thankful snapshots

This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post most days, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.

If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this past week (or so)...

Thankful for a pretty morning sky!!

Thankful for unexpected adventures... had to take my mom to the smallest, retro airport this week.

They have a really unique retro diner there too... airplane pictures everywhere.

 Thankful for baking day! Made this again.

Thankful for my new olive green pants. Love them!

Thankful for a couple of snowy days this week & a cozy night with my favorite, Emma!

Thankful for homemade chicken & barley soup & my favorite treat lately: chocolate kisses & almonds!

Thankful for my new yarn organization in my closet & for learning new knitting techniques!

Thankful for bowling with my brother & uncle, this week!

thankful snapshots

This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post most days, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.

If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this past week (or so)...

Thankful for homemade valentine goodies!! My favorites!

Thankful for this doggie & her cute-ness! She makes me happy everyday! 

Thankful for flowers in February.

Thankful for reading good words, during Bible study time.

And for watching one of my favorite musicals ever, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! Love it!!

verse four: be still

This is my 4th memory verse of 2013.

In my Bible study yesterday, I read the "Crossing of the Red Sea" in Exodus 13:17- 14:31.

^14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 

¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The Isrealites fear almost kept them from the freedom that God had planned for them.

The Isrealites had no faith. But Moses lead them with great faith.

 And because of that faith, God delivered them from the Egyptians, in a miraculous way!

Moses' advice to the Isrealites was to "be still"... 

And that is advice that we all need to remember more often.

I started thinking more about what it really means to be still...

Sure, it's about approaching God with a quite spirit, in order to truly listen to Him.

But it's also about having faith in Him & giving Him complete control over your life.

Often, when fearful things happen, we turn to God, but we still hold on to the worry.

The fact is, we can't have faith & worry at the same time. 

We have to boldly trust that God is fighting for us.

That God is in control of our lives & that He knows what is best for us.

We have to have faith that His plan is what will happen in our lives.

Fear & worry are not a part of that equation.

That is what the words "be still" mean to me right now. 

And that's why I choose to focus on that verse for the next couple of weeks.

I hope you all have a happy weekend! 

happy valentine's day!

recipe: mini heart pies

I love hearts & I love pie! So I thought, why not combine two of my loves and make heart-shaped mini pies. 

And because tomorrow is Valentine's day, I had a perfect excuse to make these!

Start by making your pie crust. It's actually pretty easy...

Here is a recipe for my favorite pie crust.

Of course, you could use store-bought pie crust, if you'd like.

Next, roll out your dough & cut out the hearts, using a cookie cutter.

For the filling, I used my own homemade chunky apple sauce. And it worked perfectly.

But you could used almost anything you wanted...

Fresh fruit, cut very small or even grated. Just add a bit of sugar, cinnamon & flour. 

Jams or purees. Or just store-bought pie filling.

You could even use savory combos: these & these look so good.

Just put a small amount of your filling on top of one of the hearts.

Be careful not to use to much filling or it will make a mess when you put the tops on.

Use a fork to seal up the edges.

Then, poke the tops with a fork & brush with egg.

This picture is a good diagram of these steps.

Place the pies on to a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & a drizzle of caramel sauce.

This is a perfect Valentine's Day dessert!

thankful snapshots

 This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post every day, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.

If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this week!

Thankful for these simple words & design inspiration. 

This print is now for sale in my shop... it even comes in 4 different colors schemes!

Thankful for yummy mini heart apple pies & getting inspired by valentine's day.

I will share the recipe for the apple pies soon! Yay!

So thankful for starting a new Beth Moore Bible study, "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place". 

I just finished the first week's homework... I am so happy to be in the swing of another study! 

Thankful for big fluffy snowflakes that fell yesterday.

It is already melted, but we are expected to get some more in the coming week! 

Thankful for days off. I spent my morning watching I Love Lucy & baking red velvet cheesecake brownies.

