Down Time

My weekend at home in Bend...

sleepy time with Mobes (my parent's dog)

walks by the golf course

[gothic] outfit shots taken by Mom (thanks!)

pretty much everything is from Forever besides the boots, as usj

me and Dada before a little date night

mornings with Mama. that's their backyard. and my favorite slippers.

such beautiful fall weather

self-timer solo shots. no shame. maybe a little.

Mom's Martha Stewart-esque centerpiece. can't wait for Thanksgiving :)

Love weekends at home. Glad I got some rest, beautiful weather, a visit with a friend from college I haven't seen in over 4 years, time with the fam and am happy to have my Mom in Portland with me for the next few days! What'd you guys do this weekend? Super fun Halloween stuff? Are you disappointed I didn't post anything fun and costumey? Sorry I was a big dud this year. But I will live vicariously through you and your costumes. 

Happy Halloween my little glitter puffs!!

xoxo

Sara B

Pieces of Glitter

{aka my instagram feed this week, my apologies}

Light Pink + Hot Pink

Raspberry Chia Kombucha. Kind of in love.

The cutest little button baby

Blue + Silver Glitter (using tape)

A completely spur of the moment and decadent dinner at El Gaucho. Yum.

The fall leaves are ridiculously pretty right now

Woke up early (unfortunately), but caught this (super fortunately)

The heavens were on fire

First time at Slappy Cakes! You get to pick your batter and toppings and 

make your own pancakes right in front of you. Like Korean BBQ but for breakfast.

Plus, what a great name, right? Bucket List - Check!

Yesterday I drove out to Bend for the weekend and I felt like I was driving

through a fall painting the whole time. It was so gorgeous, and it's so

good to be home :)

Have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

Sara B

Scarf Tying and Circuses

I love scarves. Year round. I feel like they're one of the most versatile accessories. Lately I came across two videos on different ways to tie scarves and I couldn't believe how many new ones I learned on there! So I wanted to pass along the tips for my fellow scarf-loving friends. In these pictures I tied the ends of my scarf together to create my own (mini) infinity scarf.

If you're wondering what those silly white tents are, they just went up in the Pearl for the new Cirque du Soleil show coming to Portland: Cavalia. My old company, Hoyt, is one of the sponsors, it looks totally awesome, and it's in my neighborhood! Reallllly hoping I can go. I wanted to check them out the day they went up, and felt like I was channeling a circus-esque theme with my outfit so it just worked.

Circus pose?

Scarf, Blazer, Sunglasses - Forever 21

T-shirt - B.P.

Jeans - Rich and Skinny

Flats - London

K, scarf tutorials, here you go!

Via Wendy's Lookbook



Via Confessions of a Product Junkie (fellow Portland blogger :)

Hope you learned something new!

xoxo

Sara B

{Random fact: 10.27 is my favorite number - because I always look at the clock on 10:27 - so today is my favorite date of the year! Happy 10.27 to you!}

Quick Updo How To

If there's one thing I'm good at googling, it's "quick and easy updos." Unfortunately I never seem to find quite what I'm looking for. Sometimes I have good luck with doing my hair, and other times I definitely do not. For Rich and Lisa's rehearsal dinner, I didn't really have a plan of how I wanted to do my hair, I just knew I wanted it up. Then I ended up throwing a style together in under 5 minutes that I've now duplicated multiple times since. If you're not that impressed by the pictures, that's understandable, I'm not really either. But maybe it will at least give you an idea next time you want to try your hair up, and hopefully looks even better on you ;)

Straightener, comb, bobby pins, hair spray and spin pins (love these things)

I curl my hair first to add texture

Tease the hair at the crown of the head using your comb (this is my favorite part)

Hair spray generously

Gather the top, teased section of your hair (maybe only a third of your hair) and 

lightly twist the back to keep it in place. Make Snooki proud.

Use 2 bobby pins to hold the top section in place

Gather the rest of your hair and start twisting it to the left side of your head to 

either put in a round or messy bun

Decide how you want it to look from the front and leave some of the hair loose

Spin the pins into your bun to hold it in place (or just bobby pins would do,

but these are so much easier!)

Add a couple more bobby pins for hair placement if necessary

Curl, tease and position loose hair on the side as desired then add as much hair

spray as your little heart desires to secure the look. Don't forget to add some

sparkly earrings! And you're done!

