city to city

Last night I went to a Redeemer City to City event. I hadn't heard much about what the event was for when I received the invitation, but decided I would stop by since it was on my way home from work and since I'm going on a mission trip soon. Brendan and I went and we were both blown away and so moved by all that Redeemer has done through its original vision: create a gospel movement in the city and the movement will follow in other parts of the world and the country. They had "church planters" (aka, pastors) there from all over the world (Dubai, Singapore, Ireland,...to name only a few)  who have planted churches through Redeemer's support. It was truly moving to see how God is calling people to go to the far-reaches of the earth to spread the good news! Take a look at this quick video, you will be inspired and encouraged about what Redeemer and these churches are doing. (warning: you might cry, I did.)


Join the Movement from Redeemer City to City on Vimeo.

[ps- around minute 3:18, you will see Jacques who is the pastor at the church in Cape Town that we are going to serve with in November!]

looking for something to do next Monday night?

If you're in the New York area next Monday September 26th, I have the perfect thing for you! My South Africa mission team is hosting a wine & dessert tasting fundraiser to support the orphanages in South Africa that we'll be working with. We are hoping to provide a generous donation to these less fortunate while we are there in November. If you're looking for a good cause, drop by our event!

tomorrow

I'm going here:

And I cannot wait! Lots of big changes coming up in the next few days and weeks. I can't wait to update.

[photo from justapinchofsouth tumblr]

brooklyn farmacy

One of the stops on our adventure for Katherine's birthday celebration was a soda fountain called Brooklyn Farmacy. It was a relatively new restaurant that was made to feel old-fashioned with "soda jerks" who prepared homemade soda, delicious sundaes and everything else you can imagine that would be at a soda fountain. Even with the commute, I would definitely go back! Thanks for choosing such a fun birthday celebration spot, K!

[roommate picture!]

just peachy

This stationery is just that. Beautiful, subtle, and...rainbow. I think this is going to be my next project: re-creating a similar version. I love it! Even the brown-paper envelopes.

[found here at Mercier Beaucoup Stationery Shop]

candy key

I found this today while searching for something else and I am pretty sure that I am dying to have it now. I would never lose my keys or get confused about which one opens the door!

[found here on Urban Outfitters]

birthday celebrations: kat

As I mentioned on Friday, we celebrated for Katherine's birthday. And we celebrated big. We had a full night in Brooklyn with delicious pizza and the best sundaes you've ever tasted at an old-fashioned soda fountain.

And this is just the beginning of the pictures! Robyn recently got a new camera that she so generously let me play with...those pics are coming soon!

Happy 26 birthday Katarina!

if you're interested:

Here is a firsthand account of a fascinating woman who lived through 9/11 and was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the 2nd plane hit. Warning: be prepared to cry! If you have the time, I suggest checking our her testimony of the day's events. 

You Are My Hiding Place: A Memoir of 9/11

[or for the unabridged version, click here.]

today.

I usually like to keep things light and airy around here, but in light of today's events I really can't help but at least comment. I have spent much of the day reflecting on things between what I was doing then and what I'm doing now.

Then, I was walking from Dr Hust's 1st period biology class to my locker. I needed to get my books for my 2nd period American History class with Mrs Prewitt. My best friend from childhood, Chase, casually walked up to me at my locker and said "Hey, did you know someone hit the World Trade Center with a plane?" To be perfectly honest, I didn't even know what that meant. "Hmm, that's terrible," I thought. But New York City meant nothing to me. Even in days passing when I saw President Bush at Ground Zero, I remember thinking "I wish I understood the geography of New York more so I could even fathom this. I wish I knew what Ground Zero was." At the time, it was all a very distant and abstract occurrence.

Today, I sit in my apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan ten years later, watching people with American flags draped around their shoulders run outside my apartment. I remember every detail of this day ten years ago (even what I was wearing, which I'm sure probably doesn't surprise many of you), but it means something completely different to me today. I have friends and bosses and coworkers who lived here and tell me about their experiences of the day firsthand. I understand the geography and significance of the events that day. I know now, in a very small way, what the impact of a tragedy like that would have on this city. It's heartbreaking and sobering and mind-boggling all at once. It's heavier on me today than ten years ago because now I get it.

Ten years ago, I never thought I would live in this city, and, quite frankly, didn't have a desire to live here. But, I would never trade the understanding that I now have.

[I took this pic from Carrie's blog. I loved it too much not to post. Thanks for sharing, CCD!]

madiba

Last night my South Africa mission team ventured out to Brooklyn for some authentic cuisine. Our trip is getting closer (and closer!!) and we thought it would be fun to have some local South African fare at Madiba. It was delicious. I had fish and chips (with a fancier name than that) with fried calamari. There were a few extra adventurous eaters at the table, but I'm working my way up to that. All of the food I tried (including pap) had incredible flavor and made me even more excited about my trip. If you're in the NY area and up for the trek out to Fort Greene in Brooklyn, it's certainly worth it. And, of course, the design and aesthetic of the restaurant was my favorite part.

glory days

I got a notification tonight of one of the best tweets I've ever gotten:

farmerrose:

Definitely re-lived our glory days today @pettups wish more than ever you had been here!

I sure wish I had been there, too...

happy birthday(s)

Today I'm wishing the happiest of birthdays to my favorite set of quadruplets, my roommate Katherine and her 3 womb-mates! (You can also check out her sister Quinn's blog here.) We're going out to celebrate for dinner with pizza and dessert in Brooklyn, and I'm only wishing that the three other siblings could join, too. Maybe next year we'll get them all here in the Big Apple for the occasion.

Also, it's my older brother Brent's birthday today!

[It must be a good day for birthdays. I think so.]

plenty of colour

New fave blog!

Check it out. You won't be disappointed. A blog devoted to finding the beauty in color, and from someone who loves rainbows as much as I do.

Mom & GG in the city!

I'm a little behind on my blogging, but a few weeks ago my mom and GG made a trip to the Big Apple! We had fun (on GG's first time here since 1942!), so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

finally.

I finished The Help! It took me long enough, but I'm finally done and I'm going to see the movie. Since I don't watch much tv, I hadn't even see the trailer preview, and once I started the book I didn't let myself watch it until I was done (mostly because I wanted to keep the characters as they were in my mind's eye until I was done and didn't want to be influenced by the actresses who played them in the movie). I watched the trailer for the first time now and I'm even more excited to see the movie on Sunday!!!

the last weekend of summer

I can't believe it's that time again. Summer is over. What?! I wish I was spending the weekend with my floaties jumping into a pool, but I'll be here instead (with lots of fun things planned, I should add). I don't know where the time has gone or why it's going by so quickly, but it's going by like a speeding bullet. Here's to enjoying one more weekend of my favorite season of all!

[photo from here]

cafe grumpy

On Wednesday night, my friend Addie and I met (for the first time!) at a local coffee shop: Cafe Grumpy. She had been there once before and recommended it, so I tried it out. It was so cute: in an adorable, quiet part of Chelsea, there was enough room inside to actually walk around and sit comfortably (sounds simple, but often that is a luxury at coffee shops in NYC), and they made this beautiful design in my cappuccino. They also had an incredibly high-tech system for paying which I found to be amazing. It was a tiny credit card slider on an iPad where they swiped my card, and then I "signed a receipt" with my finger on the screen, entered my phone number and they texted my receipt to me! If you're in the area, you should give it a try!

my philosophy

This is what goes through my mind when I look at my gchat list during the day. I use this same philosophy to decide with whom I will chat. If you don't want to chat, skip busy and invisible and just sign out!

[found here, thanks to my cousin Ashley. We're new gchat buddies.]