take home chronicles: ivy

europe cannot come home with me, but if i remember i may be able to recreate a few a my favorite things. to help my memory here is the first of a few take-home design ideas starting with IVY. i was not a fan before coming here. but my how my eyes have been entranced with the growing green vines. i love their prominence, dominance-their untamed unruliness. a wall, not the entire home, looks so much more alive with some ivy on it. plus when fall comes around, it's like your wall turns into a little chameleon. enchanting, no?

antwerp: love at first sight

we mozy-ied on up to antwerp and happened upon the neatest design street in europe. kloosterstraat. go there. antwerp is known for it's fashion, they have an urban o there:) yet, i was grateful we spent most of our time in the antique home area. clusterstreet, as i nicknamed it, is a narrow road with endless of antiques, hardware, ceramics, furnture, metals, lights, architecture, clothes, and anything innovative in design. i normally stress about where we go on the weekends, but left this trip up to devin. of course, without any planning, or any idea where we were, we accidentally had the one of the best outings yet. we spent the whole drive home mentally creating our dream home-and anxious to dive back in to it when we are finished here. you will see more of us kloosterstraat, i still haven't found my belgian plate.

Temple

the Hague Netherlands Temple is in a city called Zoetermeer, which directly translates to Sweet Lake. so while back in Utah we have a Salt Lake Temple, here we have a Sweet Lake Temple. the city of Sweet Lake was darling. perfectly crafted, as most things are in God's plan, for a Temple to fit in.

we met some incredible folk at the temple who drive ten times as far to the temple as i did in utah. it deeply humbled me to give more of myself to this sacred work. we were grateful for going to a new place that feels so familiar. we met "willem," an old man and new friend, on the temple grounds, and tried to explain the purpose of God's temples. we were touched by the quote on the Temple schedule card:

"Hasten the work in the Temple, renew your exertions to forward all the work of the last days, and walk before the Lord in soberness and righteousness. We need the temple more than anything else."

-The Prophet Joseph Smith-

oh and ps, if you ever go to the netherlands, don't waste your time in rotterdam. we were there long enough to grab some grub, sneak a few pictures, and realize it was time to leave. i would not call it europe's finest place to visit.

to amsterdam and back

we're home from the weekend exursion. it was a strange weekend, aside from the peace in the temple: mid-night sick spells, uncooked lasagna-i mean really butchered uncooked lasagna, and visiting a hopeful city that felt, without a better explanation, a little dingy. but we're back, ready for a new start. bonjour to a new day.

typical fall

you'd be fooled if you thought this post is what fall looks like every day in belgium. no no no. rather, one atypical day of weather mixed with the typical fall backdrop provided us a moment a earthly splendor.

boy were we grateful that mr. golden sun decided to share his cheery disposition with this small country of ours-grateful for the absense of haze, clouds, fog, mists, and all their cousins-grateful for farmer families whose produce seems to surpass sophistication in every way simply because it's descriptions are written in french-essentially, we were grateful for the very uncommon occasion.

we're off to the temple this weekend. although we are without the church magazines currently, the october issue is all about temples, and is all available online, and if you don't have time to read it, you can listen to the articles. i know God is ready, more accessible, more nigh, when we go to His house. hopefully i can understand more french in the temple than when it came to these greenhouse vegetables. au revoir!

a hidden gem of a village called ittre

in between conference sessions we were able to revisit a little 'ville' we drove camera-less-ly through last month. it's hard for me to believe sometimes that villages like this actually exist. goodness europe-when you are on, you are on!

the very vest

the vest my mom got in college during her "chunkier" days.

the vest that could always be found in our childhood dress up box in the basement.

the vest my brother wore in his fourth grade play.

the very vest i brought to europe. it made the cut into the small suitcase.

don't you have clothes with a rich lineage that are perfect for your most nostalgic days? mom's vest is mine.

month two

another month bites the dust. hard to believe. i was about to write that month two has been better to us, but i think i'm just better understanding my life here, better aware. i hope not so much that things have changed, but that i am changing... i hope.

month two's goings and comings, triumphs and failures:

haven't heard the moaning dog next door as often because of the loud heaters.

gone running less for what i blame to be bad weather, but its just an excuse.

hosted our first visitors.

no more anxiety attacks over grocery shopping.

first decoration in our home appeared this month: a purple candle.

connected with family less this month.

seen some honest belgian winter weather. yuck.

spotted the first christmas decorations in stores this week: saint nicholas clad in white chocolate. therefore turned on the christmas tunes. with no halloween or thanksgiving holidays here, i am justified in my actions, right?

really come to love the feeling on pay day.

living off a suitcase of familiarity after all my outfits are now on cycle two.

gvideo-ed with our families for the first time this month. sore cheeks for ten minutes afterward.

the definition of my weekend:

Sublime:

1.elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.

2.impressing the mind with a sense of grandeur or power.

verb-3.to make higher, nobler, or purer.

thank heavens for the internet to watch conference, sunshine-the 70 degree weather was the warmest in weeks, the hope in a fresh start monday, belgian people i am coming to adore, marriage that will last into the eternities, quaint villages, packages from home, 6 months of new study material, v-flying geese, open heavens through which God speaks higher, nobler, purer(sublime) words today, and that same God always giving me an elevated and impressed(sublime) heart despite all it's flaws.