Summer Hiatus... and Instagram

Hello? Anyone there? Is this thing still on? 

Whelp, I am slipping at this blogging thing and I am so sorry! Summer has slipped away and I am trying to pull myself back together! My summer has been amazing but oh so very busy! 

So my plan for now is to stop on my Turkey posts for now (don't worry, I will pick them back up) and post briefly about my summer and then I will pick back up on my Turkey posts. It was an amazing trip and my heart is broken for this amazing country with all they are going through right now. 

But I will also let you in on a little secret... about a year ago, I joined Instagram! (Yes, yes, yes... I know, I am still not on FB and do not plan on it anytime soon... Instagram is on a smaller gentler scale- in my eyes.) I have been posting on there as it is quick and can be done on my phone. So I am pretty regular on there. So to hold you all over for now, you can check out those pictures. Click here to see the pictures. You can click on the pictures to see them bigger and to read the captions I wrote. I am going to try and find a way to link my Instagram to my blog so we can see when I am not blogging. 

Thanks to the few readers left! Hold tight! I'm coming!

My Best Friend's Wedding

One of my favorite movies of all time is "My Best Friend's Wedding"! My best friend got married this summer but luckily it was nothing like the movie! She got married July 16th and I was blessed enough to celebrate her in different ways leading up to it. 

To celebrate her becoming a Mrs., we went to Virginia Beach and spent 3 days there! It was so nice to relax and spend time together! We use to do that in college so it was nice to get away and spend time at the beach again! We biked 5-10 miles a day on the boardwalk (it had a bike path), ate yummy food, went swimming in the pool and laid out on the beach. It was a wonderful time away!

The next weekend we have Brooke's Bachelorette party with her friends! We painted wooden door hangers and had so much fun!

Then before we knew it, it was wedding time! A couple of days before we got out nail and toes done in Raleigh and then headed to Warrenton to prepare for the big day! I loved running all the errands with her and doing different things together! It was special to spend this time with her!

The Big Day!! 

Before shot with me and the bride

The church decorated and ready to go

Hair and make-up for the gorgeous bride

The bridesmaids ready to get the bride married!

my best friend and I

During the ceremony

Mr. and Mrs. Robbie Callahan

Brooke, Robbie and Brooke's parents (so good to see Cam standing)

The Callahans with the bridesmaids

The wedding party!

Cutting the cake

We had so much fun decorating the car! And there were fun surprises inside thanks to the best man! The girls got to write on the car! We had a blast!

And they're off! The Callahans!

It was so special to spend this time with Brooke and to watch her marry her best friend!

Ephesus, House of Mary and Izmir shopping

Today our day started off with a stop at a leather factory and shop. Before we viewed the factory and retail showroom, we watched a fashion show as the models showed off the leather jackets.

Then I got pulled on stage to give it a try. I had a bit too much fun!

Then we headed to the showroom where we tried on the coats that are way too expensive to buy but fun to try on!

Then we headed off to Ephesus. Ephesus is the city where the Ephesians lived and Paul spent time with them there and then wrote the book of Ephesians.

gymnasium 

Linda

Linda, Ann, Olwyn and Jennifer trying to find shade to rest in. This was the beginning of our super hot days!

mosaic floors

the fancy and expensive shopping street

Public toilets and a sweet little model

The Marketplace

The library- my favorite part of Ephesus- so detailed and beautiful

After Ephesus, we stopped for lunch where this sweet lady made all of this food for us

Then we headed up the hill to the House of Mary where John brought Mary after Jesus was crucified.

We could not take pictures inside so this gives you an idea of what it looks like inside.

Love this nativity scene

statue of Mary

After our hot hot day of sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel in Izmir. Then we ventured out to the local market/bazaar in Izmir. It was a short walk from our hotel, had great reviews on Trip Advisor and did not disappoint! It was the best bazaar and marketplace I have ever been to! The prices were tagged (set but the shop owner often dropped it slightly at the end), the shopper owners were very kind and did not hassle us, and it had good quality items. Loved this shopping trip so much!

This is very common here- it is the evil eye. It protects you from evil and you put it in your house.

The inside markets

Loved these flags in the courtyard

For dinner, our group went out to a nice seafood restaurant right on the water. It was great food, great company and great views!

This was the best fish ever! I do not like fish and this one was just marvelous- moist, tender, flavorful and most importantly, boneless!

The sun starting setting during dinner so I ran out to watch it set. Just marvelous!

Good night Izmir!