Project Life 365: Week Two

Time to recap week two of Project Life 365.  Which also happens to be the last week of summer vacation. The kids all go back to school on Tuesday.

This week's prompts were (Aug. 7) Kiss, (Aug. 8) Your_Work, (Aug. 9) In_The_Distance, (Aug. 10) Direction

(Aug. 11) Above, (Aug. 12), Underneath, (Aug. 14) Little_Things.

Our final week of summer fun included a trip to Six Flags in Denver.  And since it didn't really fit in with any of the week's prompts, I offer proof that C rode his very first roller coaster.

I guess technically, it's not proof, since I wasn't about to go on the Twister II just to document the occasion, and dad didn't think to snap a picture while they were whizzing around the rickety old wooden track at 100 miles per hour.  So you're just going to have to take my word for it.

And yes, he loved it!

Project Life 365: Week One

Woot! I made it through the first week of Project Life 365 (my latest photo-a-day project).  Which means it's time for my first weekly recap.

This week's prompts were (Aug. 1) You_Today, (Aug. 2) Reliable, (Aug. 3) Hair

(Aug. 4) High_Contrast, (Aug. 5) Collection, (Aug. 6) Morning_Routine, (Aug. 7) Snack.

I'm already two days into week 2 and having lot's of fun with this project.  It's a great way to capture all the little details of daily life.

New Year, New Project

I know it's not technically a new year, but it's a new year to me. The beginning of my 42nd year. I've decided it would be a good day to start a new photo-a-day project.

Normally I would start something like this on January 1. But I didn't want to wait. What's an OCD person like me to do? Then it dawned on me. My birthday is on August 1. All nice and neat at the beginning of the month. It would kind of be like new year--at least a new year in my life.

I've done this sort of thing before, but I'm a little nervous this time.  I think it's because this project (Project Life 365) has a different prompt each day.  Before I was free to photograph whatever I wanted.  Now I'll have to photograph a certain thing, and that's a little harder for me.  But that's kind of the point--to challenge myself.

Because I think I'll really feel old if I stop trying new things. Except bungee jumping. I am too old for that.

Today's prompt is You Today.

Me today....I'm going to be downloading some books for my Kindle with my Amazon birthday gift card.  To enjoy while I eat my birthday chocolate (not pictured).

So if you've read anything fabulous lately, I'd love to hear about it.

P.S. I'm going to undertake this little project on my iPhone.  Because it's so much easier to take with me everywhere I go.  I've done a photo-a-day project with my big camera.  Rewarding, but kind of a pain to take the heavy equipment everywhere.  I'm too old for that!

Birthdays, Insta-Friday, and Medical Updates.

Whew! What a week it's been. We started with a seizure and we're ending with a birthday.  Today is T's 13th birthday! I can't believe I'm now the mother of 2 teenagers. Makes me feel seriously old.  Obviously, there will be more birthday news to come--after we're done with all of our celebrating, of course.

We met with E's doctor yesterday and found out that the levels of medication in his blood stream had dropped quite a bit in the last 10 months.  I really hadn't noticed that he'd grown that much. So we'll work on getting him back up to a therapeutic level.  It was honestly the news I had been hoping for, because at least now we have an explanation for the seizure and we can take action.

There are really no words to express how much I hate seizures, and how truly scary they are.  Having said that, E's latest seizure was a blessing in a very, very terrible disguise.  He was due for a doctor's visit and some blood work towards the end of summer, and we would have discovered then that his medication was no longer at a therapeutic level.  But he was scheduled to take his driver's test today, and assuming he passed, would have been driving without the proper dose of medicine to keep him safe and seizure free.

So in a way, God was watching out for us by using what may have been the only means available to inform us of this problem before E started driving.   And with that thought, on with the weekly re-cap.....

1. Sometimes when we go out, we just order a bunch of appetizers to share.  Because wings, queso fries, and sweet potato tots make for an awesome meal!

2.  It also helps when your dining establishment has Giant Jenga.

3.  Our farmer had a little shindig at her farm last weekend for CSA members.  We even got to pick our own strawberries!

4.  The paramedics or firefighters left these sunglasses behind in E's bedroom after their visit.  We let the non-emergency dispatch know, but no one has claimed them.  So I think that means he gets to keep them as a souvenir.

