Halloween Pre-Planning?

I'm not a planning type person.

However, I do like to dream.

... aaaaaaand, I like to imagine.

... and I like when I have inspiration.

I found this tonight on Instagram. I'm still surprised at all of the really cool stuff I find on here.

Halloween 2013? 

awesome face paint!

Thoughts??

xo | cmd

John Freshwater

My eighth grade science teacher was a one-of-a-kind guy. He was one of those teachers you admired not only because his class was always interesting, fun and witty, but even just because he was a good person, through and through. He was a track coach and faculty mentor for FCA when I got to high school, too. I can remember on several occasions going back home to visit, and stopping by MVMS specifically to pop in and say hi to one of my favorite teachers and mentors. I remember clearly just sitting behind his desk while he taught a new wave of eighth graders, and recalling all of those times I was faced with wacky questions about hissing cockroaches and the psi required to break a bridge constructed from popsicle sticks. He was a blast to hear even then. 
Welp, John Freshwater was fired a few years back for refusing to remove a Bible from his desk. He wasn't teaching from it to his classroom students, and he wasn't imposing any of its principles upon them. It was simply sitting on his desk: a token of his personal life and a reminder to all who would come by that his faith superceded anything and everything. 
There was such an uproar in my tiny little hometown; it was unbelievable. For a few months, it felt like the entire town was divided straight down the center over this one thing. I was hours away in Cincinnati when it happened, but I remember following the coverage and feeling nothing but genuine sadness. I was sad for a system whose focus on a book that had been sitting on the same desk, in the same classroom for over 15 years was so fervent that it drove that man out of the system altogether. I remember thinking of all the other, far more relevent issues we could've been addressing, and just ... feeling... sad. 
I won't ask you to watch this video in its entirety; the first time I saw it, I thought perhaps FresH20 would be in it somewhere [he's not], but I do want to post this if for noone else's benefit and later recollection than my own. 

Anyway, that's my rant for today. Like I said, I won't ask any of you to watch that full video, but I also am not asking for any of you to pick sides. I just think it's a bigger pity when we can't come together to recognize what's going on in the world around us.... even in the small towns. 
Mr. Freshwater, this goes out to you. Thank you for everything you ever did for me, for my class, for our track team, and for FCA. You are truly a well-rounded example of a teacher, mentor, coach and leader. 
See you blogbots tomorrow (: 
xo | cmd

Cute Little Boys & Chocolate Teeth

I am surrounded by some seriously funny people (:

Work was work; I so rarely want to talk about it after work, so I'll leave that beast alone.

Ali and I made plans tonight with her friend Marianne; our original intention was to help Ali shop for a dress for an upcoming wedding she'll be attending.
..... We didn't get that far.

The three of us rendezvoused at my house and headed over to Olive Garden for dinner. We planned to eat and then continue on to the mall in search of a new dress for Ali. The only problem: we got hung up at OG being goofy instead. (:

It all started because Marianne transformed her hair today by getting a pixie cut, and she was a little at war with the styling on day 1. She ordered a piece of chocolate cake, and ended up with a little in her teeth. That spurred a photo session with all of us, which ended hilariously.

And by hilariously, I mean with Ali and I and some chocolate in our teeth, but more importantly Marianne looking like a scared little boy with detestable dental hygiene on picture day. Haha. ;) I haven't laughed that hard in a whiiiiile.



little boys with chocolate teeth?
.... hahahaha..., sure. :F

.... Killin' me. Hahahaha. 

We did make it to the mall, but only for about 30 minutes. It wasn't enough time to get much done, but well worth the antics earlier.

*sigh... Happy Tuesday, friends (: I hope you've had your laughs today like we have.

Have a great week!

xo | cmd

Monday Game Night!

Manic Monday @ Work? Check.

Last minute plans with the schhhweeeet friends of mine? CHECK.

Ali made her way down to my house after work with pasta in hand. She made dinner while I made dessert [gorilla bread, big surprise ;)]


gorilla bread & michael scott = happy monday (:

DeShawn joined us for dinner, after which we broke into set up for Loaded Questions. [Way. Too. Much. Fun.] Jay showed up and not long after, Marianne was here too. I'm not sure which one of us nearly hurt ourselves laughing first during this game, but it was probably a very close, hilarious race.


oohhhhh boy ;)

friends, food & funny?? that's a good day....

Rob had been out at pool league all night, but made his way down after it was done. The rest of the crowd save for him and Ali just left, and it's waaaay past all of our bedtimes :p It certainly wasn't a bad way to start off the work week.

See ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Sunday Sydni Collage

Theme for the day: ERRANDS. Rob and I made a science of it today.

