fall bliss list {it's back!}

hello lovelies!

sorry for my absence. life just gets in the way sometimes, you know?

but autumn is here, which means some of my faves have made a triumphant return::

#1 boots. oh, how i've missed thee. some new booties have made a smart addition to my already {large} collection.

#2 over-sized sweaters. neutrals + basic preferably. as i accessorize accordingly.

#3 tulsa fair! i didn't go last year, and i missed it quite terribly. especially the people-watching. & farm animals.

#4 pumpkin spice lattes. need i say more? i think not.

#5 mittens + beanies. can't wait to whip these out!

enjoy the crisp air,

sarahbell

winsomeness + worth

& you ask yourself

"who do i wanna be?"

do i wanna throw away the key

& invent a whole new me?

i don't wanna be no one

but me.

confession session:: {momentary ramblings}

i am::

the girl that still gets giddy about taylor swift concerts. to the point where i think bright yellow nailpolish would be totally appropriate for tonight's attire. & it's not summer anymore. oh well.

the girl that cries when i even think about one of my kids {ahem, kitties} getting hurt or sick.

the girl that melts over handwritten notes my husband leaves in my lunchbox.

the girl that would rather listen to musical scores and compositions than lyrics ringing in my ears any day.

the girl that considers dr. pepper/bread/pasta her "chocolate."

but that's just me,

sarahbell

confession session {mondaymusicmix}

i'm going to share a secret with you:: the best music comes from soundtracks//commercials. no joke. the background music you hear blaring constantly is the stuff you need to be after. & you will always have a very diverse ipod! my recent fav's::

serendipity soundtrack

something borrowed soundtrack.

& a few others::

i just adore new music playing in my headphones,

sarahbell

the {infrequent} friday five.

i must say, never has my life felt so full + brimming with wonderful things {some in the near future}::

#1 i now have a new baby. yes! an orange tabby kitten, appropriately named banjo spunk. spunky for his nickname. & let me tell you! he's the hit of the household! both kitties love him! {pictures soon to come}.

#2 birthday shopping really has been the best:: urban outfitters, boots, ulta, jeggings, hurrah! it's been too long since i've enjoyed my favorite past time.

#3 i'm already so stoked for my "fall break" this year:: indiana. :)

#4 taylor swift concert this coming week. the civil wars in november. great concert line-up for autumn.

#5 i now have a twitter + pinterest that i started in one week. {i'm such a multi-tasker...}. so feel free to follow me! sarahjobell on twitter + sarahjobell86 on pinterest.

have a lovely weekend,

sarahjo

carry {on}

i choose to love you nonetheless.

a birthday {tale}

i think 25 is the perfect age. no joke.

i secretly desired {for the longest time} to be married by the time i was 25.

now my wish is for a year of mature choices + wanderlust. to love those who push me away + let go of the past...

well, with the exception of::

lion king + pocahontas-themed parties.

a surprise sweet sixteen celebration.

ice cream cakes from dairy queen.

sleep overs. mary kate + ashley videos.

petshops. lisa frank collections. hamsters.

sitting in mr murphy's class, giddy about turning 15. seeing his disconcerting expression when someone barged in the classroom + saying something about an airplane crashing into a building. but who even knew what the world trade center was? i sure didn't.

but i do now. and although i don't know much about politics, geography, & history, i know a lot about human emotion. & truthfully, it doesn't even bother me that i share this day with an event more significant than myself. nor do the stories, memories, heartbreaks, + heroic tales i hear.

it continues to give me goosebumps + make the tears flow.

& i hope to never grow numb to it.

i think it needs to remain raw + real.

for my sake + everyone else that was affected by it.

i will not feel sorry for myself + i will never forget,

sarahbell

{p.s. orange tabby photog to be explained soon... :)}

confession session {::kittens, specifically tabbies::}

be honest:: you don't know too many cat lovers out there. even if you are one, you are apart of a rare community! & although people have their reasons... let's face it! cats are the easier pets to take care of {unless you have a goldfish, i guess}. so it comes as no surprise that for a couple years now i have been melting over orange tabby kittens...

maybe this obsession came from "banjo the woodpile cat" getting lost in the city...

or perhaps it was tiger putting aside his ferocious tendencies to be friends with a mouse {sorry i wish i could've found the video!}...

either way, i think don bluth + i got it right. except for the fact that there are cats in america. fievel & his family found that out the hard way.

sarahbell

tell me {why}

don't you feel guilty about what you're doing?

why would you feel sorry for me... ever?

how'd we end up this way?

don't you know your string of lights still shine bright {to me}?

you know i'd rather love than fight,

sarahbell

rock + a hard place

some things are just hard to understand.

{but this too shall pass...}

{today's} tid bits

a couple little reminders/tid bits for today::

mmmm, can't wait to be overflowing with wanderlust this autumn,

sarahbell

give + take

"today, i'm sitting in my hospital bed waiting to have both my breasts removed. but in a strange way i feel like the lucky one. up until now i have had no health problems. i'm a 66 year old woman in the last room at the end of the hall before the pediatric division of the hospital begins. over the last few hours i have watched over 30 cancer patients being wheeled by in wheelchairs and rolling beds. none of these patients could be a day older than 15. MMT"

i know life is way too short to be bitter + hold grudges.

i have loved many of my cancer patients for their will to endure so much.

& i've watched many of them pass, sadly.

that's why i'm not going to let hatefulness affect me.

because i believe in impossibilities::

for those who have given me a dirty look,

i hope i get to introduce myself to them, shake their hand, + smile in the future.

to all those who have said, "you shouldn't be friends",

i hope someday they understand that we all make mistakes,

but that doesn't make you a bad person.

don't they know Jesus loved + hung out with people that were disgraced by society?

i believe in being genuine. and i want to be that to everyone. i want to sit at the table & share a coffee with someone who everyone else says/thinks is my enemy. i want to sit by a homeless man who has been on drugs for years + lost all of his family, & listen to his story.

i wanna love someone even if they don't want to return the gesture.

i'm not stupid or crazy for loving + wanting to be friends with someone that everyone else says is a bad idea. remember that genuine thing i told you about? well, i genuinely think it's the right thing to do.

if my crazy, hyper cat {who hates cuddling/being held} can find contentment in sleeping beside me, then i believe God can make even the greatest impossibility happen.

sarahbell

{look} up

He knows where i am + where I've been.

& i never have to go there, again.