5.  Took the kids to the local science museum this week, where we discovered a new exhibit called The Funky Forest.

6.  This particular museum exhibit gives me a headache.  I don't know how my kids can stand to look at it.

7.  T's basketball team had an awesome come-from-behind-to-win-in-the-last-two-minutes victory this week.  Which totally deserved a victory burrito!  And after hearing the kids and parents from the other team talk smack after the game, the loss will be good for them.  That is, if they ever get over the idea that the only way they could possibly lose is if the other team cheats.  I know it's a hard pill to swallow when you won your last game 48 to 7--the idea that another team could actually beat you fair and square.  Oh wait, now I'm being a sore winner.  But seriously people, it's rec league basketball, not the NBA.

8.  Am I the only one who didn't know that bands still put out records?

9.  We received a membership to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for Christmas this year, so we headed down last night for a special event.  I captured this shot of the Denver skyline while the boys were waiting in line to use the telescope.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Insta-Friday

There is so much food in this week's Insta-review, it's almost embarrassing.....

1. A lovely view of St. Joseph's church in Old Town.
2.  Why do we love Smashburger.....
3.  Because they have fried pickles (and sweet potato fries)!
4.  Why do we love Sonic?  Because you can get bacon in your shake!
5.  Made some awesome strawberry chipotle jam this week.  Yum!  If you're a fan of sweet and spicy, that is.
6.  I felt so domestic after my jam-making adventure that I picked this up at the supermarket check-out.
7.  I am not really a breakfast maker.  My kids have to forage every morning for cold cereal and frozen waffles.  But I surprised everyone and whipped up a batch of Raspberry Pecan Scones.
8. Are you tired of painted pianos yet?  Because I spot a new one almost every week.
9.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who can eat an entire bag of Smartfood popcorn in one sitting.

Happy Friday everyone!  Have a great weekend and say a prayer for all the folks (including our family and friends) in the Calgary, Alberta region who are dealing with historic flooding.

Insta-Friday

Well this week was just choc full of fun! And food.  Food is a common theme here, isn't it?

1. This is the reason I follow around the Asian food truck.  Thai nachos.
2. I might start following the waffle truck too!
3. Last Saturday was National Get Outdoors Day.  So we got outdoors!
4. There was a special National Get Outdoors Day event at a local park where you could try all kinds of outdoor activities, including cricket.
5. Out on the town for date night.
6. Took the kids bowling to get out of the heat.  Just FYI, we are all terrible bowlers.
7. The younger boys are playing in a summer basketball league for the next 6 weeks.  Seriously, what was I thinking? We have games or practice almost every single night.
8.  I've had my eye on these Fuji instant cameras for awhile now.  I finally got one! I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
9.  G spent the week in Toronto for work.  He knows exactly what we expect him to bring home! Sometime soon I'll share the story of how he got booted off his original flight because it was too hot.  Really.  Apparently high temps make it hard for certain planes (like your basic jets) to take off.  They asked for volunteers to get off his second flight too.  Crazy!

Insta Friday: Cub Scout Version

It's Friday! And I'm super excited because G and I are going to Taste of Fort Collins this evening.  It's all about food, and tonight there's going to be a food truck extravaganza!  So you can bet there will be some of that in next week's Insta-Friday collage.

But let's review last week, shall we?  Because I went to Cub Scout Day Camp....and I was nearly as excited about it as I am about the food trucks. 

1. The fabulous mushrooms I featured in my Market Monday post over on the food blog.  Oh, and have I mentioned that the food blog is undergoing a transformation to WordPress?  It's going to be all pretty and fancy soon! 

2. We took the kids to a Colorado Rapids soccer game last Saturday.  It was a fun way to kick off the summer!

3.  You can't tell here, but this is a panoramic shot I took at the soccer game using a really cool app called DMD Panorama (I'll show you the whole photo later).  I'm pretty sure it's available for iPhone and Android and it is seriously awesome!  And easy!  And fun!

4.  Made our first trip to the library for summer reading materials this week!

5.  Having 3 boys, I've been to a lot of Cub Scout day camps, and I have to say, this one was at the most beautiful location ever.

6.  C met up with an old friend at day camp (they go way back--haha!).  An intense Pokemon discussion immediately ensued.

7.  Goin' on a lion hunt....with toilet paper roll binoculars!

8.  Another shot of the day camp location.  Have I mentioned how much I love the photo app Glaze?  It turns your photos into paintings.

9.  I was taking a picture of this flower and a bee came along and photo bombed my shot!

As promised, here is the panoramic shot I talked about earlier.

