Psalm 19

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

"Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer." [English Standard Version]

This is the first scripture I've chosen to memorize for a few reasons. I'm an English major and I took a Bible as Literature class because I figured it would be totally easy. I didn't think I would have learned so much! For instance, Psalm 19 is pretty much as good a poem as you can write. It maintains its poetic structure even after being translated into English, and in some places, it even keeps its rhyme scheme. Amazing! The other reason I'm memorizing this text first is because it is a reminder that God's Word is 100% perfect, no matter what. Even when I don't feel like doing what God says, or I don't think that sin is a big deal, God's Word stands firm. There's no room for discussion or negotiation. Sometimes I forget that.

Rote memorization is pretty easy for me, but I don't want to memorize scriptures for the sake of having the verses in my head. I'm doing this so that when things start getting real, and I don't have a physical Bible to draw strength from, I can rely on the Word that I've hidden in my heart.


Plus it's harder to cuss people out in my mind when I'm repeating Bible verses to myself all day =)  

Little Miss Knight

Quality Time

One of the best parts of putting together my studio and getting everything ready has been the quality time that I've gotten to spend with my very handy boyfriend. Q and I spent MLK weekend running back and forth to Walmart and Ikea, loading and unloading huge boxes and pieces of furniture, all while the poor thing was coming down with the flu. He's so dedicated =)

We went to Ikea to get another Aneboda nightstand. I put the one that was by the front door over by my bed, it holds my devotional books, remotes, and it's a space for my cell phone at night. The lamp is handy for when I want to read in bed. The other nightstand we put together is now by the front door. I keep house clothes and my satin scarves in the top drawer. The bottom drawers hold miscellaneous papers (including the instruction manuals for the stuff I just bought). I'm thinking of getting a plant for the top.

I also bought an Aneboda wardrobe to replace the temporary cloth one I'd bought at Walmart. It's not as big as the one I had, so I still utilize the small "closet" in the back of the apartment. I didn't really help Q put the wardrobe together at all (in my defense, I was cooking and washing dishes...lol we're a team). He did a great job. I have OCD, so I appreciate that all my furniture matches.

My futon wasn't supposed to arrive while Q was in town, but it came in early, which was great because Q took that job over as well. The futon is small, and sits low to the ground, but I have pretty low ceilings so it works. And it's red! I like the color scheme I have going here--white(furniture), mint (walls), and red (accents). Q suggested I get another Lack end table (from Ikea and super cheap) to put at the other end of the futon. Later I'll think of ways to decorate those tables and make them a little more interesting. Maybe I'll paint the tops?


The front of the apartment.



The back of the apartment.


Welp, all the boxes are gone, and my apartment is officially fully furnished! There are still a few projects that need to get done: Q was able to put up some blinds (ugh, I love him!) but I'm still stuck with college-ruled looseleaf paper on the front door. And I put up a pic of my family, but I have tons of frames to fill with photos. I still need another TV (the TV on my dresser belongs on the wall opposite the futon, so I need another, smaller TV to put on the dresser). I'm not in a rush to make any more large purchases though. Now I'll focus on decor and making the house feel like a home. It was fun getting everything set up and moved in. And I love that when I look at my blinds, or my vanity light in the bathroom, or my furniture, I automatically think of Q and the fun we had on those projects. It's like having a little piece of him with me even when I'm home alone =)

Little Miss Knight

Uh yeah...scratch that.

An earlier version of this post divulged WAY TOO MUCH information. LOL I promise not to hit you over the head with any more of my in-depth self-actualizations -_______-

When I was putting together my "30 by 30" list, I was in a weird place with someone I'd considered a close friend. So on my list, I added "Make another best friend" because at the time, I felt I was losing one. Fast forward a few months and I've realized--I don't need any more besties. LOL. Or at least, I'm not going to seek them out. Relationships are hard work! I have a few really close friends, but most of them live in different parts of the country, and it's hard to keep up with them all and check in and be that good friend. Friendships are emotional, and while they can bring joy, there are times when they bring pain.

Instead of looking for another friend, I'm putting that energy into the friendships that have proven true for years, and it's been WONDERFUL! I feel like I'm rediscovering the people that have always been there for me, some of them for over half my life! I want to spend my time showing them how much I appreciate the fact that they've been good friends and have always acted unselfishly. They've been supportive. Most of all, they've been honest and open. My friends have shared the best of times and worst of times with me, and they've trusted me enough to be transparent. I will always love them for that.

