Guest Posting

I am being hosted by the lovely Shireen over at Eat, Play, LOVE that Top!

Shireen and I "met" a couple of months ago and I am so glad I know this lovely lady - she has blessed me so much with sweet emails and encouragement whilst I have been walking through my transition from The Netherlands - England - USA. 

She is one kind and wise adventurer. 

Shireen asked me to put together a little photo feature to include a precious picture I have taken and to share what it means to me.

Go check out my guest post, stick around Shireen's place and send her some love.

Happy Weekend!

TGIF

What I'm....

READING : Dances with Wolves / The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw

LISTENING TO : Ben Howard / Brooke Fraser

WORKING ON : My Geology homework...kinda sucks.

LOVING : The excitement of a new season starting here in Boise.

WEARING : H&M / Zara / Anthropologie

WATCHING : Ann Romney's speech

PACKING : Beer, bikini, sunscreen.....labour day weekend! Have a good one y'all.

ALSO LOVING : Early morning hikes...

Life Lately According to Instagram

Hey everyone.....happy midweek! I am officially half was through my first week back at University. New country, new University. New classes, new Professors. All change.

Here are some instagram snaps from the past week or so. Follow me at sargeantsally.

Enjoy the rest of the week y'all.

A favorite coffee shop

Turfing with the parents. I am pretty skilled at this now...jeez there was a lot of it to do.

Getting in as many BBQ's as possible before summer leaves.

DIY gold touches project

Such a cutie

Thrift store find - magazine rack

Living in the land of cowboys

Learnt to wake surf :)

More DIY projects

Floating the River

Sunsets - beautiful

a moment of honesty

Quote by Azar Nafisi / Found Here

I stumbled across this quote here a while back and it has pretty much been on my heart ever since. If you are new around here you may not know that I have just relocated to the USA. Long story short: I am from England, then I lived in the USA for a couple of years, then back to England for one, then The Netherlands for one, and now I am back in the USA in Boise Idaho. This photo was taken during my freshers week of University in The Netherlands - such a great season of life that I am having trouble moving on from. It goes without saying that change is hard. But, I find it gets harder when people are involved - when relationships are formed and deepened it makes leaving a place and moving to another all the more harder. I have had days here in the USA when I can not control the crying. Being honest here. It really does break my heart some mornings to wake up and realize I can not just open my door and see my old University dorm neighbors. It breaks my heart that I do not know when I shall see them again and I hate the frustration that comes from talking on skype and not being able to really be with a person. It's tough. In fact, I think it is the toughest thing that I have ever had to walk through. In the Bible, Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn". Why? Because those who mourn have truly loved and experienced love in their lives. I know I complain and complain about how hard it was to move from The Netherlands and I cry over missing my friends, but when I consider the alternative (being super happy to leave a place where I had no meaningful relationships) I realize I wouldn't want that. I am so blessed and honored to have met the people I did and to have become such good friends with some really amazing people.

I am in a new season. There is a lot of excitement to be starting a new University and to be back in Boise where I have great friends already and where I am making more. It is tough, not going to lie. And please don't get me wrong - I chose the change and I trust that the change is going to bring joy in time and for that I am grateful. But it is still tough. Because of this I may be posting a little less regularly as I get use to things around here over the next week or so. Thank you to all y'all who send me sweet, encouraging and reassuring emails....they really bless me and the thought that you take time to email me seriously makes my day.

Happy Weekend!

Out and About in my New Neighbourhood

My new neighbourhood here in Idaho is...errrmmm....pretty different from anything I am use to! Firstly, there are the breathtaking hills and mountains that are there every morning to wake up to and every evening to watch the sunset behind. Then there are the sweet neighbours and horses. My brother, sister and I all grew up riding horses. My mum was pony crazy as a kid so as soon as my siblings and I were about four/five, we were on sat on horses and my sister and I never looked back (the novelty wore off with my bro after a while!) So, although the fact that I have to drive into the city for classes and to see friends (and running hills in the heat has already made me loose my love for running!), there are definite perks to living where I do now. Since change is hard and I keep looking back and missing my Holland home like crazy, I am trying to be purposeful in seeing the blessings in my life where I am at now and being grateful for this new season. That said, here are some photos from my beautiful neighbourhood...

