The Guest > Singer/Songwriter, Nova Pt. 1

I have been so anxiously excited to share today's guest on From the Guest Room! Synnøve, also known as Nova, has been one of my top three most favorite female vocalists since we met back in 2006. Not only does she have an incredibly unique and brilliant voice, she has such strong, inspirational character and great style. This Norwegian, now LA resident, friend of mine is at the start of something huge in her career and I am thrilled to have her on here for a two part interview to let us in on the behind the scenes of her life as a singer, songwriter and rapper, yup...she raps too! 



mK > Just as a little intro to this interview with Synnøve, check out the recent music video featuring Nova above. To start, tell us a bit about yourself?
Synnøve > I am from a small town in Norway, called Løten! I see myself as creative, can't sit still, a dreamer, artsy, love coffee, value friendships, will tell you to your face instead of speaking behind your back, love dancing and traveling. My biggest passions are truth and justice.

mK > Where do you currently live and what took you there?
Synnøve > I live in L.A, and have been here since 2009. Before L.A, I was going through a rough time in which I lost my self and my child-like faith in God. I had been introduced to different theologies from strong leadership figures in my life. I cried out to God that I desired truth. I´d do whatever he asked me to, as long as he was pleased with me. I was living very restricted and condemned most of the time, always in fear of doing something wrong. A long time ago I had stopped rapping; I still loved singing, but did in no way dare to dream about doing something about it. Instead, I tried to give myself the callings that sounded the most radical to prove my love for God to people. (There you go...to people, not to God.) Until my dear friend, dear Holy Spirit, one day decided to stop my nonsense: "You say you want to be in my will, but you are not in my will as long as you keep digging down your gifts like that." I still recall the shock and amazement. After that I decided to go to L.A to do a Chronological School of Biblical studies. I knew only the Bible could rid me of my confusion. No preacher or hero of faith could show me God; I needed to dig deep and know the word for myself. I chose L.A because at that time that was the only location that did this particular course chronologically.When I landed at L.A.X, September 2009, for the first time in my life, I knew I was home.

mK > How long have you been singing and rapping? What does this form of art mean to you personally? 
Synnøve > I have been singing for as long as I can remember. I used to record myself on an old JVC tape recorder, improvising new songs. I´d make fancy covers and give the cassettes to my grandmother. At elementary school, I´d sing at almost every Friday school gathering. I remember being nervous, but the passion for performing something meaningful was stronger. Almost my whole family did music in some sort of way, and when my brother started listening to rap and Hip Hop, I was sold. Fugees, The Roots and T-Bone were my first loves in that area. The Roots and the Fugees star, Lauryn Hill are still some of my greatest influences.

mK > Ah, Lauryn Hill is also one of my favs. So, what was it like rapping for the first time, did it come naturally to you?
Synnøve > My big brother wrote me my first rap. He gave me the rap name Miss Practise. Partly because it was a play on word on my Norwegian name, Synnøve. If split in two, the last part means to practise. With all the passion I had inside, I rapped "Hello I´m Miss Practise, still on the microphone, and I will keep on praising, just like T-Bone..." My brother and cousin probably thought it was cute that the 11 year old girl in big baggy pants and second hand store hoodies was rapping, so I guess that gave me the confidence that I could do it. I am not sure how good it sounded. What I do know is that it felt like I did what I was supposed to do; singing and rapping. One time a Norwegian rap crew pulled me up on stage to come rap with them, and it was such a rush! After one of them kissed me on the cheek, it felt like I was fainting. Ha ha!

mK >What inspires your songwriting, poems and raps? 
Synnøve > Whatever´s on my brain inspires me. During the School of Biblical Studies, songs and raps were born as God hit me with revelation from his word. They are not scripture quotes, you may not even see that it was the Bible that inspired me, but it´s all inspired by whatever God was teaching me. In Thailand, when I led a team there in 2010 / 2011, we went to the red light district, and there was just no way I could leave without having written down what I felt and saw. Perhaps it will change a prostitute´s situation one day. Or, maybe it will stop a man from buying. On the plane this fall, I was sitting next to two very beautiful and drunk girls. I wish I had shared God´s love with them! I could not get them out of my head in the weeks after, and wrote a song to them, hoping they will one day hear it on the radio thinking "man, this could be for me!". My favorite is the rap I wrote about booty shaking! A couple summers ago, anytime I turned on the radio or the TV, I would hear some song about booty shaking. Sad! And very awkward! "Really?", I thought to myself. "Really? It´s booty shaking you want? Well then, here you go". So I made a rap called VIP that is about we as girls should not shake it for anyone but our hubbies! Or as I call them: our VIP´s. It´s just a fun and a bit a sassy song with an important message to girls who already struggle to find their worth and dignity. I can´t wait till it´s on the radio.

