inner beauty.

it's no secret that i love makeup. i love doing hair, getting mine done, playing with different outfits and absolutely love shoes.
{i may not have the finances to support all of these passions, but a girl can dream!}

something i'm even MORE passionate about is having girls realize that while those things are fun and can make you very attractive on the outside, it is so much more valuable to have beauty on the inside. there's nothing wrong with having fun playing dress-up on the outside as long as you are also striving for a beautiful soul as well.

the thought of having girls and women, young and old, understand that they are beautiful, loved, and a treasure is an extremely important concept to me! i have become, and am still becoming, extremely passionate about it. it'd be my dream to organize an event where women of all ages can come and hear about their importance to Christ..how he treasures them, loves them, thinks they are beautiful.

all of this is nothing new; i've felt this way for a while. it's what drove me to name this blog "beauty inside her" and it's what drives me to work with high school girls. but seeing this little piece of art tonight just inspired a blog posting. :)

pinterest: fab five, part 1

so, if you haven't jumped on the pinterest train yet, let me inform you about what you're missing out on:

{this is a very legit problem i have.}

pinterest is an online corkboard. you take things you like: ideas, photos, how-tos, quotes, etc..and you organize them into "boards." sounds silly, but don't be fooled: it's dangerous. but because of my love for pinterest, and my love for sharing things with my blog readers, i am going to start a weekly "fab five": five awesome "pins" that snagged my attention that week.

consider today's post to be the first of the fab five series. without further ado, i give you: fab five, part 1:

-numero uno-

{wedding day advice bible: have guests circle/underline/highlight words of wisdom from the ultimate instruction book! borrowed and altered from here}

-numero dos-

{a garden rake turned jewelry organizer! love it. found here}

-numero tres-

{anyone who the o.c.d. side of me (however small it might be), knows that grammar and spelling are important to me..this just makes me laugh and want to shout, "amen sista!!"}

-numero cuatro-

{i am obsessed with these colors together. found here,}

-numero cinco-

{these are shoebox lids! spraypainted and decorated and hung like art! how cool?? found here}

hope you enjoyed these! cannot wait to make my own shoebox art--that's definitely my next project.

chicken, black bean, and corn chili!

i promised yesterday on my facebook that i'd post my new recipe on my blog..so finally, without holding out on you any longer..here it is. :)

i found a similar recipe online, and just sort of played with it. added things, took away things, ya know. so here goes!

anna nicole's chicken, black bean and corn chili: {perfect for chilly fall weather!}

you will need
- 1 whole rotisserie chicken
- 2 cans of yellow corn, drained
- 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans of tomato sauce
- 1 can of Rotel tomatoes {i used the "hot" kind..you can also try "mild"..it you are not into spicy stuff at all, you can always try just crushed tomatoes.}
- 1 onion
- 1 green pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 packet of chili seasoning {i used mccormick's 30% less sodium chili seasoning}
- 1-2 celery stalks {i left it out of mine only because it got too cold in my fridge and ruined my celery..sad day.}
- black pepper {as much or as little as you like}
- salt {to taste}

how-to:

1. i like to call step one the fun part.."pickin' the chicken." i was lucky enough to have a good friend over while i did this step, so it made it not so bad. i just sat there, laughing and chatting away, while greasing myself all up by picking every piece of meat apart and throwing it in a bowl.

2. slice the onion and green pepper into edible-sized pieces.

3. mince the garlic. i'd never done this before; i'm just trying my hand at a broader range of homemade dishes..so i had to youtube how to peel/cut/mince garlic. here's what i used..a little silly, but useful the same.

4. combine the tomato sauce, the veggies, the chicken, everything..all in a crockpot. mix well! when i emptied my tomato sauce cans, some stayed in the cans; i filled each can up maybe 1/3 of the way full, swished it around, and poured that in as well. when you dump in the rotel, don't worry about draining it; the juice has a heat to it that is amazing in the mix!

5. allow the goods to simmer on low heat for about 4 hours or so and then..enjoy!

*you can always top it with other yummies! cheese and sour cream are both great toppings for this chili*

enjoy! leave me a comment and let me know what you think :)

photo sesh sneak peek!

just got back from the just-for-fun session with beth today--wow. we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather or places to visit. i had no clue that such beautiful places existed so close to my house.

earlier i was stressing over what to wear. i found inspiration {thanks to pinterest}...

isn't this just so stinkin' cute? and modest? and fun? and..and..lovely?

more photos will be posted on her page i'm sure, but here's the sneak she just sent me:

yay beth for being amazing!

early morning saturday thoughts.

