Gaudi’s Casa Batllo

We’re spending three months in Barcelona! It’s a dream come true. If you’re interested in our trip, you can find our archive of Barcelona posts here.

Casa Batllo

Casa Botlla is one of Gaudi’s most famous creations in Barcelona. It’s a beautiful house full of colorful mosaics, swooping curves, and fine details. Come along as we take a walk through the house.

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Creation Inspiration: Start A Quote Book


Ever come across a passage, poem or quote that really speaks to you? How do you remember it? Do you dog-ear the page? Highlight the passage? Pin the quote to your words of inspiration board? Save them all in a memo on your computer? Read it once and let it go? I used to do all of the above until about a week ago when I finally decided to start a quote book.

I picked up a small notebook at a local shop and started by jotting down all my absolute favorite quotes from over the past few years. I dug up those random note cards, looked up all my highlights in my kindle app and wrote down all the saved bookmarks and highlighted passages that have spoke to me. It’s quite therapeutic to focus on a quote, record it and to be able to look back at all the words that connected with you at different times in your life. Think of a quote book as basically your own little playbook or pep talk. Sometimes we need a few words of inspiration to get through the day or to remember to treat ourselves properly. Our thought patterns can be chaotic. Sometimes they are a disservice. It’s helpful to bring yourself back to center with a few words of encouragement, cue the quote book!


Here are a few of my favorite quotes, passages and poems to get you started:
Talk to yourself like you would someone you love.

Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you or home is nowhere at all. – Hermann Hesse

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. -Rumi

Cry everyday if you want, not because you’re sad, but because the world is so beautiful and life is so short.

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance. -Oscar Wilde

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift. -Mary Oliver

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Asking Too Much by Andrea Gibson:

“I want you to tell me about every person you’ve ever been in love with.

Tell me why you loved them,

then tell me why they loved you.
Tell me about a day in your life you didn’t think you’d live through.

Tell me what the word home means to you

and tell me in a way that I’ll know your mother’s name

just by the way you describe your bedroom

when you were eight.
See, I want to know the first time you felt the weight of hate,

and if that day still trembles beneath your bones.
Do you prefer to play in puddles of rain

or bounce in the bellies of snow?

And if you were to build a snowman,

would you rip two branches from a tree to build your snowman arms

or would leave your snowman armless

for the sake of being harmless to the tree?

And if you would,

would you notice how that tree weeps for you

because your snowman has no arms to hug you

every time you kiss him on the cheek?
Do you kiss your friends on the cheek?

Do you sleep beside them when they’re sad

even if it makes your lover mad?

Do you think that anger is a sincere emotion

or just the timid motion of a fragile heart trying to beat away its pain?
See, I wanna know what you think of your first name,

and if you often lie awake at night and imagine your mother’s joy

when she spoke it for the very first time.
I want you to tell me all the ways you’ve been unkind.

Tell me all the ways you’ve been cruel.

Tell me, knowing I often picture Gandhi at ten years old

beating up little boys at school.
If you were walking by a chemical plant

where smokestacks were filling the sky with dark black clouds

would you holler “Poison! Poison! Poison!” really loud

or would you whisper

“That cloud looks like a fish,

and that cloud looks like a fairy!”
Do you believe that Mary was really a virgin?

Do you believe that Moses really parted the sea?

And if you don’t believe in miracles, tell me —

how would you explain the miracle of my life to me?
See, I wanna know if you believe in any god

or if you believe in many gods

or better yet

what gods believe in you.

And for all the times that you’ve knelt before the temple of yourself,

have the prayers you asked come true?

And if they didn’t, did you feel denied?

And if you felt denied,

denied by who?
I wanna know what you see when you look in the mirror

on a day you’re feeling good.

I wanna know what you see when you look in the mirror

on a day you’re feeling bad.

I wanna know the first person who taught you your beauty

could ever be reflected on a lousy piece of glass.
If you ever reach enlightenment

will you remember how to laugh?
Have you ever been a song?

Would you think less of me

if I told you I’ve lived my entire life a little off-key?

And I’m not nearly as smart as my poetry

I just plagiarize the thoughts of the people around me

who have learned the wisdom of silence.
Do you believe that concrete perpetuates violence?

And if you do —

I want you to tell me of a meadow

where my skateboard will soar.
See, I wanna know more than what you do for a living.

I wanna know how much of your life you spend just giving,

and if you love yourself enough to also receive sometimes.

I wanna know if you bleed sometimes

from other people’s wounds,

and if you dream sometimes

that this life is just a balloon —

that if you wanted to, you could pop,

but you never would

‘cause you’d never want it to stop.
If a tree fell in the forest

and you were the only one there to hear —

if its fall to the ground didn’t make a sound,

would you panic in fear that you didn’t exist,

or would you bask in the bliss of your nothingness?
And lastly, let me ask you this:
If you and I went for a walk

and the entire walk, we didn’t talk —

do you think eventually, we’d… kiss?
No, wait.

That’s asking too much –

After all,

this is only our first date.”
I hope these words that have had an amazing impact on me touched you as well. I have so many more inspiring passages, some that come from books I read or wanderings on the internet or by way of friends, all these words are so important that I wish to never be without them and therefore the reason I created a quote book. Quote books are also an amazing gift especially if you customize them for the particular person or even more so for a particular time in a person’s life. I hope you’ll make one this year and continue to fill it until you’re forced to start volume two.