 

Pretty cool, eh?  And as an added bonus, you'll look like a total dork taking panoramic shots of everything. 

 

Have fun! 

 

 

A NEW LOOK, INSTA-FRIDAY & A LITTLE RANT (SEE #8)

You've probably noticed that I've been playing around with my blog layout.  I got a "wild hair" (as my mom would say) and decided to change things up.  It just took me a few days to figured out what I wanted to do, but I think I've finally settled on this....at least for now.

In other exciting news, I actually took enough Instagram photos this week for an Insta-Friday collage!

1. I found my marbles!

2. And I found my favorite food truck.

3.  Do not make him open this!  (Okay, it's kind of hard to see, but he's holding a can of whoop*#!!#).

4. Instead of crossing major streets when we're out for a walk, we use these under-the-road tunnels.  Not sure what is up with T and his little leg kick.  He claims it was a ninja kick, but it looks a little weak if you ask me. 

5.  I processed this with an awesome app called Glaze.  It makes your photos look like paintings.  Even better, it's free!

6.  Have you ever tried the Hansen's "natural" sodas made with cane sugar and no artificial colors.  This is actually mandarin orange flavor.  They're really good!  Although I'm really not sure about using the words natural and soda in the same sentence.

7.  In case you missed it--it's a double rainbow!  All the way across!

8.  The ceremonial I-survived-another-year-of-high-school  burrito.  It was well deserved.  Especially after the Chemistry teacher waited until the last day of school to grade 2 huge assignments that were due back in March.....and then gave him 2 ZEROS in the grade book!  As in, "you didn't even do the work" zeros.  When he spent hours doing the work and turned it in!  And when we confronted her, she replied with a snarky email about how she's been more than lenient with E when he turns in work that doesn't meet expectations.  WHAT?  He turned in a lab report so thick he could barely get a staple through it.   And how do you know if it meets expectations when you haven't even graded it!!!???   Needless to say, she did grade the work.....and to prove his ability to meet expectations, he got an A on the final exam.  So it was definitely burrito time!

9.  Do you think my husband gets tired of me shouting "Pull over!" so I can roll down the window and take a picture?

  

INSTA-FRIDAY

I was really excited about that extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I thought it would give me extra time to get ready.  Turns out, it just an extra week to squeeze in more school performances and extra-large, time consuming homework assignments.  I can't wait for Christmas break!

1.  I just love having a camera phone handy to capture these beautiful sunsets while I'm out and about.

2.  Getting ready to dig in to one of my favorite sandwiches.  Curried chicken salad on whole wheat bread.

3.  We visited the display of lights at the city gardens this week.

4.  Lets zoom in for a closer look.....

5.  My husband's favorite Christmas ornament....he was so disappointed this morning to learn that the latest talks to start the NHL season went nowhere.  Oh, and that's the Calgary Flames logo, for those of you who aren't hockey savvy.

6.  The gingerbread men we'll be decorating this weekend.

7.  I love these Bob's Sweet Stripes peppermint sticks, and for some reason they're so hard to find in local stores.  I've already cleared out the neighborhood Wal-Mart and the Walgreen's. 

8.  Getting ready to put some pork chile verde in the crock pot for dinner tonight.

9.  Another beautiful sunrise.

INSTA-FRIDAY

Is it just me, or has the week between Thanksgiving and the first of December seemed like the longest week ever?  I probably should have accomplished more, as I'm sure December will fly by and Christmas will be here before I know it.

1. Every day this week we've been treated to gorgeous sunrises and beautiful sunsets.

2.  Seriously.

3. Guess where I got the pretty stockings to go with my new mantle decor?  Wal-mart.  They were a perfect match!

4.  Broke out the wrapping paper and wrapped some gifts this week.  Definitely my least favorite part of the holiday season.  If I didn't think my kids would peak, I'd put everything in gift bags.

5.  Bacon lollipop anyone?  Might be a fun stocking stuffer.  After all, who doesn't like bacon, or lollipops?

6. Another fabulous Colorado sunrise.

7.  Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your fake, pre-lit branches thrill me.

8.  The mysterious full-moon.

9.  It's a photography miracle the way Instagram manages to make power poles look good.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Happy December!

INSTA-FRIDAY: THANKSGIVINING EDITION

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Here's the Instagram version of what's been going on around here.

