New Years Eve Day
Started with cinnamon roll breakfast followed by reading and spending time with the Lord by the fire as light snow fell outside in the 2 degree weather.
We made creme brulee lattes for lunch. Because the dessert never turned out and it had enough calories to count as a meal.
This afternoon promises games, reading, and a fajita dinner. A little bubbly will complete our Colorado celebration. Does my happiness revolve around warmth, food and a charming husband or what?

Happy New Year. May you see God's perfect love at work in your life.

Finally. A snow. It snowed in Jacksonville FL before it snowed in Colorado this Christmas. Beautiful. Dangerous. We escaped collision a few times on these roads.

Boeuf Bourguignon from the sister. Delicious. Merci beaucoup.

A sweet gathering of friends.

What did Wednesday in New York hold for us?

Well the only thing I have held today is a bottle of sprite and gatorade. Lets just say I was sick with something that my body was trying to expel any way it could.
So only John left our room today, to get some fluids and eventually a meal for himself at 5pm. John is so wonderful and took great care if me. Apparently we were supposed to stay in today. The statue of liberty and a coffee shop tour in Greenwich Village will have to wait til next time.

ice-skating in central park. Its bitter cold, but so fun. The pic earlier is our accomodations for these days, thanks to Susan.

Dinner @ Spice in Chelsea
We made it, we are rejoicing with curry

Headed to NYC! Don't worry John wont carry me the whole way. (this was last weekend at a friends beach baptism)
Not more importantly, I can now blog from my phone, which will be better than waiting to upload the sounds and sights of the city.

stay tuned . . .

for upcoming big apple adventures!

"the hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets before we reach the heavenly fields or walk the golden streets"


from an Isaac Watts hymn

weekend

 . . . falling in love with homemade salted caramel hot chocolate (from starbucks)

 . . . a beach baptism of dear college student friends

 . . . getting the husband new digs for christmas festivities

 . . . cooking my first pot pie, and eating it so fast, the recipe here, from the Pioneer Woman

 . . . making the easiest crust for the pot pie, recipe here, from the Pioneer Woman

 . . . watching Elf with the man.

 . . . enjoying time with the Lord and snuggling at home as it gets chilly outside.

time of thanks

I didn't start taking photos until after our wonderful meal and dessert, after decorating our house full of Christmas cheer, after a beautiful wedding on the river, but not before our night of wonder at the river downtown.  We watched tons of boats decorated with lights float by us as the competed in the Parade of Lights.  It was more fun than we expected.  It was perfect to experience it with  David and Pamela!

This boat was one of this crowds favorites, its a live manger scene!

After the show we had to warm up at Starbucks.  David introduced us to the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and I am pretty sure our lives were changed. 

We also decorated gingerbread men and women.  Mine was adorned with buttons and red finger nails!  And big white bow too

Merry Christmas!

man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord  

Feast on His word today friends.  Happy Thanksgiving

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of HIS work.  psalm 104

saturday trip upstate

saturday started as it usually does in this Teten home with John making me breakfast.  I know, what a deal  right?  

We also very spontaneously decided to go for a walk.  At first we were going to walk on Hugenot beach, which we have never been to before.  That turned into driving a little further to Little Talbot Island State Park.  Once there we figured we might as well see what Amelia Island is like . . . which is so close to Fernandina Beach we just kept going.  Our initial plan was to hike or walk along a beach.  But we never made it to those trails.  We did stop at the sweetest little town of Fernandina Beach and we walked around the antique shops and farmers market.  We had our pick of outdoor cafes for lunch and enjoyed perfect 70 degree weather.  

Then we stumbled upon none other than the International Petanque Tournament!  What is petanque you say?  All we saw was men and women, young and old, American and international alike throwing silver balls around on the dirt!  Ha, the things you learn and see when you leave home on a saturday.

North Florida is just beautiful, and we are thankful to be here.  We listened to M. Ward on our ride home through spanish moss- covered trees, over bridges and winding roads.  

our mocs waiting for us for after church!

you betcha

you better believe it is finally moccasin weather in florida.

the hubs has a blog!

My handsome husband has started a blog.  I join him in working among college students.  We have the privilege of sharing Christ with students at the University of North Florida and his new blog shares short glimpses of our lives advancing the gospel on campus!  I cannot wait to see in type what I see in person every day.  Join us by reading what's going on.  His blog is on the list to the right.

in an effort to enjoy life and our youthfulness and flexibility . . .

we are going to New York City in December!

I have never been to the big apple.  But what better time than at Christmas in all its glory.  So this will be the substance of my dreams for the next few weeks.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Times Square

Central Park

Ice Skating in Central Park

and walking that magical place with my husband, bundled up!

lately I am enjoying . . .

  the pretense of fall with pumpkin spiced _________ (anything)
  the world of sewing opportunities (a dress and belts for a friend's
           wedding on the horizon)
  dreaming of fall and winter plans, events, decorations, travel,
           gifts and meals.
  my husband (he is so handsome, I love how he looks in
           cool weather clothes)
  the women's bible study at my church (I am not used to
           being the youngest at bible study)
  pursuing friendships (post-college is weird)
  taking a deep sigh and enjoying this season for its blessings

I hope you have a running list of what you are enjoying, big and small.

slideshow booth

John and I recently sent out a magnet to our donors that looked like the printout from a photo booth. 

