Modern-Day Hippie

It's been a good while since my last outfit post.  Throughout the school year, I did a few quick iPhone shots of outfits that I really enjoyed, but never took the time to do a more in-depth sampling.  My favorite thing about taking outfit photos is that not only do I lack a nice camera, but I have no tripod, which means I get to be creative in terms of placement and timing.  In the photos from today, I'm pretty far away from the camera, but I figured it's better to just start then attempt a perfect start.

I even like weird, "Oh, shit, the timer is about to go off" pics.

My favorite part of my outfit would have to be these new skinny jeans.  I bought them at work yesterday and think they'll be getting a lot of wear rolled up as capris and then as jeans in the fall.

The lighting is horrible and I wouldn't have even included this one, but my dad let both dogs out and they distracted me.  Crookston is an escape artist despite our fence, so you need to watch him if he isn't leashed in our backyard.

Again, super dark, but this is what was happening while I was trying to take pictures…one dog chasing the other.

And a close-up of my baby, Crookston.  After today, I realized I maybe should have renamed this blog something like "A Girl and Her Dog" because Crookston is the center of everything.

And what photo shoot would be complete without a Simba picture?

Camping: I Survived

Camping is something that I half-heartedly threw on my goal list shortly after turning 25.  As a child, I used to go out with my dad and brother quite a bit, but I have almost zero recollection of this.  So deciding that I wanted to go camping, tent camping, before I turned 26 was a bit of a strange thought.  I don't even really know how it got into my head to be honest.

Fast forward to this last weekend.  The man friend and I camped in Hoyt Lakes with a few of his friends so that we could enjoy the small-town epicness of the Water Carnival.  The simplest explanation is that Mike and his friends go to play softball against a bunch of teams and drink.  Luckily, this was the year of the tagalong so I was invited along with another guy's wife.

Now Mike has gone the past three years, but this did not prepare him in the way of tent-owning.  If he hadn't shared that he'd been there previously, I would have chalked his lack of preparedness up to inexperience...instead I just got to chalk it up to being a single guy.

So I borrowed a tent from my manager, a camping chair from my assistant manager, ran to Target and bought all the things Mike said we didn't need because other people were sure to have them, and we packed up the truck and took off.

An hour into the journey, Mike realized he hadn't packed any towels.  Six hours into the trip, we quickly realized neither of us was skilled in the way of tent-setting-up (well, I took a more supervisory role to be completely honest).  But it all worked out.

The first day was overcast so while the boys went to play golf, the two wives and I ventured back about a half hour to the nearest Target to buy floaties for the lake.  We spent about a goosebumped hour in the water before the cold officially crept into our bones and sent us to shore to play the most intense game of Would You Rather.

The second day was beautiful.  The sun was shining.  The guys lost their first softball game, but won the second.  I used an entire bottle of sunscreen in a matter of 6 hours (I'm fair-skinned and not a gal who likes to be burnt).  We all swam.  I ate more brats than I have in the last year.  I almost got run over by a deer.  It was fantastic.

There was a bit of weather toward the end of our trip.  The quick hail storm and 60-some-mile-per-hour winds left me a little shaken in the tent, but I miraculously survived.  The last game the guys played ended up being in the rain, but luckily Mike let me sleep through that 9am loss so I was in a more-rested, good mood for our car ride home.

Overall, camping was a lot of fun, but I have no doubt that it would have been a massive mistake if we had not been with the group of people we were with.  One gal packed 15 towels, "just in case."  The one couple ended up putting together the tent we slept in.  It takes a village to raise a child, but only four other people to teach Sara and Mike how to camp.

*All crappy photos courtesy of my iPhone

Halfway Done

Today I finished my third of four summer school classes.  This semester has been an intense, but rewarding one. I'm very excited that by the end of this summer I will have 13 more credits under my belt.

The other exciting tidbit of news is that I am over halfway to my 26th birthday...okay, writing that down is actually a little terrifying.  The thing about being 26 is that I made that list of 25 things I wanted to complete...remember that?  Me neither.

