a revelation in revelations

hello friends!

i hope your weekend was relaxing and full of rest. mine was full of friends, bbqs, showers, and listening to a great message at church. when i decided to write a post today, i was going to write about music i was digging lately. but as i began to write my first sentence, it just felt so wrong. i don't know how to describe it. the sentences didn't seem right. instead, i thought about the message from church. and the sentences just flowed out. one after another. something i've noticed about a lot of blogs is that many bloggers don't necessarily discuss religion, which is fine by all means. when caitlin and i first talked about our blog, one of the main topics we wanted to write and discuss about was our faith. our faith is important to both of us and while it may repel some of you readers, it has shaped us into who we are today. so, having said that, you can either "command t" us (hah for you mac users) and skip this blog post or continue reading! 

one thing that has been tugging my heart lately is my lack of fire for God. even as i write this, i feel as if what i've admitted is some kind of heresy. instead, i need to go back and delete this post, write about what i ate today, and post an instagram picture of it.

i've started to notice that i've been pushing God out of my thoughts and have been completely focusing on me. what will i be doing once i graduate? what should i do this weekend? what do i need to do right now? how will this affect me- will it be beneficial to me? 

on sunday, the message stemmed from revelation 1-2:7. revelation 2:2 says"i know your works, your toil and your patient endurance...i know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake and you have not grown weary." and when i read that my first reaction was "kind of true, yeah God! it's hard being a christian in montreal! i help serve with campus ministry! i help out with small groups, i volunteer for this..." but if you continue reading it says "but i have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first."

i was floored. convicted - the kind where your heart drops to your stomach. but this conviction was not a conviction based on fear (of God), but was in the form of the sweetest conviction ever- is that a paradox or what? it really hit me how much i loved the world and what it offers. my citizenship was on earth and not in heaven. oh how i valued my family and friends opinions. how much love i have for earthly treasures. how much i loved myself. 

i began to think about the last time i was on fire for God. it was hard and i had to swallow my pride because, you know what, i can't remember because its been a really long time. i've abandoned the love i had for jesus. 

basically, what i'm trying to say is that my relationship with God is not exactly perfect. i stumble and fall, and a lot of times, don't want to get up. like, refuse status. but i know that God is patiently lending his hand for me to hold on to so i can get back on my feet. amazing how sweet and vast God's grace is. how much he pursues me. 

this post, or essay i should call it, isn't meant for you to think - oh ej, who does she think she is? trying to show off how much of a christian she is? no. i just felt compelled to write it because i wanted to reveal how raw and fragile my relationship with God can be. no one's relationship with him is perfect. we're not perfect. we are weak, sinful, and selfish. losing sight of this makes you think you are okay without God. and that, my friends, is a scary situation to be in. 

loving you,

ej 

Undercover Reporting

So, it is time that I introduce a certain special someone in my life. Yepp, that'd be my fiancé. hehe. The first thing you need to know about him is that he loves God and I love him for that! Secondly, is the fact that food ranks very high on his list of priorities. I am sort of a foodie and love wine and food events while he, par contre, just likes to eat really good food. I secretly documented him in action one evening while he made dinner for me during finals.  Let me say, the man can cook! Here, the proof:

The final result via (crappy) iPhone pic:

The verdict: VERY DELICIOUS! And: that I am a sneaky little finacée. But, all of my reporting has convinced me that I must learn how to make delectable meals like this, as well. Luckily, I came across the utterly mouth watering site of Rasa Malaysia. The writer is a girl who knows her food. I am a fan. I highly suggest you go over to her site and check out recipes like this. How good does that look??

  Anyways, I have a little set of pictures from le fiancé's and my trip to Toronto, that we took recently. We went to visit his family right after we got engaged and of course that meant a little bit of galavanting around town ;) Pictures to come!

Coco xo

  

Engagements, Internships, and Cream-filled Cupcakes

Heeeelllllllooo blog world! I have awesome news and adventures to share! hehe. First of all, EJ has already told you that I am engaged!! I will have to do a post on that all in itself. :D Needless to say, I am very happy and wedding planning has commenced! Also, I have come to find out firsthand that summer courses are NOT bird courses. When they say four months condensed into one month, they are not joking.

On a much lovelier note, I started an internship with an event planner in New York, two weeks ago. It is amazing to see the working world of New York, especially in a creative profession. I am so inspired going into work everyday as I walk the streets, ride the subway, and buy my coffee at the same little shop near my work every morning. I'm so blessed! That being said, I commute every morning about one hour from Jersey into the city. Oui, I am one of those. A (Jersey) commuter. The best kind obviously, but still ;) It is a loooong day. I usually get up around 7am and get home around 9:30pm! eeeks.

Anyways, I wanna share with you guys a little soirée that Michelle and I held at our apartment before the end of the semester. We were feeling antsy to be crafty and eat some good food with good friends. The result was a trip to Value Village where we picked up some glasswear and vintage plates. They have a total seventies vibe and it was such fun to use them. We also picked up two GINORMOUS racks of ribs for only $15,  which is not too expensive, and marinaded them in a spicy, sweet barbecue sauce. Mmmhmmm good. And of course, there was some bubbly for the celebratory dimension.

Because Mich and I are students, and don't have money to shell out on decorations, we improvised! I went to Dollar-ama (however in the world that is spelled...Doll-a-rama?) and bought cheap white table cloths. But that doesn't exactly look chic, so I asked the cashier for brown paper wrapping used to pack delicate things, and we spread them across the tables. Mich folded paper cranes out of colorful envelopes that we had. For the final touch, we put white tea candles (also from Doll-a-rama) into old glass jars and wine bottles.

This was right before Katya nearly killed everyone with the Champagne cork. ahaha t'was a merry night, indeed.

I also wore a total "Man-Repeller" vest. My fiancé told me that it looked like "poorly tended grass." Case in point.

Matt and Maria brought adorable and delicious cream-filled cupcakes. There were little toothpick flags that had everybody's names on them!

hehe SO FUN. Montreal me manque! I'll be back to school soon enough though. For right now, I'll enjoy the summer sun. 

Talk to you guys soon :)

coco xo

things lately...

bridal showers! one of my best friends is getting married in less than 2 months and i'm so excited for her.

good weather means desserts (obviously), which leads to multiple menchies stops with my friends. my favourite is the taste testing part... i think i've spent a good 15 minutes testing all the flavours... it's endless i tell you...

unfortunately, good weather also means all play and no work. it's been getting harder and harder to focus and study for my grad school exams. this picture is pretty funny! after i came back from the washroom, i found my little pup sitting on my books demanding that we play. pretty cute. 

 and when it rains (it does, it's called raincouver for a reason), nothing like a peppermint tea and some sketching.