1. I got a head-start on the pie making early in the week.  Featured here: Chocolate Coconut Pecan pie.  Yum!

2.  Finally finished the 2,000 piece puzzle I've been working on.

3.  Thanksgiving Eve sunset, as seen from the back porch.

4.  Our Thanksgiving table....before being laden with food.  By the way, if you've never tried cooking your turkey upside-down, I highly recommend it.  Tried it for the first time this year and it was the juiciest bird I've ever had!

5.  Thanksgiving sunset--even prettier than the night before.

6.  A little bling for the Thanksgiving table.

7.  The weather has been gorgeous lately.  We were walking downtown today without coats.  Very unusual for late November in Colorado.

8.  Of course, anytime we're walking downtown, we have to stop at the candy store.   Look at all those chocolate bars!

9.  We broke out the Christmas decorations this morning.  I love that Thanksgiving was so early this year.  It means I can have the Christmas decor up even longer.

INSTA-FRIDAY

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving! I don't know about you, but I'm already eating at Thanksgiving levels.  So expect a lot of food photos next week.  Although there are quite a few this week, now that I'm noticing.....

1. Spotted this vintage Christmas ornaments, but decided my husband just wouldn't go for pink stuff on the tree.

2.  Our garland of thanks is growing.

3.  Did you know there are orange M&M's now?  Not the color.  The flavor.  As in chocolate orange flavor!  They have chocolate covered cherry flavor too.  I am in BIG trouble!

4.  I almost.....ALMOST got gas for $3 a gallon with my grocery store discount card this week.

5.  Speaking of the grocery store.....this week I've been stocking up on supplies for Thanksgiving dinner.

6.  Spotted on a trip to Hobby Lobby.  That place is a crafty Christmas wonderland.

7.  Concrete art spotted in a downtown alley.

8.  Had a lunch date at this cute restaurant with my husband this week.

9.  Cute restaurants serve soda in Mason jars.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

INSTA-FRIDAY

Another week in the books.  Can you believe there are only seven left in the year?

 

 

 

1.  Another beautiful Colorado sunset.

2.  I bet you thought I'd forgotten about my Instagram alphabet project.  Actually, I bet you hadn't thought about it at all.

3.  Some abstract art at the library.

4.  I know I've already bragged about us having the #1 ranked downtown in America.  But I'll brag some more.  Because our downtown holiday light display is gorgeous.  Might even be the only holiday display I don't mind seeing this early.

5.  Oh my sharks in heaven this pie was amazing!  White Chocolate Mousse Cherry Pie.  I'll be posting the recipe very soon on my food blog.  This is definitely going to make another appearance sometime during the holiday season.

6.  Quick weeknight dinner at Jimmy John's.  I'm kind of wishing I had voted for Jimmy, like the sign on the door said I should.

7.  T was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last night.  This week he was also chosen as the 7th grade student who best exhibits the quality of knowledge.  And even though he's been battling a cold and was ready for bed after last night's ceremony, he went out shopping with us to find some things for a classmate who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Which really makes my heart hurt.  We were discussing what we could get to donate to the gift basket the school is putting together.  Apparently T's friend has been having trouble seeing after his brain surgery, so books weren't a great option.  But T had the brilliant idea to get some books on CD.  I was so proud of him.  What a great kid!

8.  This is where all that hot glue I've been going through went to. Sparkly golden Christmas trees for the mantle.

9.   Are you surprised that we have a specific place for you to put your graffiti? I mean, we can't just have people spray painting willy-nilly all over the best downtown in America.

Have a great weekend everyone!

INSTA-FRIDAY

Another week has come and gone.....today for dinner I'm testing some Thanksgiving recipes.  I'll let you know whether or not they're going to end up on our Thanksgiving table.  But for now, let's take a look back at what happened around here last week.

1. Insta-Minions!  Getting ready to head out to the church Halloween party last Saturday.

2.  Found a recipe for overnight baked pumpkin French toast on Pinterest.  I think this might be Thanksgiving breakfast.

3.  Bacon Candy....do you think the trick-or-treaters would have liked it?

4.  Visited a Sprouts Market for the first time this week.  Because the store I really wanted to go to wasn't open yet, and I had to do something for 10 minutes.

5.  Although I was tempted by their tiny white pumpkins.  They're just so cute!

6.  What's your favorite Halloween candy?  Mine is 100 Grand.  And nobody brought home a single 100 Grand bar in their candy bag this year.  Clearly I need to supervise the trick-or-treating more closely.