Red light District

(Poem made after visiting the Red Light District in Chiang Mai)

You disgust me
at first
because I see you as old
and wrinkly
paying for a night of pleasure
with a young and poor
girl in the red light district

Then it hit me:
your wife may have left you
may have been unfaithful
you may never have had a father
to tell you a woman´s worth
you may have been shamed
by all of your friends
and in your own mind
it´s payback time
cuz you were never told
It´s all been paid for already

I see you
And I am still disgusted
but no longer disgusted by you.
I am disgusted by the father of lies
who twisted everything around
so that you think pleasure is
found in a young girl
who was forced into prostitution
I am disgusted
in the father of lies
who had you think
you can be healed
by feeling the touch of someone
younger and prettier
than the wife who betrayed you

Could it be...that we all need healing
and that we all need
someone heaven-sent
tonight?

mK > What fuels your creativity? 

Synnøve > Wow, what fuels my creativity. Good beats! Listening to good beats, no matter what the song may be about makes my own words spill out. At church, sermons I hear that really touch my heart, conversations I overhear on the bus. Most of the songs are actually born out of anger. Something provokes me and I convert my emotions into questions that I sing or rap about so people can discover truth. Have you noticed that people are prideful beings? They don´t want to receive answers all the time. But when we give them questions, they will very often come up with the right answers, yet feel happy about it cause they were the ones who got the answer! My strategy is to not work against people´s pride - work with it! Cause if I really want people to know truth, and not just want to feel good for being right, I need to say things in a way that prompts people to receive. It's a big difference between being right and being righteous. Perhaps that is why Jesus asked so many questions?

mK > What is your favorite thing about singing/writing music?
Synnøve > I feel alive! Nothing makes my heart beat faster, nothing makes me feel more beautiful! Nothing makes me feel closer to God or more purposeful!

mK > What is the most difficult thing about singing/writing?
Synnøve > To accept the possibility of no one hearing it. I want so badly for people to hear! I believe that God wants people to hear the music I make too, since I trust that it´s inspired by him. But it´s still something I need to surrender every day, and be okay if my only audience is Heaven.(Which should be more than enough anyways.) It really keeps my intentions under constant purification! Some songs I know are only between me and Jesus. They are our secrets. My worship. The others songs are like road signs to lead people to find that place of worship for themselves.

Tomorrow, Synnøve will be back sharing a bit more in depth about her recent music video, her upcoming music, and more! You can follow Synnøve on Twitter @Novaspeaks or on her personal blog here! Until tomorrow, have an awesome rest of October! (Part Two Read Here) ♥, mK
All photos by Michael Fernandez.

Yummy Yummy Soft Pretzels!

I'm a Pennsylvania girl, born and raised, so soft pretzels have always been a staple snack. Every trip to the mall, at work, football games, etc...pretty much you can count on finding these anywhere.

Auntie Anne's (The best Pretzel Store ever) never made it's way out to Grand Junction, so I've gone years without the option of their tasty-goodness. Keep that in mind when I tell you that the other day I ventured into the mall here in Nashville only to come down the escalator right into the presence of THE AUNTIE ANNE's. Now, in any other situation, this would be a glorious reunion, but you see, Dustin and I are on a strict money diet right now where every dollar counts when we are trying to save for bigger and better things. But, temptation is a funny thing, always weasling it's way into our daily lives. And after much debate, attempts at justification and circling the little stand three (or more) times, I took home the victory and walked out of that mall, pretzel-less but with three dollars safe in my pocket. Phew!

It was a true victory because not even one day later, as I perused my daily blog reads, I found this recipe from Elsie over at A Beautiful Mess. What a thrill, HOMEMADE soft pretzels! It didn't take me long to get started on whipping up a batch of these babies, I got right to work using this recipe!

Elsie's recipe is super easy to make and quite tasty. She provided a few topping ideas and I am going to add one more. It's my fav: Almond & Caramel. I just took a handful of almonds, chopped them up and added a bit of brown sugar to the mix. Butter up the un-cooked pretzel and sprinkle the mixture on top. After cooking, pull out some caramel dipping sauce and you're good to go!

