Five Things Friday

1. Have you voted yet? J and I are planning on going tomorrow, which means tonight I need to study up on all the locals running. Any candidates proposing to put a library in my neighborhood? You’ve got my vote.

2. I know everyone gets all up in arms when stores start filling the shelves with Christmas stuff before Halloween, but I kind of like it. I don’t want to skip over Thanksgiving by any means, but I like to prepare in advance so I can truly enjoy the season (ahem, see my November goals). I was walking through Target the other day and was pretty impressed with some of their holiday dishes. They look so fancy! Here are some classy appetizer plates that caught my eye:

3. Speaking of Target, a lot of their fall collection is on sale. I bought this sunburst mirror for $8 the other day. I was going to make my own, but $8? That’s hard to beat. (I couldn’t find the exact mirror on Target’s website, but here’s kind of what it looks like. Perhaps you’ll see it one day in a home tour of our [not-so] new apartment?)

4. My older sister gave me the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for my birthday and it arrived on Tuesday. I’ve been reading it like a book (which, I know, it is) but haven’t skipped any pages. Deb is such a fantastic writer and I can’t wait to try out one of her recipes this weekend. Also, how fab is this hardback cover?

5. This week has been rough. A friend has been hurt beyond comprehension, one of my family members got disappointing news, and my heart goes out to all of those devastated by super storm Sandy in the Northeast. The Lord calls us to worship Him in good times and bad, trusting that He has a greater plan that we can’t see. That is really hard sometimes! But I have to cling to the promises that even in the midst of this broken world, God is still good and still sovereign. Here is a verse to end your week: