Pop's Place

Pop's Place is Luke's family farm located Beauregard, Alabama and probably one of my favorite past times with Luke. Luke and I have such sweet memories there. The first time Luke brought me out was for a family gathering Easter weekend in 2009. All of his little second cousins scurried around while his aunts + uncles would drink tea by the cabin. His Uncle Richard held dove hunt's usually about once a year and I always got to enjoy the show. (I was never able to shoot one of those birdies but Luke always did a great job at it!) I did have the chance to shoot skeet every now + then...also very humorous as I never aimed in the right direction.

My favorite memory at Pop's Place was fishing with Luke and his dad, Mr. John...and oh does Mr. John LOVE to fish! We would stay out until sunset; just about the same time the tops of my shoulders + legs were totally sunburned. Man, I loved it. Each fish that Luke caught, he would throw on it me just so he could see me scream and shake. Typical girl. Yes. I know! Luke loves the outdoors and love watching him shine. He and his dad were always wrapped up in deep conversation about God and His goodness. I would usually just listen in to this sweet moment shared between a father + a son. I always knew that if Luke and I got engaged I wanted to have our engagement photos taken at Pop's Place and sure enough. We did!

Oh, did I mention how much Ellie LOVES Pop's place?

 

 Luke - like a pro. Ellie is so little here.

  Trying to shoot a 12 gauge. It really hurts.

Really looking forward to going back for a visit sometime soon!

 

Before one of the dove shoots.

 I know...this looks extremely dangerous right?!

 The after effect!

 Going back for more.

 This is  not our engagement photo. I'll show a few of those later.

So, it really looks like all we do at Pop's Place is shoot guns. Hmm...I'll have look again for our fishing photos. I guess the guns were just too exciting! 

Blessings, 

Alison

A long overdue update.

It has been 7 months since my last post! This seems to be a trend with my blog updates. I have good intention, I promise. Time is such a mysterious thing. Days seem to creep by while weeks seem to absolutely fly.

Next month, on September 24th, Mr. Fargason and I will celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Our plan is to venture to the hill country of Austin, Texas and retreat at a B&B. Sounds incredibly refreshing, right?! We think so. If you have any suggestions of fun things to see or do in the Texas hill country please send them our way. I really love doing life with him; he is such a joy to my heart.


I will leave you with these verses that remain so close to my heart in this season of life. They are currently hanging on the walls of my home. Jessica, my incredibly wise & older sister told me when in times where you need to remember God's promises for you. Go to Hobby Lobby, buy craft paper, take markers and right down God's word, tape the Bible verse to your walls as banners of love & hope in your home. 

So this is what I did!

Psalm 36:5-8
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! 
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 
 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

Psalm 18:1-3
I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised


Proverbs 3: 4-6
Let not mercy and truth forsake you
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart, 
 And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding  

In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

yes and amen!



alison

TEXAS

So in case you didn't know already Luke landed a great job in Houston, TX working for Unilever. Yes!...we moved to Texas. my mom was right...everything is big in Texas!

and we have had a lot of big BIG life changes as we both graduated from college, got married, moved away from home, and started working.  Man- has it been great and Jesus has been so gracious to us!

Here are some of our favorite things about Houston so far:
1. The Woodlands
2. Pappasito's Cantina (best Mexican food ever)
3. Our neighbors Chris and Danielle
4. H.E.B. Grocery Store (it stands for "Here Everything's Better") No lie, it's amazing & cheap :)
5. our sweet home :)
6. Market Street
7. WoodsEdge Community Church
8. the friendly dog park's
9. and our newly forming small group at WE!

I thought I would leave y'all with one of my favorite portions of scripture. This is a Psalm of David.

PSALM 21


The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! 

 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. 

He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever. 

His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him. 

For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence. 

For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

love.

HELLO MARRIAGE.

Today marks 4 months of marriage for Luke and I. Can you believe it?  Just in case you missed pictures from our wedding...here are a few. The day was perfect. I want to relive it over and over. Thank you to all of our friends and family for all of your love, support, encouragement, and hard work! Luke and I have SO much to be thankful for.

precious flower girls

wedding favors. yes, they are succulents. great idea, huh?

Mi padre. He spoke life and love to me the whole way down aisle. It's what he does best :]

our huge wedding party. so blessed.

leaving! next destination. MEXICO

AND here we are loving married life in mexico!

well that's all for now folks. love

Goodness

Here she is!!! My sweet first niece. I can hardly believe it has been a month and 5 days since she was born. My sister is an incredible mom and  I am so proud of her determination and love she gives as a mom and a sister. Look at her Ministry Mommy blog.

