Latvian Adventure

I'm back! The past few weeks have been so wonderfully exhausting and busy that I've barely had time to think, let alone blog. But I'm back now and I'm so excited to share some of the favorite moments from my trip with you! We packed so much into the two weeks that I'll probably share it in a few separate posts.

For those of you who don't know, I went to Latvia with a group called Josiah Venture to help put on music camps for kids. During the week of camp, we taught the kids from all over the country how to play different instruments and prepared them as best we could for a concert for their friends and family at the end of the week. We used music as a vehicle to share the gospel and form relationships with them. It was so amazing to feel how quickly meaningful relationships formed and see lives changed (including my own) as we went through just one week of camp.

Before camp started though, we spent a few days in Latvia's capitol city, Riga, seeing the sights and trying to get acclimated to the 8 hour time difference before we jumped into a hectic week of music camp. Riga is a stunning city with so much history- I felt like I was traveling back in time. The architecture is incredible so it was hard for me not to snap pictures of every building I saw. Here are a few shots of our time in Riga before camp:

This is the Freedom Monument in Old Town Riga commemorating their liberation from the Soviet Union

To help us better understand the culture we were serving in, we visited a museum dedicated to the memory of the soviet and communist occupation of Latvia. Though it was a sobering experience, it was so helpful in better understanding and relating to the country and its people. 

More pictures to come!

Steps of Summer

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! Life has been crazy around here. I've been in stress mode for the past few days as I try to pack for Latvia (TWO MORE DAYS!), my month in Colorado and for what I need for my apartment at school. I've also been practicing a lot of music with my dad and his worship team for our big show tonight at Nebraska Land Days! Nerve wrecking, but oh so exciting.

I've had to remind myself to step back and appreciate my time here, even amid the stress, because I don't know the next time I'll be able to be with my family again for longer than a weekend. I've had a wonderful few weeks here and wouldn't trade it for anything, but I'm extremely excited to begin this new chapter of my summer! I'll try and update as much as I can, though I'm not sure how much computer access I'll have while in Latvia. In the meantime though, here are a few photos of my day to day for your viewing pleasure:

 I've had time to work on a few projects since I've been back and it's been so nice to just sit and create. The basement of my parent's house (which is actually my great aunt's house. She is paying my parents to renovate it until they find somewhere else to live) is quite literally thrift store heaven. There are racks of clothes and old furniture and decorations that I've sorted through and found some great treasures.

 I added trim to the bottom of these shorts for a quick and easy spice-up.

 This dress was originally floor length, but I loved the print so I just hemmed and belted it and viola! an adorable new dress.

I've loved getting to spend time with my cousins. We're all very close and so it's hard not getting to see them often. We took advantage of Applebee's 42 cent wings on Thursday and had a great time catching up.

 

 I've been faithfully working on my goal to get in shape this summer and laugh in the face of the "freshman 15" from last year. Everyday I convince myself that I actually love to run. It's kind of working.

Don't be fooled by my official looking running shoes and shiny racquet, I've played tennis maybe five times in my life. But yesterday, my amazing grandpa played (and won, I might add) a tournament and inspired us young'n's to get out a hit a few balls. He is quite the champ when it comes to tennis.

No trip home would be complete without re-living my childhood days of eating the best soft-serve ice cream and hanging out at the carnival at Cody Park. I have so many great memories here.

That's all for now! I'll post as soon as I can with updates from my Latvia trip and whatever other shenanigans I get into.

ps. For more "up to the minute" updates of my trip, feel free to follow me on instagram! My username is ohlivia5 :)

Happy Monday, friends!

Simply,
Liv

Insta-Lately

I can't believe it's already June! This month marks the beginning of a new "segment" of my summer as I'll be heading to Latvia in a little over a week.
But in other news, Instagram has officially invaded my life. I think it's a great way to document the normal, mundane things throughout the day to keep people up-to-date. And that's what this here blog is about; celebrating the simple. So here's a little mishmash of my life, instagram-style.

