Kansas City

Well, I received a text from my friend Chelsea saying, "Write a blog. What are you doing with your life?"

Ha. So, here I am. Writing a blog. Telling all 26 of you what I'm doing with my life. :) I might even cue a few up, so I don't drop off the face of the earth again.

We just got back from Kansas City yesterday, after spending a few days there with only each other. We love hosting people and having friends over and people staying with us, so we do. A lot. Because of that, we have to be very intentional about finding time for us. We obviously need time where we can't be reached or talked into doing something. :) So, we peaced out! And it. was. awesome. We loooovvvveeeee just being with each other despite the amount of time we spend with other people. Granted, I could do nothing and just chill while Justin likes to plan something for every single minute. We find a happy medium.

I think the only pictures we took were at the zoo, but here are some highlights/what we did.

• Shopped at the Plaza. H&M, y'all. Love it. Of course, we went to Anthro and Urban Outfitters too, but I'm too cheap for those stores. 
• The Zoo!

 Otter. For Rachel.

 "Take a picture of me. I'm dying." 

 Only picture of us together from the trip. 

 Making the same face as the camel.

 We rode the ski left that went over the zoo. Yes, that's a thing. And yes, it's awesome. 

I. Love. Polar bears. 

• Ate BBQ (Gate's, which I was then told by my local friend, Erin, that Gate's is not the best compared to others. Bummer. Just another reason to go back!)
• Ate California Pizza Kitchen - where our waiter, Alan, told Justin they had sugar you could add to tea to make it sweet. He also got sassy and even pointed out that it's the same sugar in sweet tea.
  Excuse me, Alan, have you ever tried to mix a million sugar packets into cold tea? It doesn't dissolve. He was obviously not southern. We tried to be gracious. 
• Ate at Grinder's, which came highly recommended from the guy we stayed with. It was alright. We obviously love to eat. 
• We rented an apartment to stay in from a website called airbnb.com, and it was super. This freaks some people out. This is the 3rd place to stay I've found on a sight like this, and so far it's always worked out great. Maybe I'll blog about that later....Anyways, he loved Asian art, but had awesome brick walls and high, open wooden ceilings. Also, concrete floors. Not my fave (they were in the bedroom too, since it was a loft), but fine. 

• I got to see my friend, Erin, like I said earlier. I was giddy. She moved from Fayetteville to KC area with her fam a few months ago. I was thrilled to be in my Wed. morning scripture memory group with her for a time. And thrilled to babysit her sweet boys a few times. And, much sadder than I anticipated when she moved. Seeing her was so. wonderful. She's so wise. 

We're back now, and I go back to work tomorrow. Booooo. Not really, but I am way thankful for time off. Also, I cannot stop thinking about how incredible this video is. Grab a kleenex and watch it. 

So. Close.

Well, folks, the end (beginning) is drawing near, and I am EXCITED to say the least. Here are some countdowns:

• Class days: 6
• Graduation: 17
• Personal shower (aka Bachelorette Party. I learned that grown ups call these personal showers): 9
• Getting married: 30 (that is one month, y'all!)

Because I've been terrible at staying updated, here's what I've been doing:

• School-I know this is shocking to some of you, but really, this semester has been stinking busy with classes I don't need to graduate and one that I do.
• Job searching-DHS, VistaHealth, Youthbridge, Ozark Guidance
• Wedding shower-Seriously, this was so fun. I love wedding showers! 
• Wedding-ing-Ya know, just doing wedding stuff in general. 
• More school
• Being on duty-Which I am hopefully done with forever. 
• Being stressed/sick-Seriously, I think my body realizes I'm stressed more than I actually do. I'm kind of a mess. ha. 
• Counting my lasts-duty night, StuMo, finals (Praise the Lord), etc. 
• Loving living with so many wonderful girls/people (My bro lives in the same building too. I love that.)
• Watching my friends get engaged.There's been like a million. Ok, maybe 6 or 7. 
• Finishing pre-marriage class. I guess we're ready to get married now. 
• Seeing my sweet friend Sarah who just came back from a semester of traveling.