I won't bore you with all of that.

What I WILL give you, is a collage. (:

love. her. to. pieces.

I miss her already, more than I can even start to explain. This helped. Love, love, LOVE... that little girl ♥.

Thanks, Instagram ;)

xo | cmd

Something Something... Saturday

This was my view for most of this morning.


driving into the sunrise = beautiful.

It really  helped, given the circumstance and the fact that we hit the road right around 5am. This is my least favorite venture every single time I make it, not necessarily even for the distance traveled, but for what I know is waiting at the other end.

The other view I had didn't hurt much, either... and reminded me that there is a purpose behind all of this nonsense.


piggie pillow, apple juice, big smile.
.: LOVE :.

Like I said, not a fun trip to have to make, but it is what it is, and I'm embracing the simple fact that I have such a beautiful daughter to begin with. I made my way back to IL before 11am; I stopped off at the dog pound with the delusional thought that it might cheer me up some. I was clearly out of my mind, because I was two sad barks away from taking home a full wing of homeless canines. Don't do it....


chocolate consolation.
...... ooookay.....



I got home and resigned myself to a sullen state of "blah," which was promptly and thankfully interrupted by Ali and DeShawn. I forced myself out of the house and met them at Red Robin.

Good call. Chocolate cake was there. Whoever said chocolate is soothing was not kidding. It doesn't erase my wandering thoughts today, but it certainly didn't hurt my mood. 

Anyway, we finished at RR and made our way to Toys R Us [I was cheering right up by this point]. Ali needed a birthday present for her friend's little boy, so we tagged along. It wasn't long before the sugar rush from that gigantic piece of chocolate cycled out of my system and I wanted nothing more than a nap....

*insert nap*

Rob conquered the task of coercing me out of the house again [my inner emo being was insisting on a Saturday night of self-loathing indulgence on the couch], so I trekked up to his house. We hopped in the diesel and headed right back down to O'Fallon to Hot Shots for dinner with some of his friends before landing for the rest of the night at Jake's.

All in all, I must say that I'm thankful for these friends of mine; I still feel like I'm in kind of a funk, but I'm sure it'll pass. I'm still kickin', so that's one step ahead of a lot of other folk.

xo | cmd

And Here We Go Again

Today started off with cupcakes. That... is a good start (: [thanks to M&D!]

deeeeeelicious

Fridays are typically a little flurried around here, so that helped, for sure (:

The other thing that helped? My spiky earrings are HERE!
-- This wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that they were designed and hand-crafted by a girl I've known since we were kids. She's got her own Etsy shop now; when I saw these, I had to have 'em. Couldn't beat a $7 deal, and they flow seamlessly with that brave ear spike I bought in Phoenix at LoveCulture.. THANK YOU STEF!!!! [[ Check out Stef's shop HERE! ]]


designed & crafted by stef meryo!

I picked Sydni up from Dawne's tonight and we headed home to spend the night together before I take her back tomorrow morning. We had a blast: made dinner, played monsters and fairies [haha, yeah... I have a 3-year-old girl ;) ], watched a movie together, and packed her suitcase for the trip.
I managed to exhuast her by 8:30 so she is out cold on my lap as I sit here and type this. Just for the record, I'm without doubt one of those parents who is head over heels for their little one; she's so tiny but she's my entire world. I hope she realizes how much I love her. I'm one proud mama.

Tomorrow's gonna be another one of those days; I'll have to combat my natural instinct to let any residual bitterness I have surface, and keep my composure through what is quite frankly an absolutely assanine situation to begin with. I saw this the other day and realized how much it's going to help. I might eventually copy and paste it via tatt artist onto my skin somewhere. We'll see. :)

"she is clothed in strength & dignity, and can laugh
at the days to come." - proverbs 31:25

Here's to the weekend, loves!

xo | cmd

Speed Painter! [Video Post]

I give you.... D. Westry, the speed painter.

I'm not much in the blogging spirit today folks. You'll have to excuse me. I'll be back tomorrow, and I promise to bring a bit more substance. 
xo | cmd 

You Gotta Love Lumberjacks

lumberjack love

It's funny to think that just four or five years ago, nobody I knew had a beard. Mustaches weren't a thing then - at least not the way they are now, and hipsters were juuuuust starting to make a stand in the mainstream sorta way they are now.
Oh, that, and we were still going out dressed like barbie dolls, whether we wanted to admit that or not. The homeless-esque gear that Catie and I sported every spare second we could was considered socially-unacceptable for any real outing; joke's on them now though... ;)

Back on track: I have realized my true affinity for lumberjack-ish things. I was raised country, in the country, so I really shouldn't be surprised to find myself coming full circle in what actually seems pretty normal for me.