They didn't turn out quite right, but they are still pretty good. Here is the recipe that I used & what they were supposed to look like... I think they turned out funny, because I used fat free cream cheese... oh well.

recipe: banana bars with brown sugar cream cheese frosting

Banana Bars

½ cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1½ cups mashed, ripe bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

Directions to make banana bars…

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, bananas, and vanilla.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda & salt.
Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until well combined.

Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. (I cut the recipe in half & used an 8 x 11.5 pan) 
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.
Allow the bars to cool completely, before you frost them. 

Brown Sugar & Cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 stick butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6 cups powdered sugar

Directions to make the frosting…

Mix the butter, cream cheese & vanilla in a large mixing bowl, until fluffy and well-combined.
Mix in the brown sugar & cinnamon.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, until it becomes the right consistency & it is smooth.
Add a little bit of milk, if frosting gets too thick.

new "mini knit bow headbands" in my shop!

I have just added a new collection of Mini Knit Bow Headbands to my shop! Yay!!

(These are a mini version of my original design, which is still for sale here.)

On these mini headbands, the bands are about a 1/2" wide & the bows are about 3".

They are perfect for newborns to 3 months, but could be custom made for any size.

They would make great props for baby photo sessions! Cute!

And they come in really pretty new colors, that are perfect for spring!!

If I didn't have spring fever before, I do now...   :)

{ visit my shop }

thankful 365 + life lately

This is my attempt at being thankful every day... for little things & big things.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I post every day, via Instagram @sarah_brightside.

If you don't follow me there, here are my snapshots from this week!

Thankful for girl scout cookies & vanilla chai tea (my new favorite)!

Thankful for a cozy home on snowy days.  Thankful for some much needed snow. 

I love how bright & clear it is after a fresh snow! So pretty!

Thankful for pretty vintage finds. The vase was only $4!!

Thankful that God is always in control, even when life is a bit crazy.

Thankful for a silly dog, who always makes me laugh (yes, she is begging for broccoli...) Haha!

Thankful that there is always hope!

Currently watching season two of Downton Abbey   +   a snapshot of myself

And... pretty details of a favorite old building.

LIFE has been a bit overwhelming lately... My great Aunt Suellen passed away on Friday. It's so hard for my family to believe that she is really gone. We will miss her so SO much! She always made us so happy. Life will not be the same without her. But at the same time, there is hope, because I know that she is no longer in any pain. She had been through so much over the past several years. And now, she is at peace & she is with Jesus & it makes me feel better to know that!

ALSO... My grandpa has been in the hospital for the last few days. He is getting released today, but his health is not so good... My grandma is on her way back from Ohio today. (She did get to see my aunt for a few days before she passed away & she got to go to the funeral yesterday.) All of this has been hard for my grandma & my whole family...

BUT, no matter what has happen or what will happen, I am SO thankful that there is always hope in this life, because of Jesus! I couldn't live without that! 

february verse + a free printable

Well, today is February 1st...Which, for me, means it's time to choose a new memory verse! 

One of my goals this year is to memorize Scripture. And this year, I am joining Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Team.

With this plan, we choose two Bible verses to memorize each month, on 1st & 15th.

I love that it gives me more time to meditate on each verse & to apply it to my life.

With this plan, I feel like I will do better than I did with last year's Scripture memory! So, I am excited!

(Click the link above to read more about it & to join in, if you would like!)

So, by the end of the year I will (hopefully) have 24 Bible verses memorized. 

I have already memorized two verses for January... My first verse is here. My second is here.

And I thought I would share my third verse today...

I choose this verse because I thought a love-themed verse would be good for this month.

This verse has always been a favorite of mine & I think it is a really important one to memorize.

We could all use a daily reminder to show love to others!! 

And just the thought that love could replace the sin in our lives is so full of hope!

And that is something we all need!! 

For fun, I thought I would make this verse into a FREE printable for you to download!

Click on the image & it will take you to a larger version for you to save to your computer & print for yourself!

(Please Note: This print is for Personal Use ONLY!)

I hope you all enjoy the printable & Happy February!!