Meet Me In St. Louie-Louie

Today was an absolute gorgeous day...the weather, the sunshine, the whole day was beautiful. David and I have been wanting to go to Forest Park for a couple weeks now but the weather has not been cooperative. The rain has put a damper on our plans on more than one weekend.

The park is huge and lush with flowers, paths, theaters, courts, the zoo and much more. There were tons of people there but it never felt crowded or uncomfortable; it had a cozy and intimate feeling and we loved it. Minus the sneezing attack I experienced in the Jewel Box {beautiful indoor almost-all-glass greenhouse}, we had the perfect time!

Can you spot where's waldo Dave?

We also made a little stop at the Arch grounds on our way home and snapped a couple pics right alongside the tourists. It's fun to feel like a tourist in your own home...David and I both acknowledged that we don't take full advantage of everything St. Louis has to offer and promised each other that we would start getting out more in the city and do things we don't normally do.

We stopped to get a bite to eat at a street vendor. Why is it that hotdogs always taste better in situations when you're not at home?!? : )

And, how appropriate...Meet Me in St. Louis is playing this summer at the outdoor Muny Theatre.

I hope this wasn't photo overkill. And as always, thanks for stopping by. : )

xoxo

Summertime Stroll

I cannot describe how much I absolutely love my summer break! I get giddy just thinking about all of the time I get to clean, take walks, practice photography, organize, purge old stuff, blog, lunch, shop, swim, take vacations, etc.! I used to teach summer school for extra money, but the past two years I have taken off and it is so worth it. I definitely enjoy the time to relax and rejuvenate for the coming school year! I am well aware that this really is the life and I am so blessed.

This morning I woke up early {thanks, Niko : )} and had some breakfast and took a walk around our neighborhood. I'd take the little man but he's not a fan of walks...what dog dislikes walks?!? Anyhoo, there's a little lake just about a block away that I enjoy taking a walk by. If I'm lucky I get to see the duckies up close and personal and I'm always trying to find new things to photograph. When I originally left the house I didn't take my camera but realized later that I should probably go back and get it to practice my serious amateur skills!

The lighting was really soft this morning and I love the shots I ended up with. Hope you're enjoying your hump day today.

And, a pic of our humble ranch home that we are so very proud of. Thanks John and Sherry for making little brick ranch houses cool again! : )

xoxo

Family Reunion Fun

Wow. It's been awhile since my last post! It's been a busy couple of days, with an out of town funeral, school's end, and a reunion up near Chicago. Things have died down a little and now it's back to normal...enjoying my teacher summer off of school. On Saturday morning we headed up to Joliet for the reunion early so I could hit up some of my favorite stores that we don't have here in the StL!

First stop was the lovely and favorite West Elm. Of course there were tons of things I would've loved to buy but I settled on a couple wire spheres and a thick glass votive holder.

Then we made a stop off at Home Goods where I purchased a thick ornate white picture frame. Love it! I also saw a couple of things that caught my eye but I didn't have the room in our car nor my house for such! : )

We ended our little excursion by making a stop off at Ikea. I of course got my dollar frozen yogurt cone and had a fun little time browsing the store. I picked up a couple vases and a little alarm clock that I've had my eye on for months.

While the girls were shopping Maw Maw and Paw Paw got a chance to visit with Aunt Al and David got to nap!

On Sunday we headed out to a pavilion and met up with the rest of our extended family. David did his best to serve as my model on the make shift lake's pier.

And, my loot that I came home with...not too shabby and rather on the inexpensive side. Go me. : )

I Can Keep The Change

So yesterday I had to run a couple of errands during my prep time at school. We are in the process of giving final exams and when you have your prep it turns into about 2.5 hours of free time--LOVE it!

I had a list of things to do and felt very accomplished as each one got marked off the list. On my last stop at the vet before heading back to school, I had a lovely little conversation with the lady at the counter. After handing her the cash for Niko's special dietary food {he's spoiled, I tell ya!} the lady hands me back one of my dollars and says, "don't worry about the rest." Now, I know we're talking about less than a dollar in cost, but still, how sweet. I made an additional attempt for her to take the money, but she just waved me right along.

Then after school, and in between my two homebound appointments, I drove through Burger King to get a fountain coke {my favorite} and when I pulled around to the window and handed the lady her cash, she said "Don't worry about it. This one's on us!" Again, how sweet!

Two nice things in one day. They didn't save me loads of money, but it's the thought that counts...the sweet gesture that they didn't have to do. Now more than ever, this inspired me to take my turn to pay it forward. And, with my little trip up North to my family reunion and an added stop to Ikea on the way planned for this weekend, I'm sure to have something to giveaway via my blog next week! Make sure to stay tuned!

