My Top 5 Favorite Places

Fairly simple.

What are my Top 5 Favorite Places that I have traveled to (in no particular order, FYI)?
***side note - I took each of these on my trips

1.

Kwambekenya, Kenya

I went to this small village on a mission trip that completely changed my life.

I have never met people so beautiful and so joyful amidst such poverty, hurt, 

and hopelessness.  It it still a dream of mine to one day return to the village that 

changed my life and taught me the true meaning of joy.

2.

Cancun, Mexico

I love warm weather.  That was the beginning of my love for this place.  To

be able experience such warmth, especially when it was so cold in the Midwest, 

was such a blessing.  The beaches are extraordinary; beautiful, white, soft 

sand, warm beneath my toes.  The noise of the ocean is incredibly calming

to me and I have found a lot of solitude near here.

3.

Stillwater, Minnesota

I first visited Stillwater when I was a freshman in college.  Stillwater is 

such a beautiful, quiet town.  It honestly just warms my heart whenever

I go there because I always feel so at home.  The main street is adorable

as well, and has one of my favorite restaurants there - Leo's Grill & Malt Shop.

4.

New York City, New York

I have only been to New York City one time and I had a great time.  I definitely 

encourage people to visit at least once in their lifetime and while I had fun, I

don't think I could ever live there!  The lights, the busyness is fun for awhile

but not the life for me - like I said though, it's a place that I think everyone 

should get the chance to visit!

5.
Belize City, Belize
I know I already wrote several long blog posts on my trip to Belize this 
summer, so I will keep this brief.  I enjoyed my trip, the people I went with, and
the opportunities I had while I was there.  This is also another place I hope
I get to go back to again someday.

-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis

Lexi

I love where I am right now.

A couple things to know about me.

I can be an obsessive planner (I may or may not hand-write and color code my entire calendar) in certain areas of my life (okay, only like two areas) and one of them is my blog. Part of the reason I am constantly thinking ahead about what I'm going to write is because I know if I don't do that, I will procrastinate and then I will probably never actually write a post.  Since I'm a planner, I have been looking forward to writing this post.  This post was supposed to be my top five places in this world.  I'm not an expert traveler but I would give myself a little credit in saying I have been to some beautiful places and adventurous trips.


As I was starting to write this post, however, I became overwhelmed with the idea that I like where I am right now.

My hometown is a small town in Iowa and I currently live in Minnesota.  The Midwest is my home.  While many people will make fun of the farming, animals, and "fly-over" feel of these states, I can't help but feel so much love towards the place(s) where I have grown up and learned so much.

I learned how to drive my truck in Iowa.  It was also where I drove my first semi.  I learned how to
slalom ski on the river five miles from my house.  I played varsity basketball for four years every Friday night in the winter. I know that every dirt road will lead you back home. I leave my car unlocked and running when I go into the grocery store because I don't want my car to be cold when I come back.  I can tell you the first, last, and a lot of times even middle name to almost everyone in my town.

My heart longs for so many places - places I've been and places I want to go - as much as I have loved traveling and will hopefully continue to travel, the Midwest will always be home.  I love where I am right now.

-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis

Lexi

The Rusty Barn

The classic question in the fall when one returns to school is, "What did you do this summer?"

My answer. I worked. This then requires a follow up question which is, "Where do you work?"

This is actually a really hard question to answer! I don't work at a coffee shop, secretary for any business, nor am I a cashier at a store, but rather I own a business along side my three other siblings. Our business is called The Rusty Barn - we turn old rusty barns in your home decor!

The Rusty Barn started a year and a half ago after I came home from college.  I was looking for a job when an opportunity presented itself.  An old barn needed to be torn down and my sisters came up with the idea to use some of the wood to make a few signs.  My brother is really good with construction and my dad owned a plasma cutter to cut metal to fit on the metal.  I was going to be an Art major in college before I decided on Journalism and Media Communication so that makes me the designer. And well, the rest is history!

Since then, our signs are now being sold in five stores around northeast Iowa and we go to several sales throughout the summer and fall, including one next weekend in Osage, Iowa called Autumn Artistry!  The stores that sell our signs are The Cleveland (Osage, IA), Gifts Galore (Osage, IA), The Rustic Corner (Charles City, IA), The Hen House (Northwood, IA), and one store in Minnesota, Matchless Gifts (Mountain Lake, MN).

For those looking for more pictures and updates about our products, check out our Facebook page, The Rusty Barn.

-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis

Lexi

25 Songs

I'm in church this morning and most churches have their normal time before the service starts where you go around and greet some people, shake their hand, and whatnot.  The church I'm at does an abnormally extended "community time" in which people chat for a solid ten minutes about life and then there is usually an a couple questions to ask if/when you get to that point of needing more to talk about.

Today's sermon was on what is the need for singing so many songs at church.  Now that is another post for another time, but our ice breaker question was, "What type of songs typically get stuck in your head?" What I'm getting at is that it only seemed appropriate to write a post about music today.  Therefore, I am showing off another list: 25 Songs and Why I Picked Them


1. A song from your childhood ... Everybody Wants to be a Cat by Disney The Aristocats

2. A song that reminds you of your ex ... 19 You and Me by Dan + Shay

3. A song that reminds you of one or both of your parents ... City on our Knees by Toby Mac

4. A song that calms you down ... You will find Me by Andrew Ripp

5. A song that is often stuck in your head ... anything from the Disney Frozen soundtrack

6. A song that reminds you of your best friend(s) ... Get Low by Lil Jon

7. A song that reminds you of this past summer ... Drunk on a Plane by Dierks Bentley

8. A song that reminds you of your first love ... Hard to Love by Lee Brice

9. A song that makes you hopeful ... By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North

10. A song by your favorite band ... Cruise by Florida Georgia Line

11. A song on the soundtrack of your favorite movie ... I see the Light by Disney's Tangled

12. The last song you heard ... Umbrella by Rhianna

13. A song that reminds you of a former friend ... Smoke a lil Smoke by Eric Church

14. A song that reminds you of your significant other ... Friday Night by Eric Paslay

15. A song that you love singing along to ... Just the Girl by The Click Five

16. A song that has made you cry ... My Little Girl by Tim McGraw

17. A song that makes you want to dance ... Fancy by Iggy

18. A song that you love but rarely listen to ... Goodbye Earl by The Dixie Chicks

19. The first song alphabetically on your iPod ... The A Team by Ed Sheeran

20. The last song alphabetically on your iPod ... 2013 Pop Mash Up by Anthem Lights

21. Your favorite song ... Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

22. A song that someone has sung to you ... Dirt by Florida Georgia Line

23. A song that you cannot stand to listen to ... Sail by Awolnation

24. A song that you have danced to with your best friend ... Boyfriend by Justin Bieber

25. A song that you could listen to all day without getting tired of it ... Treacherous by Taylor Swift

-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis

Lexi