FUS Alum Blogs

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I love reading blogs. I probably read too many blogs when I should be doing other things but I justify the time investment by socializing outside of our cottage ... rarely to never.  I've found severalish blogs written by girls that I went to college with, some of whom that I didn't really know then but that I like to creep on now ... many moons later. Safe, easy, and fun.  Instead of reporting on Sebastian's no-sleep ever habit and Julia's new affinity for wearing everything from her dresser on her person all at the same time, and just how much I regret letting Julia eat eggs this morning, I thought I'd enlighten the Camp's readership with blogs much more exciting than my own.  Deep breath - that was a long sentence.

(These are listed in no particular order except for maybe favorite to least favorite of course I'm kidding and saying this in a robot voice)

Not only did Emily graduate from FUS in the fall but she is also my little sister. She tried to be sneaky and write a blog without my knowledge but little does she know that I tirelessly troll all entertaining sections of the internet, so I found her blog, Just Weird Enough. My only (gigantic) complaint is that she doesn't update her blog enough. Seriously. The world would be a laughier place if she would just stop being so selfish and dedicate some time to the comedic cause.

I lived in a big house with lots of other girls (8 to be exact but 7 to be legal and if you asked our landlord) for my last two years of college and Laura happened to be one of the luckies during one of the semesters.  She writes at A Spoonful of Joy about life with her husband and adorable little boy. She also does a phenomenal job meal planning and posts realistic encouragement for mothers. My new goal in life is to be as fit at not pregnant as she appeared to be at 9 months pregnant. Insanity.

Bernadette and her husband are also talented photographers and their incredible can be seen on their blog, An Endless Pursuit Photography.  Their cutecutecute daughter, Rosie is just a few days older than Julia and might give her a run for her husband in the chase for Jenny's son Joey's affection.  To feast your eyes on the most creative pregnancy announcement ever, I recommend scooting on over right this second. Update! New blog here. I'm jealous.

Tricia writes a great blog called Making it Feel Like Home. She shares all kinds of superb recipes, cleaning tips, and peeks into her cutely decorated house. Thanks to the vonderful vorld of blogging Julia, Sebastian, and I recently had the pleasure of meeting her and two of her cute kids and we are all hoping to see them again soon! Julia promises not to steal Ellen's pacifier again - really.

Ann and I are actual friends in real life (lucky her). I often flew to her house for Bachelor viewings, Pilates sessions, Riesling, and delicious meals way back in the college days. Her blog, Daily Anntidote reports on fashion finds, real life funnies, and even had a long running series on her incredible footwear. This is my shameless plea that she please come out of blogging retirement because I'm still stuck in a rut wearing kitten heals and low-waisted whiskered denim without the help of her impeccable taste and dressing guidance. Update! All thanks to me (I'm sure) Ann started a new blog with fun daily themes and everything here. Go forth and follow. Now.

Sheena's sister, Farrah writes over at one of my new favorite blogs, Patrick and Farrah. She covers a whole myriad of amazing healthy but delicious looking recipes, gorgeous photos, stellar and unique music selections, and little snippets of her life with her husband and her baby. I might have to request that we move to Florida after residency so that Sebastian can start wooing their pretty little lady very soon.

Lizzie (Jenny's sister) started a hilarious blog about her life with her husband and their two little boys. I don't let Sebastian read it because he will get good looks envy over little Charlie, I don't let Julia read it because she might start prematurely crushing on little Mikey, and I don't let Simon read it because then he might switch his 'I'll read one blog a day rule' alliance over to her blog, Do You Live in a Rock? If you don't laugh out loud at her most recent post -- you should probably go find yourself a new sense of humor, stat.

Hillary, (Jenny's other sister) also started a brilliantly funny blog about her life in Colorado (I don't want to give away her city in case she is more careful on the internet than I tend to be). Sometimes things happen to me is a musto reado as she posts funny stories about not kissing, thought provoking posts on faith and the single life, and a handy list of vocab to refer to when reading her genius. Why are you still reading my blurbage? Go away.

Audrey recently started blogging over at It's a Rowdy Life about her business and pleasure travel adventures, upcoming wedding, and life as a Texan. She is refreshingly funny and honest about life as 1/2 of an engaged couple and recently posted some gorgeous photos of a wedding of a fellow Steubie Alum (no blog --- that I know of? sorry.) Go forth, read, and enjoy!

I'm so happy I found Colleen's blog, Martin Family Moments. She writes about life with her husband and they five kiddos. You name it -- she's probably covered it. Running, NFP, her crazy 17 day diet, kiddos, fashion, and beyond. She also recently got together with non-alum Cari and I am an ugly shade of green with envy of both them and their small caravans.

Cathleen writes over at Pioneer Bookworm about her life with her husband in Belize .. and I Bejealous. Not funny. But her post about almost running over a snake and actually running over a goat -- is funny. And her photos are amazing. And she writes great book reviews. And you should hop over and read. Hop you go!