{tip: if you plan on wearing something that is difficult to put on over your head, make sure you do that first before doing your hair}

Hopefully that gives you a little inspiration for a future hairstyle my pretties!

Have a fabulous day!

xoxo

Sara B

Passions with Purpose

Via

If you've known me longer than 5 minutes, I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I'm a big fan of nail polish. A couple years ago my obsession began and today I absolutely love everything about nail polish and painting my nails. I know it might sound strange, but it really brings me so much joy. And I love hearing when I've inspired someone else to start painting their nails and how happy it makes them as well. Not once did I think of this passion as a gift or a calling or something I could use to serve others. Until God nudged my heart one day.

I was on an airplane reading the book "Same Kind of Different as Me" (such a good read) and came across a part that went something like this: the wife who is volunteering at the homeless shelter decides with her friend to start a Beauty Shop Night where they would bring makeup, hair tools, nail polish, soap, etc. to serve the women at the mission and bring them joy in whatever ways they could. Tears filled up my eyes when I realized exactly what God had just shown me. However silly it may sound, God has placed in my heart a love and joy for painting my nails, and after years worth of having this hobby, all I had to show for it was tons of pictures of my nails, and almost 100 bottles of nail polish. All of the sudden I felt so inspired to share this joy with others, especially those who couldn't afford that tiny luxury in their everyday life.

So once I got home, I started to reach out to some local homeless shelters to see if they would ever have a need for anything like that (my e-mail subject line literally read, "Nail Polish Ministry?") I got a response from a girl who works at the Portland Rescue Mission saying what perfect timing that was because they had a women's outreach night every Tuesday where they washed the women's feet and gave them foot massages and a clean pair of socks, and had considered doing nail painting as well. I loved that idea and decided to check it out (being let go from my job allowed me to do this, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make it in time). There isn't exactly time for nail painting, but I really cherish my nights there. And this last weekend they had one of their quarterly women's outreach days where PRM provides lunch, clothes, haircuts, showers, foot washing, and nail painting. You bet I  jumped at the chance to be at the nail station :) Seeing the women get excited about the black and orange manicures they picked out for themselves made my day.

I'm sad that I have just about a month left at the Mission, but know that this is only the beginning of a ministry I want to do and continue in CA. One that is as simple as showing up with a $3 bottle of nail polish, but that hopefully leads to stories being told, grace being shared, and shiny finger nails that bring smiles for days. I might even call the ministry "Glitter and Grace" :)

What are your passions? What brings you joy? I'm convinced we were all made intricately and uniquely and are given strengths and talents for a reason. Though I have bigger aspirations inside of me than just painting nails, this is something I can do for now, for others. I challenge you to think of the things that make you come alive - big or small - and be creative with ways to share it and make the world more alive with you.

xoxo

Sara B

PB&J Cart

Denim and gray shirt - Forever 21

Coat - H&M

Jeggings - Nordstrom

Boots - Target

Necklace - Charlotte Russe maybe? So old.

I checked another Portland first off my list - PBJs on 23rd. Have you guys been there? Definitely one of those places you just need to try because the menu looks somewhat questionable but is totally amazing. Nicole and I got the Spicy Thai (challah bread, orange marmalade, sriracha, fresh basil, curry, PBJs peanut butter) and the Hot Hood (challah bread, black cherry jam, jalapeno, applewood smoked bacon, PBJs peanut butter) and split them between us. Pretty dang delish! I need to make another trip back to try one of the sweet ones, but I'm so glad I got to go!

Portlanders - what's your favorite food cart if you have one?

xoxo

Sara B

P.S. I am also over here today. I'm excited to be a part of Olivia's new series!

Pieces of Glitter

Autzen was awesome

Even though it rained on us

This is what I have been waking up to most mornings

Free-hand pumpkin stenciling

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

My kitty pumpkin!

Nicole's witch shoes and my kitty

Pittock Mansion

These were taken with my iPhone, obviously. I should go back again with my real camera, the views were so amazing.

A sunny, gorgeous fall day in Portland

Bowling at Grand Central

Lunch at PBJs (more details on that coming Monday)

Preparing kitty for Christmas

What I do into the late hours of the night. Starting to get rid of things and it feels sooo very good.

Another check off the bucket list - went to Central (a bar on 2nd and Ankeny) and was super impressed. I loved it there.

Happy Friday and weekend to you my dears. Hope your weeks were splendid and your weekends are filled with fun and rest.

xoxo

Sara B