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, I have found myself probably one of the most amazing modern day lumberjacks ever. I'm pretty partial, but hey, he's mine now so I can be. haha. Like I said, I'm a country girl at heart, and he's doin a great job of winning that little country heart over.


cornrows, anyone? ;)



He's hilarious.

At Dawne's bidding, Sydni stayed over one more night for a last sleepover hoo-rah before she heads back to Ohio. We took advantage of the moment to get out of the house for an evening. We headed up to Bindy's to grab dinner, and ended up sitting around goofing off for a few hours. It came to the topic of his beard and my offer to braid it up. He fluffs that sucker out [it looks pretty funny] and ended up with this. Well, it's not quite Duck Dynasty ... yet ... but it's still pretty thick. I told him he'd be wise to start sleeping with one eye open lest he awake with cornrows in his beard... Haha. I wouldn't...... or would I? :p

Oh, and let's not forget, he finally got his truck out of the shop tonight, after it went in for some serious doctoring and upgrades. I must admit, it's beautiful.

beautiful... beast... both.... ♥

*Sigh. Too much. We made our way back from Granite and he decided he wanted to snag his Honda from his work, since he'd driven that while his truck was out of commission. Funny enough, I've never been in that thing, but it would happen that the first I am, I'm driving it. [Insert Asian joke here]. Yes, it's a Honda. Yes, it's a hatchback. Yes, it has a modified exhaust. [Insert Fast&Furious joke here.] Hush, ya'll. ;)

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. It's the first real snow projected for this year; I'm interested to see what kind of panicked state it is in which we'll find ourselves. Maybe it'll give me a good reason to get the board out?? Yes? Hmmm...

xo | cmd

Hands Down... Or Up... or PAINTED

Rob sent this to me today (: 

hand art!

He knows how big of a sucker I am for weird artsy things, so in fitting fashion, I found this on my phone today. I think I might try to replicate one of these sometime. Haha.

Here's some more I found consequently after seeing this and wondering who else had cool hands ;) Enjoy!

.... and of course... my favorite ;) ----

Pretty cool if you ask me (: 

xo | cmd

Human Illusions: A Mirage Show

The art of making human illusions has always blown my mind. I ran across this guy on Facebook earlier today and wanted to share it... VERY cool :)

[[Enjoy!]]



Oh, by the way: Happy Presidents' Day!

have a happy one! [especially all of ya'll that didn't have to work today ;) ]

The great thing about Monday holidays is that it helps throw a wrench into what is otherwise typically the most maniacal day of the work week. While we were still swamped today [on top of both owners sick and out of commission], it was nice to have a slight holiday buffer. (: Appreciate the small things, right?

Anyway, it's dinner time and I've got some hungry folk here. Time to call it a day for the blog; we'll see you tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Pictures at a Chilly Park

Happy Sunday!

It's been a little while since we went to the park down the street from us. I'm not sure what possessed us to opt on a trip today, but in the spirit of doing random things, it seemed fitting that we would take a quick trip out.

We took the camera, too, since the last time it had any serious exercise was over a month ago. It was a short little trip, but well worth it to see her play, and to get some fun edits out of it all.

chilly day.. chilly park swing

love. this. little. girl. 

just a little monkey

water tower over looking the park (: 

I haven't gotten deep into doing any edits in a few weeks either; I just finished up with some from this batch and was reminded I should do it more often. It's pretty therapeutic. We did dinner with Rob earlier at BW3 and now it's time to wind down and call it a night.

I predict that crazy thing called Monday is gonna come around again first thing in the morning.... I can already guess we're gonna get in a fight before noon so I suppose I'll get some rest just in case ;) 

Not a bad weekend!

xo | cmd

Enjoying Life's Funny

[backdated, primarily due to lag in photo editing ;)]

So a few days back, Dawne propitioned me with having Syd over today for a sleepover with Luke, Olivia and Max. No brainer. I love that she gets the kiddos together on the weekends just to hang out and have fun together; I'm so fortunate to have someone like her that genuinely cares so much for the kids she watches.

Before we got to going over there, though, Sydni insisted on showing me what she would look like dressed up in mama's gear. If there was ever a time I would call MINI-ME, this would definitely have been one of those pinnacle moments, to date.

itty bitty hipster

I didn't realize I'd have a little neffhead so early on. Haha. It was adorable, and even though there maaaay have been some tickling involved to coax a camera smile out, we managed to capture the moment, and I love it.

Speaking of mama/daughter things, we did some experimenting with braids today. I did one on myself [5-strand], and Sydni got her very first french braid.

