The Perfect Party

Take a front porch in historic St. Elmo. 

Cover it with a mismatch of tables and chairs. 

Add some candles and flowers.

Let the sun set and gather friends from the various pieces of your day to day.

Prepare a delicious meal complete with two desserts. 

Add in some wine. 

Top with laughter and good conversation.

And there you have it. You've created your own perfect party.

Happy Birthday, C!

The Office

Seriously, how adorable was Dwight by the end of the series? Precious and infuriating, loved that guy. However, I'm not talking about the TV show today. Nope, talking about my office, the chapel office at Covenant College. When I got there two years ago, it looked like this.

Bless its sad little heart, it had been neglected for a few years. The chaplain and my other amazing coworker had more important things to do, so the space had become a hodge podge of randomly collected items. At least, I'm guessing they were randomly collected because the decorative scheme didn't make a bit of sense to me. 

Now, I'm a nester. With every move Jason and I have ever made, I've always had things unpacked and pictures hung within days. Staying overnight at camp? Bed made with a quilt I brought as soon as I got there. Staying at a hotel for a few days? Clothes in drawers, personal pillows on the bed. I need cozy, I need warm, I want the space to be someplace where folks feel comfortable coming in and staying for a while.

So, the chapel office? It clearly needed a little love. Between Jo-Ann's Fabrics, Pinterest and a few ideas of my own I brightened things up and turned it into this:

{Sidenote: that "window" came down eventually. Not my style at all.}

Better, for sure. It was bright and cheerful and I think it reflected so much more of the personality of our department, our staff and the students who worked there. But the walls. Y'all, the combo of white walls and fluorescent lighting kills me. I don't like feeling like I live in an igloo. I lobbied hard for the walls to be painted, but that was a no go. Until...

This past summer, a new chaplain was hired and some of the powers that be (aka the guys in Maintenance & Operations who were tired of me nagging asking them to paint the walls) decided the chapel office needed a little facelift. A warm tan color on the walls, newly painted trim, fresh ceiling tiles- a new canvas! The new paint warmed up the space so much that I knew there was no way I could go back to using the overhead lights. 

I pretty much hate overhead lighting as much as Whitney hated Olivia on "The City." 

Anyhow, I did a little reworking of what already existed and voila!

{Ok, I still want to cover the area in front of my desk. Do I continue the panels that are already there or simply cover a padded piece of plywood with plain fabric to make a solid panel? Weigh in, please!}

{free print from Jones Design Company}

I am happy every single time I walk into this space. Because of what's on the walls and the couch and the other furniture? Sure, that helps. Even better, I walk into a space where students come to laugh, nap on the couch, pray, sit for a while and chat about anything and everything. It's a space where I really really enjoy who I work with and what we do. Playing a role in creating that kind of work environment? It's the best.

This week.

Ohhhhhhh, this week.

Lordamercy, it's been a doozy. Not bad, really, but just weird. Busy, frazzled, funny, odd, ridiculous, and then some. But filled with some really good things. 

October twenty-first through the twenty-sixth has been brought to you by....

The 2 Bridges 5k with my girls, Peyton and Lindsey. We pretty much rocked it (Peyton's first race!) and I have big plans for making a little movie out of all the pictures and videos I took while we ran/walked.

Visiting Ketner's Mill for the first time and enjoying freshly made apple fritters. YES.

My most ambitious crafty endeavor yet and a time honored tradition in my personal Halloween costume history. Jason's request which just makes me all sorts of giddy and happy like a schoolgirl in love.

Breathtaking views from work that make up for what a pain in the keister it is to get up here some mornings.

A Thursday night filled with all sorts of my favorite people. 

One more Halloween sneak peek. I am only an overachiever when it comes to crafting.

I'm told that the weekend ahead holds good things. 

I believe it. 

Happy Friday, y'all!

Blessings, large and small

It's been a good week, folks. 

My Monday was actually a second Sunday, two quiet days at work since the kids were on fall break, lots of time with friends...I don't have one single complaint. 

 {Staff Retreat/In-Service. We were allowed to wear jeans to work and they had fresh Starbucks on hand. Definitely eased the blow of sitting in the same room for 3+ hours.}

 {Hooray! Reunited! Good as new!}

{October Photo a Day, 16 - Something I Wrote at our staff retreat. Notes from an amazing devotional and doodles from when the speakers lost me.  

