Seeing the Sights

I didn't go to Basque Country to see the sights. I went to see the High School students that I'd met over the last 2 summers, and meet their families, and spend time with these wonderful people!

Well, even though I didn't go to see the sights, I saw the sights. 

Those I visited were wonderful hosts!

Different people took me to see different places. But every place was stunningly beautiful!

I've never been to any place in Europe before, and I'm ecstatic to say that this is my first experience! 

I hope you enjoy all these beautiful sights even a fraction of the amount that I did...

Because the photos only do a fraction of the justice of actually seeing the places!

The below verse was discussed at small group last night and I had to share:

Ephesians 2:4-5

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ

—by grace you have been saved—

Middle 2 in the Bunch of 4

The fun things about this outfit:

Sweater - Thrifted, Pants - 2nd Hand, Bracelets - Thrifted, Shoes - Target, Earrings - Old Navy

Everyone warned me about jet lag... Now everyone is asking me how I'm feeling...

Truth is I'm feeling fine. I'm not feeling jet lagged at all. 

And I think I know why. I slept a very broken up 2 hours out of a total of 24 hours of travel. 

When I got back I stayed awake for 3 more hours then slept for 10 hours, woke up, and went to work.

I'm guessing that being exhausted and sleeping at night instead of crashing when I got home was what helped. But all this is meaningless without a little tale of why I only slept a measly 2 chopped up hours.

Have you ever been on one of those lovely oversees flights that has 4 seats in the middle of 2 isles?

You know the two seats in the middle... Yep, the ones every hopes and prays they don't get stuck in for 9.5 hours... Guesses anyone? Yes, I ended up in the middle of the 4 seats. 

It began with boarding... My travel buddy and I went back and forth between both rows thinking we were entering from the wrong isle for our two seats. (we thought we had 2 on the end of the 4). Soon we figured out we were in the middle with two strangers on either side. Her side of our cozy sandwich was topped with a man who had his ear buds in from beginning to end, and apparently up full blast because he didn't hear anything anyone tried to say to him, flight attendant or otherwise. And my end was capped with a youngster calling himself Elder. He spoke German and English while he studied a paper of some sort of Asian language. (I don't know what because I don't speak any language with the characters he was staring at.)

I ended up becoming a nerd for the public to see and watching The Hobbit on that flight.

Yep... Not even ashamed because I loved it! Still mentally frollicking in the shire at this moment.

Romans 8:15

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 

Back to the Blog

The fun things about this outfit:

Pants - Old Navy, Sweater - Thrifted, Shirt - 2ndHand, Boots - Nordstrom, Bracelet - 2ndHand

I'm Baaaaack!

Words cannot gather all the thoughts that are running through my head to summarize my trip to Basque Country. It was wonderful! God is really amazing! I met some great new people, saw some incredible things that I never imagined experiencing, and walked way more in 10 days than my legs and feet thought possible.

All I keep thinking of is that God does things I don't expect all the time. He uses people in ways I don't expect. He puts me in places I don't expect. And He opens doors before I even see that they exist!

Looking forward to sharing a few pictures soon!

Matthew 5:14-16

 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Guest Post: Kala #2 {My Breezy Room}

I'm still galavanting across the pond, so Kala is here to share a few lovelies.

____________________

Hi guys! Have I been here often enough that these introductions are getting awkward? Well I'm Kala and I blog at My Breezy Room. I dabble a bit in exploring the decorating world while running a (very small) side "business" where I sell painted furniture. I think some people have a hard time picturing how to incorporate painted furniture into their homes. Today I'm going to keep it short and sweet with a couple examples of how I use painted furniture in my own home. Living in a one bedroom apartment, I promise you this wont take long! My bedroom is by far my favorite room (of the 3 that I have {bedroom, living room, and kitchen}:  

 I used Annie Sloan Paris Grey and Old White to paint this set.   

The color varies depending on the light - from gray to purplish to bluish. Love it.

The door I use as a headboard is from the old farmhouse my parents remodeled. It is probably my very favorite part of it all.

Then I have this dresser turned TV stand in my living room. I really do love it, although I've thought about painting it more of a turquoise or teal color.

I'd love to show you the rest of my living room so you can see how it fits in, but currently I'm trying to find a good end table color. So at the moment I have no less than 3 side tables that are painted different colors. Green, gray and yellow if you must know. That is an example of painted furniture you should not have sitting all in one room, even if you are just "testing" out colors.

Do you have any painted furniture in your house? If so, how do you balance it with unpainted furniture?

I hope you're enjoying your time away, Naomi. Thanks for having me!

Guest Post: Kala #1 {My Breezy Room}

Yep... Still in the midst of being a "world" traveling type of person.

Take it away Kala!

_______________________

Hi Patterned Love people! I'm back AGAIN and super stoked to be sharing even more tips for making over furniture. Have you ever found a great used piece of furniture at a garage sale or thrift store, but you passed it up because it was already painted and you weren't sure what to do with it? That's okay - I've been there, too. But today I'm gonna lay out a couple of your most promising options. There is, of course, an easy way. But like with all easy ways, it has limitations. If the original coat of paint/stain/finish is even and in good condition, you can use chalk paint, no sanding required. For this piece (my first so please forgive the awful photos), I was able to start painting right away with no issues.

