5/52 :: 2016

getting ready for Valentine's Day and my gold stars <3

Friday 29 January 2016 // day twenty-nine :: I am so in love with all of these textures.

Saturday 30 January 2016 // day thirty :: new shoes, a lovely line from Artifact Uprising, and a cereal box find.

Sunday 31 January 2016 // day thirty-one :: the coloring page, coming along. {fun with manual focus.}

Monday 1 February 2016 // day thirty-two :: Ephraim winter day.

Tuesday 2 February 2016 // day thirty-three :: lots of snow this afternoon/evening.

Wednesday 3 February 2016 // day thirty-four :: walking in the snow resulted in wet everything.

Thursday 4 February 2016 // day thirty-five :: Valentine's Day prep! <3

xoxo.

52/52 :: 2015

here we go, the end of the year! I'm not quite sure yet if I'm still going to be doing this 365 project next year. I would like to, but then sometimes I feel like it's too much to remember to take the pictures and edit them and post them. I don't know. That makes me sound lazy.

I want to say that it was because of the move that it took me a few days to get these last few pictures edited and posted, but really that's only about half of it. the other half is that I had way too much fun with my friends on the 30th and 31st. (:

Thursday 24 December // day three hundred fifty-eight :: snowless Christmas. (on the way to my grandparents' house to celebrate)

Friday 25 December // day three hundred fifty-nine :: every year, my aunt makes approximately a dozen different cookies and sweets for Christmas. she brings a tray to our celebration for everyone to eat there, and then every family gets their own box. but my box is my own box because I am unattached. (: the peppermint ones are my favorite.

Saturday 26 December // day three hundred sixty :: it's weirdly difficult for me to get rid of this little reindeer.

Sunday 27 December // day three hundred sixty-one :: it's so strange to see my things disappear from this apartment as they move to the new place.

Monday 28 December // day three hundred sixty-two :: a very important and fragile box.

Tuesday 29 December // day three hundred sixty-three :: we got our first real snow on Monday night. it was really windy, so it was mostly just drifts.

Wednesday 30 December // day three hundred sixty-four :: moving in.

Thursday 31 December // day three hundred sixty-five :: this view.

xoxo.

7/52 2015

Valentine's week was a wonderful time that I spent with some great friends, and then getting back into the swing of real life right afterwards. It's been really cold but so beautiful here lately!

Thursday 12 February // day forty-three :: my manager was sent some flowers from a friend. I just love taking pictures of fresh flowers like these.

Friday 13 February // day forty-four :: I accept full responsibility for this cuteness. gotta love the dollar section stickers at Target.

Saturday 14 February // day forty-five :: dish washing. I just love Julia's mug.

Sunday 15 February // day forty-six :: perfect pinks.

Monday 16 February // day forty-seven :: messy table + books for the next two weeks.
{The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog // Sparky! // Gaston // Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale // Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity // Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion}

Tuesday 17 February // day forty-eight :: shoes from the day before + currently reading - Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Wednesday 18 February // day forty-nine :: first time out at Kangaroo Lake. no, our climate does not allow there to actually be kangaroos.

xoxo.

Cave Point Winter {or: Distractions and Getting Lost}

I'm just going to get the words out of the way up here, and then let the pictures speak for themselves. (:

On Wednesday, I had a free afternoon and I had been thinking about going up north to just drive and listen to music. {I listened to the Traveling Suitcase's Nobody Wins and Taylor Swift's 1989, if you wanted to know.} I am so glad that that was when I went because the sky was just so so perfect, and it wasn't too cold at 27 degrees.

I took 57 north with the intention of going to Cave Point, because I don't remember ever going there. I'm sure I have, but it's been years, if ever. I took the road that heads to Whitefish Bay Dunes State Park, since I know that it is just south of Cave Point, but I got a little distracted along the way when I found a pretty abandoned house that begged for pictures, so of course I turned around. It's private property, so of course I did stay on the road. I am just loving my 10-24 mm lens!