 {October Photo a Day, 17 - The Fruit of my crafty labor on Wednesday}

{October Photo a Day, 18 - A living room full of friends Made Me Smile on Thursday. You're looking at an answer to prayer...}

And yet, Friday is just as welcome as always. The weekend is shaping up to pretty delightful, too. Babysitting some of our favorite kiddos, more college football, pumpkin pickin' and carving, and perhaps a country arts fair along the Sequatchie River. 

Fall, you are glorious. 

Wounds that Heal

The truth is, when I came to work at Covenant I came with deep wounds. I had left my previous job under unexpected circumstances that were quite painful. There were (and still are) folks from that community that loved me well and rallied around me. Still, I left a Christian community feeling bruised, beaten up and betrayed.

The six months before I was hired at Covenant were difficult and anxiety-ridden months. It was the first time I had personally experienced such deep hurt within a group of professing Christians. It made me question my worth, my identity, and I started wondering if what I had believed in since the age of five was actually real. I began to wrestle with my faith in a really intense way. It was scary and sad and yet hopeful, too. I had a wonderful husband who listened to my questions and comforted me as I grieved the sudden loss of something I loved. I had a church and pastors who didn't shy away from my questions or my need to be absent from places in which I had previously been serving. I had friends and family who faithfully prayed for me. Their actions reminded me through those long months just how sweet and true the community of believers can be.

I was thrilled to be hired at Covenant. Folks I trusted and respected had worked or were currently working there, so I felt confident about stepping into my new role. I love it from day one. Anytime someone asked me how I liked my new job, I would grin and start raving about my boss, my coworkers, the Covenant community at large.

It was about two months in when it hit me why I could unreservedly say the things I was saying. I realized that everyone who works at Covenant truly loves working there. They believe wholeheartedly in the work, mission and ministry of Covenant College. Is it a perfect place? No. Nothing this side of heaven ever is. Yet, when you serve each day with folks who have a common vision and goal? Well, that's a sweet, sweet thing.

I celebrated my one year anniversary of working at Covenant this past summer. I think the second year at a job is a lot like your sophomore year of high school or college. You know what you're doing, it's not so scary and (hopefully) you are known in a deeper way by the folks around you. I feel known and valued at Covenant. I love being around the students. I love serving them, my boss, my coworkers, the guests who visit our campus. It is a joy to labor each day in my role. This is a gift that I do not take for granted anymore, trust me!

The inauguration and the events surrounding it this past week were a gift as well. The inaugural concert featured Fernando Ortega and, while I sadly wasn't too familiar with exactly who he was before, I can't stop listen to him now. Listening to him lead worship and taking in the voices around me as we worshipped together was overwhelming. I'm still processing that evening and I have more to say about it, I think. It just needs to stew for a bit longer...

Being a complete sucker for tradition and ceremony, the inauguration ceremony itself had me teary and proud and grateful for our new president. Grateful for his willingness to lead and serve the Covenant community with his God-given gifts. I stood in the lobby as the faculty, board and delegates from other academic institutions processed in. With the bagpipes and drums leading the processional, goosebumps were inevitable. I watched the faculty that I've gotten to know better in the last year, all dressed in their academic regalia. I said a passing prayer of thanks for them and how they, too, serve the college as they teach and help shape the minds of our students.

I count it a privilege to be at this place. I'm so grateful for how God has used it as a channel to heal my wounds and remind me of his faithfulness. It's not a coincidence that I had to wait for six months, had to endure countless "no's," had to experience the disappointment of a "no" from what I thought was a sure thing. As former students from my beloved Trinity School start heading off to college, some of them are finding their way to Chattanooga and even Covenant. The full circle of that brings me to tears every time! I'm reminded that my God, my Father, works all things for good. He's always been faithful...

There is a castle on a cloud...

Did you know that what is now Covenant College used to be a hotel that was often called "Castle in the Clouds"? 

It's true. 

And this morning, I discovered that the nickname is well deserved.