Thoughts of a girl avoiding a paper

• Welp, the save-the-dates have gone out (some of them :), and our wedding website is up. You'd think I'd get stuff like this done super fast, but it's as close to finished as it's gonna get for now. We're about to start reserving chairs and tables and all that sort of stuff, so if you do happen to check out our website please go ahead and RSVP even if we've talked about you coming or not. If you don't do it, then I'll have to do it later. It'd be super helpful if you could just do it for me. :)

Here it is: www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JustinMorgan&CelesteElkins

• I recently realized that I'm the age of the girls that I looked up to. That is frightening. 
• I can't wait for warm. I'm terrible at cold. 
• Here is one great/dancey Pandora station. 
• https://www.theideacamp.com/- I really want to go, but I have prior engagements (AKA pre-marital conference thing). You should go. 

Now, I will be productive. 

Love, 

Celeste. 

I think 2011 will be my favorite year yet

Y'all. I've super slacked. My apologies. Let me update you as briefly as I can because no one wants to read a novel.

On the wedding front, here's what we've done:

• Registered at Dillards and Kohl's. (Please note the rhino statue and woodlands mug on the Kohl's registry...guess who did that.) Also, Justin only registered us for a pepper grinder, so if you decide a pepper grinder is the gift we need, maybe grab a salt shaker too. :) I love registering. It's so fun. It's so fun with Justin. We have one store left, and I think it will be my fave. 
• Bought Justin's suit! It was half off-bonus, and he looks quite dashing in it-double bonus.
• I feel like we are so close to figuring out where we're getting married. I'm real excited about that. 
• I got our save the dates in the mail yesterday. (Which I had 2 coupons for when I ordered them thank you very much.)
• We figured out where we're honeymooning-Denver. I'm thrilled. I've never been west, so it'll be new for me, and there's a zoo. I LOVE zoos, and I love Justin, so I'm sure it will be fun. :)
• I bought some stuff at thrift stores for our wedding. I'm excited about that. 

Here's what else I've done over the break:

• Been sick. Yep. The first day I moved home I got super sick. With that on top of other things, I was useless for nearly a week. Bummer. 
• Over Christmas I saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra with Justin's family and had Christmas in Conway with mom's side of the family. On Christmas day my daddy's side of the fam came to our house. 
• I went to StuMo Conference which was incredible! I'm so thankful for a ministry (and a church) that teaches truth even if it isn't easy. StuMo has been the thing God has used most to change my life in college. I'm thankful. I got to see tons of friends from my first Kaleo who go to other schools. I also got to see and spend time with my sweet friend Sarah who I don't get to see often since she moved to Kansas. She has a beautiful new baby and was full of great advice. I adore her-Shout out to Sarah: thanks for the registering advice. I soooooooooo appreciate it.

This is some of us at the conference

• After SMC some of us went to our friend Rachel's house in Bartlesville, OK, and it was so fun! If I were gonna live in Oklahoma, I'd totally want to live in Bartlesville. We went thrifting and ate super well. Rachel's mom is an incredible cook! (Her dad is a great griller too:) We watched girly movies and painted nails and did hair. It was a blast. 

We also went to QuikTrip. We love QuikTrip.

• I had so much fun in Oklahoma, but I was gone for nearly a week. I was missing home and missing Justin by the time I got back. Justin came to see me the first night I was back, and look what I got when he walked in the door-

I'm. So. Thankful. 

Tomorrow I'm moving back into Humphreys for the last time to start RA training. Now, I will go pack, so I can hopefully go with Sarah to get her haircut tomorrow. 

Lovelovelove. 

My trash can is full of tissue, and my head feels like a balloon

I don't know what a balloon "feels" like obviously, but I would imagine that my head is the way a balloon would feel if it could feel...like it's going to explode. 


