Labor Day Lake Loungers

Labor Day Weekend, Day 2.

As expected, we spent another day on the water. Dillon's dad lent us the pontoon for the day, and we cruised our way out to the middle of the lake in Holiday Shores, where we anchored down with several of the other lakers for an afternoon of floating and friends.

There are some pretty fun people out here, and I'm glad we got to spend a day with them! Once we were off the water, we loaded up and headed just down the road for some grub.

Don't judge me; I've already accepted the fact that I shouldn't eat these, but I've also accepted that I really don't care. ;)

this is the.. third time this weekend that i've had these..
this is the first time ever, that i've had them served in a dog bowl. 

Haha. Oh well.

Tonight was the perfect end to a Sunday, even though it feels like Saturday since we're not leaving until tomorrow. We parked ourselves on tailgates and chairs in the driveway for what seemed like hours, just talking and watching some Supercross, before friends started dispersing and we called it an early night. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels the demand of this whole getting old thing.. ;)

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

3 Day Weekend.. GO!

Labor Day weekend is HEEEERE!

3 Days of no work started at the end of an abbreviated work day, and it took us very little time to hit the road westbound to Illinois.

( ^ ^ p.s. - I googled Labor Day, clicked images, and for some reason, there's a Filipino-adapted version of this.. so hey, let's roll with it.. haha) 

We have landed at Dillon's, with boat and dogs in tow.
This is gonna be an excellent weekend (:

xo | cmd

Labor Day!

Labor Day = No work. WA.HOOOOOO!

1| Forest Park.  2| Downtown St. Louis 3| Caleco's. 4| Airport :(

We spent the day out and about with my parents before they flew back to Ohio. There were a couple of parks, a great restaurant, an adventure through downtown detours, and lots of pictures. I wish Joe's mom could've been there with us today. We'll see her soon. I can't wait to update her pictures with mini, too!

For the sake of unnecessary words:

pappy + mini | nana + mini | daddy + mini

We love parks. A lot. It would only be fitting for us to take a little jaunt to a big park to hang out for the day. [Great photo opps x lotslotsnlots].

if you don't know... get to knowin'. it is.... delish. 

There's food, and then there's fooooood. This is the latter. If you haven't been, get to goin'. You won't regret it. Nom nom nom nom....

beautiful scenery!

We took a stroll into the old courthouse, too. It's under some minor construction, but it's still functional and it's quite picturesque once you get into it. I'd be inclined to head back for some more shots; there are some mad macros just waiting.... I can feel it.

camera. fun. fun with cameras. ♥ 

I recently ceded to my phone's incessant requests to do a system update. I don't know why I put those things off as long as possible; I think I have some subconscious inkling that by updating, I'll find myself with something important erased, or with some glitch that rode in with the update. [[First world problem, hi...]]

not of this world..... hrmmm.. lol. 

One of the system revisions was via the camera; I noticed a new purple button when I went to take a picture of Sydni at the table. That button = picture effects. This is just a sample of what could happen in 10 minutes. Good stuff. 

My parents are well on their way back to Ohio now; we're here unwinding for the evening. I'm trying to come to the terms with going back to work tomorrow. Shortened work weeks post-holiday are always dicey little things. I think I'll dwell for now on the fact that is indeed a shortened work week. 

Yeah. We'll go with that one. 

Hope your Labor Day weekend was amazing! 

xo | cmd

Labor Day Projects

Happy Labor Day!

I find it particularly ironic that I was off work today, while my husband, who works for the government, was at his desk for a large portion of the day. Interesting.

I'm not complaining at all though; I had the entire day to spend with Sydni, which is a rare occurrence these days. It was a long overdue Mommy-Daughter day, and I soaked up every minute of it.  We ran all kinds of errands to continue tying up all the ends for the wedding, and we even took on a project together. She pooped out on me halfway through it, which was okay, because spray paint and nails really aren't appropriate for toddlers.

Spray paint and nails?

Yup. Let's backtrack to a week or so back when Meagan planted the idea in my head of an idea she'd seen for a jewelry rack. It was perfect timing, since the current setup I have at home is apparently failing, miserably. For a long time, my system seemed flawless - I had one of those brushed chrome shower caddy things on a hook hanging over my closet door, from which I hung everything from necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and even clipped on any accessories that lacked hooks. What I didn't realize was that, because I'm constantly producing new pieces, that sucker got pretty heavy. About a week ago, Sydni flung the closet door shut and the whole operation came crashing down, breaking several pieces and creating a huge mess.


step 1 [top left]: detach ugly picture from neat frame
step 2 [top right]: attach leather thread & nails
step 3 [bottom left]: spray paint and wait....
step 4 [bottom right]: hang!



Long story short: this idea of Meagan's requires an empty picture frame with wire/ribbon/string across the center for hanging things, and some nails along the sides for additional space. I jumped all over that, and used it as a viable excuse to head to Goodwill. I don't ever need an excuse to go there, but it didn't hurt. I found the perfect frame, surely passed by because of the rustic artwork it held, and snagged it up for a whopping $3. My next stop was Hobby Lobby, where I grabbed some last minute bead needs and a can of textured spray paint for $7. I had nails at home, along with a great scrap roll of leather string, so the whole project cost $10 and took about an hour from start to finish.



before & after



I have to admit, it does look much better than the shower caddy, which still hangs in its old spot but is now home to a small variety of cords, cables, and camera accessories. It's still useful, but in moving jewelry over, I realized a few pieces had been hidden in the condensed clutter, so everyone wins with this one.

AND!
While I was waiting for the paint to dry on the frame, I went ahead and wrapped up something that's been on my creative to-do list for just over a week now. Diana had brought me an earring whose match she had somehow lost over time, and didn't want to wear the rest of the ensemble until every piece was in tune. I couldn't find the exact beads, but I did my best with what I had to re-create a similar idea.



original in the center, mine on the sides



Doesn't look too bad, right? :)

So, by the time Joe got home, we had all kinds of things show him. He only laughs, because he's well aware of how nutty I get when it comes to making jewelry or taking on other miscellaneous projects.

This is going to be a short work week, and I am A-OKAY[!!] with that.

Happy Labor Day!

xo | cmd