The last few days have been a wonderful blur of inaugural activities, but I have a deliciously lazy Saturday stretching in front of me tomorrow. It's guaranteed to be the kind of day where I have room to stretch my writing muscles and try to put into words all the moments where my heart nearly burst with joy, pride, and gratefulness. 

In the meantime, I'm that wonderful kind of exhausted that comes at the end of a well worn week filled with good works. The triple espresso I had this morning has long since worn off and we've got a copy of "The Hunger Games" to watch.

I'm ok with this kind of exhausted.

{October Photo a Day, 5 - A shadow kiss to start the weekend.}

From this...

to this...

to this...

Tonight was magical. 

Life. It is good.

The first day of school up at Covenant was a really, really good day. As in so good, that I'm that kind of flat out tired you get when you've had a day filled with so much good stuff, your brain starts to hurt and your face hurts from smiling. That kind of flat out tired also leads to blog posts in list form, so here you go.

1.) My hair behaved and the humidity was low. It's the little things that can shape a day from the minute you walk out the front door. Can I get an amen from the ladies?

2.) Every morning when I get out of my car at work, I see this.

Not a bad gig, eh?

3.) Convocation was Uh. May. Zing. I am a huge fan of tradition and ceremony and meaningful spectacle. It was all three rolled into one.

4.) I had heard tales of certain dorm halls coming dressed as monks. Guess who got to hand them convocation programs as they filed in?

4.) Since the chapel was packed with students, the staff sat out in the chapel lobby. I had one of the best seats in the house for the recessional. Watch until the end...



Bagpipes! Faculty in their gowns! Drums! A crazy guy from the hall called Catacombs carrying a random portrait!

I can't believe I get to work here.

5.) My first class was fantastic. Although I did go to the wrong building and ended up being a few minutes late. Of course. Thankfully, the professor hadn't gotten to my name on the roll before I came in. Sheesh. Way to go, Petree.

6.) I walked back to my office and this was the scene all over the chapel lawn.

The Covenant students? They are fans of the hammock.

7.) I've now met all three of my student employees (and seven of my eight practice service students), my to-do list for today was completely finished by the time I left and our first official chapel is tomorrow.

Bring it.

The teacher becomes the student.

Today, I won't just be going to work. I'll also be going to my first day of class. See, every new employee at Covenant is required to take the Christian Doctrine course. You're given the option to audit the class or take it for credit, and being the overachiever that I am, I opted to take it for credit.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not an overachiever. I just know that I'm so dang lazy, that if I didn't take it for credit, I wouldn't get near as much out of it as I could or want to. So, for credit it is.

I don't think it's a coincidence that I got this job at this place and am having to take this course. In the last year or so I've realized that, spiritually, I've been wanting and needing more concrete information. I've been craving facts and absolute truth and not just my feelings. Because feelings? Oh, I've got lots of those. Just ask Jason. But I could use some fact, some doctrine, some statements of reason to go along with those feelings.

So. Here I am. Going back to college (kind of), eleven years after the fact. To tell the truth, I also decided to take the course for credit because I'm kind of curious as to how I'll "do college" now, as an adult. And if the fact that I took four pages of notes on the fifteen pages of reading I had to do for todays class is any indication, this will be a very different experience.

Still, I'm a little nervous. This is a topic that is familiar and completely unfamiliar all at the same time. I'll be the oldest student in the class. And I'm feeling a little bit like this...



Except I don't have kids.

And I already have a degree.

And I'm not married to Huey Lewis.

And I have a Mac, not a typewriter.

Ok, so I'm being a little dramatic. Does that really surprise y'all?

Don't answer that.

Carolina Girl (and then some...)

I'm a college girl through and through.

Allow me to explain.

I was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and spent the first six months of my life living in a Guilford Residence Hall apartment on UNC-Greensboro's campus where my dad was Dorm Director. I had a sweet little nursery that my mom created (as in, she made pretty much everything in it from scratch), and she says that I was doted on by all the college students who lived in Guilford.

(I can't begin to tell you how much I would love to have the vintage fabric in those curtains now.)

Just before I turned a year old, we moved to Blacksburg, Virginia where my dad would work in Student Affairs at Virginia Tech. While we were there, my favorite spots were the duck pond and a local sheep farm. Mom and Dad also drove a pretty sweet VW van. I would go on to wreck that van when I was three and a half. True story.