The last review I did of my list was in March.  March.  Obviously I've been slacking.  To be fair, life has been a little crazy as of late and I have actually made some headway in my goals, so it won't be a month where I write "No Progress" for everything...just some things.

1.  Etsy shop- vintage
No progress except that I made a new one.  I decided to rebrand it, exactly like this beautiful blog.  While I'm still lazily thinking about this goal, I'm also thinking of getting a booth in town because, possibly wrongly so, that seems like it'd be easier for me to commit to.

2.  Collection of short stories- ready to submit
I wanted to lie and say that I've been casually writing.  There have been times where I've been lying in bed and thought, I should get up and write that down.  Even my cell phone notes are depressing.  I honestly think that once I'm back in school this fall, I'll work on this because I'm not the kind of person who can just sit and listen.

3.  New tattoo
Done (2/21/14)

 4.  Finish framing prints
No progress.  I've decided to hold off because what's the use in framing them if I don't have a place to hang them.  My man friend has many blank walls so maybe the next time I'm alone in his place, I'll take the liberty of knocking his security deposit down with a couple of nails....

5.  Blog redesign
Hired Kaelah of The Clueless Girl's Guide for this one as you know.  And you can see the results!  It's so beautiful and turned out so much better than I could have imagined.  It's really amazing how a designer can take a few garbled thoughts and half ideas and turn them into something tangible and beautiful.  
Done (6/20/14)

6.  Buy nice camera
I'm poor.  Maybe this will be what I ask for as a joint birthday/Christmas present.

7.  Learn how to do my hair
The craziest thing I can do is curl my hair with a curl wand, which is actually quite the accomplishment for me.  I also chopped off more than 12 inches which caused a mini-crisis, but ultimately turned out to be a good thing because it's so stinking hot with long, thick hair.

8.  Go on a trip somewhere new
I had all these grand adventures planned, but guess where it's actually going to be?  Hoyt Lake.
This is the weird, shady picture I found when I googled Hoyt Lake for this post.  I honestly have no idea where we're heading other than it's north of Virginia, MN...I think.  Mike and I are going for some softball tournament that he goes to every year.

9.  Bring Crookston to dog training class
 Done (3/11/14)  I shared this graduation announcement (as a joke) here!

10.  Figure out Spanish creds
Enrolled in online Spanish and will be done in 3ish weeks.  Counting it done since the goal was to figure it out.
Done (5/23/2014)

11.  No credit card debt
Yeah...let's move on to #12.

12.  Send more letters
 Total: 1 package, 3 postcards, 19 letters.

13.  Create realistic workout plan
One day I did 4 minutes of a hip hop workout video with my mom.  That's about all I can claim for this goal

14.  Learn to crochet
No progress.  Any patient volunteers?

15.  Grow closer to God
I've read a Catholic book for fun this year and actually flew through it.  The one that I mentioned back in March?  Still working through that.  I need to get back to going to church though because I really do feel strange not attending.

16.  Complete a 5K
I just need to sign up for one and maybe then I'll be motivated to train for it.

17.  Volunteer
No progress.  The world is not a better place because of my deeds.

18.  Finally go to the drive in theater
One night I had plans to go with the man friend, but I think he got into town late or something.  There's still time even if it's rapidly declining.

19.  Renaissance Festival 
I want to go so badly, but I sadly think this isn't my year.  I'm in the cities just a little less than two weeks before and it doesn't make financial sense for me to return right after that trip for the Renaissance Festival.  If I go, I'm shooting for September 20th or 21st because it's Oktoberfest weekend.

20.  Read 40+ books
I'm at 34 books.  Thanks, Young Adult Literature class!  If I hit 40 by October, I might up this goal to 50.

21.  Print more photos 
No progress.  Damn you digital age!

22.  Create more
I redecorated my dresser.

Does that count?

 23.  Go camping 
Next week at Hoyt Lake!  I'm so stinking excited.  And weirdly a little nervous.  I haven't camped in years and I don't ever remember camping in a tent...though with my dad, I'm sure it happened at some point.  Is camping like riding a bike?

24.  Make a quilt
 No progress.

25.  Get my passport
I have all of the information in my little goal notebook.  Just need to show up and do it.