garage sale maddness

So, our HUGE Garage Sale is coming up fast! We have had like 10 different families donate awesome things and more is coming! We brought most of all of our stuff down from Lincoln tonight and just started to try and sort some things. It's going to be a massive project that's for sure.

We want to thank everyone who has and is going to donate stuff to our sale, we really appreciate it sooooo much!


We hope people stop by THIS Fri and Sat to buy some of our stuff :) We have a lot of really nice things such as;

A TV
A Stroller
A push lawn mower (as seen in the picture)
Desks
A Dining Table with 4 matching chairs and a matching chest
Tons of designer and slightly worn ladies clothing
Children's Clothing (great condition!)
Men's clothing
Posters
Crystal Decor
Home decor
Children's toys/ accessories/ and clothing
And MORE!

Also, I will be there with my Handmade by Elyse items for a Blow Out Sale! So come over if you're interested in any of my earrings, purses, scarves, or soaps! (At a great discount price!)

All proceeds from this sale go to help Ryan and I go and serve in Jena, Germany. We will be doing an internship with a church there for 6 months starting in July and are still in need of some of the funds needed to do so. So come on over and help us out by buying a few shirts or a desk! Help send us to Germany!!! Thanks all!

handmade soap goodness

I love making things, and I realllllly love making soap. I don't make soap from lye, I make it from glycerin blocks that you can get from either Hobby Lobby or Micheal's. I love adding things to my soap to make them smell yummy and make your skin silky smooth :)
Here is what I made today:

Oatmeal and Honey Soap: Glycerin, Raw Organic Honey, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Fragrance, and Oatmeal, love.

Sugar Cookie Soap: Glycerin, Raw Organic Honey, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Brown Sugar, Fragrance, love.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Soap (oh yeah, you read that right): Glycerin, Raw Organic Honey, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Fragrance, love.

Coconut Cream Soap: Glycerin, Raw Organic Honey, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Shredded Organic Dried Coconut, Fragrance, love.

The Oils, sooooooo good!

The Fragrances, yummmmmy :)

The cut up glycerin, ready to be melted!

Here are some pictures of me making the soap and then the finished product! It really is just soooo relaxing and therapeutic to make soap for me, I love it! Had Regina and Ingrid singing their hearts out in the background and just enjoyed the messy process of making something awesome! If you're interested in the details of the process, feel free to leave a comment or email me and I'll for sure get back to you!





All of these soaps that I made today, and ones I have made in the past will be for sale at our garage sale next weekend at $3 a bar! Remember to put our sale on your calendar and stop by!!! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

-Elyse Aubrie

be blessed

What a wonderful life I have. Over the past few months, through our support raising journey, I had been finding myself more and more unhappy. I know that a lot of things going on in my life have been often times been weighing me down; a crazy hard semester of school, some family issues back home in CA, work, but most of all... Germany stuff. Just the combination of my heart breaking everyday for that place combined with the stress of making sure we get the funds and the support needed to head out there in just a short couple of months, had been a bit more than I could handle. After causing maybe some concern for my husband and family here, I felt like it was time to just give up. I was done trying to look not stressed and worried when in fact it was eating a way at me. Instead of holding onto resentment and worry, I have been trying so hard everyday to give everything over to God. I mean, I had been saying during the last 5 months, that I had been trusting God with everything.... but I knew I was not. And since I have given up on trying to be in control.... God has been showing me great things and blessing me immensely!

Just a couple of these crazy blessings have happened just in the last few days! First of all, on Sunday afternoon we went over to the Mudrik's home (an awesome barn in Springfield) to have lunch with them, and it was amazing! Elaine and Marek Mudrik have been the missionaries in residence here at LCU over the past year and we have been trying to get together for so long! They live and serve in Prague, have 5 amazingly sweet children and are just all around awesome! It was so great to talk Europe and missions with them! We're even planning on going to go visit them in Prague while we're in Germany because they will only be a couple hours away from us!

They were so fun to eat with, drink tea with and listen to James Taylor with :) Ryan and I both agree that they have a special talent at making people feel comfortable and blessed!

Also, got to speak with the director of our mission organization, KontaktMission, on the phone yesterday. Well, Ryan talked to him anyway... as I laid on the couch trying not to itch my allergy infested eyes :( Anyway.... it was really good to hear from him and get some encouragement about our progress with the whole support raising thing :) It was just more affirmation from God to let go and let Him take care us us!

ALSO.... it was graduation this past weekend!!! Not for me :( but for a lot of my friends! So we just went from grad party to grad party all weekend it felt like, but it was really fun. I even got to go out with a few of my girlfriends Sunday night to celebrate! Here are a couple of pics from my friend Meg's party! Congrats to all who graduated!!!