: )

xoxo

Pretty Peonies

I'm a sucker for a pretty peony. I have a little plant on the side of our home that comes back every year, but never blooms. I bought it pretty small so I just keep waiting for the Spring/Summer when the first blooms will arrive. Even though it's growing and coming back alive and well, it doesn't look like any blooms are going to grace me with their presence this year.

Anyhoo...the house diagonal from us has multiple peony bushes that I never knew existed until David and I were talking to our other neighbors across the street {who we ♥}. Sadly, the little couple who used to live there died last year and the house has sat empty without a new buyer{s} to take it over ever since. The little old lady would always tell Sharon, our neighbor friend, to cut her some peonies because there were so many!

Well, the peonies have been staring me down {I swear!} and I finally broke down and trekked over to the house and cut some off for our home. They are absolutely gorgeous and just happen to be two of my favorite colors of pink {who am I kidding, every shade is my fav ; )}!

They are looking quite lovely on our entryway table and I'm kinda hoping that the next potential buyer extends a peony offer too.... : ) !

xoxo

I Got My Flippy Floppies

Any SNL/Andy Samberg fans out there that would recognize that blog post title? "I'm on a boat man, I'm goin' fast man..." LOVE it.

Anyhoo, I am infatuated with my flip flops of choice. I buy multiple pairs of these particular black Teva sandals every year...no joke. It is true what they say, these babies mold to the shape of your foot. I know they're not my most stylish option, but they are like heaven on my footsies.
Sometimes, when I wear other shoes, I get really bad arch pains and it feels like my arch is ripping...not pleasant. Even tennis shoes bring me this type of ache. However, my trusty Teva's never let me down.

Now I'm just contemplating on wearing them in Spain in a couple weeks. I know we'll be walking non-stop and I really wonder if my flip flops are going to cut it. I know I can count on their comfort, but how about their practicality?

I'm looking for some other options, too. I'm mainly looking at the Teva brand because I love the way they fit my feet. Both of the ones below are Teva brand and have received great reviews about their comfort and durability with hiking and walking.Anyone have any fabulous recommendations? I'd love to hear 'em!

xoxo

Damask It Is!

Thanks for all of your votes on which camera bag I should get! I did end up going with the classic black and white damask pattern on the Kristine bag {which can be found on the Tracy Joy website}!

And, I am happy to report that I am in love with this bag! It has so many pockets and it easily fits all of my stuff {my nikon d60, an extra lens, wallet, magazine, keys, cords, etc}.

I so needed a bag like this to lug around my camera and purse items for when I go to Spain this summer. : )

I was shocked at the amazingly fast shipping...something like 4 days! I was also pleasantly surprised by the back of the bag! The front design flap is attached with velcro so if I ever want to switch it out for another design, I can! I'm pretty sure if I wouldv'e read closely on the site it probably mentioned this great little detail somewhere.

Hopefully our water troubles won't revisit us and I can put the bag and camera to good use this weekend...my last weekend before school's out for summer! Wooooooo-hoooooo!!!!!!!

xoxo

Water, Water Everywhere

Much to our dismay, we woke up to 90% of our basement covered in water this morning. I was sleeping like a baby when David came in and said, "We've got water." Those three words suck to hear. Surprisingly, this is not the first time he's said those words, or that I've heard those words. This incident has occurred probably 5 or 6 times in the 4 years that we have lived here.

A couple of sewer back ups, a torrential rain downpour {with backed up gutters}, and who knows what else has caused us misery. At least this time, it was clean water...thank you God. We know that our sewer line has tons of roots in it and we do our best at keeping up with killing them. Needless to say we've become pretty close to the Roto-Rooter man. : )

This time, however, we think that the city lines got clogged up somehow and pushed the water back into our little basement. So, David's dad was a dear and brought up two heavy duty shop vacs, lots of fans, and then he and David got to work.

Before that, David and I got rid of lots of water logged things and moved everything to the one little side of the basement that was dry. It looks like a tornado hit. : (

Niko isn't scared of the loud vacs and tries to monitor everything David and Dan do, it really is too cute.

I had plans to make it out to Forest Park to play with my camera and stop by my favorite Home Goods Store, but home ownership reared its ugly head and put a kink in my plans!! Boo.

Oh, the joys that come with adulthood...

xoxo

Whose Pillow Is It Anyway?

The other night when I came to bed, this is what I saw...

David thinks that I pose Niko Harper for pictures, and while sometimes I do, this was definitely not one of those times! Ever since he became an added member in our bed, he likes to commandeer his own spot. He was such a cutie, that I actually shared Dave's pillow that night, and let the little man have mine...true love I tell you.

I had about a 15 minute photo shoot with these two guys and neither one moved a muscle. They love their sleep and I love them. ♥