6 little thoughts i have this morning, and one big one:

- i am a genius for making coffee this morning. usually i talk myself out of needing it but i didn't today and it's delicious. especially with my peppermint mocha creamer!

- i have a lengthy to-do list today! clean, laundry, do hair, photo shoot with beth to help her find new locations for shoots, more tidying, grocery shopping...and then, my favorite!...9th and 10th grade girls' bonfire at my house tonight. i am so stinkin' excited.

- what in the world am i going to wear to do these photos? its chilly and my fall wardrobe is NOT extensive.

- i need a money tree...because i have ideas to help my non-extensive wardrobe but it involves having spending money...which is hard to come by as a single girl with a car payment, rent, bills, etc.

- i normally am one to dislike christmas-y things exercised too early; but i have christmas music on right now. i'm cold, i'm drinking coffee, and have cranberry candles burning...it just seems okay this morning.

- on a more serious note, i am trying to remind myself this week that God does have a plan for me, and that each and every season that i weather has a purpose and a lesson to be learned. it seems like i have heard a lot of people say to me this week, "i don't understand why you're single. you shouldn't be organizing your schedule around {insert "to-do's" here: babysitting, working late, helping out with something}...you should be spending time with a boyfriend. you're a good catch, why aren't you dating? how are you not married yet?" let me say, i've come to a point of happiness and being content with where God has me right now...but! it is kind of depressing to hear those questions repeated over and over. it's hard to not question, "yeah, God, why?" i won't even lie and say it's hard to not question...i do question God! and that's okay. but i need to be okay with knowing that just because i question it doesn't mean it's going to change, and that God's plans and thoughts for my life are bigger and better than my mind can comprehend. and although i want to understand, i am SO GLAD that my God's processes can not be understood by my little peanut brain.

have a wonderful saturday loves!

my seester and me are twinsies!

just had to share this photo before bed...its so neat.
its one of my sister's senior photos. if you look at jill, it definitely looks like her. BUT. if you look at the reflection in the window, it looks like yours truly.

weird!

super cute hair how-to!

of course, courtesy of The Small Things Blog!

...and if you like that, click here for the how-to video.. it's so easy!

what am i eating?

thought i'd share an easy and yummy recipe with you tonight, so here goes:

{italian chicken and potatoes -- richards' family version}

you will need:
1 lb of chicken breast
bag of potatoes
italian salad dressing {i love zesty italian by kraft, or any store brand similar to it}

you can add to your liking:
1 onion
1 red pepper
sprinkled parmesean cheese (**added in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking)
fresh green beans

directions:
- preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- line a glass baking dish with aluminum foil. it makes for easier clean-up!
- pour some dressing into the bottom just to coat it so the chicken doesn't dry out on the bottom.
- place your chicken breasts into the dish.
- cut your potatoes {as many as can fill the rest of the dish} into cubes {1" cubes or a little smaller work best!} and place around and on top of the chicken.
- if you are adding peppers/onions, do that now as well.
- pour enough dressing over the meal to coat the tops of everything.
- place in the oven and cook for 1 hour. if you are adding parmesean cheese sprinkles, do that when there's about 10 minutes left on the timer.

{mom never did the next step, but i like to!}
- cut the ends off of the fresh green beans.
- in a skillet, pour a little dressing and put a dollop of butter.
- place the green beans in the skillet on the stove just long enough for them to get hot and a little softer...but you still want them to crunch! the dressing gives them a hint of italian flavor as well.

and...voila!

let me know what you think! such an easy recipe and soooo yum:)

mascara monday.

my sister and i share an obsession with mascara.
some might think it's silly, but if you are a girl who likes makeup..then you totally get it.

so when she gave me a mascara sampler kit from sephora, i was in heaven.

i tried a few different kinds out..and then..i found true love.

bare escentuals buxom mascara. this stuff is AHHHHHMAZING. and it preserves itself pretty well; i have a mini-tube that you'd think would be all dried up by now, but it's still going on like its brand new--smooth and easy. never a clump. a full-size tube is $19 at sephora, but it's totally worth it, i promise.

try it, and all you'll hear me say is that i told ya so. :)

weekend wind-down.