We had fun making it, and we had not so much fun making it.  But I loved flipping through them fast on our camera and tried to recreate the effect for everyone else's viewing pleasure.  

all I can say is that it has been busy, and while I have a few sewing projects I wish I could do and blog about, magazines I want to read, books I want to finish, things I want to share . . . it just is not going to happen.  Sorry friends!  Soon I hope to be more interesting.

Eric came to Jax!

My brother-in-law came out for a few days.  He is in the process of interviewing for P.A. schools across the country.  Lucky for us he applied and got an interview at NOVA in Jacksonville.  How wonderful would it be if he and my sister would move here!  John and I haven't lived near family since we got married.  

As soon as we picked him up we went straight to the beach to stick our piggies in the sand.  We got some southern BBQ once he was done interviewing and then spent today touring the city a bit.

we tried out the Riverside Arts Market in one of our favorite parts of the city.  It is held under a bridge right next to the St. John's river so it is beautiful and breezy!  

we also tried out the Cool Moose Cafe.  its a breakfast stop in Riverside that we loved.  It is cute and little and is pretty hipster, so I used my hipstamatic to capture the moment.  And can you believe it?  I CHOSE cheesy grits as a side.  This would NOT have happened a few years ago.  But my husband and the south taught me a valuable lesson, a tasty lesson.

You can leave Eric, but only long enough to get April in Arizona and come back to live!  We had such a fun time.  

I don't know about Georgia

a felicitous weekend

word to incorporate into every day usage

:: felicity


I am realizing I am horrible and coming up with good sentences to try these words out. . . any ideas?

our new UNF logo, courtesy of a sexy man I get to call husband.

from the beach

we had sooooo much fun at the beach this weekend.  we joined our old friends from UF in Panama City Beach for some sand volleyball, water polo, time with the Lord, and fellowship

here is our UNF crew.  How fun!  We had one girl brave it alone with six guys.

word.

Our friend Will made up a game with his friends called drop jaw.  Basically a staring contest with your mouth open.

our guys are proud of their muscles.  And I am too!  They are gonna win those man challenges coming up at the mens retreat!  Look out UF, FSU and USF. 

headed to the beach

hopefully I can find my spot again . . .

joie de vivre

word to incorporate into every day usage

:: unawares

something about this strange word is attractive to me.  It jumped out at me in Hebrews 13:2 in the English Standard Version

for a detailed explanation of how to use this look here, or join me in most likely using it improperly.

summer succotash

I never had succotash growing up.  To be honest I don't think I would have liked it.  This southern dish is mainly lima beans and corn.  Meh. That combo does not get my taste buds going.

But our summer in Branson, Missouri (which I described here and here and here and finally here)  opened my eyes to succotash wonder.  The theme park that Branson is most widely known for is Silver Dollar City.  The park is 1880's themed and it was a hoot to see our students roaming the park with their long sleeved dresses and bonnets in the summer heat.

One of my students worked outdoors at a big frying pan selling succotash so we stopped to try some.  And it was delish!  Why?  Not because it had lima beans.  Because it had yellow squash and okra and bell pepper and corn and chicken, mmmmm.

So when I saw okra and yellow squash on sale at my grocery store i snapped up a ton to make and freeze for my man and me.  And I found on the food channel's website a recipe straight from the 1880's itself.

Behold:

here is the recipe!

Enjoy!

more thrifted finds

So with the above mirror we spray painted it with a glossy gray we had left over from some other projects

and now it is a little delight in a mini hallway towards our bedroom.   I love how it has a romantic feel to it, but the color makes it a little gothic.  I am not convinced it needs to be gray forever, it was just what I had on hand and I needed instant gratification.  I have dreamed canary yellow dreams for it.

And then this cute glass cookie jar caught my eye too!  It is vintage with a western feel.

Those cookies by the way were made by John.  He makes up for when I have no desire to bake!  But the cookie jar is sure to inspire me.

There are still a few more things from the great thrifting adventure.  But they are still in process.

time with the Oteros

John and I celebrated our anniversary in Savannah back in May.  It was a delight of course, Savannah is so charming with the spanish moss, old architecture and street side cafes.  Not to mention it is the home of Paula Dean's restaurant.  But guess what happened?  We are walking down the street and from the other side of the road we hear "Tetens!"  yelled.  We looked and saw April and Joel Otero.  They were vacationing in Savannah and we had just happened to be there on the same street at the same time in Savannah!  How fun is that.

Joel and April are also on staff with the Navigators here in Florida.  They are at the University of South Florida in Tampa.  They are such a fun couple and they make us laugh whenever we are blessed to be with them.  

So here we both are in Savannah.  They are on vaca, we are on our anniversary celebration, and we think to ourselves why go to our separate romantic dinners alone when such fun friends are here in such a fun city?  So we did it!  We had dinner together!  And why, when you have Paula Dean's restaurant available, wouldn't you go eat at a Vietnamese place? So we found ourselves celebrating four years of marriage over a bowl of Pho with the Oteros!

We had such a fun time that they asked us to come to Tampa and have some more summer fun before the school year began.  So we did, and we ate Pho again, because we love it.

April is who I got to go thrifting with in Tampa, and it was SO fun.

thanks Oteros for being our friends!

                                              

here is a little sneak peak at something I fell in love with thrifting that now has a fresh coat of paint!  It just needs a quick upload to the computer for blogging.