freaky friday

at some point this weekend i realized that mom and i basically traded haircuts.

i got mine cut, and she let hers grow out.

wichita weekend

i had such a good weekend in wichita. i haven't seen my dad's family since i was in high school {which was a surprising long time ago} we played countless games of 'sets and sequences'- the card game everyone has been playing since before i was born {also a surprisingly long time ago}

me and grandma:

we had a big family dinner on sunday afternoon {with aunts and grandparents and cousins and cousins-in-law and all their kids...}  but i was just way too busy catching up and enjoying being together to snap any more photos. we barely got these in before we rolled out of town.

dad, cousin tommy, me, aunt sheree

can you tell we had a good time?

hubby had to stay home and work {aka grade papers} but we're hoping to make it down there again before we move. there's nothing like a weekend away with family and food!

weekend update

it's hot here. i mean, i know its hot everywhere, but i'm talking about upper 90's and up {it's already 100 degrees today} with 50-80% humidity. it's been too hot to blog, too hot to pet barn kitties, too hot to do anything but swim {which i do daily and with lots of sunblock} and eat cold things indoors with the air on. so this post is brought to you by ice cream and cole porter:

my sunburn is all healed up. thanks for the advice and sympathies!

i'm with my parents, in wichita, visiting family i haven't seen for years. i forsee lots of smiles and card games. photos to come.

the computer will be home when i get back, which means more updates and more visiting bloggy friends. cause i don't even know what you guys have been up to! i hope you're staying cool and enjoying the weekend!

i don't have kids, but i have plenty of kitty photos!

sometime last week {exact date unknown} our little kitty turned 1.

cache.

also known as:

kitty cache

johnny cache

casher smash

and our newest favorite nickname, gigantor {he doesn't look it because he's so lean, but he's huge! crazy long and tall}

here he is in september when we adopted him

he has a penchant for sleeping in the oddest positions.

{in his favorite sleeping corner}

and he has a little orange beard. so cute.

they grow up so fast, don't they? sniff!

mom, don't read this

mom, don't read this post.

seriously, just stop now.

and what is so terrible that i'm hiding from my mom? a sunburn. you might not see what's so bad about this, but you haven't seen my sunburn, and you don't know my mom. now i'm not saying she's crazy or anything, but she does have this whole {some might say obsessive} thing about sunblock, sun exposure, and skin cancer. and i don't need her worrying about me {or looking at me with those disappointed-but-still-judging eyes} you know what i'm talking about because every mom has them.

i went and did something stupid. i got a sunburn. a bad one. one like i've never had before. i thought i was too old {and wise?} to do something so stupid {because really, i know better, i was raised better} but it just so happens that the day i decide to break out my 2 piece is the day i forget sunblock and spend 3+ hours poolside.

bad news bears.

i have got one {angry} red belly.

day 1: uncomfortable

day 2: unbearable

day 3: not bad- until lunch when i got to reapply aloe and find my stomach covered in bubbles. blisters. like when you step out of the shower and have water droplets all over? it's like i forgot to dry off. horrible and mesmerising at the same time. i can't seem to look away.

and again i say, how did i let this happen?! i know better! i was raised better!

all i can think about is the summer my sister was a lifeguard and she got little bubbles all over her back, too. and i asked her what the heck they were and she gave me some nonchalant answer about it happening all the time, not being a big deal... to which i immediately freak out and yell at her about how bad it is, how she needs to wear sunblock...

oh how the mighty hath fallen.

bad thai {as opposed to pad thai}

confession time- husband and i like to eat. we like food. but we don't like to make it. so, we don't spend our extra money on movies or shopping, we spend it eating out. and it's nice- like little dates when we get to catch up and just talk and be together.

one of our biggest problems with manhattan is the lack of cuisine variety. i mean really, it's been hard. we like international foods and generally don't go for burgers and pizza {both of which we have a plethora of in town}

lucky for us, they do have one excellent thai place. it's been our favorite from day one, and we literally eat there almost once a week. and if you had told me last summer that i would eventually grow sick and tired of eating thai food i would have said you were crazy. i love me some good thai!

until recently.

for the last 2 weeks i have absolutely refused to go there anymore. why? i'm just bored. i need something new!

which means that i no longer like our favorite restaurant, and it's causing problems.

because when you don't want to eat at the best place in town, where do you go from there? i don't know. so husband and i are now trying to find a new place to eat. but he's not so excited about it {and i'm not too thrilled about how the search is going, either}. in fact, i'm getting big puppy-dog eyes everytime i say "anywhere but thai". it's sad. and i've never been able to resist those big blue eyes before.

until now, that is.

brought to you by the letter k

one sidney road started an alphabet blog walk hop {although with as hot as it is here, it's a blog very-leisurley-stroll-with-lots-of-water-and-sunblock hop}

my letter:

{k}

and what does it stand for?

kittens!

this is deja {as in deja vu}. a baby barn cat {here she is at 3 weeks old}

she's my favorite {of all my summer pets} which is just as well, since her sisters have been hiding from me all week.

look at those baby blues!

note to hubby: are you sure we don't need a third kitty? for sure for sure??

a trip to the hair experts

so before getting my haircut {rather drastically} i was carrying around these photos and repeatedly asking hubby what he thought- "do you think this will look good?...do you think i should do it?..." to which his answers were always pretty generic- "you won't know until you do it" or "sure"

ok?? what do i do with that?

so then i started trying to pen him into something- "well, then do you think it will look bad?" 

