I've finally found it!



I've been looking for fabric to cover our living room ottoman. This indoor/outdoor fabric from Richloom is perfect. Just the right amount of red and green and BLUE, which I like to work in during the spring and summer months. And at $11 a yard I don't think I'll find anything better. Now I have to decide if I want to try my hand at making piping. Yikes!

Rally Squirrel!!!

I guess this is a sports themed week for me. Its super late, I'm exhausted, and I feel like I just played 11 innings but I have to pop in to say...

GO CARDS!!!


We'll see you tomorrow night!

{image via}

M-I-Z!!!

Saturday I headed to Columbia, MO for a Mizzou football game!!!

Without my kids.

I love you little buddies, but this was awesome.

Oh, who am I kidding? I didn't even go to the game. We just tailgated, then hit a few bars. But, I wore a Mizzou t-shirt and the game was playing on the car radio.

Of course seeing a few old friends was the best part.





Sorry Jamie. It looks like I'm posing for an engagement photo with your hubs.

And these old friends weren't all of the human variety. Some of these friends are the stuff of my college days.

At my alma mater, a red straw in a styrofoam cup can only mean one thing...


Trops.

Yummy, frozen, alcoholic, goodness. I thought it might have lost its appeal after years of living in New Orleans and having frozen daiquiri shops on every corner, but no. It still hit the spot. At 10 in the morning.

After the game, we did a bit of strolling and I spent WAAAAY to much money at the new bookstore on campus buying MU schwag. For my girls of course. By the way, any of you Mizzou alum out there, you need to go check that place out. Its giganitic. It's like the bookstore that ate the Mizzou campus. Craziness.


Then we grabbed a burger and a beer at Booches.


By grabbed, I mean squished in the door, hovered for a table, and waited over an hour for a burger. OK. Two burgers. Totally. Worth it.


We watched some of the Cardinals game (woo to the hoo, Albert Pujols is totally the man!) at The Berg. The Berg of my days (and my mother's) burned a few years ago but they have done a great job replicating the old place while still adding some extra ooh-la-la.


Then we reminisced about college days(and took a much needed break from the bars...don't want to be overserved) at the columns on the quad.


And that my friends, is where this photo tour ends. Not my night, just the documented version of events. I was tucked in bed before 2 a.m.

The day was definitely a success.

Even though my Tigers got walloped.

The reason for so few posts... a whole lotta fun. I just haven't been in the mood for blogging, I guess. Here's a little sample of what we've been up to.

Making a Halloween decoration to send Daddy...


Playing in the rain in our new boots...
(Does she look awesome in skinny jeans or what?!? Honestly, they sag on her bootay a little bit.)


Family game nights...


Bowling! I love my Dad's expression. Good thing we had them put up bumpers in the gutter.


Has everyone else been enjoying these beautiful fall days?

Feeling festive?

No, me neither.

I'm definitely NOT in the Christmas mood yet, but I'm working on this



which HAS to be finished for Christmas this year. I am making myself accountable to YOU (picture Uncle Sam pointing his bony, crooked finger in your direction).

Are you ready for all this fall business to be over so you can bust out your red and green (or pink and teal, or silver and gold, or whatever color scheme you dig for the Ho-Ho-Holidays)? I think Emily is.

Take me out to the {soft} ball game...

Last night we went to a high school softball game here in town. For any of you that are from small towns, you know that social life in a little community centers around high school events.


Its bittersweet this year to go to the games. My dad has coached the high school girls' softball team for the past 11 years (and summer teams for a decade before that) but this year, because of his cancer, he wasn't able to be with the team. The sweet comes with the fact that we are at least able to still watch the game together.

Last week, the school booster club recognized my dad for his efforts by naming the softball field after him. He was flattered, honored, and a little embarrassed.


My school spirit was out in full force (by way of my girls).

Red shoes.


Face paint.


And the Lord blessed us with the most beautiful evening to watch our Lady Cats move on to the district championship game.


After the dedication of the field last week, my dad received a card from a man who drove the bus for many of the away ball games during my dad's time as coach.

You deserve the honor of this field being named after you. You always dealt with the kids in a manner that encouraged them, instead of knocking them down, as I saw so many other coaches do, during the time I drove the bus. May God Bless You in all you do.

My dad wants to win ballgames, sure. But more importantly, he wants to teach kids how to play the game, always giving each and every player a fair chance. He believes that everyone has potential and never gives up on "his girls." I hope, if he wants to, that he's able to return to the field next year. Love you, Daddy (aka PaPa).


I should also add that my mother is a saint, at least in this regard, for listening to my dad many, many, many nights as he went on (and on) about ERA, batting averages and RBIs, reviewed team blunders, and discussed game plans. The field is yours, too Mom. Thanks for being a faithful fan of Team Randy.

Oh crap, camera strap.

So I know that ALL the cool kids have custom camera straps for their DSLRs. And, my sister is a cool kid so she needed one, too. She found a few on Etsy that she liked but I insisted that I could make it and she trusted me.

Mistake.

Here is my boring camera strap.


But here is the not so boring strap I made today for my sweet sis.


I even made a totally sweet lens cap pocket (because, um, I am constantly losing my lens cap).



And here is where it all turns to crap-ola.




Bah humbug! It's too short! I have decided to give it one more shot (because I have enough fabric for only one more fail!). And, if I'm still a giant failure and the biggest let down for my sister since she found out that she does not, in fact, sound exactly like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith when she sings in the car, well, I'll be buying her one of these:



Black & White Damask/Polka Dot, Black Leaf, Blue & Green Dots

On this beautiful autumn day we...

Walked uptown...



Had ice cream...



Visited the fabric store.



What a lovely day. Have you been doing anything lovely lately?

Finished!: 31 Days to a Better Photo

I finished up 31 Days to a Better Photo Friday and I can honestly say that I'm so glad I did it. I learned so much

Day 29: 12 Tips for Sharper Images
This seemed a bit like a recap for things already mentioned although I wish she'd given us some more info on cleaning our cameras. Maybe a good online reference or something.

Day 30: My Photography Workflow
This post seemed as though it is geared more towards those people looking to start their own photog business. I assume she gets a TON of questions from people looking for advice but it wasn't really helpful for me.

Day 31: Thanks for Spending 31 Days with Me
No! Thank you, Darcy, for taking the time to do such a great series! There are a lot of online classes that offer this type of information but Darcy shared her expertise with us for FREE. So awesome.

The two most important things I learned during this past month were

1. Change the ISO as a last resort! I use to adjust this first when my pics were too dark but now I know that I will get a better image if I use the aperture and shutter speed to allow in more light. I have definitely seen a positive change.



2. Use the little dial on the screen/in the view finder to check the exposure of the pic before snapping it. Its so helpful to see that I need to adjust some things before I take the pic and check the image. I shouldn't have ignored those little lines for so long!



3. Resize pics for the blog! I actually got the know-how from Shelley for this, but I would have learned it from Darcy a few short days later.

That about wraps it up! I'm excited to see what she has in store for us during October this month. I'll be following allong as she shares 31 Days of Photo Tips. Are you getting involved in the 31 Day series?

I just realized that there are no pics for this post. My photography post has no pictures. But, check out all of my posts in September to see if you can see improvement in the images on my blog!

Oh, and if anyone remembers, I had another goal for this month. It has become a 61 day goal and I hope to complete 30 days of the 30 Day Shred by November 1. Yeah. Fitness = Flop.