Feeling Inspired

alex_hiking4

Can you smell fall in the air? While I’m looking forward a season of cozy days spent indoors, our camping trip last weekend and photos of the changing scenery make me want to get outside. Even knowing that tomorrow afternoon I get to sit on the sidelines and watch Alex’s soccer practice has me excited (and brings me right back to the many fall seasons spent playing soccer when I was growing up).  It’s all just a reminder of how important it is for our souls to spend a bit of time outside, especially during these transitions from one season to another. Spend some time outdoors this weekend, letting yourself take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the changing seasons. xo

International Women’s Day!

Hey there, we’re women. Hear us roar. See us move mountains. Read about the women who’ve inspired us.

What are we talking about? Today is International Women’s Day! We thought it would be a fitting day to talk about some of the women that have inspired us.

Of course, we’re so thankful for the examples of the strong, creative, industrious women in our family and community growing up (thanks mom! and flossie-mom!), but today we wanted to talk about some of the women that struck a cord within us and perhaps changed the trajectory of what we thought was possible, encouraging us to pursue our passions with even more vigor.

Katie here :

If you knew me as a kid, you might remember my love of The Parent Trap. I still have a deep admiration for Hayley Mills. How could she seamlessly play the twins in the parent trap so perfectly?! I watched that movie every weekend. Until I discovered Gorillas in the Mist.

800px-Virunga_Mountain_Gorilla_1

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Happy Earth Day!

earthday

Greetings fellow earthlings and a happy earth day to each of you!  You may have noticed a major theme on Seasoned is our love of mother nature so naturally earth day is one of our favorite environmental holidays.  Earth day is pretty awesome for a number of reasons: there are a bunch of great events held around the world and at educational facilities, these events spark interest in folks and may lead to greater environmental awareness and responsibility on an individual and business level, and it gives us an excuse to talk about how much we love the natural environment.

We are all SO LUCKY to have an amazing planet that puts up with our shit. Am I right?  I feel absolutely blessed (a term I never use, this might be the first time actually) to step outside in the morning and take a deep breath.  To experience natural wonders large and small. To be rained on. To get sun burnt. To see wildlife and to get stung by bees. Nature is wonderful and it’s powerful.  If you’ve never felt absolutely stunted and small because of the natural environment around you, it’s time to climb a mountain or paddle a kayak far away from the shore.  There is nothing I love more than feeling absolutely terrified of how small and insignificant I truly am when I’m in the presence of a monolithic landscape.  It is times like these that I realize oceans and mountains will and should be here long after I’m gone.  They should be enjoyed and appreciated for centuries and they shouldn’t be taken for granted, not even for a day, which is why I love earth day so damn much.  It’s the largest, most celebrated environmental holiday in the world and thank god mother nature. It’s one measly day, but I’m ecstatic that we even have that because maybe someone who littered yesterday will know better today and teach someone else why it’s wrong tomorrow.  What message are you passing on today? How are you bettering this beautiful planet that we have the privilege to live on?  If you can’t make it to an event today, simply go outside and marvel at the world we live in and remember, earth does not belong to man, man belongs to earth.

Later today we’ll share a little project that was inspired by earth day, but until then, check out these eco-sculptures we featured last earth day or learn how to take better photos of the natural world.

You Are Enough

ENOUGH

You have enough. You do enough. You are enough.  I’m constantly thinking about abundance, about enoughness.  I feel as though I have so much and yet my bank account is never abundant.  It’s always almost completely empty. Yes, like empty, empty.  Why? Because my bills life is abundant.  I’m paying for college, for rent, for food, for gas, mostly for gas actually.  I have enough.  I could live off the food in my fridge for at least another two weeks, but I’ll probably go grocery shopping tomorrow.  My clothes will last years before they grow holes, but I’ll buy a new dress this summer.  My bank account could use some fluffing, but instead I’ll drain it for a plane ticket to Colorado. Abundance. Abundance and the piece of mind to grasp onto all these good things and enjoy them while I can because while life is abundant today we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

I’m constantly struggling with this idea of work and money and time and life.  It’s pretty confusing and I’m sure none of us have it completely figured out.  I do know that I value my time and happiness above all else, money included, which is why I will try to make this freelancing thing work as long as I can.  I know money buys pretty things and it buys travel, something I adore, but it doesn’t make life any easier, although I’m sure sometimes it appears to make life less stressful.  Each day I strive to experience the world on my own terms without the comfort of a 9-5 job.  Some days it’s really easy and other days months I cannot seem to find enough gigs to pay the rent.  It’s really shitty sometimes and somehow you feel that failure to find work independently as a reflection of yourself instead of our society that values worker bees instead of happy ones.  It’s tough, but there’s enough to go around.  I could easily get a different job, but an bigger bank account does not equate to increased abundance, at least not the kind I’m thinking of.  Abundance is spare time, happiness, and laughter.  Abundance is care packages, volunteering and bartering.  Abundance is a million things and each of us know how to practice abundance in our own way.  If you yearn abundance, share some of your own and it will come back to you.  Until then, know that you have enough. You do enough. You are enough.  That is my current mantra and it would delight me if some of you adopted it today and tomorrow and forever.