                                      My Mom, Liberty, and my sister Jessica. Too cute, huh?

recently, I have been:
-freelancing
-honeymoon searching
-craving Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo and Guacamole Dip
-sheddin' for the weddin'
-listening to David Pawson sermons...my favorite
-reading the Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason
-tornado chasing... or dodging
-Luke and I had our engagement pictures taken...(coming soon :)
-a canceled trip to IHOP-KC...bummer
-fishing for some bass
and catching up with some dear college friends...time is a tickin' we have 3 months and 25 days to go :)
WOOHOO

Liberty Esther

Yes, this is the name of my sweet new baby niece. She was born today, on Resurrection Sunday at 3:31 AM. My whole family was so blessed by her arrival and God could have not picked a better day for our sweet Liberty to be born. My sister Jessica was so overjoyed! Here is what she said,
" My daughter, Liberty, was born this morning. Her name means freedom. And the Lord saw it fit that she be born on Reserrection day. Truly the day of our greatest freedom through Christ. What a precious gift and reminder. To Him be all the Glory!" 

Amen Sis!

Photos coming soon! Love.

8MM

Erin and Lynn from Kate Headley on Vimeo.

This morning

...Luke and I went to Big Blue Bagel for my favorite breakfast in Auburn, AL.
It is called the Plainsmen (includes a blueberry bagel, 2 scrambled eggs, and cheese grits). I have so many memories like this of Auburn. I mean goodness I have spent my whole life here. It seems bittersweet to be leaving this town. Auburn holds a very special place in my heart but MAN am I looking forward to getting married and starting life in a new city!

In the mean time, I have been planning, Planning, PLANNING. I haven't made this many decisions in a long time. Wedding blogs have been consuming me  HA and I love it! Here is some Inspiration.

Heritage & Craft Vintage

This place Heritage & Craft Vintage is found in the beautiful city of San Fransisco. They have a huge inventory of odd and ends for wedding and event design. Why buy when you can rent their products for a much cheaper cost? If only they were located in sweet home Alabama.

Here are a few of their products. Too cute. Have I told you that I am going to have crochet at my wedding? Yes! Can't wait.

Graphic Design

While I was thumbing through my mom's desktop iPhoto library, I stumbled upon picture from my Graphic Design Senior Show. For me, completing my senior project and making an A was a milestone. I remember attending senior show galleries as a freshman in graphic design. I would look with amazement at all the talent and skill... thinking I would never be able to do a senior project. And who knew, only 4 years later and it was my turn!

I was inspirated by an article my mother gave me about the need for young educated women to learn household chores and remedies. There is no reason for a 4 year college graduate not to know how to properly fitted a sheet, sew a button, and other household tasks. I decided to name my hypothetical company The Dwelling Place. The idea is that once a lady has begun to perform these tasks, then she would begin to truly create a "dwelling place" for her and her family. All and all, I loved my idea! If... IF  I could go back and start over I would make the company web-based :)

My display in Biggin Gallery.

I used my mothers antique tea cart as a display table.

 Love! Have a good day :)

Today

Today was an interesting day.  I had stopped by to see Luke while he was trimming bushes for a friend of ours. As soon as,  I walked up to meet him he cut his left thumb on with the bush trimmer. Yuck! I grabbed a entire role of paper towels to stop the bleeding. We then decided it would be best to make our way over to ER. In all of my life of growing up in Auburn/Opelika, I have never, no not once been to the ER at our local hospital. It was jammed full of all sort of people.

Poor Luke. This was the last place he wanted to be on his Sunday afternoon. He still had hours of studying to do. The estimated time on for waiting on the screen read 4 hours! Just as we were discussing our thoughts on whether to stay or not the nurse called us back! We jumped ahead of about of 10 people. How does that work?! Jesus, of course :) The doctor got his all stitch up and now he is quickly recovering!

In the mean time I have slowly begun my wedding planning.  Last week mom and went to a local antique mall Angel's Antiques and purchased several varieties of tea cups, milk glassware and also depression ware.

I'd like to have tea cup arrangements similar to this.

Becoming Mrs. Fargason

In exactly 7 months from today last name is about to change. I am marrying Jonathan Luke Fargason. My sweetheart. So crazy to think about how all of life's events unfold and I don't think it stops here. Oh, I am so overwhelmed with joy to give my life to Luke. I can't imagine sharing life with anyone other than him. Visit our  Wedding web site for more of the details. 

My world will keep changing all of my days but one thing remains. One thing is constant. Jesus, He is my onething. This weekend we are going to the Highlands Ignite Marriage Conference. So Much Fun!

Love

Pure Barre

Yesterday I attended my first pure barre class. Hands down. It was incredible. Like my friend Jorda said, it it as mix between ballet, cardio, pilates, yoga, and Tracey Anderson video workouts. It is a free standing studio and when you walk in you feel like you are in ballet class again...took me back to the god ole days. I am sore from head-to-toe and I love it.  I can't afford to sign up for a membership so instead I am planning on buying the home dvd. I'll keep you posted on how it goes for me. Click on the link to see if there is one near you.