I had the pleasure of living with Joanna my sophomore year of college. She had the coolest leopard print Nokia, taught me the cottage cheese wasn't gross if you ate it with Triscuits, and tolerated a marathon watching of first season of The Bachelor in one sitting with shallow me.  She writes honestly about her struggle with infertility life with her awesome and supportive husband on her blog, Still Standing.  I try to keep my emailing pleas to post to a minimum. This post made me laugh out loud for a long, long time.

Liz recently started writing a great blog, Miraculous Mama, about her life as a youth minister, wife and mom to two cute kiddos. She does a great job of writing about the importance of instilling faith in your kids and the teachable moments of life. She manages to accomplish more in one day than I have accomplished since Sebastian was born .. not even kind of an exaggeration. Liz and I lived together for my last year of college. Lucky girl. 

Rebekah writes the sweetest blog, Treasuring the Little Things, about life in Canada with her two adorable little girls (and one little tbd on the way!) and her husband who is currently undergoing to rigors of law school. I'm jealous of her daughter Felicity's name and of Rebekah's gorgeous pregnancy glow. I'm going to start assigning her posts as required reading for Julia and hope that her daughters' sweetness rubs off on her. Rebekah also makes the cutest hats on all of Etsy. Bold but true statement. 

I never actually knew Ashley nor did I know she went to FUS but I'm so happy to have stumbled upon her fun blog, The Big White Farmhouse.  Ashley writes about the impressive activities she does with her three boys, posts delicious recipes and has an enviable 'life list' where she lists things she'd like to accomplish before her next birthday. Brilliant. Ashley also sews by hand, which should equally impress and intimidate you.

Maria and I had a lot of English classes together but, very unfortunately we didn't get to know each other very well. I'm so happy I found her blog, All Things to Please because I've gotten to 'know' her better and appreciate her wit and dry sense of humor. She writes about life as a stay at home mom to two cute kiddos and wife to an attorney. Funnily enough, Maria currently hails from the small Southwestern town where I spent most of my childhood years.

Jenny recently changed the name of her blog to the highly appropriate and relatable, This Mama Needs Coffee. She has a son just a few days younger than Julia and is expecting her second this spring and so I thoroughly enjoy reading her similarly good and similarly frustrating moments because I find great solidarity in her smart and entertaining writing. Her son just might be numero uno on the list of suitors I approve of for Julia solely based on his good looks and funny madre.

Lisa and I never actually met (lucky her) but I am so happy I found her blog, All Things Gale. She writes about her hilarious adventures with two sweet and spunky kids (and another due very soon!), creative and healthy recipe endeavors, and crafting that puts my paltry sewing attempts to shame. Lisa is one of two bloggers that have inspired me to maybe think about trying to take up knitting.  Twice now, I've Googled a recipe and her blog comes up immediately, so basically she is BIG time.  You have to check out this post on how to make a headboard. Wow.

I would imagine if you read any blogs at all, you've come across Anna's blog, In Honor of Design. She is basically a blogging celebrity and my only claim to fame in life is that we lived together for a year in colegio. Not that you don't already know, but Anna writes about everything from design to fashion to life as a mom to two gorgeous little children. She recently started a brilliant link-up series on modest fashion and if I ever change out of my house shoes and stringy hair I just might participate.  Watch out universe. 

Similar to Anna, Natalie is also a blogging star who authors the famous blog, The Busy Budgeting Mama. If you keep a blog and ever get discouraged about your layout, photos or creative content, do not visit her blog. She is a graphic design mastermind and every post is prettier than the last.  I'm going to have to put her site on the danger list when Julia learns to navigate the web because the birthday parties she throws for her girls put any of my bran muffin with a candle birthday fiestas to serious shame. 

Maureen keeps a funny funny blog, Little Stay At Home Momma. She chronicles her hilarious life as mom to the adorably incorrigible Davy and mischievously irresistible Gianna. I can't wait to read about her third little angel because if he/she is anything like his/her sisters, we are in for a real treat.  I'm actually in the process of hiring Davy to come and give Julia comedian lessons. I've read a few of her charades out loud to Simon and they've actually made him laugh out loud which is a huge feat in and of itself. 

Meg writes the craftiest blog ever ever, Handmade by Meg K. This is another blog I will never let Julia visit because she will then laugh at my 'crafts' consisting of no handmade sock monkeys, pajama eaters (originally found here), or personalized towels. Meg wrote a genius 'how to knit a cowl' post yesterday and don't think that I'm not going to attempt and fail at the pretty this weekend ... because Iyam.  Luckily for the rest of us, she includes clear and detailed tutorials on how to (try to) emulate her brilliance.

I've linked to Sheena's blog, Bean in Love, before because she is a spray painting, home decor DIY genius.  She prettifies the impossible on a tight (smart!) budget and shares how-tos with us decor dummies on a weekly basis. She recently announced that she and her husband are expecting twins! And I can't wait to all of her bebe related projects. And, of course, I can't wait to (not creepily) fawn over her gorgeous babies on the net. 