*10/18/11 update* my dad got an awesome shot of The Point during worship..my brother is playing guitar on the far right side of the stage...and look what lyrics happen to be in the photo!

---

hello friend!
thank you for coming back to check out my blog. and if this is your first visit, welcome. :)

how was everyone's weekend? i don't know where you are as you read this, but virginia weather isn't done justice when i say that the last few days were GORGEOUS. i was able to spend time in the mountains, in charlottesville, and i just fell in love with the scenery all over again.

here are some things that have been on my mind/in my heart the past few days:

- i visited my cousin's store {penelope} in charlottesville and LOVED everything in there. but i fell in love with these particular bracelets: and they had a few different verses to choose from. i looked for one with the word  "grace" {a concept God has been lovingly teaching me for the last 3 years} but couldn't find one...but there were plenty of other beautiful scriptures.

- there's nothing that i love more than going on a road trip alone. its in those sweet moments that i get to have "me" time with my two passions: music...and God. driving through the mountains is the ideal place for turning on a worship song about how great our God truly is...nothing is more mind-blowing. while still in charlottesville, amidst the blue ridge mountains, i got to visit my brother's church and sing the following lyrics: "oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth? the heavens declare Your greatness; the oceans cry out to You; the mountains they bow down before You. so i'll join with the earth and i'll give my praise to You."
**speaking of church! if you live in the charlottesville area and are searching for a church home, try out The Point! {shout-out to pastor gabe for preaching an AMAZING sermon today.}

- i was able to spend saturday evening with two of my best friends: nick and beth hamilton. {beth was introduced in the last post.} they are newlyweds {married in april} and both were very dear friends to me long before that wedding: him being my best guy friend, and her being the amazing, godly, beautiful, and inspiring older sister that i never had. beth actually attended the university of virginia, so i was able to be given a tour of the uva campus at night, which can be summarized in one word: beautiful.

- I MISSED MY GIRLS! being at the point meant i missed my own church service, and i missed my 9th and 10th grade girls. BUT. i heard an amazing message about being in God's will, and surrendering to His plan, which is so what i needed to be hearing. His plan is ALWAYS better than mine; His thoughts are SO MUCH more thorough than mine.

need photos?

one more thing --

please be sure to check out Beth Hamilton Photography on facebook!

this is one of my best friends and she is starting her own photography business; she's amazing!

my baby sister! ahhh.

gorgeous flowers..a friend of beth's does this on the side!

contact beth for her friend's information if you like it.

me! {goofball.}

artsy and beautiful.

and a not-so-professional photo:

i'm on the left, and the lovely beth hamilton is on the right.

contact her to schedule a shoot!!

i have a bff crush.

i came across the COOLEST blog tonight. and in reading it i found out that i have a TON in common with the blogger: we both went to cosmetology school while still in high school and both love Jesus. we have similiar tastes in a lot of things and while i've been wanting to marry a worship pastor and live in carolina {i'm only half-kidding}, she lives there now, married to a guy she met while he led worship at a church! her blog is

http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com

and i'm kinda in love with everything on it...

like the messy ponytail how-to:

or the how-to-curl-your-hair video: 

{in fact, i'm pretty much certain that i'll be getting this haircut now.}

or the super cute jewelry she designs: which you can find by clicking this.

to my lovely 9th and 10th grade girls -- y'all will LOVE it. i'm so excited to see how many of you come in with cute little headbands and curly ponytails next week.

so i'm going out on a limb: i'm going to send her an email. i'm fairly certain that we could be blogger-friends. sometimes you just get this feeling when you meet someone, or in this case, stumble across someone's blog; and you just know if you could talk over a latte in starbucks, you'd be best friends. or is that just me? oops; i'm outed. :)

i just love people; strangers, friends, old, young...and i love making new friends. so if you're reading this and we've not yet been acquainted...in a nutshell:
i'm anna nicole. i love my Savior. the word "grace" is my favorite word. i like to laugh, love, and listen to music really loud in my car. i'm a dog person and i do makeup part-time. and i can not wait to see what God has in store for my life!

{p.s..something neat! a lot of my words can be clicked on to take you to other sites! if it's bolded, colored..etc, try and see! you never know where i'll hide a surprise!}

tonight's frustration.

welp..tonight was supposed to have been productive. come home, clean, fold some laundry, listen to music.

instead, i've been battling something for the last 2 hours because i insist on being self-sufficient and really want to fix things myself.

meet tonight's nemesis:

my cable remote has deprogrammed itself. i keep reprogramming and it keeps not working. and the only thing customer service can advise me to do is drive to FRANKLIN and exchange my remote.

um, charter, i will be calling you in the morning. this is not going to go down without a fight!

