i got home after work and what is sitting in our dining area!!?!? thats right, austin purchased the table while i was at work and picked it up, then set it up. i was so, so, so surprised. check out those sexy legs!!!

i have a very exciting week ahead... going to NYC for work tuesday/ wednesday (and who knows, maybe i'll get snowed in- it would be dreadful ;) aaand my sweet sees is coming into town on friday and we are having a girls night o crafting and mexican food. saturday i have a breakfast date with a sweet gal from our church and austin and i have late lunch with zach and autumn and landree (austin worked for him at grapevine church) and sunday we are doing some youth stuff. good stuff!

have you seen this all-star crafter? she is super talented. here is her interview on design sponge.

gasp! and a happy new year to you.

2011-01-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

Isnt this beautiful?!!? i sooo want to do this on new years or fourth of july. or at a wedding. they are amaaaaazing. hope you had an amazing christmas and a happy new year. we surely did! grateful for time with family, relaxation, and extra time with hubby :)

where we stay {christmas edition}

2010-12-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

christmas at the adams abode officially started today. its super cozy around here. the hubs & i had the best day together (the whole day!) we went to breakfast, did some shopping, chilled at home & decorated, went to dinner, cleaned a little, and just enjoyed a day of togetherness :) i got a nativity scene recently and i love it. officially knocked something else off the list:) i just made the garland on our mantel and im really pleased with it. thanks to the best mama and the best seester for helping me out with it! i also really like the first tree for two reasons: (1) its vintage-esque and (2) it was my mamas, so it reminds me of my sweet parentals. We are trying to focus around here on our Savior and what the season is really about. I read an article by Rob Bell on the advent season and thought this was really cool:
And so each December, we enter into a season of waiting, expecting, longing. Spirit meets us in the ache.
We ask God to enter into the deepest places of cynicism, bitterness and hardness where we have stopped believing that tomorrow can be better than today.
We open up. We soften up. We turn our hearts in the direction of that day. That day when the baby cries His first cry and we, surrounded by shepherds and angels and everybody in between, celebrate that sound in time that brings our Spirits what we’ve been longing for.
For the full article, go here.

something to consider

2010-11-20T05:23:00.000-08:00

moma

2010-11-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

SLAV! when are we going to the moma together!?!

union sq.

2010-10-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

this is where i fell in love with farmers markets! when i spent the summer in nyc this was my subway stop and every monday, wednesday, & friday i would get to peruse it before work & during lunch. dont you think those radishes are just beautiful?? random, whenever austin and i first started dating i remember cutting fruit and talking about how pretty i thought it was. he thought i was crazy! now though, the hubs is totally used to it ;)

concrete jungle where dreams are made of.

2010-10-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

there's nothing you cant do. these streets will make you feel brand new. the lights will inspire youuuuu. oh yes. i am quoting some jay-z & alicia keys. ha! dont judge. austin and i had such a wonderful trip and it was so great having 5 entire days with just us. i cant believe we've been married for three years! im posting some today but decided i will divide our trip out into different posts :) ps. chris martin the last picture is for you!

yummy yummy pizza

2010-10-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

we went to grimaldis last weekend- extra cheese, basil, & tomatoes make for a rockin' good pizza! aaand i get to cross something off my list :) we are headed to NYC for our 3rd anni, and im quite positive we will be devouring more pizza in the big apple. im SO excited to have free time with the hubs! aaaand as an added bonus, new york is sooo inspiring! wooohoooO!

but a sampling.

