chevron love // beating the deadline

January 26, 2016

I've been bitten by the chevron, turquoise, and grey bug. It's kinda an awesome bad. ;)

My purse is turquoise, my backpack is grey and turquoise, 
my bedding is white and turquoise, my iphone case is turquoise and grey, 
my blankie is turquoise and my sheets are chevron. 

 Like - yeah.. I'm stuck. I went to the store the other day and found my grey chevron sheets. For some reason my comforter I got for my birthday didn't come with sheets. :P I couldn't decide if I should get the ones that MATCH my bedding (right) or the chevron, which I adored. Bree told me to get the ones that matched - as did my mom! 

  I got the grey chevron. I LOVE IT!!! lol 

I write for a Christian girls magazine (SKG) as most of you know. It's just such an AWESOME thing, but I have this horrible thing with procrastinating to do my job. I'll literally wait until two days before the deadline to start writing and then send it in the day before...and I have two months to do it. *cringe* My job this issue is to write a 1,500 word article covering the 1930's. I have more than a month left to finish it, and I'm almost done! *smirk

 BEAT THAT PROCRASTINATION. 

How much turquoise do you own?
Is PROCRASTINATION a problem for you?


unknown prize // behind the locked door

January 22, 2016
If you follow my sister Sarah's blog - you already know that I got on the radio a little over a week ago. I had been listening to everyone on the radio recently and they were winning Brandon Heath and Josh Wilson CDs. I just had to get on there too! I was the random 5th caller and had to answer these 3 questions and say if they were Bible or NOT. I was stumped on the 2nd question though.. It was in Galatians apparently, but I'm serious, the version of the Bible that they were using made it sound so not Biblical. They were talking about being proud in yourself. I was like uhh..no, that's not Bible. :P

 And, in all that, I didn't hear which CD I had won!! My mind went blank..and all I could remember was "J ----, who's song is #2 top in the nation right now." I was like, ohh cool! O.o I then later talked with my friend, Aliyah, about it all. She then listed all the "J" names and bands she knew. Her last one was "Jordan Felix" -- and she was right!! :D

 Our library has a storage room. You see, its VERY old.. it's like the old post offices you see around. All made in glorious marble and stone. It's majestic. I always dream of exploring the storage room - and discovering the hidden stories. And, a few days ago, I got to! The librarian had to get a book down there for me - please tell me why Jane Eyre is in STORAGE?! - and I asked if I could go down too. I was sooo happy when the reply was "oh sure!". My dreams made the place a lot better..but the books are still great. ;)

Ever been on the radio?
Does your library have a storage room??

molasses art // 150th

January 18, 2016
I discovered reading again. Isn't that rather odd for me? The one who raves about books, who lives and breathes them?? I guess you could say I got stuck in the mobile world for a while. I found that I would rather text with my friends (hehe yes Clara and Amanda ;)) then read at the moment. Basically - I FORGOT IT! *gasp* It must have been a week ago, but we lost internet one night. So, I read. hehe It was awwwwweessome. I am now staying up VERY late and reading.. it's probably not good for me, lol, but I like it better than being on my phone. ;)

 I reached my 150th post - today! I love blogging about my life. I cannot tell you how many times I'll go "oh, this is so going to be a BLOGPOST" and everyone will look at me a chuckle (or moan??). Sarah and I often will screech "post title!!" out in public. ;) It's the awkwardness of taking photos in stores and making normal things look abstract, the hours at night thinking of what I'll say in my next post, and the AWESOMENESS of your comments. :D

 I adore making breakfasts. It's just SO my thing! I will hook my phone up to our bluetooth radio (OH YEAH), tap on my "I'm in love.." spotify folder, and jam with my favorite artists. I, um, yeah okay, I actually dance in the kitchen. ;) I was making pumpkin muffins and Bree walks in JUST when Josh Wilson's "THAT WAS THEN, this is NOW" came on. I spun to the cabinet going "bought by the blood *grabs molasses*, saved by the Son *starts pouring into bowl*, that the saints all sing about!" and ta-da, my cursive molasses art. ;)

Have you forgotten reading?
Do you sing when you're in the kitchen??


yoga ball // november challenge

January 14, 2016
I remember when we first moved to the house we live in now, I thought the basement was HUGE. I imagined me doing the moon walk (not the dance moon walk..you know, the slow-motion walk astronauts do) from one end to the other.  Bree, Sarah, and I would literally RUN across the room with a yoga ball doing all sorts of weird jumps and tumbles.. now its so small I only have to take 4-5 steps to get to the other end of the room. We now enjoy watching period dramas and painting with watercolors in our little basement. ;)

I posted on my Google+ account the other day, and some of you may have seen it, but I've been having these really weird dreams lately. One included mexican rice and charging our oven (??) every 15 minutes.. another was that JOSH WILSON was in MY house! Yeah, no joke here. He was telling me all about his next big hit - which he said was inspired by my comment on his FB when his son was born a few months ago. like wooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.