Friday's Letters

Dear Pup - you are so darn cute and you never fail to make me smile, especially when you go get that ball and beg with those eyes to play.
Dear Sis - please get better soon!!!
Dear Mountains - you still amaze me and I love waking up to you each morning.
Dear Idaho heat - I love you. However.....running yesterday was terrible!! You really make it a lot harder, especially when you are coupled with hills.
Dear lungs - please do not collapse on me when we try another run.
Dear fire smoke - thank you for finally lifting from the valley, and please forest fires stop!
Dear self - never ever again order a Cappuccino from Moxie Java. You will be hugely disappointed all over again. Europe has ruined you. But now you have an excuse to shop around for the best one in Boise!
Dear Mum - I really want to go to the Saturday market with you, if only I didn't have freaking orientation....
Dear Suits - you are my all time fave show. SO good!
Dear new University - almost time for classes to start, you ready for me?!
Dear bloggers - thank you all for your sweet comments and emails, I love meeting ever single one of you and it really does mean a lot when ever y'all mail me. Thanks for all your encouragement in this time of crazy change for me.

All Change

I have been here in the USA for almost three weeks now. I have come to know for a fact that when one moves country, one can be very emotional and unsettled for quite a while. Maybe it is culture shock, maybe it is just my heart being restless and my constant fear of making mistakes that makes me feel so uncomfortable. Yesterday I had a major "missing The Netherlands and my Dutchies" day. So my pinterest pictures today are all photos I took myself during my time in The Netherlands, you can find them in my pinterest account here. Things I miss.....

1 / Bicycles
2 / Good Cappuccinos!
3 / Pretty Tulips
4 / Cute little cafes and ice cream parlors
5 / Cool, sheltered, pretty running routes
6 / Amsterdam
7 / Amsterdam
8 / Yummy sweet treats
9 / Dutch cheese!
10 / Fun times with friends
11 / Rich history
12 / My old University

Surfing Sunday

I have never been a confident person in the water and for years it has stopped me from pursuing water sports. Well, since arriving here in Boise I have spent an entire week on the river rafting, floated the Boise river and on Sunday some friends took me and the family out on their boat and I learnt to wake surf! Jeez was it hard! Thankfully my friends were extremely patient, encouraging and let me try over and over and over...and over....and over again. But once ya got it, ya got it. I hope one day to be as good as our friend who casually gets up on the board with his little kid between his feet and then let go of the rope and just hang out surfing behind the boat.

Getting started

Getting up....just

Lots of falls and Splashes

A lot of wipe outs / Determined

Finally up and going

The Dad

Beautiful Sister

The Mum

Friday's Letters

Kay Marie Photography

Dear Idaho Sunshine - thank you for shining each day. It is near impossible to stay in a funk when you are about.
Dear Boise friends - it is so great to see you all after a long two years. Thank you for welcoming me back with open arms.
Dear Boise coffee shops - thank you for being on every corner.
Dear new University Campus - you are freaking huge! But packed full of fun things.  I have a feeling these next two years are going to be fun.
Dear River Rafting Team - I loved hanging out with you for a week. Repeat some time??
Dear Mum - having a constantly well stocked fridge and pantry is a skill you have conquered and I love you for that.
Dear Dad - thanks for dealing with my driving and iPhone addiction.
Dear Pup - you are so darn stinking cute. But please don't bark so loud in the morning....I need to catch up on two semesters of sleep deprivation.
Dear Queen Bed - thank you for being so wonderful and spacious. You are a definite upgrade from student digs.
Dear Tension Taming Tea - thank you for allowing me to sleep better.
Dear Wardrobe - so good to have you back in full for the first time in four years!
Dear Blog Readers - thanks for stopping by!

Life Lately According to Instagram

I have been here in Boise for two weeks now. Life continues to be a roller-coaster of emotions - I am excited to embrace my new home, but at the same time I am still struggling with heartache from leaving the Netherlands, missing my old University and all my friends in Europe. Change is tough and I am learning that it doesn't really matter how many times I walk through it, it doesn't get any easier.

Love wearing shorts and vest everyday because the sun ACTUALLY  appears in this country / Cute Pup

Bowling Alley on Uni Campus (!!) / Pimms on the Porch

My welcome home / Unpacking

A Mid West Bar / En route at Seattle Airport

All set for a week on the river / So good to be back with the pup

Back to Reality

My week in the wilderness was amazing. In fact, I don't think the word amazing can really do justice to describe how much I enjoyed my trip. It was so great to get away from all technology, embrace the elements and live simply. Each day we would raft, and then at night, pull up on a beach, make camp and sleep out under the stars. I loved waking up each morning to the sunshine slowly approaching over the mountains. It was truly magical. I already wish I could do it all over again. I shall hopefully share more with you over the next week, but for now, here is a snap to wet your appetite. Hope you all had a great week whilst I was away!