Abri is a talented photographer and highlights her gorgeous sessions over on her blog, Abriana Chilelli Photography. Abri and I were in an English class together in college where we had to sit in desk circle and 'discuss' our reading assignments. I searched high and low for a cloak of invisible for this particular class because I hate speaking to more than three people at a time but Abri always had impressively insightful comments and made thoughful, effortless contributions to the circle (of my hell). If we're ever in Colorado, I'm marching the fam over to her camera for a family session because her work is so impressive and we have about one photo of the four of us in existence today.

Maria (sister to IHOD's Anna) keeps not one but two inspiring blogs. The first is about life in a rural Kansas town with her three beautiful kiddos, Enjoy this Moment ... for this Moment is your Life

where she writes about the hilarious and touching moments that every mom can relate to. I'm insanely jealous of her photo quality and am hoping to achieve quality half as fab in the near future with our new camera (in transit). Maria also writes and manages the wonderful blog, Going Natural Woman all about Natural Family Planning. She posts helpful and inspiring resources, shares her own experiences and those of other couples using NFP.

Gorgeous Camille is an actual model (I know) and writes the lovely blog, Life in Modification. She is honest about the changes that life brings after having a baby, runs an awesome series on real mom style, and posts amazing DIY projects. Camille single handedly convinced me that the backwards cardigan trend is a good one ... which is quite a feat because I used to think it was silly and ridiculous.

I've linked to Ana before because I love reading her blog, Time Flies When You're Having Babies. She writes about life as the wife of a PhD student and as a mother to two adorable girls.  I get embarrassingly excited when I see she has a new post up and almost didn't make it through her Christmas blogging hiatus. She keeps a much better word:photo ratio in her relatable posts, shares great recipes, and is refreshingly honest in her writing.  Ana recently wrote a heartbreaking but beautiful post that I only recommend reading with some tissues close at hand.

Okay. I think that is all the alum that I stalk. I didn't realize the list was so exensive. Maybe I should've broken this up into 32 little posts. Oh well. 

If you're lucky enough to have been missed by my bright eyes, have a blog, and went to Franciscan, let me know ... I'm always hungry for more.

New Additions!!! (8/13)

Let Love Be Sincere - (by Mary) I started blogging a couple of years ago. I was inspired by some other blogs that I saw, and thought it would be a really cool thing to look back on.  In college, I kept a journal.  This is kind of my journal, only way less full of angst and family friendly. I started this to write about my family's history.  Crazy enough, when it started, I was just pregnant with my first child. He is now adorable.  And he has a brother, who is really cute too.  And, we are expecting our third.  I anticipate he will be ridiculously good looking as well.  I am married to a really cool man. He is funny. He is caring.  He is faithful. Oh, and he drives me crazy.  We fight. a lot.  But we love each other more than we don't like each other and we love God more than we love each other, so it all squares away.  "Let love be sincere" was one of our wedding readings.  This is our story...

La Bella Vita Dolce (by Francine - one of my favorite blog friends!) her blog is ... (take it away, lady!) about things I like. I suppose that means I write a lifestyle blog, if you can call it that. You'll mostly find photos of my kids, a few crafts, outfits, recipes, DIY projects on a budget, and other sundry posts about life as a stay-at-home parent.

McSisters We are 4 sisters, we are wives, we are mothers. Life has spread us across 3 states, from New England to the Midwest, so McSisters is our virtual kitchen table where we can shoot the breeze and discuss the things we love: family, food, making a home, art, fashion, the British Royal family, other blogs... yadda, yadda, yadda.  Welcome to our world!

Cevi Chion (by Natalie) My blog is called Cevi Chion or as some say "to each their own".  It's of a mix of all necessities - food, clothing and shelter.  A few recipes, outfit planning and Pinterest projects (both successes and failures).  It's a work in progress, like it or not - Cevi Chion!

This Sunday's Best (by Amy) I'm the Sunday and this is my best. :) A little of this and a little of that. I like to share random things that are new (to me anyway!), tell stories about the pup who runs my life, not to mention the husband anecdotes; document, no doubt, manymanymany events as we embark upon new adventures in this place we Sunday's call home. But ya know, what happens in blog land, stays in blog land. ;)

To The Heights (by Olivia) At 'To the Heights', I blog about life as a newlywed, a middle school Religion and Art teacher, and hopefully someday motherhood.  From 'how to' posts, to DIYs, to recipes, to funny stories from school, I pretty much just write about anything and everything in every day life.  I want this little space to be both positive and realistic - to highlight how the ordinary, mundane things in life can pull us higher up the mountain of life if we let them; but to also acknowledge that sometimes the ordinary and mundane tasks in our daily lives are hard, and that it's ok to have an "off" day.

Living Little (by Lauren) I recently moved from Johnson Party of 5 to Living Little. I like to write stories about our family, including our "fashion-savvy" 5 year old daughter and our two "rough and tumble with bruises to prove it" boys. Through tears, laughs, tantrums, and humbling moments, our kids continue teach us how to live little.

Healthy Happy Home. (By Kristin)  I started out writing about a random decision to compete in a pageant, added in some marriage prep adventures (separately), but I've now transitioned into writing about ways to improve and enjoy our lives in the realms of - you guessed it - health, happiness and home.  Plus some funny-to-me stories about life and my 5-month old along the way!