1. Don't tell my brother I posted this picture of him, he hates it. I think it's adorable.
2. My parents have the best fenced in backyard. I've spend many an hour lying on a blanket sipping iced coffee and reading a good book.
3. Cuddling with this puppy is my newest hobby.
4. I don't know why you'd want to see a picture of the side of my head, but hey, my hair looks kind of cool.
5. Reading "Fresh Brewed Life" with my mom has restarted my coffee cravings. And has also caused several much needed heart to hearts.
6. This pretty much explains itself...
7 & 8. My gorgeous friend Jackie and her boyfriend Tyler dropped by on their way up to Colorado. It was so lovely to grab coffee and catch up with a great friend.

DIY Inspiration: Lace and Denim

Happy Wednesday! (Is it sad that I had actually had no idea what day it was today until I checked on my computer?....C'est la vie in the summertime...). Today I want to share a little project I made last week.
Right now, I'm a lover of all things lace. I'll stop at nothing to lace-ify anything and everything in my path- so I thrifted a lovely denim button down (from the men's section, in fact) with the intentions of doing just that. After scavenging through the basement for my sewing machine (that I haven't used since I was probably 13) and "brushing up" on my sewing skills, this is what I came up with:

Inspiration from here

It was actually incredibly simple and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm excited to mix up my wardrobe with an unexpected pop (or overload) of lace whenever possible.

Here's a little peek into the process:

Before it went under the knife

What fun projects await you this summer?

Simply,

Liv

A Time To Remember

They are dead; but they live in each Patriot's breast,
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Happy Memorial day, everyone! May we never think of it simply as a reason for a three day weekend or an excuse to sleep in. 

Ps. The third photo is of my Uncle Sam's headstone. I'm proud to call him my uncle, though I never even met him.

It's Simple Really...

Don't worry, my blog hasn't been hijacked.

It's still me. However, you may have noticed a few changes since the last time you stopped by. And by "a few changes", I mean "everything is changed". But before you click the "unfollow" button or send me angry emails, let me explain myself-


What once was Life Out of Grey has become Simply Liv for a few reasons:

1. I felt the need to narrow my blog's topic to make it more readable and welcoming for new readers. I want to reach a wider audience (sorry mom and dad, I love you, but its time other people read my blog too ;)...) and develop this here blog a bit more. I'll still share about my day-to-day adventures, but I want to branch out and share more about what inspires me (focusing mainly on "the small things in life") in hopes that it will inspire others.

2. "Simply Liv" is just plain clever. The title Life Out of Grey was based off of a song I recorded a few years ago, and while the phrase still means a lot to me, it doesn't roll off the tongue or sum up what I want my blog to become as well as I wanted. Though I've never gone by Liv, I thought it was a convenient mix of my name and a motto I try to live by.

I hope these new changes will create an atmosphere of inspiration and a new appreciation for the simple joys in life. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for the ride. (You could/should even hit that lovely follow button if you so choose!)

I'd love to hear feedback on some of the changes!

Today

...beauty is curling up on the couch with an enormous red blanket and putting myself in Jane Eyre's shoes as I read her story
...beauty is sipping a homemade almond milk latte and snuggling with Lucy as I read
...beauty is watching my brother laugh at the computer and imagining whats happening on the screen
...beauty is cleaning the entire house without even one person complaining
...beauty is the cloudy sky and the wind in the trees
...beauty is having a dad who can fix washing machines, bathrooms and necklaces
...beauty is lighting a cinnamon apple candle to reward the kitchen for being so clean
...beauty is pushing myself to run when I'd really rather be able to breathe at a normal pace
...beauty is the normal things that never get noticed

Today was normal...but it was beautiful.

For the List-Makers

Ever the goal-setter and list-maker, I never pass up an opportunity to write my aspirations down. I'm afraid that without the help of my journal, I'd forget all about my brilliant ideas and thoughts. It's very easy for me to get complacent and lazy, and so when I write things down I somehow feel that they are set in stone and must get done. It's like accountability with myself, I guess. And now I'm publishing them on the internet for the entire world (yes, you, dear readers, are my entire world) to read. I think that should at least quadruple the accountability.
I grew so much this past year and I'd hate for summer-time, a time to relax, return to my "normal life" and unwind, to be wasted. It's an incredible chance to grow, reflect and make changes, so I want to be really intentional with how I spend mine.

