We did it!: A Lucht update from the local library.

Hello "real" world!

I've been in a planning/moving/preparing bubble for the last few months. And finally--we're married!! I'm a wifey and my Dave's a husband! It's even more official now--Facebook shows me as a "Lucht"! I'll admit that it's pretty sad, but no longer seeing myself on Facebook as a Pham made being married that much more official.

It's so cheesy and cliche to say, but our wedding was the best day of both of our lives. It was beautiful (our friends poured so much love into our day), and we still can't believe all the love, prayer, support, encouragement, gifts, and celebration that were showered over us. Dave and I are still having a great time just thinking back on the day to see what other details we can remember and tell each other about.

For any of you who've followed me at alittlebet.blogspot.com (aka Empty Clay Jar), I'll no longer be posting there and will proceed to blog about our lives here on We Lucht Out :) (I'm trying to consolidate my social media blogosophere). Since I'm living in a new city as a married lady and experiencing new adventures with my husband, I (we) want this blog to be a place where friends and family can keep in the know with what we're up to. It would be ideal to be able sit down for some coffee and catch up, but with the distance we sometimes find between us, this will make sharing our lives a bit more feasible.

It's been forever since I've posted anything--and it's taken even longer than I'd hoped because we still don't have internet yet at Casa Lucht. Here's a little pictorial recap of us since we said "I do!":

A preview shot from our photographers/friends Rosina & Sarah:

Pre-honeymoon surprise breakfast: Dave took me to the place in 

Malibu where he took me before he propsoed.

Our cruise ship: We were gifted a honeymoon--huge blessing! It was fun. 

Downside: There is WAY too much food on cruise ships--WAY too much. 

Mr. & Mrs.

 

Back from our trip:

Stopped for breakfast at The PotHolder when we disembarked in Long Beach.

And then... we came home to:

wedding decor, bags/boxes of mine that have yet to be unpacked, and wedding gifts.

We cannot wait until everything's in its place and we can actually walk around

our home without tripping on something :).

 

  

Dave went back to work. Since I haven't found a teaching job yet out here, 

I have time to get our home together and get some post-wedding odds and ends done.

Dave's been craving homemade lasagna for some time now, so I decided to give lasanga-making a go (I modified the recipe, so it's also figure friendly. The original recipe called for TWO cups of cheese just to top the whole thing. WHAT?!). I was a little nervous because his mom makes some "bomb" lasagna, but Dave wouldn't stop eating it (yay!).

So many of my married friends told me that I would love being marred. WELL, they're so right. I absolutely love it. I'm married to my best friend, and we're blessed beyond measure to get to build a life and a home together--and to live out this adventure that our God's put before us.
Thank You, thank You, thank You.

Final shot:

The community/music area is coming together:

Framed & Cornered.

 

2 Moms+ 2 Photographers+ 2 Friends= One Engagement Shoot Blogged TWO ways!

This past weekend, Dave and I were able to experience something that is hard to put into words. Neither one of us are the editorial, really-good-in-front-of-the-camera type of person (well, at least i'm not). When it came time for engagement pictures, we weren't sure what our experience was going to be. Instead of having us pose, Rosina and Sarah showed us that they are on a photographic journey to capture couples as they are, to facilitate space for couples to just be, and to create an environment where couples are able to look back on that day and remember exactly what they were feeling towards each other and the adventure that led them up to that point. Thank you for capturing memories, and helping us make some new ones. We laughed, we cried, we sang, we danced; and in the best sense possible, it was almost as though Dave and I were the only two people in that beautiful field. That just goes to show how natural and easy it is to be around both Rosina and Sarah.

Thank you for being on a mission to celebrate love by way of capturing REAL moments. Your creative eyes are only outmatched by your beautiful hearts. You've blessed us with pictures that we'll be able to look at and reminisce with "for as long as we both shall live." I know it sounds cheesy, but the hope and knowledge of forever are anything but. 

Go check out their full blog posts from the shoot!

Rosina's post:

Sarah's post:

I was telling Dave my hope of these images being reflective of what the rest of our lives will be like--full of laughter, worship, and love. :)Amen.

Holly and Paul--Married!

Although it's true that a couple's wedding day is about them, it's also about so much more than that: It's about friends, family, community, love, and the rest of their marriage. Those facets of a wedding celebration were very much evident at Paul and Holly's wedding this past weekend. Despite the blustering winds, family and friends excitedly came together to celebrate this couple. It was an honor to be a part of their day as Holly is the mother/mother-in-law to two of my very dear friends. Congratulations to the both of you. Your adventure in one of God's greatest gifts has already begun :). 

And this about sums up their whole day 

and the rest of their days: 

Caley and Jordan

Six years ago, Caley met Jordan at friend's birthday party where he was DJing up a storm. Apparently Jordan wasn't just smooth with the beats because they have been together ever since. With that being said, they're making it official this coming August!


Caley's sense of humor and Jordan's cool-as-a-cucumber attitude made them a joy to work with. It's undeniable that they love each other, love laughing with each other, and have an ease with each other that's contagious. 


Here's to the future Mr. and Mrs.
[Can we say future cute kiddos??]:

Just in case you're wondering, 

those are Caley's Jimmy Choo's that are making 

a peek-a-boo appearance :)

  

 This might be one of my favorites of them:

 No, I didn't tell them to pretend to play tic-tac-toe.

 It was totally their idea :). 
Oh, and I think Caley let Jordan win.

Thanks again, you two, for letting me take your pictures. I can't wait 'til August! 

Good Things Come in Small Packages.

Things that are small/petite: coffee cups, Cuban pastries,and sweet Jenny.:)

Coffee and chats with friends never gets old. It will always be high up on my list of favorites. Coffee with Jenny was no exception.