Still on the Hunt

Today marks day 25 of job hunting. No big deal. The only thing I can do is to keep moving forward and pressing on. Good thing my Jesus is a Provider and Shepard with perfect leadership. In the mean time, my dear friend Pioneer Woman referenced this web site Polyvore.  
It seems to be a web site where you where you can create your own sets of clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, artwork, furniture, and other adornments. And then you can click on each item and it will take you to the retailers web site for purchasing. Nice huh?


Here is one I made.

So In Love

So In Love by bartlal featuring cluster earrings

I have decided

...to take another stab at my blog. Blogging is like a plant. You must water it often in order for it to grow and stay maintained. I am on the hunt for creative ideas for a Valentine's Day card for my honey. Thanks to all my design friends and letterpress blogs I have come up with some potential options. Would you like to see?

No 1. PaperCrave never fails to give me more than enough ideas.
http://papercrave.com/valentine%E2%80%99s-day-cards-roundup-part-2/

No 2.  Oh So Beautiful Paper also has many fun Valentine's day cards.
http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/2011/01/happy-monday/


Also, just in case you needed a Letterpress wedding invitation designer rolode. Here you go.
http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/designer-rolodex/ 
 
Hope you enjoy.

wrapping up

 It is hard to believe my college life is ending in 5 days. Not too bad, it only took me 4.5 years finish. So much has changed. As a freshman thought I had it all figured out until Jesus led me on a different journey. And  I am so glad He did.

    Here I am at Camp War Eagle...talk about a sunburn! and was I really wearing a juicy terry dress?

I also sort of went through a stage where I never, NO not once took a normal photograph...

I went to a lot of shows where "these" type people hung out...ha!

I hung out with this girl all the time...she will probably be a famous architect one of these days :)

                    I dropped out of my sorority and started preaching the gospel in Mexico! (just kidding)
                    I really did withdrawl but I only preached the gospel in Mexico once..or twice...

                                I then met these wonderful people. We started praying together...we called ourelves AHOP (Auburn House of Prayer). Well to make a long story short. My college life has been great. Filled with many memories, surprises, and joys! 

The incredible thing is that my junior year just when I thought it would never, ever happen. I met Luke. He is was this charming young man  from Birmingham, Al who stole my heart. Today we have dated for 19 months and 14 days. I couldn't be more thankful! He is awesome :) and even better he really really loves Jesus!

                                                      Most recent picture at the Iron Bowl :)

It's the first time...

...in a long time i have written. I just completed a much-needed quick redesign. Hopefully this will suit for the time being.  I am currently listening to the International House of Prayer prayer room web stream (Misty is leading) What JOY! Few things bring my heart greater pleasure than late nights at the RDB library, designing my senior project, listening to songs of Heaven, with my boy Luke by side. On Dec 19, 2010, I graduate. I won't be able to do this any more :( 


On my Monday night I made Pioneer Woman's "Coffee Cake" here
I must say my baking skills are slowly improving. Much thanks to my dear Jordan Haden and Queen of the Kitchen Momma Bartlett.


So, if you are in town this weekend or have nothing to do and would like to travel to the Plains of Auburn, Al! Worship leaders Jake Ferrell and Matt Gilman are coming to minister for a weekend of worship and prayer! Details: Friday and Saturday @ 7:00 pm. Don/t worry. It is free! Tell your friends! Tell everyone!

say YES to sunscreen

I still dont feel like I live an interesting live enough to have a blog. But then I ask the question. "Do any of us?" Maybe it is only cool to post some neat information on cyber space as if we didn't already have enough iphone and internet applications to keep us entertain.


I laid out today and never had I thought I would return from the pool with my whole body as red as a tomato. My poor body has not been in the sun all winter. You can imagine. Sunscreen would have been a good idea. My granddad had horrible skin cancer. I remember there was a big spot on his forehead where he had skin grafted. Needless to say, I will not go outside in the sun without sunscreen again.

Still pondering and praying. What should I do this summer?
Go out west with Campus Crusade?
Go to Colorado with theWall Prayer Room?
or Go to International House of Prayer-KC?

almost done

After tomorrow I will be done with my 3rd to last semester of college. Tomorrow at 12 p.m. I will turn in my most recent portfolio web site as a final project in my Interactive Media class. It has been challenging but I have learned a lot. Click on the link to give it a look.

www.auburn.edu/~bartlal

The semester has been wonderful. I became an aunt, worked, played, loved, learned, and enjoyed every minute. Our biggest rival, Alabama won the SEC championship yesterday as they played the Florida Gators. Nevertheless Auburn still had a great season.

Christmas is almost here, got to go make a wish list!