7.  I have a feeling that the Fall leaves (and the beautiful Fall weather) won't be with us much longer.

8.  The painted walls at Big City Burrito.  Hands down the best burrito joint in the world.  The potato burrito is amazing! Seriously.

9.  There's a new home store in town with lots and lots of pretty Christmas decorations.  I should probably avoid it at all costs.  Because I really can't afford to change my entire Christmas color scheme from red and gold to blue and silver.

Have a great weekend!

INSTA-FRIDAY

I can't believe it's October 26th already.  The weeks are flying by.....

1. Made one last trip to the farmers market before the season ends.

2.  Walked passed this beautiful old church on my way from the farmers market to the vintage market.....

3.  Where I spotted this cute little antique Mason jar.  I'm kind of kicking myself now for not buying it.

4.  Got my first Birchbox in the mail this week!  What is Birchbox, you ask?  Well, for $10 a month, they send you a cute little package of beauty products to try.  I will probably never use half of them.  I just like the idea of getting a present in the mail every month!

5.  Another beautiful Colorado sunset.

6.  E has his first orchestra concert of the school year on Monday.  It was also his first orchestra concert since we paid off the violin.  Which somehow made the music sound better than ever.

7.  C had his last soccer practice of the season.  And while I will not miss it, I have enjoyed photographing this tree every week while I wait.

8.  We woke up to about 4 inches of snow this morning!

9.  I pulled this one from the Instagram archives.  I'm including it because Fort Collins was just ranked #1 on Livability's list of Top Downtowns of 2012.  We already knew this, of course.  We just want the rest of you to know! 

Have a great weekend!

INSTA-FRIDAY

It was a short school week for the kids this week.  Which also meant it was a short week for me.  Not as much chauffeuring people about.  Tonight I will attempt to take family photos....yes, of my own family.  Never an easy task.  Hopefully we'll all still be on speaking terms tomorrow.

1.  A blog designer recently contacted me and offered to redesign my food blog for FREE!  She's looking to build her portfolio, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with.  In the meantime, the idea of a whole new look prompted me to sort through my basket o' food photography props. 

2.  Surprisingly, the forecast high of 249 degrees for Thursday was a little off.

3.  I've been on an apple kick lately.  Namely, apple desserts.  Because you know, apple=healthy and I'm trying to keep the doctor away.

4.  A trip to the library.

5.  Still loving Fall in Colorado.

6.  All you politicians can stop calling.  I put my ballot in the mail yesterday.

7.  Good thing soccer season is almost over.  It's starting to get pretty dark by the time practice ends.

8.  Pretty....but just looking at it makes me sneeze.

9.  One of the few perks to having your husband spend the week in Munich on a business trip.  He brings home airport souvenirs and photos of the view from his hotel room.

Have a great weekend!

INSTA-FRIDAY

I know I'm not alone when I say Fall is my favorite time of year, but I'll say it anyway.  Fall is my favorite time of year!  The colors are beautiful, the temperatures are perfect, and the pumpkin patch is open for business!

1. With all the aspens here in Colorado, we get lots of yellow this time of year.

2.  Last Saturday was G's birthday!  Chocolate raspberry ganache frosted cake anyone?

3. You'll have to look closely to see the evidence, but it snowed briefly last Saturday.  Another sign of Fall in Colorado--30 degree temperature swings from one day to the next.

4.  I thought about buying this giant acorn to decorate my home for the season, but I was worried it would attract giant squirrels.

5.  Did you know it's National Cookie Month?  I posted 10 fabulous cookie recipes this week to help you celebrate.  Eleven if you count this one.  Chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.  And they really taste like cookies, not little cakes or muffin tops!  You can find the recipe for them here.

6.  We visited the pumpkin patch this week.  You can read all about our corn maze adventure here.

7.  Who knew my phone camera could produce this cool sun flare effect?

8.  The rare peach pumpkin.

9.  FYI: A 2,000 piece puzzle has A LOT of pieces!

Have a great weekend everyone!

INSTA-FRIDAY

Whew! It's almost 8:00 pm and I'm just now sitting down to post my weekly Instagram collage.  I've been running around to various shopping establishments in preparation for my husband's birthday tomorrow, working on an awesome chocolate raspberry layer cake, volunteering at the school walkathon in the 38 degree, snow-is-in-the-forecast weather, picking kids up from school, etc. etc.

We even toyed with the idea of going to the university homecoming parade, but it's much too hard to catch candy when you have to wear your mittens.

