This ol' Town: Sunset on the Riverfront

Our little town is so cute sometimes.  Washington does this fun thing called "Sunset on the Riverfront" every 4th Thursday of the month, April through October.  They have music, food, and drinks at the park right along the Missouri River. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's crowded, sometimes they run out of food. And sometimes it's perfect.

June's event was kind of hot and a little cloudy. But not bad.

I'm such an awesome photographer.

Last week Scott and I went to July's event. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous around here lately! Weather in the 80s, no humidity. That's a Missouri miracle! Sunset on the Riverfront is just such a fun thing to look forward to every month. So pretty.



July 25, 2013

Tuesday Tunes: The Daylights, Part II

Remember earlier this month when I introduced y'all to The Daylights? Well, funny story about them.  At the end of June I went back to my hometown for the fair to see some of my friends that were in town.  The first night of the fair, I was sitting with my friends Kaylan and Andrea in the beer garden (classy, I know) and in walk three guys that just didn't seem to...fit in...in Sullivan.  Two of them looked super familiar but I just couldn't place them. Until I realized...The Daylights! I sat there for several minutes, freaking out inside my head, and texting Jessica about what I should do. I'm not good with musicians and talking to people about music. Especially THEIR music. Again, I can be awkward. But I just couldn't let this go. They were on MY turf, after all.

So up I walk, introduce myself, and ask if they were in The Daylights. They seemed surprised to be recognized and introduced themselves. Ricky and Svend.

I told them I had seen them open for NeedtoBreathe a couple years ago. Ricky was super nice and talked to me for a good while about their new album they're working on, NeedtoBreathe's new album, small towns, etc. He said that one of their friends, Brian McConnell, was opening for Dustin Lynch at the fair that night (both country singers) and Brian had asked them to play in his band.  I asked him about their video "I Hope This Gets to You" that I posted on my other blog post. He asked me about the fair and my hometown. It was just crazy. Or maybe I'm crazy. Anyway, he talked until the other guy (the other guitarist) looked at his watch and they ran right up to the stage to play. It was a good surprise and a good night. :)

Monday in the Mail: Chicago Collage

Last week I got a fun mini-package in the mail from Miss Aly! She has the cutest stationary and last weeks' note came on an adorable Kate Spade card.

 

I need to step up my stationary game!  My poor pen pals get letters on $1 Target bin notecards. :)

Also included with the letter was a photo-collage from our trip to Chicago! I love it.

So, naturally, the photo gets a place of honor at my fridge. Thanks Aly!!

July 24: Happy Birthday Kaylan!

I'm a few days late, but I wanted to dedicate today's blog post to my friend Kaylan! She had a birthday on Wednesday!

Kaylan is one of my closest friends from my hometown. We knew each other since kindergarten but became "best friends forever" in the 6th grade when we both bonded over our mutual love for Leonardo DiCaprio. (Titanic is still one of the greatest movies ever!) We passed notes back and forth in science class ("Kaylan Loves Leo") and exchanged [land line] phone numbers.

The above picture was from the 6th or 7th grade and, unfortunately, the only one of us when we were younger that I have available. I have many more embarrassing pics from our younger years, but right now I don't have a way to scan them. Maybe someday. So I'm the one on the left holding a teddy bear with cake on my face. Not sure why that's happening...anyway. Kaylan is across the table with the sweet braid dreadlocks. Such a trendsetter. Also I think she has cake on her finger, so that might be why I have it on my face. Those were probably the days that I was breaking up with boyfriends for her. If you look closely, you might be able to see gobs of roll-on body glitter. We went through that stuff like candy.

Then high school happened. Kaylan and I had countless sleepovers, phone conversations/girl talks, double dates, band/color guard memories, and inside jokes. Kaylan and I played soccer together and those were some of the best memories I have. We were also fortunate to have a close group of girlfriends and we had the best time in high school.

Kayla, Danielle, Kaylan, Darla, me, and Andrea: Senior Prom 2004

Darla, Becky, Kaylan, me, Andrea, and Danielle: SHS Graduation 2004

We parted ways for college and I only saw Kaylan on holiday breaks. But we made the most of it.

Christmas break, 2006 maybe?

When Kaylan graduated from college and I was starting grad school, she moved in with me in Springfield for a year to be closer to her boyfriend (now husband). Despite my never-ending stress from grad school, Kaylan and I became even closer as roommates. That was the fastest year that's ever gone by.

Apparently matching, HUGE sunglasses were a thing in 2009?

Kaylan moved to Arkansas with her boyfriend in 2009. Shortly afterwards, they got engaged.  I was lucky enough to be Kaylan's maid of honor in her wedding. My little friend from grade school, all grown up! So crazy.

 

Bachelorette Weekend 2011

 

 

September 2011

 

Kaylan and I continue to keep in touch. I miss her like crazy, especially when I just need a girlfriend. But I know she's only a phone call away and I will likely see her soon...

 



 

Happy Birthday Kaylan!

Royal Baby!

It's a BOY!

