Here's to Us.

I woke up this morning with a to-do list about five miles long, a to-do list so extensive that even if I found the motivation to attack it with every ounce of my being, I'm not sure if would even finish. And anyway, who really wants to sit down and bust through five or more consecutive hours of mind-numbingly boring work? Umm.. I'd rather watch Netflix.

I'm blogging today not to fulfill some responsibility, or to check something off my list (since it's been two months since my last post, I think it's safe to say that that ship sailed a long time ago), but because I needed to. I needed to connect with you guys.

They say that social media doesn't really connect us to people-- it makes us feel connected, while we isolate. On a surface level, that's something I agree with: simply scrolling through feeds and liking different posts doesn't constitute as human interaction. But blogging is different. Blogging lets us express who we are, sometimes even down to the recesses of our souls, and lets connect with other people who go through the same things.

At least, that's what it does for me.

My word for 2015 is connect. I was deciding between connect and trust, but connect came to me first, and I'm told it's better to choose the "wrong" word than not choosing one at all.

Connecting is important. Because people need people. And... I guess today, I just want to take another step forward in making it a forever-part of my lifestyle.

So here's to connecting. Here's to loving our neighbors as ourselves. Here's to rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. Here's to fighting for what is beautiful, and never forgetting to share what we find with each other. Here's to family canoe trips and sunny days and shared memories.

Here's to you, me, and we. Here's to us.

xoxo,

Ireland

Vous Etes Mon Coure // Outfit Post

 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I don't know about you, but I love this holiday. And not just because of the candy hearts and chocolate roses and little stuffed bears. Today is beautiful because it is dedicated to Love.

 

The amazing thing about Love is, it is our bottom line. 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (MSG) reminds us of that:

 

"If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love."

 

Just something to explore and embrace, especially today, on this day of love.

 

xoxo,

Ireland

 

Outfit credits:
Fit-and-flare dress: Forever21

Pumps: Worthington (JCP), borrowed

Ring (right hand): jewelry shop outside of Dublin

Ring (left hand): gift

 

Title credit:
"Vous Etes Mon Coure (You Are My Heart)"  by Gungor

 





Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

{Source}

This childhood classic came to life in my hands for the first time when I read it last year. As I delved deeper into each chapter of Anne Shirley’s formative years, her character became a part of me, and until I finished the very last sentence of the book, her story was also my story. Excitable and imaginative, Anne was the perfect heroine of Avonlea, and she had this undeniable ability to captivate both her readers and her fictional friends. She was far from perfect, and she made a lot of mistakes, but she was relatable. In her, I found a louder, bubblier, red-headed version of myself, and she inspired me to hold onto my childhood, because it will not last forever. When L.M. Montgomery created Anne Shirley, she gave life to a character that I connected with on a deep level—one that made me laugh, one that made me think, and one that made me better. In my opinion, discovering characters like that is the best part of reading fiction.

Click here to check out Anne of Green Gables on BN

I'm so glad everyone liked the book review idea! Hope you like this one too. Keep me posted...

xoxo,

Ireland

P.S. All the reviews I'm doing are for the sake of you, me, and the blog. I receive no compensation for them, and the opinions are purely my own. Feel free to leave your recommendations or requests! :)

Coming to you from Wrightsville Beach...

 But not actually the BEACH, of course! These pictures were taken at a cool little spot right past the Wrightsville bridge, which, incidentally, has some of the only free parking around. I loved the pictures and just wanted to share them with you!

xoxo,
Ireland

P.S. I just noticed that this a rather short post. Eh, that's okay. It's mainly about the photography anyway.
 
 

The Light In His Smile (All of It)

 

In case you missed the piece I wrote on my brother this week, I have posted both of the links (for Part 1 and 2) below.

Part 1
Part 2

Also, I wanted to thank you guys for your wonderful, warm comments in response to these last two posts. They mean so much to me.

xoxo,
Ireland
 

The Light In His Smile: Part 2 (Personal Reflections)

Did you catch Part 1 of the piece I wrote on my little brother? If not, click here before you continue reading.