This is definitely the easiest approach. If you're not up for a ton of prep work, this type of project is your best option.

But sometimes you stumble upon a great dresser with chippy paint like this one that you just can't pass up!

Unfortunately, when paint is chippy, or old/in bad condition, it's best to go back to the old fashion method of sanding, even when using chalk paint.

In my experience, if you don't sand the paint off of these types of pieces, the imperfections in the texture will show through your new coat of paint.

I also like to take precautions with super dark stains as well, because they tend to bleed through the new coat of paint. Oftentimes you can use primer or a sealant like Zinsser Shellac to seal in the stain so it doesn't leak through.

So those are two basic ways I handle furniture that are already painted/stained. For more painting tips and before and afters, head on over to my blog.

Thanks again Naomi for having me back! I've really been enjoying my time in your space. :)

Guest Post: Anni {Anni's Bubble}

Please welcome Anni, who will be bringing some awareness to Patterned Love.
__________________________
Hey Dolls! So happy to have the opportunity to share with new readers! As we welcome the month of October, and in light of all things fashion and fun, Let Us Think Pink. Cancer is a broad term for a class of diseases characterized by abnormal cells that grow and invade  healthy cells in the body.  Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast as a group of cancer cells that can then invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body.

Every woman, despite her age should know the symptoms and signs of breast cancer. While it is not easy to detect the early signs of breast cancer. By performing annual mammograms, women will be able to more easily identify any changes in their breast. Cancer is a disease that is hard to prepare for; detecting early signs of cancer makes for a community that is more aware and in the know.

Healthy Habits to Fight Breast Cancer

Although we are not able to prevent breast cancer, 
we can take active steps to reduce the risks:

Limit Alcohol Consumption
Do not smoke
Increase your vegetable and fruit intake
Exercise
Maintain a healthy weight

Think Pink! Share, Inform and Educate this October as we honor Breast Cancer Awareness.

 Be sure to talk to your healthcare professional if you notice anything unusual. Encourage your mothers, daughters, aunts and friends to take annual breast exams. Think Pink

Leaving On A Jet Plane... For Realz

The fun things about this outfit:

Dress & Belt - Old Navy Sale, Boots - Nordstrom, 

Necklace - Made by Me, Earings - Chase Me Again Thrift Store

I wore this outfit about 2 weeks ago...which is a testament to how little I've been blogging.

I've been really bad this past week about posting. 

Just a couple excuses even though I know it may not matter. 

I had a friend in town visiting, and then I've been getting ready for something a little different...

Yep. I'm leaving. 

I'm flighing across the pond... TODAY

I'm going to Basque Country! And I'm sooooo excited!

That means you'll need to give some love next week to the gracious ladies who are covering. 

They are so wonderful and got me some help last munite, 

because this trip sort of snuck up on me and I didn't blog plan very well.

So come late October, I'll be back in the swing of things and posting regularly.

But until then I'll be a little hit and miss... But hey, my life is more than blogging.

{Yes, take a moment to gasp if you must, but it's true!}

So farewell, my friends.

Luke 9:23-24

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his crossdaily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Story Time: Basketball & A Broken Necklace

The fun things about this outfit: 

Pants - Thrifted & Skinnied, Shoes - Target sale, Shirt - HandMeDown, Necklace - Made by Me

So when I was in high school I used to wear my moms old jewelry. I thought it was the coolest thing when I wore something "SO OLD" and I always was drawn to this large beaded necklace with short 4-5 strands. It was beautiful. But I could never get the courage to wear something so attention grabbing. I was a total sports girl, and never really dressed up unless my team decided it would be a fun idea...which hardly appealed to me.

One day I finally mustered up the gusto to just do it. I clasped that necklace on my neck like I had just put on the crown jewels. I walked into school with my head high and feeling proud. Well, it didn't take long after the final bell that let the prisoners free from 7th period, for me to find my way to the gym. I had a practice in an hour that day and not a ton of homework, so to pass the time... why not shoot some hoops right?

Wrong.

With my first jump to steal the ball from the enemy (aka the friend I was playing with), the crown jewels burst from my neck and scattered across the gym floor. To make matters worse, I was right next to the bleachers and as you probably can assume, beads rolled their little selves right under that never ending black cave. I rushed to find a paper cup and started to fill it with any beads I could find. All I could hear was the echo of my mom's voice as if it was coming from the sky itself, "Do. Not. Break. This."

Well...It took me a few weeks before the courage was gained to tell my mom about the explosion of her necklace. The amount of courage needed was far surpassing the amount needed to wear the thing in the first place. Thank goodness my mom loved me more than that lovely necklace. 

And so my creativity started in the world of jewelry. 

I did what I could to create something new from the beads I had crawled 

on all fours to collect. And, yes, it's the one I'm wearing in this outfit. 

Funny how inspiration starts.

Ephesians 4:20-24

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt throughdeceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.