I hope you find this little snack as enjoyable as I do! What is your favorite pretzel topping? ♥, mK

P.S. Thanks to everyone who stopped by from Follower Fest! I'm soo excited to check out your blogs in the coming days! Today only, there is a special Follower Fest Giveaway happening over on Katie Michelle! It includes COFFEE, so you'll want to check that out!

Farmer's Market in the Fall

Dustin and I have had fun exploring our new city. Today, Dustin was working so I hopped in our Jeep and headed to the Nashville Farmer's market! I am just a bit too eager to make pumpkin pies and I knew this would be the perfect spot to pick up a good lookin' pumpkin! Thanks to one of my new favorite apps, I documented my day with instagram!

As I strolled down the market aisles, I couldn't help but take a little trip down memory lane. For, oh gosh, at least twenty five years, my family ran our own produce business out of the Reading Fairground Square Market right outside of Reading, Pennsylvania. I believe my dad started the business when he was just 20 or 21. Starting in elementary school, I worked for my parents up until I was in my early twenties, just a year or two before my dad sold the business once and for all. Though I now look back on those days with sentiment and gratitude in my heart, that was definitely the farthest thing in my mind back when I was 14 wanting to sleep in and hang out with my friends on any random Saturday. I don't remember being the daughter my father always hoped for at 6 am on the morning he had someone call off work and had to enthusiastically awake my charming little self up to fill in the gap. And though I may be one of the only kids... ever, to wear the badge of "I was 'fired' (temporarily) by my own father for having a bad attitude about working with my little brother", I can still step into another farmer's market again today! And I am soo very thankful!

I am thankful that I grew up in a family that valued hard work, worked together to make the daily in and outs of the business succeed and I am thankful that it built in me a entrepreneurial drive and taught me a thing or two about money and the idea of savings and living within your means. I am thankful I eventually grew out of my naive Jr. High phase, and I am most of all thankful for the memories attached; the occasional 3am drives to the docks in Philly with my three sisters and dad in the drivers seat just for fun and how he let us make silly videos while he did serious business with the farmers. And the countless customers who would fake you out with a cantaloupe throw to the head or the whining people who came back two weeks later with a rotten watermelon saying we sold them bad fruit. Oh the memories I can now (keyword now) laugh at! Here's a few photos of Eberly's Produce!

I'd say it's been a good day! Now, it's time to make that pumpkin pie! ♥, mK

If you are stopping by from the Followers Fest! Please do say hello so I can return the hello on your blog! If you want to learn more about me and what I write about, go <here>! Thanks for stopping by!

Meet the Michelle Headband

New to The Guest Room Closet is the charming Michelle Headband. I absolutely love this new design and am soo excited to share it with you all! These are quite affordable and great gifts for the upcoming holidays...or a nice little addition to your own accessory wardrobe!

Also new to the store, are beanies in Kid's sizes! There will be plenty more styles in the weeks to come so keep an eye out!

It's always fun for me to see people wearing my hats, scarves and headbands and so today I've picked a few of the photos I have received, enjoy!

I know there are plenty more out there, so snap a photo and send it my way! (emarykate@gmail.com) Everyone has their own unique look! Love it!! To browse or purchase your own piece, head on over <HERE> to the Guest Room Closet! Have a beautiful mid week! ♥, mK

From Cake to Cake Pops

I've been wanting to try my hand at cake pops, but haven't had a good reason to make them lately. However, this weekend was Dustin's birthday and we made friends! So, I decided to whip up a batch of Mocha Coconut pops! The only trick was, I already had a cake that I made the previous day and Dustin and I each had a slice before we realized we'd have company. So, this little recipe is perfect for situations just like that...maybe you made a cake for a dinner party and only half of it was eaten, but you want to serve it the next day. I personally don't like the idea of serving a half eaten cake, so you can see why I loved this "re-purposed" recipe!

The first step is to gather your materials. You will need cake mix (already cooked with frosting), sticks, chocolate and sprinkles if desired. Secondly, take your cake, icing and all, and place it into a mixing bowl. This part is fun; mash the cake. The Third step is to roll the cake batter into little balls and place on parchment paper. Next, step four, you will want to place a stick into each cake pop. A trick here is to dip the tip of the stick into melted chocolate and then into the ball, refrigerate for an hour or so to help it solidify.  Step five; you will want to melt your chocolate and dip each cake pop into the chocolate. I decided to "paint" my chocolate onto each pop. It was fun and it gave it a textured look. If you desire sprinkles or decorations of any sort, now would be the perfect time to add them!