I headed back on that road, thinking that it would loop around to get me turned around towards Whitefish Bay again, but it actually brought me back to highway 57. I turned right again as soon as I could, and after a couple wrong turns, I got onto Clark Lake Road, knowing that would bring me in the right direction and it did. I saw the signs for the state park, and just after passing the entrance to the park, I made a left, seeing a street sign that had Cave Point, but that turned out to be just a residential street with a lot of property for sale. I turned around after seeing a cute little cottage that I took some pictures of, and then I turned left where I should have gone straight from the park and finally made it to Cave Point!

The sign about dangerous conditions is no lie! The ground was mostly covered in snow, but the parts that didn't have frozen snow just had ice. That wasn't too good since I was wearing Converse. I didn't fall or drop my camera, so it was all good. The trees that were closest to the edge were bent over and frozen, and there were a few other people who were there when I was. I need to go back in the fall at least!

xoxo.

3/52 2015

I am getting the hang of LightRoom (I think) and I love it! I have been editing all of my photos from my camera before they go into iPhoto, which is going to be overwhelming a couple times this year, but I feel less stressed knowing that they will just be ready for a watermark (if necessary) and then ready to go wherever, instead of not knowing if I saved the edited version somewhere.

Here's a peek at this past week. The last one is by far my favorite! I'll post some more pictures from that day soon! I had a blast driving and jamming out to the Traveling Suitcase's Nobody Wins album. The sky was just so so perfect for pictures and it wasn't too cold (27 degrees).

Thursday 15 January // day fifteen :: cute cute socks for the little guy!

Friday 16 January // day sixteen :: reading Pointe!

Saturday 17 January // day seventeen :: I found Tazo chai latte mix at Target, and I had to have some with the last of the chai snickerdoodles!

Sunday 18 January // day eighteen :: I love burning candles and working on writing before going to bed.

Monday 19 January // day nineteen :: I couldn't not buy these. Look at how cute they are!

Tuesday 20 January // day twenty :: books for Wednesday morning... we only ended up reading Juggling Pug because we read Frozen, which was pretty long.
{Hotel Animal // Juggling Pug // Perfect Snow}

Wednesday 21 January // day twenty-one :: found this little gem before getting lost and while getting distracted (: I am loving my wide-angle lens.

xoxo.

13/52 2014

this week was pretty good, but it was also a little bit of a bumpy ride. life is crazy sometimes, and we just have to ride the wave.

{I feel like this is a blog about my life, yet I don't really talk about my life, which is kind of strange.}

Wednesday 26 March // day eighty-five :: shoes. my pink ones are pretty beat up, so I don't wear those very often anymore. I have a blue pair as well, but I'm waiting until the weather gets nicer before I wear them for the first time!

Thursday 27 March // day eighty-six :: I didn't put Luna in the garage last night because I didn't feel like going back outside in the cold. apparently, we got a few inches of (heavy, wet) snow overnight. I was not too happy about that. At least my dad came by and plowed the driveway, and about half of the snow fell off right before I started to clean the car off so I could leave.

 
Friday 28 March // day eighty-seven :: I got to see one of my favorite musicians, Miss Geri X, in concert! it's still so weird to me to see her playing a different guitar, since I am used to seeing her with her black Babicz. it was a really fun night!

Saturday 29 March // day eighty-eight :: there's a phone in the phone booth again! it doesn't work, but it sure looks cool. and the 333 makes me so happy. we love you, Billy!

Sunday 30 March // day eighty-nine :: refrigerator. colored picture from one of my littles!

 
Monday 31 March // day ninety :: I was going through some stuff and I found some small things with big memories.
-nametag from my first job. I worked there for two and a half years with some really great people.
-writsband from my first concert: the Beach Boys at EAA Airventure in Oshkosh (2006)
-tiny harmonica from pat mAcdonald
-Livestrong bracelet that I wore until it literally broke
-royalty pin that came with my tiara for senior year homecoming
-editor bracelet from senior year yearbook. I wore that bracelet from the first day I got it that year through graduation.
-little seashell dude from one of the girls I used to do summer camp with

Tuesday 1 April // day ninety-one :: keys! the keymote is my favorite thing, and I wish that the door to my house had a remote. haha.

xoxo.