(Killer sunglasses, Mom. And yes, that's a bonnet. If I have a daughter, she'll wear one too.)

 (Yup, that's me rockin' the belly shirt.)

When I was three and a half, and just before my sister was born, we moved to La Plume, Pennsylvania where my dad would be Director of Residence Life at Keystone Jr. College. We lived in a large apartment in Sickler Hall, a gorgeous Victorian building. It now houses several administrative offices for the college.

 (This is the home where I would become a big sister and wreck the VW van. It was a big year for me.)

(Aunt Joann and cousin Caroline come to visit! My mom smocked that dress for me and I want to squeeze my three year old self, I'm just so dang cute.)

When Allie was about a year old, we moved back down to North Carolina, to my mom's hometown of Durham. Durham is home to The College That Shall Not Be Named (ahem), where we spent every major holiday at Grandmother and Grandaddy's house with mom's sisters and their families, and where I would end up living and teaching after college.

About a year or so after we moved to Durham, we moved to Winston-Salem. Wake Forest University gave me an incredible library for high school research papers, amazing college students who volunteered as my (oh so patient) youth group leaders and Young Life leaders.

As you may have heard, I chose the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for my college years. I was a Resident Assistant for my last two years there and that is still one of the best jobs I have ever had. Chapel Hill is one of the top college towns in the nation and one of my most favorite places in the whole wide world. I love that we got married in Chapel Hill and spent our wedding night at The Carolina Inn. Hark the sound of Tarheel voices....

(My very first day at UNC, setting up my freshman dorm room in Hinton James.)

Even when I got married and moved off to Texas, I ended up in a college town. In Ailene there are three universities- Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons University (my best friend Abby works there) and McMurry University (my mother-in-law is their head volleyball coach and my sister-in-law is the coolest sophomore on campus).

So it seems only fitting in a kind of full circle way that I am now working at a college. New students moved into the dorms at Covenant on Friday and started their orientation which will go through Wednesday. I got to work beside an amazing group of returning students (who serve on the Orientation Team) as they helped unload cars and moved the new students' belongings into their dorm rooms. They were loud and joyous and oh so welcoming to these hesitant hopeful freshmen. I had the best time hanging out with them and I even learned how to do the Dougie. Bonus.

(Keeping a close eye out for new students)

The buildings and grounds aren't just brick and grass after yesterday. It feels like a college now that the students are finally here. And I know that sounds obvious, but when you've worked in quiet buildings for over a month, to see them loud and bustling is an incredible thing.

Here's the thing, I've loved all the college towns I've lived in and I absolutely adored my own college years. But being on this side of a college is something I didn't even know to want. I am ridiculously grateful that I'm getting to experience it this way and at this point in my life. 

And it's kind of nice that Covenant's signature blue is much closer to my beloved Carolina blue than that other kind of blue. 

Let the 2011-2012 school year begin!

Movin' On Up

Literally, y'all.

I have moved on up to my new job on Lookout Mountain just across the state line in Georgia. It's a gorgeous commute (more on that later), the campus is stunning, and the people that work there are fantastic.

(Carter Hall, where I work) 

(The Great Hall. Could you just die? I love this place.)

I've been there for about a month and have been blown away at how friendly and welcoming everyone has been. I've found several kindred spirits in some girls who are seriously stylish and love the crafty as much as I do. This transition has been incredibly healing after the last year and I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this community.

I work in an office that is directly across from the mail room, which means I am in prime people watching/stop by and say hello/everyone walks by at some point realty space. There hasn't been an administrative assistant in the office for about a year, so it was in need of a little love. Some sprucing, if you will.

And I'm sure you will.

So, enter moi.

A little before and after, for your viewing pleasure.

BEFORE:

(Entering the office)

(Looking left)

(The view from my desk)

AFTER:

(I've yet to make the bulletin board calendar that's going on that back wall.)

(The lamp was $4 at a thrift store. I adore spray paint.)

(My plan is for the students to supply the photos that will be pinned in the picture frames.)

(Remember the Monet print behind my desk? I repurposed it into a bulletin board.)

It was ridiculous amounts of fun to work on this space. I can't wait for students to arrive in a few weeks and make this place feel even more lived in!