Yesterday I was on my way home from work and decided to stop by this garage sale going on (I know, the last thing I need to do is load up on more junk just as we're trying to move out of our place...). I started talking with the cute older couple who were having the sale and ended up telling them about Ryan and I moving to Germany soon, I don't really remember how it came up but I'm sure glad it did! The woman ended up telling me that she had been a missionary in Africa for 35 years! It was so great to hear encouragement from a total stranger, but also a fellow believer, a sister in the Lord. She had a cute little collection of antique plates with different states on them and let me have a California one for free saying that it should act as a reminder to me that she will be praying for us :) God is so good!

Well, hope that gave you a little insight in on our crazy lives right now! We're so excited for the different opportunities coming up for us like our garage sale!!! Hope you stop by and buy a lot of our stuff!!! Hhaha :) Anyway, until next time... be blessed.

-Elyse Aubrie

simplify your life....

And donate some stuff for our garage sale!!!! We're getting ready to move out of our little apartment in Lincoln to move to GERMANY! For those who may not know, Ryan and I are doing a 6 month long internship with a church in Jena, Germany. We are having a moving out garage sale in Springfield to help us raise more of the funds needed to serve there! If you don't have things to donate for our sale, then come on and stop by to buy some of our stuff and help send us to Germany!

green smoothie

In my search for better, yummier, healthier, fun food to be eating, I came across this smoothie recipe. It's called a Green Smoothie and it's so good! Basically, it's full of awesome things that are so good for you and tastes great, seriously. I have been reading about these Green Smoothies on a blog that I follow and decided to take the Green Smoothie Challenge; this is where I will drink on Green Smoothie everyday for a month... just to see what happens! As of right now, I am 4 days into my Green Smoothie Challenge and can already tell some major changes in my day; I have not been drinking coffee because this smoothie gives me more and longer lasting energy than caffeine ever did, my stress level seems to have dramatically decreased (even though I feel like it should be going up) and I just feel better all around!


Before you judge the color, let me tell ya what's in this little beauty.
One Mango
One Apple
One Orange
One Banana
One Pear
A Cup of Pineapple
3 handfuls of Spinach
4 leaves of Romaine Lettuce

And believe me, I CANNOT taste the greens one bit! But i LOVE the beautiful green color they gives the smoothie, and they help make this smoothie a meal and a half!










Anyway, it's so good, and even better for you! I would challenge anyone who reads this to take the Green Smoothie Challenge with me! Let me know if you have any questions about this delish drink!

-Elyse Aubrie

in sickness and in health

Well, we had a mostly good weekend! On Saturday morning it was SOOOOO windy, but I went to go see if the farmers market was going on anyway, and it was! I loaded up on some DELISH goodies; lettuce, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, blueberry jam, and homemade bread. I was so incredibly happy to go to the first farmers market of the year, and I'm sure I'll go back many many times before we move away from Lincoln :( (which by the way is in like 20 days!).

Ellen and Marks wedding was so wonderful, special, touching, and great! They both have such wonderful stories and hard memories, but are now ready to look forward to their future together! I was so honored t be able to be there and be a part of their special day ( I was a cake cutter!) :)

Hearing the wedding vows being said was probably a good reminder for my dearest hubby because not too long after the wedding, I started to get really sick :( But he's been taking good care of me! I wish I had been feeling better for Michelle's birthday party that night, it was so fun! And there were cute doggies there!

Anyway, somehow made it through teaching sunday school to 4th and 5th graders this morning. I've been feeling even worse today but I have also been resting a lot, and drinking some of my new Chia Gel made from the chia seeds I got at Food Fantasies today <3 yuuuuummmm I've also been making smoothies!


And most of all, I want to say HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! To my wonderful Mamma! Hope you had a great time this weekend, wish I could have been with you! Love you and Miss you!

-Elyse Aubrie

giggles

I feel like with a first post to a blog there is so much pressure! It's kind of like getting a new notebook or journal and having to write on the very first fresh page. Anyways, I guess I'll just get goin here-
Had a wonderful breakfast this morning with some of my favorite gals! We went to the Arcade cafe and I had this delish veggie omelette!


Then we took a bunch of crazy pictures! I love girlfriends to be crazy with, laugh with, eat with and go antiquing with! It was a breath of fresh air being with these ladies today!





Also, today we went to a rehearsal dinner for Ellen Barmes and Mark Weber who are getting married tomorrow! We're so excited for them and can't wait for the wedding tomorrow afternoon! Something else going on tomorrow that I am VERY excited about is the FARMERS MARKET! Ah, I cannot wait! I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow with many pictures and stories! Well, goodnight!
-Elyse Aubrie