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It hurts me to know that someday, someone will break Jeffrey’s heart. Someday, his life will fall apart, and he won’t know how to put it back together. Someday, I’ll pass him in the hallway between our two bedrooms and notice that the light in his smile has grown dim.

When that happens, I will remember his first day of kindergarten, and I will hug that memory around my soul. I will know that while his light may grow dim from time to time, it will never be extinguished. One day, it will come back in a beautiful, blazing fury, marked by the newfound maturity that comes from knowing great loss. His scars will remind him of what he has been through, but they will never define him. They can’t.

In my fourteen years of life, one of the most important things I have learned is that we are a broken people. We face extreme heartache and make haunting mistakes… but we are not defined by our past. Life is more than a series of meaningless events, and even the most difficult things we face can be used to make us stronger.

I believe that everyone has grand potential within them, and I trust that Jeffrey will make good use of his. Sometimes I look at him, see my younger self, and become afraid for both of us. But then I remember that no matter how hard life gets, we will always have each other.

And for now…

That’s enough.

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My brother means the world to me, and I know I would sacrifice for him if I needed to. Is there someone in your life with whom you share that kind of bond? That should be our goal as Christians, anyway, to lay down our lives for our friends. I have a longlonglong way to go, but I think I'm getting closer.

Think about it, and if you wouldn't mind sharing, I would love to hear from you!

xoxo,
Ireland


*Some details (names, etc.) have been changes for privacy purposes.

The Light In His Smile: Part 1 (Personal Reflections)

The following is Part 1 of 2 of a piece that I wrote about my little brother. His birthday is this week, so this is in honor of him.

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As I walk into Bellamy Elementary on my brother Jeffrey’s first "real" day of school, I smile, knowing that the next six years of his life will be more special than he knows. The hallways are enchanted with the glittery optimism of first-time students, and for one fleeting moment, I am five years old again. The world is new and exciting and beautiful, and there is nothing anyone can do to break me. Life is uncomplicated, the right thing is obvious, and loving others is easy. I’m not afraid of getting hurt, because I’ve never been hurt before.

When I come back to reality, I turn and see Jeffrey trailing behind me with our dad. I watch as he marvels at a pair of clownfish in a fish tank, and I smile when he finds his name on a bulletin board next to Room 111. Being at Bellamy reminds me how much I love the blatant joy and unaffectedness of little children. Their innocence is sacred, and I never want that to be taken away from my brother.

Jeffrey is my only sibling, and I am nine years older than him. Sometimes we bicker, sometimes we fight, and sometimes he drives me crazy, but I love him. He is an incredibly special, joyous human being, and his outlook on life is so refreshing. Many people fail to appreciate the simple mindsets of little children; if adults handled issues with half as much transparency, I think the world would be much better off for it.

We turn left and end up inside a nicely sized classroom with colorful posters on the wall. I listen to the soft chatter of his new classmates and look around for his new teacher, Mrs. Hooper. She shows us where to find his morning work and he sits down next to a boy named Carlos.

I watch Jeffrey unpack his bag, and staring me in the face is the fact that someday, my little brother won’t be so little anymore. Today he is starting kindergarten, but one day he will be graduating. I am a junior in high school, and when I look back on my life, I see a rollercoaster of ups and downs. It’s scary to think that before long, my little brother is going to be facing the same issues that I do.

As I give Jeffrey a last hug and kiss goodbye, I drink in the innocence and beauty of the children that surround me. I regret not making every second of my childhood count.  I pray that God will take care of my little brother, the brother that means so much to me, and then I slip out of the classroom with my dad.
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Come back Tuesday for the second part of this story! :) As always, I love hearing your thoughts in the comments.

xoxo,
Ireland


Disclaimer: Some details (names, etc.) have been changes for privacy purposes.

Lunch at the Southport Tea House: Part 2 of 2

 

Yesterday I posted pictures from lunch at the Southport Tea House. I have a couple more to show you, if you don't mind :), starting with this one of my mom. As you can see, they bring the little pots of tea to the table, and then you wait three to five minutes for it to steep. I dunked several cubes of sugar and a fair amount of cream into mine, and my mom added honey to hers.