I had the opportunity to go to Uganda with this lovely young lady two Decembers ago, and I've loved getting to spend time with her here and there ever since. We were long overdue for a catch up sesh, so on  this lovely occasion, Jenny graced me with not just her presence but also some lovely Cuban pastries as well as a few stories to share.

She's vibrant, loving, talented, compassionate, intelligent, and is a beautiful vessel for His love. It was such a joy being in a conversation with someone who is very much in progress (and excited to be in progress). I pray that you continue to discover greater levels of freedom and love in the life He's set before you. The nursing world is lucky that they're going to have a woman like you, Jenny.

Good Mornin' Fixins.

No set alarm clock. No set schedule in sight. It's a lazy Saturday, and it's one of my favorite things ever. 

One of the most satisfying things is knowing that I can take my time on a Saturday morning, sit down with a good read, share some good chats, lots of laughs, and make plans as they come.

If you're wondering, the evening ended with a dinner and a movie date with my love. If you haven't seen The King's Speech, I highly recommend it! :) 

Consumer vs. Being Consumed

To know who I am, I need to know who He is. 
To know what I've been given, I need to know who He is.
To know what promises have been made to me, I need to know who He is.
To know how to worship Him, I need to know who He is.
To know how to love, I need to know who He is.


You get the point.


In this season (or whatever you want to call it), I've been really praying for a renewed sense of discipline in place of the "me-me" mentality I take on when life gets too busy. A friend reminded me the other day that discipline is a form of submission, and that cut me to the core. I've said "yes" to myself so much that in parts of my life, i've forgotten my First Love. I've sacrificed deeper intimacy for temporal satisfaction in things that are fleeting.


"Luckily" for me, my First Love never goes farther than I how far I go away because He's always here, always with me, always loving me. My Dave wrote something the other day that went hand in hand with this: "You always have access to God's heart, but does He have access to yours?" Being in the presence of God requires me giving Him access to my heart, and i'm praying for an increase of that for this season (and for the rest of them to come). 


I'm going through the Psalms right now, and time and time again, I'm blown away by how His character is revealed through the Word. It's thick with who He is, and I love being reminded of how exciting it is to fall in love with Him. This is what I was reminded of again about who He is just in the first 8 chapters:

He is:

*the Giver of Life

*the Sustainer

* the only Peace

*the only Safety

*the Director

*the Guide

*the Giver of Joy

*the Protector

*the Merciful One

*the Healer

*the Deliverer

*the Trustworthy One

*the Defender

*the Just Judge

*the Lord Most High

*the Excellent One 

My prayer is that we would long to know Him more and pursue Him as He delights in pursuing us. I pray that we would know the difference between being consumers of His love and being consumed by His love. 

Hodge Podge Friday: Life isn't about compartments.

So what's Hodge Podge Friday's, you ask? Well, let me tell ya. It's going to be a project--a mixed bag of goodies. You'll never know what you're going to get, but I hope that you'll leave with something you can take along for yourself :). You'll get anything from a mix of new recipes, a new DIY project, some random or not-so-random photography, musings on life, musical recommendations, etc... 


Friday posts may have no rhyme or reason to them, but I'm going to embrace that. One of my goals this year is to do what I can to break away from a compartmentalized life. Life isn't about compartments--it's about experiencing it in whole. Who's with me?

Stay for a little while, stay for the whole time, it's your call!

Come along now:  

#1: Roomie Pizza-making Date

I love my roomie, but we hardly get time to hang out. Our schedules are polar opposites of each other's. She gets to see her man during the week, and I get to see mine on weekends, so that adds to our shortage of hang time. We set some time aside to make some delicious pizzas. I was too hungry to take legit pictures. 

It's too bad I can't take pictures of what my taste buds experienced:

[Butternut Squash and Rosemary and 

Pesto Salad Pizza (If you want this recipe, leave me a comment!]

#2: My Roomie loves Terrariums, and so do I!

She works down the street from the LA flower mart, 

so went nuts with succulents, stones, and our vases.

See?

#3: Don't take for granted a good chocolate chip oat cookie recipe.

Here's why:

It took a lot of willpower not to eat these 

little beauties for breakfast (Ok, I had one). These are best a little warm, so eat them fresh or throw them into the microwave for a few seconds.

What You'll Need:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine (a stick)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I always use a little less than what the recipe calls for)

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 3-4 baking sheets.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Set aside

3. With an electric mixer, cream together butter or margarine and the sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy (TIP: If your butter isn't room temp, slice it up into pieces and microwave for 20 seconds)

4. Add flour and beat on low speed until well blended. Stir in rolled oats and choc chips. Drop heaped teaspoonfuls on baking sheets, spacing dough about 1 inch apart. 

5. Bake for about 15 minutes (depends on oven power) until just firm around the gue but still soft to the touch in the center. With a slotted spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

Makes 60

Recipe taken from Cookies by Hilaire Walden

#4: On a Mission: Collecting

I love going to thrift stores and finding super deals

on super things. Well, i'm collecting amber or yellow-colored glasses, vases, etc. Why? Well, stay tuned :).

 These two are my newest finds.

#5: The Feed Store, in Long Beach, CA.

 If you live in Long Beach, CA, checkout The Feed Store on Retro Row. It's the newest, vintage-thrift store whose proceeds go to providing food and other necessities to those in need. They have everything from clothes to home goods.

I found some cute doilies to craft with: 

 #5:Know that you're loved and have the capacity to love others.

There's a Love that's beyond words, beyond feelings, and beyond your wildest dreams. It's not fleeting. It's eternal. It's hopeful. In it there is joy and peace.

"Oh, how He loves us."

Thanks for comin' along for my first Hodge Podge Friday. I hope you come back and visit really soon. Have a great day :).