Happy Birthday, Kalyn!

I feel sometimes like my closest friends and I are more like a collection of puzzle pieces that happen to be settled all over... everywhere. From Illinois to Pennsylvania, South Carolina to Michigan, New York, California... seriously.  I love and hate how spread out we are, but that just means we're all pursuing what our hearts are telling us to do, and finding happiness that way. Plus, it just makes the reunions - sporadic as they may be - just that much better.

Today's Kalyn's birthday. This girl's one of those scattered pieces that comprises my core circle. We definitely don't see each other nearly as often as we should, but when it happens, it's like no time has lapsed at all. Happy birthday, lady... love you to the mountain and back, ya weirdo!

happy biiiiirthday! 

And for the sake of nostalgia, some of my other favorite memories that didn't fit into a pre-sized photo collage: 

antics in phoenix, az

the day we wore the same shorts and went the grand canyon

the time we thought the camera was way lower than it was.
there were probably 3 feet of dead space that i cropped off the top of this.. haha

kalyn's mom's wedding.. we sang that time, too.. haha

Kalyn, thanks for being a stone-cold odd bird; if you were any different, I just don't know how we'd swing being friends.. haha. Seriously, love you dear friend, and I am so thankful for all the times you were there and the memories that were made. Cheers to the next year of adventures! 

And cheers to the rest of ya'll - have a beautiful week! 

xo | cmd

Food, Football, Addicting Games & Tornado Warnings

As I promised, I headed off to SonRise this morning for my second installment of the Relentless series. I'll tell ya what, when there's a message meant specifically for you, it's meant FOR you. This time it was all about maintaining relenting faith under pressure, under unfavorable odds and especially when we are called to step outside of our comfort zones.

 

I checked the church's website, but they've not yet uploaded the podcast of today's message. I did however, find the one that rocked Rob and I last week; it's never too late to share some good news. It's a little long [well, standard sermon length but timely for a blog entry], but it's good nonetheless.

 

Enjoy, and I'll try to get today's up here ASAP.

After work, I had two goals:
1. Retrieve my debit card from P.F. Chang's from last night, where I signed my bill and left my card in the little holder thing. [You can face palm that one, it's okay.]
2. Make it out to Brittany's house.

I accomplished the first, and the second greeted me with a welcoming surprise: they had cooked brunch and had it laid out pretty much in front of me when I walked in the door. It wouldn't be a complete experience without scrambled eggs, homemade hasbrowns, fresh fruit, bacon [not for this allergic kid, womp womp...] & of course, mimosas.

And then.. an afternoon cozied up watching the Bengals game.
It's about TIME...we whooped up on the Browns.

cozying up to some WHODEY action!

I noticed at one point during some replays that all four of my friends were curled around their cell phones playing CANDY CRUSH. I couldn't help but take a picture, for the sake of showing them the visible proof of their addictions. Joe even looks to be fist pumping a victory over a level. I'm not judging; honestly, I've never even thought to play it, but it's still fun watching and hearing other people do it.

candy crush-aholism.
brittany. joe [yesssss! #fistpump]. kalyn. keifer.

Keifer eventually headed out for work, and the daylight started to wear down. We started watching North Country, but were thwarted by all the tornado warnings and watches going on in the area. It was literally raining sideways across Brittany's backyard, and all over the news were pictures of damage here locally, but more seriously devastation in parts of Illinois and some other areas. My heart broke for the people caught in the path of this, and I am so thankful that, even though we ate dinner [delicious, thank you, Joe!] in the basement and had weather alerts as background music through it, that we and those all around us are safe, untouched by the storm.

little red riding pup!

^ Daisy, especially, seemed grateful for another night cozying up to everyone on the couch.. and now that her cone is gone, she's as happy as ever. So is little Maddie, creepin' there in the background.

I'm home now, glad to have the rain and wind gone.
It's another week to conquer, starting tomorrow.
I'm ready. (:

xo | cmd

Fallish Mondays

I said a few days ago that it is starting to finally feel like Fall! I'm not typically a girlish person, nor have I ever been a trendsetter of any sort, but I admit I was a little excited today to break out the autumn color pallet and boots. I love boots. It's beanie & boot season, now.

I'm pumped.

fall colors, here we come!

 Oh, and yenno what else was pretty daggone awesome today?

yeah. buddy!!

I took to the house to wrap up a few things there before heading out to Salem Gardens to meet up with Kalyn & Keifer to watch the game. I declined a couple of invitations to tailgate tonight at the stadium because 1] I wasn't going to the actual game, 2] traffic/parking down there is a heinous affair not worth the stress, and 3] I'm an old lady apparently incapable of functioning during the work week if I'm up too late. And that would have been way.. too late. The three of us barely made it to the third quarter before we opted to finish it up at home after some grub & a few drinks.

We're apparently all old folks; I don't feel so individually guilty. Haha. Either way, the good old Cats brought a WIN on home turf against the Steelers, which means my father and uncle [born/raised in Pittsburgh] will likely not speak to me for a week now... haha.