 

 

I had a chocolate chai for the first time in my life... and it was spicier than I expected! I'm not a huge tea drinker, but something about the beverage in general just seems so lovely. As C.S. Lewis so eloquently put it, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

 

Soon, they brought out our food, served on pretty flowered plates.

My mom had a ham and gouda quiche and a mixed green salad, and I had this two-tier platter of assorted foods. On the bottom are two chicken salad and two cucumber sandwich squares, and on the top is a scone, praline muffin, and two cookies, along with a little dish of clotted cream and jam. If you ask me, clotted cream tastes a lot like butter. But "clotted cream" sounds so much better. Makes me feel like I'm having breakfast in a traditional English cottage. Ya gotta love that.

If you ever come to Southport looking for a cool lunch spot, the Tea House may be it, especially if you like the whole feminine, vintage-y vibe.

 

Hope you enjoyed another peek into Southport living! And if you missed Part 1 of this post, just click here.

 

Hope you are having a beautiful Sunday! God is good!

 

xoxo,

 

Ireland

 

P.S. Who else is planning to watch the Giants play tonight??

 



Lunch at the Southport Tea House: Part 1 of 2

 Today, my mother and I had lunch at the Southport Tea House for the very first time. Since we only have a few weeks left in town, she created a little bucket list of things to do, and at the top of that list was a mother-daughter date at the Tea House.

 

Isn't the place so cute? It's an experience just to go in and admire the décor. The tables are set up just so with pretty floral tablecloths, girly centerpieces, and charmingly mix-matched tea cups and saucers. I felt a little bit like Felicity Merriman (you, know from American Girl) as I was sitting at our table. But I realized again today that I would not blend well with the social circles of times past. My mom had to remind me to keep my elbows off the table. Oops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am with my chocolate chai. Cheers!

 

xoxo,

 

Ireland

4th of July 2014

Happy Independence Day from my home to yours!

 

 

 After all the craziness from Arthur yesterday, today it was completely sunny and calm. How does that happen? Anyway, the weather cleared up and the Southport 4th of July Parade went on as planned. Here are some cool shots: 

Marching band. BOOM BOOM BOOM.

South Brunswick High School U.S. Army JROTC.

 



Motorcycles...

 

Just clowning around. :)

 

Jeffrey is so cool he doesn't even have to try.

Family picture time!

Ending on a good note.

 

After the parade, we had a little block party at our neighbors' house, and my mom took her mom and aunt around downtown Southport for what may be the last time (not to get melodramatic or anything (; ). As I'm typing this to you, my dad and brother are off to see the big fireworks extravaganza on the river (the one on Tuesday was on the beach), which is cool. Honestly, I was too tired to even want to go! :)

 

Hope you enjoyed these pictures! It was a fun (although exhausting!) holiday for my family and me. How did you celebrate the 4th this year?

 

love y'all!

~Ireland~

 

Baby, You're a Firework

Happy July, everybody! In honor of Independence Day, which is (eep!) this Friday, there was a fireworks display at Caswell Beach on Tuesday night. Check out some of these pictures:

 

Before the show started. Look at the sunset... the glowing white blob in the sky is the moon.

Red.

I love how this pictures show the smoke in the background. Watching a fireworks display can be such an attention-grabbing experience.

 

This  one is beautiful against the velvety blue sky.

 

Here's a 1-minute glimpse of the 45-minute show. I hope you enjoy it. (Just so you know, the really loud boy who keeps hollering in the background is my brother. :) )

 

 

What are your plans for Independence Day???

xoxo,

 

Ireland

 

 

Title credit: "Firework" by Katy Perry

 



#9Things

1. Love

 

2. Grandmothers

3. Boats

 

4. Birds

 

5. The Sky

 

 6. Southport, North Carolina

7. Beautiful Cathedrals

8. People helping each other... out of love. (See #1)

 

9. Christmas Memories

 

 

QUICK! Your turn! If you have a blog, put together a post with the title #9Things with a list of... yep, you guessed it... 9 things that you find amazing. Then post the link below. Or, simply put your list on your social media account of choice (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google +, etc.) with the hashtag #9Things. Let's see if we can infuse some positivity into social media.

 

Amazing change can start with us. So let's get the ball rolling!!!

 

READY, SET, GO.