2010-10-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

1. go ice skating.
2. start painting artist trading cards. the backstory here is i went to the milwaukee art museum and learned about portrait miniatures. google it, if you are interested :) so i want to make a mod version. they will be of people i love and people i see. so fun. i will post once i do my first one.
~~3. do something real fun for the 3rd anni. (ok so i totally started this list before austin told me that we are going to NYC!!! wooohoooo!)~~
4. paint one of my chairs kelly green.
5. just keep sewing just keep sewing.
6. continue working on the polaroid collage. right now i have thirty!)
7. plant tomatoes.
8. find ways to continue india involvement.
9. make a wreath (pic above is a sampling).
10.make a fabric screen for the den or our room.
11. make some fro yo & add some tasty toppings.
~~12. go get pizza @ grimaldis.~~
13. add elbow patches to a shirt and/or cardigan.
14. have a museum day in ft. worth.
15. go to the renegade craft fair in austin with my sweet sees.
16. mustache gloves. you'll see.
17. make a key cozy with yarn.
18. make strawberry lemonade.
19. screen print some more (aim taught me and its so fun!)
20. make a vest.
21. get the nose pierced. i really do want to.
22. fix the oh so fabulous danish chairs.
23. make a liner for the bike basket & ride the bike. dallas is not bike friendly booo.
24. be more intentional with my 7th graders.
25. get a holga camera.
~~26. purchase a nativity scene. ive wanted a cool one for awhile :)~~
27. continue to use my camera in manual mode & get better at it!
28. quit drinking cokes & run, run, run!
29. take a trip to CO to see our sweet buddies and our old church and hang at our old awesome spots that we miss so dearly :)
30. make us bedside tables.

i dont have a deadline for myself on these. i decided i have enough of those at work!

sweet girlie

2010-09-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

cant believe this sweet gal is 1 today. happy birthday miss meryl!

his & her

2010-08-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

i finished our his & her pillows! finally. the 'his' took forev. yarn and knots all over the place! and i framed two of my fave india photos above our bed! i have two more that i love, but those can wait for later. two things off the list! i have one more thing im going to do from my old list. then i'm going to have a new one! yay lists ;).

salute your dork day

2010-08-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

the hubs turned 26, oh, more than a month ago, and im just now getting around to posting this. i didnt really take any pics so these are all courtesy of my awesomely amazing sneester. we all wore fake glasses, had a little photo booth, and he got dorky gifts like new glasses, a shark tooth, suspenders, etc. he also got his fave, lemon meringue pie.

say hello, wave goodbye

2010-06-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

the bruyninckx clan is gone. sad, sad, day. i am going to miss sweet meryl and her amazing mama and daddy. we love you guys and are so excited for your austin adventures. in other majorly exciting news the hubs got a position at lakepointe church in rockwall as the junior high associate. so happy for him and how God is using him. things have been absolutely crazy with us recently as we are adjusting to austin's new job and such. i will try to better about blogging but no promises :)

hoot hoot

2010-05-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

i love this dude and i love my new hattie and i looove owls! sooo i got this sweet tobaggon with my bday money off of etsy. sooo cute! too bad dallas has hot weather and i wont be sporting it for awhile... aaand while we are on the topic of buying things... ive been trying to get this sweet necklace for awhile but the super fabulous artist always sells out real fast. i snagged one up today and ill post pics of it when it comes in the mail. eeeeek! ps. im giving myself an extension on my list- the move & some other stuff got a little in the way so im giving myself until um i feel like it :). then ill do a new list!

Lakshmi (part three)

2010-04-11T12:01:00.001-07:00

Raja (part two)

2010-04-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

part one

2010-04-05T19:51:00.001-07:00

this is the first of three videos austin made for our india presentation at church. i will post the other two over the next several days.

hotel motel holiday inn.

2010-03-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

sorry for the blog hiatus. #16 off the list! i am a super huge fan of signage & am going to continue doing this! originally my idea was just to get motel signage; but i just kept finding random theaters & other goodies along the way. Props to Jeff, Rebecca, and Laura for having an amazing apt/ cool signage... (they live at the buckingham one!) The move went as well as it could have and we are happy to be back around family & friends but are really missing our denver peeps and our church. Its def a big transition but we are praising God for His provision and are excited to see what He has planned.

meet suki.

