Tuesday, May 31, 2011

weekend yardwork

 plants to go around the mailbox and a hydrangea bush to go beside the house

This weekend was pretty much perfect. I got a lot of work done on Saturday and hung out with some family in town. I also watched a movie with my cousin and his girlfriend before they headed out on Sunday. My cousin has lived here for the last few years, and he's now moved back up north. It was nice to spend some time with him before he left. Sunday after church I headed to my aunt and uncle's house for a whole day of relaxing by the pool! It was amazing. I got some sun, and also rested in the shade for a while...ah resting. It's so underrated. 

 Grandmamma in her floppy hat and the rosemary that I planted in my Eric Botbyl handmade planter

Then on Monday, my Grandmamma came over to work in the yard with my roommate and me. I spent forever in Lowe's getting plants and A NEW MAILBOX! I am excessively excited about having a new jumbo mailbox. Unfortunately, we couldn't attach it yet because of the lack of a wireless drill. This afternoon, we will be able to attach it and remove the twine :) That white paper on the front is a note to my mailman. I figured he might like to know that we actually were going to fix it up, rather than leave it unfinished. It'll be so nice for my packages to actually FIT in the mailbox now! 


Aside from the dozens of bags at the end of the driveway and the as-yet-unweeded front beds, I'm feeling good about the yard. Hopefully sometime in the next couple of weeks, we'll be able to finish getting the front beds cleaned out and get the plants out by the mailbox.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend as well!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Joplin, MO photographer Mark Neuenschwander

Let me start by saying this is a follow-up post to Adelaide's Homesewn's post. I can really relate to what she said about everything not sinking in. I haven't really stopped to think about what has been happening with all of these storms, and I shouldn't turn my head and ignore it. Do you realize that the tornado in Joplin is the deadliest one since 1950?
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backstory:

When I was in college, a tornado hit our campus and literally just trashed the place (Feb 2008). Guess how many people died? Not.a.single.person. By God's amazing grace, every student in every dorm was pulled out ALIVE! We still had millions of dollars in damage to the campus, and as students we assumed our semester was over. How in the world could we finish the semester with nothing left? Once again, God's amazing grace stepped in. The Jackson community and Union family somehow provided us with the funds and resources we needed to get school restarted in just TWO WEEKS. I don't know exactly who helped and why, but all I know is that I'm eternally grateful to the people who made it happen.

That brings me to the reason for this post. There is a photographer- and a good one at that- in Joplin who lost everything. As a photographer I can't imagine being left without the proper equipment to continue working. A blog called The Gig is hosting a donation fund for Mark and his family here with the ultimate goal of buying him a new camera to support his family. I'd like to encourage you to donate, even if it's just a dollar. Every little bit helps! My hope is that they'll not only be able to buy Mark a new camera, but a computer as well. It would be difficult to run a photography business without a computer to edit pictures on.

That's the end of my huge post. Sorry to be so wordy today, but I do think this is important. I know a lot of people would rather give to a specific family rather than just a general donation, so this is your chance!

*photos above by Justin Veneman and Stephanie Schroeder

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

a lot of lately part two

The other day I posted some pictures I'd taken for some Etsy shops. Well now I want to show you the pictures I've taken for my potter friends. They each have totally unique styles, and I love all of them! First is Ally. She had her senior art show this semester and it turned out great. She does triathlons during her time off, so she used that part of her life to inspire her show.



She projected a heart rate monitor loop onto the wall of plates. Interesting, right?! Next is Kelsey. She also had her senior show. Her work is so exuberant and fun, just like Kelsey's personality! I love all of her colors and decoration.




 My mom now owns that little jar on the right. I've got to get her some stuff to match now! 



It was like a color explosion in there! Next is Paige. She has already graduated, but she's working at the university and gets free studio space. I took some photos for her just so she'd have some documentation.





So that's what I've been doing! Pottery is kind of a pain to shoot, but I'm happy with the way these turned out. I'm hoping Paige will do an article for Ceramics Monthly and use one of my pictures. That would make my day! I'm also hoping that Paige will get some stuff together to start an Etsy shop soon. But she doesn't seem to need to right now! Whenever she gets things made, she sells it all pretty quickly. All three of these talented ladies are quite popular around these parts :)

Monday, May 23, 2011

a lot of lately

Guess what I've been doing a lot of lately? Photographering! (Write it down, it's a new word.) I've been busy as a little bee or three (new phrase) taking pictures for various Etsy shops and potter friends. I'm going to post some of the photos I've done for Etsy shops here, because not only do I want to promote my photography service, but I want to promote these great shops. Check them out if you have a minute.














I just finished another HUGE set for Melissa (chicnwarm), and I'm about to shoot some things for fellow blogger cb over at TheCityBirdsNest. I can't wait to show you all her craftiness! In the mean time, I hope you all have a wonderful week. I will be busy again...but hey, that's life. OH speaking of life, my boyfriend graduated college this weekend! I got lots of pictures, so I'll share those soon :)

Happy Monday!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

definitive outfit

I know this is going to sound really lame, but I don't care. This outfit is something I think I could wear every single day. I go through a lot of phases with clothes, so I'm sure I'll be changing my tune in another month or so, but for now this outfit is so ME. For someone who takes pictures with a lot of color, I have developed a strange love of the muted palette.


I got this trench the other day from Brownbagvintage on Etsy.  It's the closest thing to pink that I own clothing-wise. I love it! It's my new favorite jacket, and I am secretly glad it's been cold the last few days so I could wear it. Alright, not to secret anymore, but whatever.