A couple of years ago I got tonsilitis and a sinus infection back to back or at the same time...I don't really know. This followed a spider bite that made my whole body break out. Ever since then I get super super allergic a few times a year, and my sinuses get so full of gross stuff that I feel like my face is going to explode. My teeth hurt. My throat hurts. My nose hurts from blowing my nose so much (Chels, I promise I didn't have a runny nose when I refused your kleenex:). And, I have a really great boy-in-puberty/manly-girl voice. Ha. 


This sounds really dramatic and terrible. It's not that bad. I mean, it's not fun, but I'm getting a lot done around my room with my door closed. I'm drinking lots of tea and coffee and even soda which I can't usually justify if I'm not sick. I enjoy alone time and getting stuff done, so I'm soaking up this sick time with some bluegrass and cleaning/catching up on things all while being in my pajamas. It's rather enjoyable for being sick.


Surely something has been going on in my life to keep me from updating this in about 2 weeks, but at the moment I'm not sure what other than:
Losing my ID-I've managed to keep up with my student ID for 3 years, but within the past week I've lost it twice for a couple days. The first time, I was praying about where it was (I knew I lost it within a 2 hour timespan between Humphreys and Starbucks which are maybe 30 yards apart?) After 2 days I had resolved to pay $18 for a new ID and then, no lie, it fell out of my Bible. I was ecstatic. Well, this time I've managed to lose it (on Thursday...still don't have it) somewhere in Humphreys. Yep. I've checked everywhere I can think of (seriously, I dug through the trash), but yet again, it looks as if I'm going to have to buy a new one. We'll see. 
Taking my first test of the semester-That's right. It's the 10th week of school, and I just had my first test. It was a mid-term. I was way out of practice of studying. My classes have lots of projects, but not so many tests. 
Going to a Ben Rector/Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors concert-I love live music. I love Ben Rector music. I now love Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors music. I didn't feel well, so my singing voice was basically non-existent, and we were in a pretty tight space, so for the sake of keeping things from being awkward my dancing was pretty limited as well. Still though, it was fun. I got to see my girls have fun. That's fun to me. It was a good night. AND, I got to see my sweet friend in line. Bumping in to her is my fave. We've been bonding over changing the world together since we were freshmen interning with TOMS. Now, we're both about to graduate. Watch out, world. 
Doing that Halloween thing-Here's the deal. I don't love Halloween. I used to, but since being in college I really don't. Well, I found out at the beginning of October that I have a boyfriend who loves Halloween, or at least thinks it silly that I don't like it...I don't really know. All that to say him and his roommates decided to have a Halloween party and make costumes mandatory. If you don't know this, I'm stubborn. That made me not want to dress up. Don't worry though, I'm a little grown up. I dressed up. By Friday, I had a decent attitude about the party (I hope), and I even won half of an award (cutest couple. Ha.). 

Justin is Dr. House. I'm a housewife. I know. It's a stretch that they go together. 


I'll try to do better this week. 


Lovelovelove y'all. 

What's making up my life now

It's halfway through the first semester of my senior year, and I'm so excited. Don't get me wrong, I love college, but I do not enjoy the student part. Lame, I know. I feel super blessed to get an education and all that, but after 16 years of school, I'm a little over it. Anyways, this is what's taking up my time and thoughts this week :)