Alright so enough of the sap -____-

I've decided to add "Make 30 new meals" to my list. I am so tired of cooking the same things over and over again. Part of that is because I grew up Adventist, so I don't eat pork, most seafood, or anything that doesn't chew it's cud AND have cloven hooves (yes, those are real guidelines. Read Leviticus...it'll make you appreciate Christ for putting us under grace and NOT under the law). I rarely cook red meat because I won't buy it unless it's organic, and honestly, I've gotten comfortable with spaghetti and texas toast for dinner.

No more! Now that Q has moved closer, I'm excited that I actually get to cook for him when he comes to visit. It'll be fun to choose new recipes and share them with him and with my friends in the area. I foresee a lot of potlucks...and a chubby boyfriend =)

Little Miss Knight

How to create space in a tiny bathroom

My bathroom in my last apartment was HUGE. I had an enormous tub, plenty of space under the sink, drawers, a linen closet with 4 or 5 shelves, a medicine cabinet...ample space for all the STUFF I'd acquired and all the products I'd hoard. It was perfect! As a hair blogger, I collect A LOT of random products, and my old bathroom gave me lots of room to stash stuff.

Not so in the new place.

My new bathroom has no drawers, no linen closet, no medicine cabinet. I don't even have a bathroom counter. There was a white shelving system put in by my landlord, thankfully, but that was the only storage in the bathroom when I moved in. To add insult to injury, the bathroom is already cramped, so I had to find a way to add storage without adding bulk. Super difficult.


I put up my shower caddy from my last apartment and added another one on the side wall of the shower to hold all the products/tools I would ever need while washing my hair. I also purchased an over-the-toilet organizer from Walmart to hold everything that had once been in a drawer or in my medicine cabinet. To organize the different products and keep tiny things being all over the place, I bought a few grass baskets, also from Walmart--they're both decorative and practical.


I bought a few more of the baskets to put on the shelves that my landlord had put in the bathroom. I use that space the same way I used the space under my sink and in the linen closet. I put extra toilet paper and and *ahem* lady products over there. I also have a basket for my combs, blowdryer and flat iron and another one for my makeup. The plastic bins that hold my rollers and nail polish also call that area home, and I bought a bucket to hold cleaning supplies, which sits on the bottom shelf.



The finishing touches in the bathroom were a full-length mirror, which I hung over the door on the outside, and a makeup light for over the vanity. Quentin is super handy! He got the light for me and put it up. Such a sweetie :)

Little Miss Knight

iPhone 4

Hmmm...that's odd. Let me try restarting it again.
Pulls out battery, waits a few, puts the battery back.
Oh no, it did it again. I wonder what the issue is. Well, let me try one more time.
*repeats steps from above*
C'mon, SERIOUSLY?!?!?! I just can't...

*******************************

This is pretty much what happened to me New Year's weekend. My BlackBerry would not turn on. I took the battery out, but the software only loaded 75% of the way. And then stopped. I'm sorry...what???? This happened four times at 1:00 AM before I finally went to sleep. I went to the Sprint store the next morning to see if I could get the phone fixed. I didn't have the money to buy a new phone (I'd just spent like $500 on stuff for the studio). The customer service rep I spoke to was really helpful. She told me that BlackBerry phones don't recover from such a mishap, and I would NEED to get a new phone. Awesome.

Well I found out I could get the iPhone 4 (not the newer, blessed by goddess Siri iPhone 4s) for only $99, and if I traded in my BlackBerry, she could take off an additional $20.

Uh, SOLD! I walked out of the store with a brand new iPhone--and no idea how to use it. I couldn't use the SIMPLEST phone ever created. I've never felt sooooo dumb. After 2 weeks, I'm much more comfortable with it now, and iPhone apps are the best things ever invented. I mean that. I thought I knew everything an iPhone could do because I had an iPod touch, but the internet connection makes ALL the difference. I can check my bank account in seconds and never have to call anyone or go on my computer. I'm addicted to Face Time. There's an app for the Metro rail. I mean...it's been amazing.

Life is so much easier now. My iPhone makes me feel like I'm prepared to face the day. My iPhone makes me prettier. I'm more interesting. And when I need a snack, it can make a sandwich. Okay I'm half kidding. It's a great phone though. I'm even more dedicated to going "all Apple everything" now. Next stop: a MacBook :)

Little Miss Knight

Moving On Up

When I put together my list of Thirty "Somethings," I cheated a little bit on one...low-key. I had already determined that I was going to live alone at this next stage in my life, and was looking for places, but I put it on the list anyway because it's something I've NEVER done. This is a huge deal to me! I think it should have happened much sooner, but God works in mysterious ways...