Minneapolis Days Four & Five

{this post contains fifty-two photos. I'll try to use less words (:}

5 March 2014

Today started out earlier than my other days, and I went out to get a doughnut for breakfast!

I went to Glam Doll Donuts, which has a vintage pin-up theme, and it seriously the cutest place! It reminded me of home.

They have a ton of vintage furniture and knick-knacks, (the straws are in a vintage Swiss Miss can!) and some pin-up artwork.

I had their Calendar Girl doughnut, which is chocolate salted caramel. It wasn't messy until I got to the salted caramel center! My hot chocolate mug had a star at the bottom, and I thought that was pretty cute. My camera wouldn't focus on the star though.

Before I left, I took a walk around and looked at the rest of their vintage furniture and decorations. I just noticed the tiny white table and chairs in this picture!

The other place I considered going for breakfast was right across the street: The Bad Waitress. They have some cool neon.

I took a walk around the block and saw this interesting church.

I went over to the Basilica of St. Mary, but I didn't have a five dollar bill for parking, so I had to leave. I ended up driving to St. Paul to go to the cathedral there.

I found this street sign on the way there and had to laugh.

The Cathedral of St. Paul is such a huge and beautiful church. Those center doors are only used on special occasions, according to the sign on the door.

I walked around inside the church for a little while, and then I walked around the outside of the church. Both the inside and the outside are so beautiful.

After I left the cathedral, I went to Electric Fetus, which I thought was a pretty funny transition. Electric Fetus has a ton of cool gifts and things in addition to lots of music. I bought some postcards for my dad and the motel.

I ended up back over at the Bad Waitress for lunch. Not only did they have red plastic cups and formica tables, but they also had the same sugar shaker that we have at the motel, so I knew that I was in the right place. They have notepads and pencils at the tables because you write down what you want to eat and drink, and then you bring it up to the counter and pay, and then they bring your food out for you. I had the grilled three cheese, which came with tortilla chips.

I took a walk around the block and went to a thrift shop, but I didn't find anything that I liked. (I did a lot of walking while I was in Minneapolis, but I forgot to use Nike+ to track my walks.)

I drove over to the sculpture garden next, and parked at the Walker Gallery.

One of the first sculptures I saw was this blue snowman thing. I managed to grab the last brochure about the garden, so I'll have to read it and figure out what I saw while I was there!

Of course I had to see spoonbridge and cherry as well. My manager called this Claus, and I have no idea why. Like I said, I'll have to take a look at that brochure. I was expecting this to be much bigger than it was. Also, can someone maybe explain to me why this is a symbol of Minneapolis?

I loved seeing all of the paths through the snow.

There was a walkway over I-94 to Hennepin Avenue, so I took that and went to visit the basilica and a few cathedrals.

There were some pretty sights on the way to the Basilica of St. Mary.

What a huge, beautiful church.

The inside was gorgeous as well. They were preparing for the Ash Wednesday evening service.

 I love the sunflares in this picture of the Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church.

I walked around the building trying to find a way in, but all of the doors were locked. Pretty funny because that sign states that this is a fallout shelter.

I also walked around outside Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, but I didn't try to go inside this one.

I walked back over to the sculpture garden and I made another loop there before I went back to the parking garage. I was going to go to the Galleria in Edina, but I must have had the wrong address, so I ended up going back to the hotel because I was tired.

I relaxed in the room for a little bit, and then I went downstairs to Manny's Steakhouse for dinner. I had the tomato and mozzarella salad (I didn't really like the red wine vinaigrette) and the salmon.

I went back to the room and relaxed and watched the sunset!

6 March 2014

I had started packing the night before, so I finished that up and took some last photos of the skyline. I hung out at the hotel until about ten, when I went over to IKEA.

I had breakfast there (cinnamon roll and milk!), and then I walked around the showroom to look at desks, which I totally forgot to do on Monday.

When I got downstairs, I picked up the dishes and silverware that I wanted, and I also got a pillow. After I got checked out, I went outside and buckled the dishes in. I did not want those to slide around while I was driving.

I started my drive east, and I stopped to get gas before I left Minnesota. It was such a boring drive. I stopped in Green Bay for Sam's Club and gas, and I got home around five.

xoxo.