What I'm Loving // May 2017 Edition

I've decided that I deeply love the What I'm Loving blog posts. I love the fact that it provides a snapshot into the season, of the everyday life. Here's a little snapshot of life lately through things that I am absolutely loving over here.I absolutely adore Gilmore Girls. I use to watch reruns throughout the week when I was in high school. I'd sit and do a few math problems before getting lost in the world of Stars Hollow. When they brought their new movie style shows to Netflix last fall I binged all of it again to be ready. You can imagine my excitement when I opened a present from my friend at Christmas and discovered Lauren Graham's autobiography, Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls. Over the past several weeks, I've binge read the book soaking up all the words in this fast talking novel that has made me fall even deeper in love with the Gilmore Girls (and Lauren Graham herself). If you're a Gilmore Girl lover, a Parenthood lover, or just really enjoy behind the scenes of Hollywood life, you'll love it.Over the past several months, I've fallen in love with Jamie Ivey. Her word and her encouragement shine through her podcast, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. Jamie sits down with women and discovers what's going on in their worlds. It's like mini-memoirs in a way, which I absolutely love. She recently sat down with Tsh Oxenreider to discuss her book, At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe. It's such a fun podcast to listen to right before summer as it has infused me with crazy wanderlust. The return of the sunshine hasn't really hurt that desire to wander either.Christine Caine's words are echoing in my mind from her book, Undaunted. This is a must read if you're struggling with your purpose and calling. She said something to the effect that God uses the available and willing but we don't always allow ourselves to be willing or available. Cut to the heart. You can read more about my thoughts on her words and how they hit my heart here.It's a little hard to separate a few of the things I love: my rec chair that's set up in the backyard, a good book, and Hubert's Lemonade. I have this set up for a lot of afternoons. I have had to recently share my spot with a pesky spider and I think his whole family. It's cool though. He doesn't talk while I'm reading which is something I look for in a reading buddy. It's super relaxing and doesn't require the set up that my hammock does even though I love it.A few weeks ago I shared my Hanna + Nick Maternity session to Facebook. I shared it because a friend of mine challenged me to do so. I wasn't sharing anything on social media regarding this new journey of mine back into blogging and photography. To be honest, I wasn't sure about it. After stopping for three years and slowly getting back into it over the past few months, I was scared. I don't feel as if I measure up to where I wish I was at this point. Sharing it not only made me brave but allowed for people to see it and react. The reaction has warmed my heart and given me strength to continue. I just wanted to end today and say thank you for that. Thank you for your belief in me, your encouragement and for reading all the way to the end. Love y'all!