 In November, I took the KBR Givethanks challenge. I enjoyed it immensely!! If you've never taken it, its so simple. You write down 7 things each day that you are thankful for, either on paper or the forum where all the other girls post. I use the forum. ;) I made many great friends who made the month so uplifting.. I felt like it was a big camp and I didn't want it to end. xD

Weirdest dream?
 Favorite period drama??




so Julia // things that make me - me

January 10, 2016
Sometimes I just keep blogging along, forgetting that you precious readers really don't know the full me. My friend, Amanda and I, brainstormed this idea to change that. Check out her blog/website for her awesome "So Amanda" post! 

 You know you're Julia (hehee me!) when you....
  1. Read over 50 books in a year (*sniff* I only made it to 65-70 in 2015..lol)
  2. Tend to do the opposite of what I'm told...
  3. Never tell people what I want for gifts
  4. Dream about Josh Wilson - like he was IN my house folks xD
  5. LOOOOOOOOOOVEEE having a cold bedroom. my fan is always on. always
  6. Can't stand having dirty floors. They must always be swept, constantly. ;P
  7. Are a huge procrastinator at everything except schoolwork. 
  8. Have a hard time NOT putting my hair up.. it's like automatic
  9. Always use percentages and graphs when making a point or sharing info
  10. talk talk talk talk talk 
  11. Would die without two things - music and headphones
  12. Think that having a broken bone would be an adventure
  13. Adore gardening and being outside
  14. Have SO many out-of-state friends that its sad..I want to meet them all SO badly!! 
  15. Yearn to play one amazing jazz song on the piano. quick and cool - that's me ;)
  16. Go on any errand JUST to get drive time xD
  17. Love baking bread and so challenged Amanda to make some too. sooo competitive
  18. DESPISE snow. that cursed white cold fluffy stuff. 
  19. Read westerns, watch westerns, dream of westerns - dreams of cowboys ;)
  20. and, must I say this again? DIES FOR RED UMBRELLAS 



Do you like being cold?
3 FUN FACTS about you?? 

abstract elephant // flash in the theater

January 6, 2016
Elephants... I've got this thing for them recently. It's like Bree's obsession with hedgehogs, but my obsession is with an animal much too large to be a pet. *sniff* Seriously though, have you ever seen those sweet grey elephant watercolor pictures? SO SWEET. When I saw the elephant picture in the adult coloring book, I was like "MINE". I worked on my masterpiece for days. what do you think? ;) 

 STAR WARS. My mom took me and my sisters to see it in theaters this past weekend! It was totally one of those last minute "let's do it!!" things. I loved loved loved it! I sat next to Bree (who, btw, cannot stay quiet for the life of her. xD) and we basically held a short commentary throughout the whole movie. 

"and this all started because a little boy saw his great uncle with breathing tubes in the hospital..." -me 
"woah, really????" oh Bree ;)
 later on
"then, said boy, was playing with his frisbee, and wondered. He wondered what it would be like if the frisbee was bigger - big enough to fly in." -me
"are you lying??" - Bree 

  Oh... and by the way, when they say phones off in the theater, they say it for a reason. I decided quickly to take a photo "for a blogpost". That was a bad idea. My phone took like 3 pictures, then it automatically was like, oh its dark in here, let me turn the flash on for you. NOOOOOOO!!!!! Thankfully I smothered the half flash in my coat...even Sarah never knew about it and she sat next to me. I survived. ;) and...um, those theaters have very confusing doors -- but that's a story for another time. :P

Have you seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens?
Most embarrassing moment at theaters?

chalkboard wall // S.P.L.A.T

January 2, 2016
MY CHALK BOARD WALL! I had this perfectly inspired idea to paint my wall with chalkboard paint. Well - I was happily surprised to find CHALKBOARD SPRAY PAINT in my stocking on Christmas morning! It was so simple. All you have to do was spray it on, wait 24 hours, cover the whole thing with chalk, erase and draw to your hearts content. I plan on ALWAYS doing new quotes. 

When Bree was younger, she randomly slapped a mosquito on the back of her door. Many years later, we realized it was still there! I think it was one of those 2 a.m moments when we officially named him "Samuel Patrick Lewis Almanzo Thomas—the first" or "Mr. S.P.L.A.T". Seriously, after close to 7 years, three of its legs are still there.....like gross. And no, we didn't know how to spell Lionel nor Eugene all those years ago... hehee 

As you may have noticed, I have changed my blog name! I have been dreaming of going by the name of "The barefoot gal" for a long time now - and my dream has come true. My blog goals are still the exact same, to post for God's glory! I guess after close to 3 years of having the same name, I felt the urge for a change. With the help of Sarah (and she did A LOT) and Bree, my new blog name is now: The Barefoot Gal
Your blogger dashboard may take a few days to fully grasp my new URL—but if you still have problems after that, let me know. :D 

test post

Hey all,

 sorry for the whole mess up. lol! I'm working on a blog post right now so be on the look out for some explanations. ;) This is just a quick test post to see if my new URL is working and if my posts are popping up in your blogger dashboard! If so, PLEASE comment below.. I would reallly appreciate it. :D

 Happy New Year! Excited for 2016!

workin' zone

January 1, 2016
heyyyy, this is Sarah. I hacked in here—no, really, I'm just helping Ju with her coding. ;)

So, the blog may be messed up a bit (muahahaa) but—I'm just messin' with the codin'

Excuse the extreme mess.

~the sis