2010-02-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

our sock monkey! isnt she cute? number 11 off the list!

vance kirkland

2010-02-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

number 18 off the list! the most inspiring part was his studio. its so cool to see where people create. he was really short so he would get above the table in the straps that you see and paint above the canvases because they were so big.

the dude was super prolific- there were three rooms full of paintings that they didnt even have room to display, sooo sad. the volunteers said they estimated they only had about 10% of his work displayed.

they also had a room full of mod chairs so obviously i was in heaven! i went with sara, my museum buddy, who is a super great gal to be around. im really going to miss her when we move. oh yah, ps. we are moving back to big d town tejas. very bittersweet...

But a glimpse...

2010-01-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. Revelation 7:9

Some of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. The first video is from the AIDS clinic in Dharmapuri and the second is from the orphanage in Bangalore.

carving a heart

2010-01-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

and snowshoeing too! slowly working our way on #10! i know its cheeeezy but im not gonna lie, i have always wanted to carve a heart because we always see them when we're snowshoeing, so i made sure austin brought a knife this time. aand we found some cool motel signage!

made.

2010-01-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

these for little m for Christmas! i meant to get some pics of her in them, but, i didnt, so this will have to do for now! progress on the 25 things is going quite well, more to come on that later!

you would even say it glows

2009-12-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

love, ash & austin

25 things

2009-12-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

to do before i turn 26!
1. learn to use my camera well.
2. keep sewing and learn more while doing it.
~~3. photograph poets row.~~
4. go ice skating.
~~5. go to santa fe.~~
6. make a real indian meal.
~~7. camp out in the living room.~~
~~8. be dedicated to a real budget.~~
9. fly a kite (first, make the kite cute).
~~10. snowshoe.... alot.~~
~~11. make a sock monkey.~~
~~12. make some cute pillows for the sofa.~~
13. redo my danish chairs.
~~14. clean out the closet + donate alot of stuff.~~
15. talk about india deeply & intentionally to people.
~~16. photograph all the cool motel signage in denver.~~
17. ride my bike on the weekends.
~~18. go to the kirkland museum.~~
~~19. print my favorite photo from india & buy a frame for it.~~
~~20. make austin an apple pie from scratch.~~
~~21. treat austin (and myself!) to a cupcake at the shoppe.~~
~~22. make some him & her pillows for our bed. (they are sooo cute!)~~
23. take the portable grill & have a picnic at the park.
~~24. get on a good running schedule.~~
25. get my nose pierced.
some of these things aren't a big deal, but I did have to give myself some grace considering my birthday is only in four months. exciting four months ahead, eh!?

let us adore Him

2009-12-14T02:06:00.000-08:00

there is so much going through my head now with Christmas upon us. the fact that we arrived from india just a month ago beautifies & simplifies things in a wonderful, yet complicated way. two things keep coming to mind- the desire for more, want, & eagerly awaiting my Savior.

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

phil 3:17-21

He will transform my lowly body!!!! this self that desires more stuff that i dont need. i long to be transformed, i long for my mind to be set on the things above, to have a true desire for less earthly things and for the world to be transformed. i saw this thing. this hugely complicated, misunderstood, but beautiful & deep thing in india. poverty. brokenness, yet renewal& freedom in Christ. please be praying for us (our india team) as we prepare for a presentation for our church regarding our trip. pray that they would feel deeply connected, that they would desire a greater life for these people & that their hearts would be changed...not only to do these things but feel responsible and move into action. that i would desire less for myself and more for others. their needs our great, their valleys deeper, their poverty unimaginable. but our God is greater than all of these. nothing but your blood, King Jesus.

miss meryl b.

2009-10-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

adorable, right? my niece, one month old! we love her so much and cant wait to see her again!

snow-brainer

2009-10-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

i am currently loving our winter wonderland! ask me the same question in feb/ march, i may tell you otherwise. i went on a quick jaunt today and snagged some fun photos.

so happy together

2009-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

its hard to believe a little over two years ago austin and i said I DO. happy anniversary to my hubs. i love him soo much and am so very thankful for him. isn't he so handsome?