Kinda-sorta-short week this week; we're Detroit-bound Friday!

xo | cmd

Sunday | Scrumptious Eats. Sweatshirts. Springrove.

[back-o dated-o, folks.]

I found myself back at Taste of Belgium this morning. What can I say - it's pretty stinkin' amazing. I headed there to find Catie, Ladd & Ryan, and we again made with it putting back some delicious food. Confession: This was my first time [ever] going for the whole chicken & waffles thing. I went out on a limb at Catie's advising, and if I think of it later, I'll thank her for it. haha.


deeeeeeeeee...lish.

Breakfast out of the way, we ventured over to Mica 12, a corner boutique in which coincidentally my last roommate Trisha now works on weekends. It's a grassroots sorta store [lots of local artisan product & gear], and just has that feel to it that makes you wanna stick around for a while.


ohio roots! | mica 12

So I did. Long enough to snag an Ohio Roots hoodie. With which I am now obsessed. Dangit.

I decided it was time to get over to Becky's; if you don't know who that is, she's my friend that originally served as my first college RA. She's pretty much awesome, and we made quick plans to do some light urban hiking up to Spring Grove. That was after a run at Findlay Market. That's another place I love. Let's be honest: Of course I went camera crazy.


corkscrew pine | spring grove cemetary | cincinnati

I'm here at Becky's finishing up some last minute things before I hit the road back to IL. It's been a great weekend, and I am ever thankful for the friends I have here. Much love for this city & its people. ♥

See you soon!

xo | cmd

Do Re Mi Fa So La Theeee Voiiiice :)

It's back, it's back, it's back!
Season 3 of The Voice! I've so missed my weekly appointments

Soooo... the work day flew by without much of a hitch, which is a little frightening considering it was Monday [eeeeeeerie ...]. I'm not complaining! I made it a point to get Sydni, run our errands, and high tail it home with a due sense of urgency... pardon...

7PM = THE VOICE...

... aaaaaaaand...

... THE BENGALS!

'ello there, awesome Monday.

How did I forget that there are three nights of blind auditions? Who's a happy little hooked-on-power-notes viewer? This guy. 

Ceelo wore silk pj's.Christina wore a leather jumpsuit smaller than what my kid would wear. Adam donned a plain t-shirt that, in its ironic simplicity, probably cost more than everything combined in my closet, and Blake stayed true to his cowboy swagger [is that an oxymoron? I'm not even sure, really.]. 

Highlight reel? Okay. Sold. 

^Yodeling! She's got a killer voice to boot.. I know I can't yodel. Kudos.


^^ This guy just turned EIGHTEEN. He looks like he's at least 24, and even though I think Christina's a bit over-done these days, I would have to agree with her that I love love loved it. (: 
Sounds silly, but this show is pretty encouraging, even if it is a televised thing.
[Oh, and the Bengals lost tonight. Sad me. It's okay though. We'll get it!] Here we go, week!
xo | cmd

This One's for the Dogs

I stumbled upon this online the other day, and while I know it's nothing new to the rest of the world, I couldn't help but become immediately fascinated with this.

Personally, I would never do this - any of this - to my dog, but I suppose it works for some people.

For Example:

In China, the panda bear is considered one of the most beautiful animals, but it is illegal to own one as a domestic pet. Because the Chinese are so intuitive, they grafted this idea instead:



china + panda = ♥

You thought I said pet pandas were illegal in China, right?
 Well, I did.

Look closely:



panda....... dogs.



Yep. That is correct. Those are dogs. Those are dogs, dyed panda colors. My personal favorite is that poor terrier mix on the right that looks like one of those vanity pet owners stuck it in a weird halloween costume. 

Not a panda fan? 

No problem. 



lion dog

How about a lion? I actually thought this one was fairly convincing....... until he turns his head. I think this one is my personal favorite; for some reason dying a dog different colors or patterns is tricky, this one seems pretty simple and will turn out obviously fine if done correctly.

Still not impressed?

K.

Here's one for all those die-hard Bengals in my beloved Cincinnati:



[bengal] tiger dogs

 I almost feel like I've already seen a variation of this somewhere en route to or at a Bengals game. If I did, it definitely wasn't this detailed, otherwise I would've stopped to [photo] shoot it myself. Clever, though. It looks time consuming and from the reading I did on the page with the original photos, this isn't spray paint or that temporary hair color stuff. This is permanent. So, that means no room for error. That being said, I could likely guarantee they didn't name this cute boy Palmer. [It's okay, it's true].

If pandas don't do it for ya, if lions scare you, or if you're a steeler's fan {lame},
I only have two more suggestions for you:

zebra | giraffe

I wonder if, in dog convo, the husky in the background of that first picture is just laughing ridiculously at his friend, offering him the only reasonable words he can think:  

'Buddy, I am so sorry.'

Either way, like I said, I couldn't help but to be amused by the creativity of some dog owners. I would hope that chemically dying a dog's coat wouldn't permanently harm the dog [I'm an animal lover, let me have my moment], but I suppose there are more cruel aesthetic alterations that could be done. Kudos, crazy dog owners, for bringing your obsession with safari animals to fluition in your backyard. 

xo | cmd