Hold on. Let's rewind to SYDNI ... got her VERY FIRST... french BRAID.
... Someone call Guinness! Haha. Kidding, but see for yourself!:

hold. the. phone.... we have hair now!!!

And for the 5-strander....

it took a little while, but i think we've got it now!

I dropped Sydni off at Dawne's early in the afternoon; the other little ones were already there, anxiously awaiting Sydni to come and complete the squad of mini's for their big slumber party. I met back up with Rob and we headed out to South County to pick up something for his truck [boys and their toys ;) ]. It was then lunch at 54th Street and a cruise through the South County Mall. It ended with no purchases [kudos to both of us, but moreso to me.. on that one], and we made our way back to his place. He took care of some random stuff around his house while Sasha kept me company.

some good old pibble love ;) 

In the typical fashion of most weekends with Rob and me, we didn't have much - okay, nothing - set in stone as far as plans went, but it worked itself out with us playing it by ear. We wound up stopping by to visit the newly-renovated house of one of his friends/former roommates, then the lot of us opted for pool and food. Low key. Good call.

That turned into us hopping around to a few different places before we finally landed at Bindy's for the night. Not a bad way to end an evening. And of course, if you can manage some funny pictures from it all, then that's all you really need ;) 

edited... just for fun (:  

oh my. hahaha...
.. one stole my beanie & the other one's [still]
waiting on chinese takeout.... goooo figure ;)

That's a wrap, folks. (:

xo | cmd

OBEY.

I'm not the type of person that typically needs a lot of incentive to get excited.

In fact, I get pretty pumped over some of the simplest things: new skeens of yarn, cool buttons, a thrifty bracelet, poppyseed dressing, puppies... yenno. Pretty basic.

I also [and bear with me; this will eventually tie together & make sense] have horrible luck when it comes to getting things I order online. More than a handful of times now have I made online purchases and regardless of where I have it shipped [home or office], there has been some glitch each time and I either never receive it or I do... three months after the ETA 2-4 business day thing.

Welp, this was no different. After weeks of false hopes ignited by both the FedEx & UPS trucks parking outside our building every..single...day [with deliveries for the other businesses here], I got an email from a seller I'd used that the item I had purchased had been returned to sender as undeliverable as addressed.

BULL!

So.. instead of requesting a refund like any normal person would, I emailed back with a more detailed shipping address and crossed my fingers. And waited.

... and waited..
.........

AND THEN....

TGIF!!

mustard yellow. obey. beanie.
magic.

It's here!
My collection of beanies is nearly complete in the capacity of owning one in each staple color. Mustard yellow was one of the few missing links in my wardrobe, so I consulted the world wide web and combined my love of OBEY with my obsession with beanies... and ended up [finally] owning this.

Hooray!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

xo | cmd

Valentine's Day 2013

Yeah, so as a reminder:

I am not a true advocate of all things Valentines Day. I don't necessarily hate it, as I know some do, but I don't proactively pursue any specific path of celebraton.

HOWEVER, even with all of that being said, it is admittedly fun to do a little something for that handful of people who deserve a little something extra.

For starters, my boss Diana went out on client visits dressed as the Queen of Hearts. She's an outta-the-box thinker like that ;)

my boss... lol

Sydni and I did some little trinkets for a few people, based off another crafty blog [2littlehooligans]. The pictures of ours didn't come out nearly as well as these, but for the sake of repetition, just imagine these, but with yarn hanging loops and a bit more orange in the variegated yard. ;)


easy diy projects? yes, and yes.

Sydni and I finished up our Valentines early last night, so she went on to kiddie movie [& sing-a-long... lovelovelove that!] mode, and I went on to one last DIY for the night... because I love owls, neutral colors, mason jars and Rob .. just that much. Incorporating those 4 elements into one simple little project was well worth it, even if it is for the ominous Valentines Daaaaaaaaay [muahaha...].

DIY window/shaker card? Sure!
[♥ rob!]

Back at the office this morning, I was greeted by this on my desk:

q: "hoooooooo loves you?"
a: "OWLi does!"
.... adore.

Don't you think for a second that I forgot them, either! It was little tiny mailbox time for me; I made sure each of them had a personalized mailbox with some Valentines Day love, too.

you've... got... [cori]mail!!!

Work ended late today, but we made it home and eventually ended up on the computer doing a mini shoot... I have the best Valentine ever ♥

my mini valentine....

