husbands birthday

Happy Birthday to my husband, who turned 22 yesterday! He celebrated by eating deliciously saucy honey BBQ wings at B-Dubs and opening pretty boxes filled with new threads from J Crew. Since it's his birthday, I thought I would point out some of the simple reasons why Jordan is awesome (because the little things are worth celebrating too). 

Jordan Shepherd is awesome because he...

has hidden talents (I just found out that he can play bass guitar. uh, what?!!)

is technology savvy 

can build a masterpiece out of straw wrappers 

has a contagious adventurous spirit

gives others room to shine while he remains humble

loves to learn

makes everyone feel like they are a part of his club

is a really good drummer

cherishes his family

has a really handsome face

is more selfless than anyone I know. 

 I could go on all day, but for now I'll leave it short and sweet. Speaking of sweet, you know what else is great about birthdays?

 Cake. 

I can't wait to eat some on Saturday (cheat day)! 

capitol couture

Our 4 hours of Hunger Games costume prep turned out to be successful. Hannah and I used a full can of teal hair dye, plus a lot of needle and thread for sewing our costumes. Kate and Beth made themselves look like sad, poor children, and Anna perfected the Cinna look with her gold eye liner and slicked back hair. 

We left the house in style. 

Before we could walk into the theater, we already had people asking to take photos with us...and then three more people asked to take photos with us once we were inside. Stares and compliments kept coming our way, but once the movie started, all attention was on the true celebrities of the Hunger Games. 

We loved the movie. Loved it. It was worth the wait and even worth getting split up and sitting alone in the theater (lame). 

Here's a look at some of our shots from the night:

Do you like our costumes? 

Which one should we submit to the District Style Challenge?

Thoughts on the movie? I really want to know. 

[Hunger Games Premiere]

Tonight is the night I have been waiting for since I devoured the Hunger Games books over our honeymoon in July. I remember reading the books and telling Jordan "wouldn't this be such a cool movie?! I hope they make one someday."

Well, I got my wish.

 My group of girlfriends and I purchased our tickets back in February for the 12:04 showing in Muncie, Indiana. This week, The Hunger Games fever is buzzing all over campus, and truth be told, my school work has been on the back burner (considering I had to spend all of my time researching about the film and prepare my costume, of course).

Here is the evening line up:

Hair dying: bright teal and teased
Costumes:
- Hannah Towler and I as capitol citizens
- Kate Rush as Primrose Everdeen
- Anna Kujacznski as Cinna
- Bethany Ezawa as Katniss Everdeen
Makeup: Capital couture and dirty district 12 looks
Photos: submitted to District Style Challenge 
Movie snack run: we need our cheap candies for munching
Early arrival and seating: show off all of our hard work
12:04 premiere: two and a half hours of brutal fighting, love triangle, and beautiful capitol fashion


We are currently at the peak of excitement and anticipation. We only have a few hours to wait before we are watching Katniss on the big screen.

And just in case you were wondering, I am team Gale all the way ;)

Are you are going to the premiere too? If so, don't forget to salute Rue in the theater! And I want to hear what everyone thinks of the film afterward. Have fun and get there early for prime seating! 

The 4-Hour Body

We are not "diet" people. We love food, and we like consistency. When it comes to staying healthy, we tend to live by general principles rather than strict rules. One time we said we would cut out sweets from our diet completely. That lasted about two days.  

For us, true motivation and real results are accomplished by setting goals and following a routine. When our friend Santiago told us about the The 4-Hour Body, we knew we had to do it, because it's actually more of a lifestyle than a diet. 

And honestly, it just looks pretty amazing. 

"The 4-Hour Body is the result of an obsessive quest, spanning more than a decade, to hack the human body. It contains the collective wisdom of hundreds of elite athletes, dozens of MDs, and thousands of hours of jaw-dropping personal experimentation. From Olympic training centers to black-market laboratories, from Silicon Valley to South Africa, Tim Ferriss, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, fixated on one life-changing question:

For all things physical, what are the tiniest changes that produce the biggest results? 

Thousands of tests later, this book contains the answers for both men and women. 

From the gym to the bedroom, it's all here, and it all works.

You Will Learn:

how to prevent fat gain while bingeing

how to increase fat-loss 300% with a few bags of ice

how Tim gained 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days, without steroids, and in four hours of total gym time

how to sleep 2 hours per day and feel fully rested

how to produce 15 minute female orgasms 

how to triple testosterone and double sperm count

how to go from running 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers in 12 weeks

how to reverse "permanent" injuries

how to add 150+ pounds to your lifts in 6 months" 

So today we bought the book, and we're ready to get started. We'll be sharing this journey with you as we go. Wish us luck! 

We're Moving to Colorado

At the beginning of our senior year of college people always asked us what we were going to do after graduation. Truth be told, we had no clue. We had some faint ideas, thoughts, and wishes, but nothing was set in stone.

That has now changed.

In October, we were approached by Mark and Lauren Shepherd and Nate and Julie Lamb with the opportunity to join them in planting a church in Denver, Colorado. It was a lot to think about at a busy time in our lives. We committed to praying about it and tried to put it on the back burner of our minds.

...that didn’t happen

It was at the forefront of our conversations as a couple. We loved the idea of moving somewhere for something more than a job. Moving to Denver means moving somewhere with purpose, with a mission.

After 4 months of prayer, conversation, thought, and more prayer, we know that God has confirmed our desires and directed our steps to Denver. We will be joining the launch team of Front Range Church in August of this year.

Please visit Front Range Church’s website to learn more about our mission and vision for what God is and is going to do in Denver.

Now, when people ask us what our plans are after graduation, the answer is simple…

We’re planting a church in Denver, Colorado.

Mission: To be a "Rooted and Reaching" movement of local churches in Denver and the Front Range through which our communities are reached, disciples become deeply rooted, and culture is redeemed through the truth and power of the Gospel." 

http://www.frontrangechurch.com/ 

[Art & Copy]

As people who love advertising, Jordan and I watched Art & Copy and couldn't stop talking about it. We have a deeper appreciation for the creativity, intimacy, and passion that is involved in the business. We study it, we are surrounded by it, and we interact with it as consumers and marketing/PR majors. Often we find that people have a strong negativity towards this industry, and that is mainly because they don't understand what it is at the core. This film captures the truth, and it reveals its raw potential for greatness. 

"ART & COPY is a powerful film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion."

"most advertising is pretty offensive, intrusive, aggravating, annoying, and intellectually based at the lowest common denominator, so its a hard business to remain prideful. But I happen to believe that when advertising is done well, the wall or the billboard that celebrates a brand artfully and beautifully can be part of our culture as opposed to some form of pollution."  -  Lee Crow 

This is a brilliant documentary. I promise it will inspire you.