I now have a 300 sq.ft studio (tiny) in Northeast D.C. It's a very quiet street, which is nice. It is a basement apartment, but you'd never be able to guess because it gets so much light (from 1 small window! it's amazing). I was looking for apartments literally with days to go before my lease was up. I remember it was like 1:00 AM when I found the listing for the studio on Craigslist, and I sent an email right then. I got a call the next day and went to see it with checkbook and credit report in hand. I was approved that night (praise God)! Then I got right to moving.

The view from the front door.

The view from the back door.

Told you...my apartment is tiny. But, it's really well-designed. The corridor shape makes it seem much more spacious than it is, and as you can see in the first picture, the "bedroom" is sectioned away from the rest of the living space, which again makes it feel bigger--it feels like there's more than one room. I'm even able to dim or completely turn off the lights in the "living room" while keeping the lights on in the "bedroom."


The studio didn't come with a closet, so I had to purchase this temporary wardrobe from Walmart so I could hang my clothes. I'm going to get this wardrobe from Ikea, which matches the rest of my Aneboda bedroom furniture. No closet also means no space for shoes, so I got this super handy over-the-door shoe rack. That door leads to the laundry room and is hardly in use, so it was the perfect spot for the shoe rack.



The kitchen came with those great built-in racks and the frosted glass back splash. I put my plates and cups up on the racks, along with my dish rags and oven mitts. The kitchen didn't come with any drawers and only one cabinet, so I keep silverware on the shelves under the range. There's a Lazy Susan in the cabinet, which makes it easy to get to things. I bought that kitchen mat at Walmart. It's actually a bathmat, but it's made of memory foam, which is so soft and cushiony. I stand in that spot for long periods of time (because the kitchen is so small--there really isn't the room to move around) so it's nice to have the memory foam.

Getting to work is SO MUCH EASIER now that I'm commuting from DC and not from Laurel, Maryland! And I'm really enjoying the quiet time alone. Sigh...so nice! I won't be able to entertain large groups, but I do have a great barbeque space out front that will be PERFECT for a summer fish fry. And now that I live in the city, I don't anticipate spending much time at home anyway. I want to explore all the different District neighborhoods, starting with H Street Corridor, which is literally a few blocks away. The space wasn't anywhere near being done when I took these pics--I'd only been in the apartment five days! I've been there for 3 weeks now, and it's starting to look more put-together--I'll post an update on the studio soon...

Little Miss Knight

The List

One morning I woke up and realized my thirties were fast approaching, and I had absolutely nothing to show for my twenties (I can be dramatic). Call it the onset of my quarter-life-crisis. That morning I wrote out a list of all the things I would have loved to accomplish before I was 25. I ate breakfast and realized that I'm only 26, and I have PLENTY of time to make the most out of years 27, 28 and 29...

This was the beginning of my list of Thirty "Somethings" I want to accomplish before turning the "big 3-O."

Travel to South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia...yes all the continents.
Take my family to Jamaica for Christmas.
Get engaged, plan a wedding, get married ^__^
Learn to sew.
Volunteer somewhere consistently.
Write a book.
Visit another country...alone.
Go all Apple everything (iPhone on deck!)
Buy stocks.
Invest in a Burberry trench coat.
Find my signature fragrance (I'm now leaning towards Burberry Body)
Become a filmmaker.
Draw/paint/otherwise create something for my walls.
Live alone (this is pretty much done!)
Fully decorate my own space.
Print pictures from my camera and hang them up!
Teach a college-level course.
Buy a quilted Chanel purse.
Make another best friend (it's different when you meet people as an adult).
Learn to play piano by ear...for realsies.
Move to a new city (extra points if it's in a new country).
Dye my hair.
Learn to swim ASAP.
Train for a marathon.
Go ziplining, snorkeling, skiing and surfing.
Create and/or lead out in a church ministry.
Adopt a grandparent.
Memorize 30 new scriptures.
Learn Spanish and Portuguese.
Throw an AMAZING 30th birthday party!!!

Okay so maybe they aren't all "little" somethings, but I can do them all if I stay focused and don't waste time sitting around the house. Or taking naps. I can't wait until I turn thirty and can post a huge version of this list somewhere at my party with EVERYTHING crossed off. That would just be perfect =)

Little Miss Knight