I was quite pleased with the way they turned out! Enjoy, ♥, mK

It's a DIY kinda day

Yesterday, Dustin and I had an afternoon full of do-it-yourself projects lined up. We had so much fun and I will definitely be sharing our ideas in the weeks to come. However, lately, I have been admiring the craftiness of other friends and bloggers. Here are just a few DIY projects that I have taken a liking for!

Over in Colorado, this Framed succulents project was made by my good friend Michelle! I adore the colors!

In Pennsylvania, blogger of Just a little Something for you/my lovely aunt, made this adorable little gift idea with home-made snicker doodles and a Green Giant can! Mmm!

In Kansas, Dustin and my good friends, The Aneloskis, made their very own murphy bed for their overnight guests! What an adorable space saver idea! Plus, it was super comfortable when Dustin and I visited a few weeks ago!

In Colorado, my good friend Megan made her very own wreath! Simple and sweet! I just love yarn projects!

And finally, from Missouri, blogger of A Beautiful Mess, Elsie, showed her readers how to make customized  tea bags! What a cute little idea for afternoons with friends! I instantly thought of my mom and her love for a nice cup of hot tea!

Have a wonderful Monday!! ♥, mK

Chalk Board DIY + Giveaway Winner

Dustin and I have been doing all kinds of fun little projects to make our new apartment feel like home. One of our recent little projects was constructing a large chalkboard for our dining room. It's an under $20 investment and a simple way to personalize any room!

The first step is to gather all the tools you will need including: 1 frame, 1 can of  chalkboard paint, a paint brush, nails, hammer and a leveling tool. Dustin and I found this old frame at Goodwill for next to nothing and Chalkboard paint goes a looong way, so this can has been around our home for a year, still going strong.

The next step may be a bit different depending on what type of frame you have. I painted right onto the glass, but you may want to dispose of the glass and paint onto a piece of wood or heavy duty cardboard attached to the frame. The nice thing about this paint is you only need one coat and it tries significantly fast.

Once your paint is 100% dried, hang the chalkboard to the wall using a level to make sure it is straight. I suggest waiting a day or two before writing onto the board with chalk, but when that day comes, go all out with fun messages, quotes or lyrics. A fun idea Dustin and I have is for dinner parties, add the menu to the board for all to see what is in the evening's plans for the meal! Have fun! ♥, mK

Thanks to all who entered my Guest Room Closet Giveaway! I'm pleased to announce the winner: Congrats Ashley of the Shine Project! Email me at emarykate@gmail.com to redeem your prize!

The Guest > Casey Leigh

I am very excited to introduce my guest to you all today, Casey Wiegand, of the blog Casey Leigh. I met Casey through the blog world over the summer and have since been truly inspired by her daily writings and life. Casey is very artistic, insightful, smart, fun and one who speaks truth boldly. She is genuine and you can see that not just through her writing but also in the way she interacts with those who read her blog. If you have not yet ventured over her way, you can visit her blog <Here>!  Enjoy her post! ♥, mK

My name is Casey Wiegand, I am a freelance artist, wife and mama. 

I love painting and sharing our life through my blog...where you can expect pieces of my perspective on life, faith, kids, marriage, with touches of art, creative inspiration, projects and things I love along the way. I have two little ones in the hopes of lots more and am married to the love of my life :)

 Im a sensitive soul, I am a people pleaser, I tend to be insecure at times.

I am trying to say "no more apologies"...

this is who I am.

I AM that mom that hates being away from her kids, even for an hour.

I am NOT that mom that cooks amazing meals, in fact my kiddos eat waffles and sandwiches a lot of evenings.

I AM that girl that gets hurt easily.

I am NOT that girl that balances her time wisely.

I AM that mom that advocates co.sleeping and NOT letting your babies cry it out.

I am NOT that mom that is crazy about schedules, about dropping pasies/bottles etc etc

I AM that wife that chooses her husband through it all.

I am NOT that wife that does everything right.

I was going through some messy stuff in December and I read this quote by Leslie

"If you haven't already gathered, or happen to be reading this blog for the first time in your life, I am a melancholy girl through and through. I find beauty in not only the beautiful things in life, but the bittersweet and sad as well. To me, there is something poignantly lovely about the human experience from its splendor to its grief. God created all our emotions, not just the happy ones, and for His good purposes. That's why a good cry can feel so good. And hitting our limits forces us to look outside ourselves for a Savior. It is in the plea, when we're at our end, that we can find that which is truly life-giving. Personally, my moments of deepest grief, deepest pain, have resulted in the most beautiful seasons in my heart. I've met God more intimately in those moments than in all the other pleasant ones combined. What isn't completely lovely about that?" 