Not a bad day, folks. Not bad at all (:
Happy Hallmark Holiday to you and yours!!

xo | cmd

And a Happy Hump Day to You

Remember when we [Catie & I] stopped at CLR-MNSTR over in St. Louis that day on our return route from City Museum? Well.... I decided today would be an ideal day to sport one of the cute finds I brought home that day. I'm not typically an OOTD type of person, but for all intensive Instagram purposes, I was today. Haha. 

ootd? sure. &&thank you, clr-mnstr!

I was on an instagram kick today and thought I would share with the class the lunch which I'm sure would make my mother cringe if she knew it was the only thing I consumed during the lunch hour. I don't care; these are in fact a few of my favorite things, and I'll sacrifice one day of healthy living to do some enjoying. (:

the fantasy lunch of my inner kid self... haha

Back at home, Sydni and I wrapped up some of our last-minute touches to Valentines Day cards & gifts; I got a text earlier in the day from Mo, wanting to stop by for a few minutes after church to see us. She didn't stay long, but we did get to meet little baby Natalie for the first time!! Sydni loves babies, so it was quite the treat for her to see another one so little. 

baby natalie!!

Tomorrow is the BIG BAD VALENTINES DAY..... or Singles Awareness Day... whichever you prefer. Personally, I don't get too hyped about VDay, but to each his own (: It's bed time for us.

xo | cmd

Owl Never Quit Lovin' Youuuuu

A few weeks back, one of Sydni's earrings came up missing. My mission today was to find some replacement studs for her.

In the entire planning phase of that, I neglected one faint but important fact:

I could make the frikkin things at home... myself. Oh well.

I'm not sure if it was the miniature nature of the studs that would ideally fit Sydni's ears, or what it was, but I was bound and determined to get that girl a new pair to replace the one she'd lost.

Not only did I find some basic itty bitties for her little ears, but I came across some owls in the process. I... couldn't... help it. 

adore! owl always adore you ;)

Ya'll know how I get with thrifty finds [excited, point blank]... so just bear with me as I try to maintain my excitement here. Haha.

Dawne asked to keep Syd for the evening, so Rob and I took advantage of the evening and made a break for Se7en in Belleville for some sushi. I absolutely love that place, and since it was his first time, we walked away satisfied after some edamame, a crunch roll, spider roll and cali roll. Sushi.... WIN. (:


dear cali roll... owl always love you, toooooo ;)

So far so good on the week... here's hoping the rest of it is just as good!

xo | cmd

Essie Brings Even the Lil' Girls to the Yard ;)

Say hello to my little grown up....

essie girl!

Today was my first night back with Sydni in a little while, and naturally, I left the evening's agenda up to her. She voted for first changing into her new Hello Kitty shirt [never would've imagined myself as a San Rio fan], and then painting her nails. Purple was the color of choice, so that's what we did!

.... And then she painted the wall.
....... It came off, but still. Welcome to the wonderland world of toddlerhood.

We're off to a blazing start. Haha. No worries; life goes on. The great thing is, she's here and I.... am... just flat out happy.

xo | cmd

Just. A. GREAT. Sunday.

Reluctantly-early start? Yes, please. Haha.

Catie had a baby shower to attend, and we had to get on the road before too much daylight burned itself away. We opted for quick showers and headed off in the direction of Taste of Belgium, where Ryan eventually joined us. 

taste of belgium!
"mediocre latte art" | chicken & waffles

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the array of foodie stops we've made this weekend - and it's been a lot. Some of my favorite places, all wrapped up into one short visit = happy me :).

Oh! Rewind to us stopping over at Mica 12/v before our seats were ready at Taste; we were looking for Trisha, but ran into Beth instead! Small world. I love it. I thought it especially funny since the last time I was there, I walked out with an Ohio Roots hoodie, which I took to Arizona. Kalyn immediately made me promise I'd get her one on my next trip home; now that I know Beth works there, should be easier to make that happen :).

My parents were still en route down from Mt. Vernon when we wrapped up with our visiting, so we did some last minute sight-seeing out to Westwood Northern Blvd to an old apartment I'd lived in, and the old industrial trainyard I used to photograph. Fond memories, all around.

We didn't dare leave Cinci without stopping by Findlay Market for one last hello with Becky [& because she's not seen Sydni in I don't know how long....

Happy Mardi Gras, Findlay Market! 

♥ findlay market!!



And to top off an already incredible weekend...

... DRUMROLL.....

SYDNI IS COMING HOME WITH ME!!!
Let me try.. just try to explain to you just how excited I am to have her with me for the next few weeks. It's just one of those mama things that nobody will ever fully understand until they are one. She may not be the best road trip companion, but I don't care. She's here, and we're gonna have a blast over the next few weeks.

LOVE. of my life. ♥ ♥

You're lookin' at one happy girl.
Life.. is.... good.

xo | cmd