 

Wait a minute?  Did I say snow?  Yes.  Yes, I did.  It hasn't materialized yet, and frankly, I'd rather it didn't.  I could have gone for a less shocking transition to colder weather, but it just wouldn't be Colorado if we didn't have 30 degree temperature swings this time of year.

 

And now, without further ado, a quick review of the past week--Instagram style!

 

 

1. In case you missed it, our youngest was baptized last Saturday.  We had a blue and green themed candy buffet to celebrate the big day!

 

2.  I didn't really need stripey straws for the candy buffet.  But they were just so cute.  Of course, once I had them, I had to get bottles of soda to go with them.  These things can spiral out of control so easily.

 

3.  Killing time at the downtown toy store.

 

4.  Fall really is a beautiful time in Colorado, despite today's chance of snow.

 

5.  Tried a new recipe for apple oatmeal muffins.  They were quite tasty!  You can find the recipe here, if you'd like to whip up a batch of your own.

 

6.  It's harvest season at all the local farms!  Although technically, this is a dairy farm, so that's probably not applicable here.

 

7.  I came across this chestnut tree while I was out walking the other day.  And yes, I did fill my purse with chestnuts so I could bring them home to take pictures of them.  Which made me wonder if there would be a market for squirrel purses?

 

8.  Unfortunately, my chestnut stash left no room in my purse for apples.

 

9.  Broke out the Halloween decorations this week.  If you missed the Pac Man ghost garland, you really must have a look!
 

I am really looking forward to this weekend....celebrating G's birthday, and watching my church's General Conference on t.v.  It's the perfect occasion for breaking out a jigsaw puzzle and baking some tasty treats!

 

Have a great weekend!

 



INSTA-FRIDAY

I'm posting Insta-Friday a little bit early.  Grandma and grandpa #1 are arriving this evening (hopefully with our favorite Canadian treats), with grandma and grandpa #2 following tomorrow.  C is getting baptized on Saturday, so we'll have a busy, family and friend filled weekend. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Here's what happened around here this week.....Instagram style!

1.  We've had some awesome storm clouds and crazy rain this week.

2.  It's boot season!

3.  Who knew?  If you roll some Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough into a little ball and bake it in a mini muffin tin, it makes a crust for a cute little dessert.

4.  A lonely tree.....and more storm clouds.

5.  Third grade field trip to a local farm.  The horses were definitely everyone's favorite.  A close second, the cow with a hole in it's side.

6.  Car wash.  Right before it started raining cats and dogs.

7.  School project on Genghis Khan.  Apparently in some cultures he's not the villain we've made him out to be.

8.  More storm's brewing.

9.  Is it still graffiti if you use a stencil?

Have a great weekend.

INSTA-FRIDAY

Fall is in the air.  Just kidding!  Summer is what's in the air.  The hot, dry air.  People who predict things are already predicting a virtually snowless ski season for Colorado.  On the bright side, I managed to work some fall color into my photos this week.

 



1.  I snuck off to the Farmers Market during C's soccer game.  I did not buy squash, as no one but me would have eaten it.

2.  After the soccer game, I snuck off the the once-a-month outdoor vintage market.  If you ever need some old Mason jars.....

3.  A new store opened in town this week.  Cost Plus World Market.  They sell things from all over the world, and also things made in China.  I was drawn to the selection of owl themed knick-knacks.  And also the home decor, candy, kitchen gadgets, furniture and seasonal decorations.

4.  Despite the hot, dry weather, the corn is still growing.....reminding me that fall allergies are almost as bad as spring allergies.

5.  Perused the candy store this week in preparation for a candy buffet I'll be putting together later this month.

6.  The window display in my favorite downtown photography shop. 

7.  My friend Elaine gifted me some homemade plum jam and a cute owl notepad.  Guess where she got the owl notepad?  At the new Cost Plus World Market!  What do you have to do to get some of Elaine's homemade plum jam?  Take school pictures of the cute kiddos at her preschool.  I think this year she had the cutest bunch of kids ever--except for the years my kids attended, of course.  You can see them all here, if you think you can stand the cuteness.

8. Guess what this is?

9.  They say the best camera is the one you have with you.  I agree.  I kind of like this little picture.  Even more than a lot of pictures I've taken with my fancy camera.

Next week will be exciting!  Grandparents are coming to town--some from as far away as Canada--for C's baptism on the 29th. We're all getting excited!