What I've Been Up To: Summer: Part Four

{I'm having such a hard time letting go of summer, and starting work again at the beginning of August was not going to stop me!}

 One day I was magically let out early from work, and I happened to get a text message from my friend Tom inviting me to the beach about 5 minutes after I found out I would get out early...how perfect is that! I dashed from Harlem over to Jacob Riis beach which is just a hop skip and a jump away from Brooklyn.

Nothing like good ol' fashion junk beer and junk food on the beach! :)  this was my first time having kettlecorn.  I will most likely never buy this on my own, but it was pretty awesome. 

The water was so incredibly warm, which surprised me...but excited me.  It means I still have some more chances to hit up the beach before Fall brings changing leaves and cooler weather. 

xoh!

d

What I've Been Up To: Summer, Travels: Part Three

These photos are from a summer trip into Northampton Massachusetts and surrounding areas.  We wandered around the town, hit up the vegan chocolatier, the comic book store, the cafe etc.  Then we went to the PeoplesPint...which was AWESOME!  They brew their own mead and beer, and use locally sourced dairy, meat, seasonal vegetables and fruit.  

In typical fashion, I did not want to leave the area without hitting up a swimming hole.  It was a bit too cold to really swim, but the water was refreshing on our feet and even Malomar got his little paws wet!  It also was so peaceful and beautiful in the woods. 

 no tresspassing

 I have no idea why these people are putting THAT much oil into their car. 

 This dress is one of my sweet thrift store finds from Missouri. 

 shmiggs

 swimmin' hole

I really do want to build a road trip just around swimming holes and hot springs! 

xoh!

d

What I've Been Up To: Summer, Travels: Part Two

Wow!  I took so many photos during this summer it took days and days to upload the photos, organize them into folders and then go through those photos and only put some up here...you know, to spare you from my absolutely obsessive overwhelming snap happy personality.  

Take a look at this mess!

One good thing for me, is that I never edit photos.  Really...never.  I do not use photoshop to fix any colors/balance or exposure....I do not crop or adjust anything.  This is a personal preference, and I can get into the reasons for it in another post, but during this process of looking through my summer photos, I was SO happy with the fact that I did not have to spend even one more second to edit the photos I uploaded. 
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Here is a more in depth look at my trip to Missouri this summer.  The trip started out with a drive to Pennsylvania, that I took with my puppy.  My mother took care of Malomar while I was away.  

{Pennsylvania}

Tomatoes ripening on the windowsill at my Father's house.

Mom and a neighborhood kitty.

A neighborhood church that we used to skateboard at. We called it Metal Church Berkerser.

Airplane reading.

I don't know about you, but I have been flying for a long time, yet every time the plane climbs through the air and I look out over the clouds, I am completely amazed...as if it has never happened before...as if I am experiencing some miracle, something special. 

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{Missouri}

Dad.

Something that I really can't get enough of in any museum, especially history museums is dioramas.  I remember as a kid thinking that each thing in the diorama was real, like a play was happening on repeat right in front of me.  My love has not subsided, I think they are so cool!

Okay, a quick disclaimer before we get into these.  Yes these are dead animals, yes they are stuffed...Yes I somehow think taxidermy is awesome even though I don't eat meat. 

When I was a student at RISD, I worked at the Nature Lab; which, if you are unfamiliar click on the link, it is pretty much the coolest thing ever to have at an Art + Design School.  There are such fabulous resources there, and I spent hours and hours on end cataloging and organizing the picture files.  I also spent hours and years on end around taxidermy animals, (even some rogue taxidermy pieces, which despite the controversy I think are so great), specimens in jars, and human and animal bones.  This has left a lasting impression on me and so I pet (yes I know) every single one of the animals at Bass Pro Shop that I could reach...and photographed them because I think they are so so awesome.

Sorry that this photo is blurry, I didn't take it, but I like it anyway so I included it! This bear was so great!

These raccoons are so adorable that I ran to each and every one super giddy and pet their soft little heads.  I like to imagine that they died from natural causes.  Sometimes it helps to tell yourself fairy tales while in a hunting shop.

There were also live animals there.  Which I also pet (despite the signs advising me not to).  You can't take me anywhere.

Saddest ever.  My Dad and I went swimming and tried to rescue this little guy from the chlorine pool.  Unfortunately, we were not successful.  This is a photo of him in his last minute of life. We put him in the grass in the shade as his final resting place. 

My Grandpa's garlic.

Explaining the fig tree.

My grandmother.

Family.

I also had a chance, while in Missouri to check out Elsie Larson's beautiful shop, Red Velvet.  Not only did I pick up some of my favorite new dresses, but I got to meet Elsie and her sister Emma and they were just as sweet as you imagine they would be.  A real treat! 

Next up, I will share some summer travels to New England in Summer Travels: Part Three.  Have a great Wednesday!

xoh!

d