Here's (part of) my list of summer goals:

• I'm going on a trip to Latvia to put on music camps in a few weeks, and so I have a really unique chance to impact other people. I want to love people well and be the kind of person they can relate to and confide in. I want to especially be this person for the girls I'll get to know at the camps in Latvia.
• I want to get comfortable with not knowing all the answers. (Anyone know an easy fix to that one?)
• I want to improve musically. Piano, guitar and singing are my passions and summer is such a great chance to focus and practice!
• I want to work of the rest of my "freshman 15". Darn the dining halls! I'm not sure I gained the entire 15...but I want to get back in shape and stay that way for next year!
• I want to further this here blog and refine it and "professionalize" it. 
• I want to camp, backpack, rockclimb, stargaze, sunrise and get muddy
• I want to have deep discussions
• I want to craft my heart out!
• I want to read, read, read. (There's a completely separate list for books I want to read this summer...sometimes I think I'm too organized...)

                    Here's a few of the books I'm working on now: Captivating , Worship Matters,
                    Fresh Brewed Life (This one's for breakfast dates with my mom), and The Help

Do you have any goals for this summer? Or any books you're reading/think I should add to my enormous list? I'd love to hear from you!

My Summer-Self

Since school got out, I haven't had many excuses to get dressed. By my normal standards. I've pretty much lived in running shorts and t-shirts thus far, which makes me a little nervous. My goal during the school year was to never go to class in sweatpants (I caved and wore sweats once during midterms), so my school-year-self would be quite disappointed in my summer-self. But hey, when all I do is sit around the house, I don't see much need to curl my hair or put on a maxi skirt. So speaking as my summer-self, when the chance arises, my mood is right, the stars align and I decide to look semi-presentable, it calls for documentation.
As luck would have it, this morning was gorgeous and sunny so I took Lucy (our Yorkie puppy) out to the back yard and we snapped a few photos before I left for church. I've been experimenting a lot with my camera and really want to improve, so it was fun to mess around a little bit. Here's what we came up with:
 

Isn't she the sweetest??

I'm off to a dinner date with my dad. Happy Sunday, friends!

Diary of a Secret Foodie

Maybe it's because I haven't cooked a single meal for myself since last August, but for some reason I've been on a cooking and baking spree since I've been home. I think my feelings about dorm food probably have something to do with it. Just maybe....
Regardless of the cause, I've been baking up a storm and wanted to share some of my favorites so far with you.

Last week my mom and I did Dr. Oz's 48 hour cleanse (which you can read about here) just to see how effective it would be. And mostly because I felt the need to "cleanse" my body of a year's worth of dining hall cuisine. Basically, for two days we ate nothing but jazzed up veggies and quinoa, and by the end of it I was pretty ready to make 2 dozen cookies and eat them all (which, as luck would have it, I pretty much did). Over all it was definitely beneficial and I'd recommend the cleanse to anyone looking for a quick re-start.

This is the "between 'meal' snack"- veggies, and "dressing" (lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper).

This lovely drink is nothing but pomegranate juice, lemon juice, pineapple juice and water. It was actually quite tasty.

So after our adventure with Dr. Oz, I decided to counter-act everything I had just accomplished.
First up, came this gluten-free lemon bread. I made it for my mom for Mother's day and let me just say, it is super simple and very dee-licious.

After my mom left for the week on a trip for work, gluten-free wasn't a requirement anymore and so I experimented on my dad (who is more than willing to eat anything I throw together) and found a recipe for an apple-pie-bread that was to die for. I highly suggest you all go make it right now and save an entire loaf for yourself, because it will be gone within a half hour.

You can find the recipe here

I also made a few other things, but felt silly taking pictures of my food all the time, so I failed to document them. But you can find the recipes here, here, and here. 

Have you all tried any recipes worth sharing lately? I'd love to have them!

Thanks for stopping by, friends and I hope your weekend is off to a smashing start!