1. Why do we have some of the interactions that we do? Like, is there a divine purpose for them? I don't see it, but there probably is.
1. Example a. Small talk with people you hardly know, but still see or used to know but haven't seen in forever. Generally awkward. 
2. Example b. Walking to Humphreys with some of the girls I was talking about how I felt like a bum (I decided to adorn myself with athletic shorts, a pullover, and no makeup that day), but that I didn't want to really change or dress up for StuMo that night. Kels told me that I could totally fix my outfit by putting on jeans and a headband or bow. This boy that was walking behind us walked passed us, turned around and looked at me, and then goes, "Yea. I could see that." What?! Who are you, sir? I don't even know you! I laughed and said thanks then I felt bad because he darted off. My outburst of laughter may have made him feel awkward. Oops. Really though, what was the purpose of that interaction? I'll probably never know, but it was funny. 
2. For the second time in my college career the fire alarm went off when I was showering. True story: I was showering. I thought I heard something, but I figured someone was messing with my door. Then it got louder. Then I heard a voice. Not just any voice. The voice that says, "Attention. An emergency has been declared. Please evacuate the building. Do not use the elevators. I repeat, do not use the elevators." Awesome. I got dressed and headed downstairs where 350ish people were standing outside in the cold. One thing I've noticed in my 3 years of on campus living: girls almost always get dressed if they were in the shower when the alarm goes off. (I've never seen a girl in a towel, but I'm sure it happens, that's why I say almost always.) Boys on the other hand come down in a towel or robe or boxers (because the extra 5 seconds for pants is too long I guess.) Seriously. Every. Single. Time. I've seen multiple boys like this each time there's been a fire alarm from my freshman year til now. I don't get it. 
3. I was meeting with the woman who disciples me this week, and we were talking about what I'm going to do when I graduate. That seems to be the question of the year. Here's the thing though; I don't have the slightest idea what that answer is. That excites me. I think that stresses a lot of people out, but I think it's really cool that I could be doing almost anything 8 months from now. Anyways, she challenged me to make a list of anything and everything I would potentially want to do when I graduate. I love lists, and I love dreaming, so I'm really excited about it. This is what I have so far, but feel free to suggest something. I'm obviously pretty open. :) 

Anyways, I'm now getting frustrated with my inability to use pictures how I want or complete my list, so I'm done. :) Have a great weekend, y'all!

Lovelovelove

I love Saturday mornings.

If you know me well, or at all, you know that I do NOT love the cold. In fact, I kind of hate it. I do however enjoy the inbetween summer and fall period before it gets really cold. 

Just so you know I'm not a total hater about the weather, here are some things I love about pre-winterchillyweathertime:

• Hot bevvies
• Craft. Fairs. (Mom just told me Applefest is this weekend!)
• Holiday decorations...not really halloween, but fall/Thanksgiving/Christmas
• Leaves changing colors
• Being able to wear shorts and long sleeves
• Using the feet heater

This has been an unusually busy week, so I was really excited for a weekend with the girls thrifting, yard selling (saling?), and just hanging out. 

Even better, I got a bonus--usually Thursdays are my least favorite day. I have stuff from 8am-10pm, so they just aren't fun. This Thursday however, staff meeting got canceled, and someone was working my desk shift for me, so I was free at 2pm! Wooooo! Sure, I could've been productive and done a lot of things that "needed" to be done, but guess what I did instead?

I along with my friends Rachel, Kelly, and Kelsey went to Mama Z's in Tontitown for dinner and then we drove to Siloam Springs to go to Barnett's and get shakes. I'd never been to Barnett's, but I am now a fan. The peanut butter fudge shake=best.  

The thrifting, saling, and hanging out was wonderful as well. We had a few good finds as well as a few funny ones. Bunny statue collections at an "estate sale" for example. (It was a lammmeeee excuse for an estate sale.)

On a totally different, but still very autumny note I'm currently loving banjo-y music. Autumn is a bluegrassy season. Here are some faves:

Weepies 
Alison
Perry
Civs 

Lovelovelove

It's 1am, and I have homework due at 8am that I've yet to start. Oops.

Top 5 favorite things right now:

1. The 5th floor and the girls that live on it.
2. How God created us for community. 
3. Coffee (I think this is almost always on my T5)
4. The idea of heaven being a home. 
5. Living and loving Jesus and not living and loving a list. 

I'll elaborate on these later. For now, you should think about these things. :) 

Lovelovelove