"see you soon!"

the title of this post says it all. i had to say goodbye to my friend krystle tonight..and let me just say, she's an amazing person that i've been blessed to have in my life. her new husband, steven, has had a job transfer and they are moving to tampa. can't believe they'd want to leave us for sunny florida, but whatever. ;)

i met krystle in approximately february of 2009. she took me in immediately as a friend and didn't hesitate to invite me a few short weeks later to hang out. when my heart was happy, she was there; when my heart was broken, she was also there. and amongst it all, she is a Jesus-lover. i LOVE souls like hers.

i wanted to photo-journal our friendship in this post; call me sentimental but i am just not okay with her leaving and wanted to do this. :) so here goes!

at her college graduation party, may 2009.

she's going to kill me for this one! at a tides' game in august 2009.

my birthday, may 2009.

HER WEDDING! 10.1.11 <3

the girls at her going away party, tonight.

 we polled the audience..no one is happy this girl is leaving us!

oh, and steven will be missed a little too. :)

thank you Jesus for bringing this beautiful woman into my life, to be such a great friend and amazing example of Your love.

and dang you krystle, i was fine and not crying until you did! love you so much, mrs. krystle sherman :)

you are more.

LOVE this photo that i found on pinterest just now!

"but don't you know who you are,
what's been done for you?
don't you know who you are?

you are more than the choices that you've made,
you are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
you are more than the problems you create,
you've been remade.

'cause this is not about what you've done,
but what's been done for you.
this is not about where you've been,
but where your brokenness brings you to

this is not about what you feel,
but what He felt to forgive you,
and what He felt to make you loved.."

-tenth avenue north

if you like those lyrics, click here for their website and a free song download!

a little something from anne frank.

he cares.

i was reminded of something this past weekend, and it hit me hard.

my friends steven and krystle got married this past saturday. {yay!} i couldn't be happier for such an amazing godly couple to commit their lives to each other..it was such a beautiful weekend.

in the midst of such a beautiful thing, i also ran into a not-so-beautiful feeling; i will spare the details as the story is too long. in a nutshell: when you love someone, you always love them. you want to move mountains for them and de-clutter their life and be there for them no matter, because that's what love does. but when they reject your love, it brings on a whole new set of emotion. over the course of a few days, someone i cared (and always will care) for a lot was able to briefly be a part of my life again, and the reminder of that rejection hurt all over again.{see previous posts about dating/etc..}

it brought on a lot of questions on the drive home from the wedding: "God, what was the reason behind that season of life? why does it still hurt? why can't you just move in him and change his mind? what is the purpose? do you care that i'm still hurting?"

fast forward to sunday night's bible study: the day after the wedding. we talked about Jesus calming the storm that day when he went out with the disciples in the boat. a hurricane was stirred up and the boat began to take on water; in a panic the disciples yelled for Jesus, "don't you care we are about to die?! don't you care what's happening to us?!" ..and of course He cared. i considered a few neat points about the miracle and thought maybe God was trying to show me something. we began sharing prayer requests, and because i didn't want to share too much (after all, i'm sure after a couple of years people are tired of hearing about this!), i just simply stated, "please just pray for me." that statement was followed by God Himself speaking directly through my friend stacey. she said, "i want to take a second and remind you that sometimes we forget that He cares. men and women are different..they sometimes don't get each other. but God cares. you might feel like its something no one else will care about, but you know what? if its something on your heart, if you care about it and hurt or feel, then so does He."

i couldn't help the tears that came out. it is AMAZING to me that God communicated that truth to me when i needed it most, through the voice and words of a friend. He is SO good.

---

and you know what else? if it weren't for that heart break, i would have never met those amazing friends that i got to watch exchange vows on saturday. God will always make beauty from ashes.

i wanted to end this with just a couple of photos:

dancing with the flower girls! beautiful little sweethearts :)

and i like this picture because its the only one that shows my hair; the girl who did it was a friend of the bride's and i LOVED it! not to mention all the other cool things going on in this photo...i was in the process of being taught how to dougie ;)

hope everyone has a wonderful evening!