Yesterday I posted about the things I bought this weekend, and this shirt was mentioned. Gotta love a slouchy black top, right? See, I've always had a problem with low cut tops. It doesn't even have to be super low to look inappropriate on me. It's always annoyed me that I have to constantly pull up my shirts to not look immodest, so lately I've just been buying loose fitting, high-collar shirts. Luckily, I like the way they look, plus I like slim pants and I don't like to wear slim (read: skinny) pants with a shirt that doesn't cover my bum. So naturally, this shirt was the one I chose out of three closets FULL of clothes at that estate sale.

Do you guys have a "perfect" outfit? Do your tastes constantly change? I hope I'm not alone on that.

details:
top, faux pearl necklace: estate sale
locket: antique store
pants: Target
shoes: BCBGeneration

Monday, May 16, 2011

shoProcrastination

I definitely don't fancy myself a procrastinator, but occasionally I fall short of being a hard worker. I have a lot of work that needs to get done outside of my full-time job, and the weekend is the perfect time to do it! I got a moderate amount done this weekend, but I really just ended up shopping when I should have been working.


This is Paige. (You say: "Hi, Paige!") We decided to walk down the street a bit to an estate sale. We just happened to see the sign in the yard, and since neither of us had been to an estate sale since elementary school, we decided to go. See those cars? We were only halfway there and the cars were already lining the street. Those that know me well know that I am not a crowd person (with the exception of MLB games), so I automatically decided this would be a miserable experience.


This estate sale started outside, which essentially meant that they put all the crap barely good enough for a yard sale in the garage for everyone before opening the inside up. I did get a roll of Reynolds Wrap for 50 cents. Score? Apparently you have to get a number to get inside first. Since neither of us are estate-sale-savvy, we weren't part of the chosen few (actually 75 to be exact). We went back once the numbered people had gone through, and there seemed to be plenty of things left.

 

I got a sewing machine! It's a Kenmore machine, and it's ridiculously cute (in my opinion). I don't have a stinking clue how to use it, but owning one is the first step, right? I wish I could get someone to come over and tutor me, but I may have to settle for finding a manual for it online. I also picked up a shirt (outfit with it tomorrow), necklace, shoes, a bowl, a bag, and a couple of scarves. All in all I'd say it was pretty successful, despite the crowd.

Later that day I got distracted by Goodwill when I was on the way to visit with my family. I was passing it and thought, "oh I'll just pop in for a second." I wasn't in there for an insane amount of time, but it was certainly longer than a second. I picked up a bag that can only be described as...no wait, there are no words. I saw one almost just like it on Amanda's blog a long time ago and fell in love! I was so bummed that she had found it, and I hadn't. But lo and behold, I found it's fraternal twin! I also got a dessert plate with a fun pattern.


And finally, here is my loot from the antique store. I dropped by after lunch on Sunday to look at the attached home store because I need to find some laminate flooring. Of course I HAD to peruse the entire antique store, which actually did take me an insane amount of time. I got two milk glass pieces, a book of Edgar Allan Poe stories, and a gorgeous Polaroid model 150.

Whew, that was a lot! I hadn't shopped for a while, and I sort of went crazy this weekend. No more buying until June! Ok, that won't happen, but I can pretend. I actually do need to save for the new couch I'm planning to get.

I hope the rest of you had a wonderful weekend as well!

Friday, May 13, 2011

purple/fuchsia/pink/whatever

I want to share one of my FAVORITE pieces of clothing. It's a sweater dress that I got at Express back when I worked there. I'm not really sure why I like it so much because it's actually pretty plain. I think I just like the color a lot, because it really stands out in my pink-less wardrobe. At any rate, I like it. I figured I would wear it with boots this time around because it's barely still appropriate to wear them. Spring was basically skipped this year and it's already feeling like summer.




How do you guys like my office? I don't think I've posted any pictures since I moved into the new space. It's actually quite cozy, and having two huge windows is the best part. I don't feel sleepy near as much since I left my windowless cave office.

details
sweater dress, ring: Express
leggings: don't remember
boots: Rack Room
watch: Target 
 Those cute prints you see hanging below my line of Polaroid notes are from Printed Pretties on Etsy. I love them because together they represent two of my favorite things: photography and tea. They also match my office color palette pretty well...which is, of course, very important. One of these days I'll take some more pictures in my office so you can see the whole space a little better. I'm actually quite proud of how inviting it is. Lots of muted greens and blues to keep me calm on "those days." You know we all have them...the days when you want to thump everybody upside the head. It's nice to have a calming office on those days.

*Lets please not talk about my hair. We all have off days. (maybe I have off days more than the average person)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Oh Yeah!

A while back I got a very nice email from someone over at Oh Yeah! which is a sports nutrition company. I have a friend that is one of their spokes-models, and she also blogs for them here. I started reading Kim's posts along with some of the other ones and commented several times. They said they appreciated my readership and wanted to send me some samples of their newest nutrition bar! I was so excited because I LOVE the Oh Yeah! bars.


The little sample sizes are so perfect for me. They are small enough that I don't get too full, but they are big enough to provide a satisfying snack! Kim introduced them to me at the gym a long time ago, and I've been a fan ever since. If I buy the full size bars, I usually only eat half of one at a time. I honestly think they are the best protein bars I've tried so far. And they DIDN'T pay me to say that :)


Definitely try them if you get a chance. They usually sell them in places like the Vitamin Shoppe and maybe your gym. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

want in one hand...

I have a LOT of favorites on Etsy, and it's really really hard not to buy every single thing in there. Of course, I have a little bit of will power so I'm not in debt quite yet. Here are a small selection of my current favorites on Etsy









Guys, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Isn't that pathetic?! You can see the other items in my favorites here. I hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday so far!