Have I mentioned that I'm an anglophile and obsessed with England? And Wales. Okay, I'm obsessed with Europe in general. It just seems so...beautiful. *sigh* Accents. Big Ben. Rugby. And tea, every day. I have a Union Jack piggy bank, spatula, magnets, and flag hanging in my spare room. And Welsh silver spoons, pillow case, and Welsh dragon boxers.

Sooo, needless to say I was super excited when I woke up yesterday to hear that Kate Middleton was officially in labor! The Great Kate Wait. Royal Baby Watch. Yeah, I was one of those people that woke up at 3 am on a work day to watch the royal wedding and drink tea. I couldn't miss William and Kate kissing on the balcony. What a fairy tale. And I'm lame.

Tonight I made scones and tea to celebrate. If I had a fascinator, you bet your butt I would be wearing it. (Btw, Scott is shaking his head at me right now and doesn't approve of the scones. Or my British decor.) Congrats William and Kate! Cheers.

 

Large and in charge chocolate scones, because I'm lazy and didn't want to make two batches.

Outfits: Scalloped Shirt

Uh oh, my first outfit post. Let me just begin by saying that I don't really consider myself a particularly "fashion-forward" person. I buy cute shirts and dresses from time-to-time, but accessorizing and figuring out outfits gets a little tedious for me. And I never really learned how to do my make-up or hair all cutesy. Just one of those things I never much cared about. 

So, that being said, I've been putting off posting outfit pics. My friend Jessica and I took TONS of pictures of different outfits for our blogs when I visited her in June. But I'm a little...awkward in front of the camera. Jessica did manage to catch of few of me looking somewhat normal so I'll try to post some every once and awhile. Just please don't expect to find any earth-shattering fashion posts here. :)

Today I wanted to feature one of my new favorite shirts. I actually got this shirt while I was in Springfield that weekend at 5 # Apparel. This store is pretty awesome because every time they sell a branded item, they donate 5 pounds of nutrional treatment to a local non-profit organization to help feed the hungry. They also sell stuff like TOMS shoes and fair trade products. You can read more about them here.

 

When I saw the scallop details on this shirt, I fell in love.

 

And look at the adorable back!

 



Details: scalloped shirt: 5 # Apparel // white tank top, earrings, jeans: Envy // sandals: Target // sunglasses: Forever 21

 

Photos taken by Miss Jessica on Commercial Street in Springfield, MO



Travel Squirrel Takes on Chicago!

Remember when I introduced you to my travel squirrel?  Well, of course, I had to take him along to Chicago so he could help me document the trip.  Also Scott was expecting pics.  I think the squirrel rather enjoyed himself. At least I hope so.


We had to be at the Amtrak Station bright and early on Thursday to catch our train to Chicago.

Our journey started at 6:40 am when the Amtrak left St. Louis.

 

We were pretty famished after our train ride so we grabbed some Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Who could pass that up in Chicago? It was delicious.

 

 

After dinner, we walked around town a while and saw the old Water Tower that survived the Great Chicago Fire. It was gorgeous at night.

 

 

The next day was a sight-seeing day!

 

 



 

We had to go see The Bean. 

 

 

And the squirrel wanted a reflection picture too.

 

 

Unfortunately, the squirrel was pooped out and needed to rest in the hotel room for the rest of the trip. Luckily though, I took several more pictures to document. 

 



Mariachi Band





It's Friday! Thank goodness. This has been one heck of a week to say the least. Sometimes I don't know why I take vacations because that just means I have that  much work to makeup when I get back. Urgh.

 

Scott knew I had a rough week and yesterday he found out that a mariachi band was playing at our local Medican restaurant. So we [awkwardly] enjoyed some music with our dinner. 

  

 

I love the look on Scott's face in this video...he looks less than thrilled. :)

I'm back!

It feels good to be on the blog again! I had to take a few days to recover from my fabulous trip to Chicago and start catching back up on work stuff. Urgh, work. But anyway, it was amazing to see my beautiful girlfriends from college and catch up with all of them. I can't believe it's already been almost 10 years since I've known them!

Expect several posts about Chicago in the future, but for now, I'm going to share a couple of my favorite pics from the trip!



The Bean



Lovers at a fountain



Michigan Avenue Bridge



The Crown Fountain



Skydeck at Willis Tower



View of Chicago from the Skydeck

All of the ladies!

Meet the Travel Squirrel

[DISCLAIMER: This post really shows my weird]

 

When Jessica and I took a trip to Portland, Oregon in April 2012, we sat at the breakfast nook in the B&B and watched a squirrel running around outside. We joked that probably even the squirrels were cool and hipster in Portland. We took it a step further and officially designated a hipster squirrel name Atticus Moses as the mascot for the trip: 

 

He told us secrets about all the best places to go in Portland.

Yum! He has good taste in food!

So, naturally, this became a thing. When Scott went to Las Vegas in September 2012, I sent him a travel squirrel to take pictures with:

At the airport

 

Squirrel-zilla!

So this continued when I went to NYC in November 2012 for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade:

 

 

Empire State Building

Central Park

 

You can bet there will be some travel squirrel pictures taken in Chicago this weekend! Stay tuned...