"no".

arrgh!!

and then 2 things hit me:

1) hubby is actually telling me that i should do whatever i want because he thinks it'll be fine and that i'm always gorgeous to him. and he does have a few reservations. but does he just come out and say that? no. {ok fine, he actually did come out and say that, but not before hours of endless nagging on my part}  
{but what am i complaining about? i am married to a man who always thinks i look good. so no more complaining here!}

 2) i need a girlfriend! {hello! sarah! where are you when i need you! oh yes, half way across the country as usual}

but enough of that, on to the photos!

fresh from the salon, still covered in hair. my wonderful hubby took me out on the porch for my own little photo shoot {thanks babe!}

i love it!

after a little playing, i think i like it this way better {and hubby loves it!}

{awkward times photo!}

 so i took the plunge.

funk lifted. 

i'm telling ya, hair therapy works.

{oh yeah, i made my shirt too!}

take the plunge?

so, lately i've been in a funk {and no, i'm not going to talk about it} and the best way to get out of a funk? make a change.

and for me, a strong believer in what i like to call 'hair therapy', i've decided it's time for a change in hair style. {here's me now}

i'm thinking maybe something like this:

i haven't decided if i'm actually going to do it or not, but i've got an appointment for saturday. so no matter what i'll be getting some kinda of haircut. and really, as long as my hairstylist doesn't think it'll be horrible {because of my wavy hair}, i think i'm going to go for it. after all, i've had short hair before {granted, it was years ago and it was much shorter than i'm wanting now}

{little sister and i before prom}

{senior photo}

so, thoughts? ideas? suggestions? 

i'll definitely be showing you the final project, whether i go short or just for a trim.

(more) fairy tale srories

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday {or weekend, for all you international readers} i got plenty of quality time with my hubby and lots of rain! but it cleared up just long enough for the fireworks show. pretty cool.

 

so now its tuesday {and feels like monday} but it is definitely shaping up to be a laid-back week with lots of trips to the pool.

and in the spirit of this slow energy and laid-back kinda day, i thought i'd share some more wonderful illustrations. {from this series} art deco style.

 

 "to the ears he hung earrings, and strings of pearls upon the breast"

 

"she gathered three golden apples, and, unseen by any one else, gave them to Hippomenes"

{not exactly art deco, but i like it just the same}

"when she woke, she beheld near by a beautiful grove, with a path wich led up to the doorway of a beautiful palace"

it's the 4th!

i'm so excited it's the holiday weekend!

the 4th has long been hubby and i's favorite holiday. it marks the anniversary of our first date {6 years ago!} we met up with friends, headed downtown and watched the fireworks.

 it was perfect.

we've pretty much repeated that same date every year. some of the locations have changed and sometimes a friend or 2 couldn't make it home- but mostly, it's always been the same. and we never miss watching the show together {and cuddling in the dark}

this year we're far away from those people and those places and while i'm excited for the weekend, it's hard not to be homesick at the same time.

but it's time to buck-up and stop this pitty party! we're having friends over today {the ones who are still in town, that is} and i still get to be with my love {which is really all that matters} and so maybe it's going to be a great weekend after all.

{but just to make sure we don't get too moppy, i've outlawed these names at our house for the next 48 hours: sarah & matt, rob, brad & caitlin, and don- we miss you dearly!}

{one year we played croquet}

{rob played in seersucker}

 {hubby played "swords"}

{and i was all business}

and last year, at a porch party with these guys:

{sarah! why so angry?}

{

{much better!}

happy holiday, friends! i hope it's a good one <3

frog collection: vintage edition

just a couple weeks ago i "showed off" my little frog collection. and now it's time to show you my biggest {and most favoritest} one!

the vintage frog pitcher:

i got it over 10 years ago {a christmas gift from mom}

i''m really quite taken with it. how many people do you know with crazy awesome animal pitchers?!

and then a couple years later, i got the rest of the set...
{how cute is this little guy?}

i love the colors. and the whole lilly pad thing.

hubby thinks they're kitschy, but of course i don't see anything wrong with that! so the pitcher is out on display, the sugar bowl is in use on the counter, and the mugs are all in the cabinet.

so, i think this concludes my collection. i'm sure i've got a few other frogs floating around somewhere, but nothing else worth showing.

mails! swap package and envelope project

i heart swaps. if nothing else, it's a wonderful reason to blog!

recently i participated in tillie's simply delightful package swap. this is what i sent:

{stickers, my favorite yellow nail polish, bright notecards, fine point sharpies, and 2 mini notebooks}

and the other thing i love about swaps? sending and receiving old-fashioned thank you cards. claire sent me a wonderful {handmade!} thx note in the mail. i just love how thoughtful something handwritten is.

i also joined the envelope project over at meet me at mikes {it's not too late to join in}

you can see my envelope and it's contents here {on my blog} and here {on pip's blog} or just go look at the flickr page and watch the whole project unfold- i wish i could go see the window display in person!