In a moment where I felt alone, I felt heartbroken, angry.....I read this and suddenly felt like someone out in the world possibly understood. In January of this year with 20 followers I started speaking out on my beliefs. I started talking about mama stuff, some heartache, money trouble, csection scars, NICUs, my miscarriage, almost killing my dog on accident....and that's not the half of it. I havent even gone down some of the REALLY tough roads of where I have been with you all yet.

I wanted (and still do) this to be a blog/ a place of inspiration, uplift, joy...but also truth. Because life is hard. 

A lot of us have been through some seriously icky stuff. 

And so I wanted this also to be "real". 

It's easy to take beautiful family photos and pretend to have it all together-but  who does that help?

Then Rachel (who blogs here) said this...

"To be taken seriously, I must realize the seriousness of  blogging.

Not in a "I take myself very seriously" type of way at all. More in the way that you realize the importance of the words, the faith and the beliefs that you hold. I have a responsibility and far reaching arms when I share my words and

so

do

you.

Use your blog, your words and your person to share the Lord (and your heart) with others.

They desperately need to hear your story as much as you need to hear theirs.

Be serious. Be passionate and Be you."

Use your voice. No apologies. 

We are all different and have been through different things, believe different things.... but whoever you are there is SOMEONE you can touch with your story.

Don't hold onto it.

Beauty in the Setting Sun

I usually am one to lean towards the optimistic side of life. I try really hard to look on the brighter things, the hope within each sticky situation that arises in life, but like all people, there are the days where you just don't have the strength to choose to believe something good will come. It's tough, it really is. Today as I sat down to write, I thought of how I would love to share another fun recipe or an outfit I was proud of, but all that could come to mind was the current phase of life I find myself in.

It's been almost two weeks since Dustin and I arrived in Nashville, not that long at all, but it feels like months. Though it's beautiful and full of fun new things that we will one day share with friends, right now it just feels so distant, even though it's right outside our front door. Before the moving truck, before the goodbyes, I knew in my heart that God had plans for us here, plans to grow us in the things we love, bring new people into our lives, and much more. But each day we do all we can to reach out to become part of this new community, but doors continue to remain shut. Dustin and I are social people, so for us, it hits deep. Walking in and out of a new church where not one "hello..my name is.." is exchanged, sending emails out to countless potential friends or employers only to have an empty inbox the following days; it's tough, so frustratingly tough starting life in a new town.

The thing is, obedience is tough. I don't recall as a kid defining obeying my parents as "easy". I just had to trust my parents knew what was best for me and do as they say and the thing was...they were always right! The thing with God's leading is that he never promises us that it will be easy, but in time we will learn to see how he was right and how it really does benefit us. It's in the obedience that we will find the blessing and over time, I know God will open up doors. Whose to say that there isn't something to be learned in the quiet times of life?



I recently watched this video from Sun Stand Still, a book about what happens when you ask God for the impossible. It is written by Steven Furtick, one of whom I admire for his teachings and incredible faith in God. I found it so encouraging, knowing I am not the only one who watches the sun go down on the plans I had hoped to transpire by now. But it's like he says, the miracle might not be one that is seen, but rather one that comes from within. Following God is quite the adventure, full of risk. And we are beginning to understand that the miracle right now is not indeed seeing God open doors in our timing, the miracle is choosing to risk and believe He will provide as we obey his call on our lives, even in these weeks of stillness and waiting. He is faithful! Come to think of it, there is a reason that a sun-set is one of such beauty! ♥, mK

The Indoor Smore

Everyone knows that over the summer smores are the thing to make at a campfire, right? We may be heading into November where bonfires are becoming fewer and fewer, but there's no need to say goodbye completely to the smore, bring it indoors! Here's a super easy, fire-less and fun little recipe to make a yummy smore inside!

Gather together the three main ingredients to a successful smore: marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate!

Turn on your oven to broil, place marshmallows on a simple cookie sheet and set them below the glowing lights of heat. Stay close by because it doesn't take long for these little mallows to brown up!

Place all your smore building materials on a cute little plate and serve. This is super fun for a date or a night in with friends! It's also a perfect little warm snack for kids when it's tooo chilly or rainy to go outside! Best part is, it's an interactive snack...no one's gonna tell you that you shouldn't play with your food this time! Have fun! ♥, mK