Iowa State Fair

Oh the Iowa State Fair. I was in 4-H for nine years so I've very familiar with fair time. I didn't get a chance to head back to Winneshiek county for their fair, but Kari and Grant, and later Kindra as well joined Matt and I for a couple trips to the Iowa State Fair.Besides finding everything you can imagine on a stick (even salad on the stick this year!), we saw the sites of the fair. Everything is bigger there, including this giant pumpkin! It weighed over 1200 lbs! This is the biggest bull---no lie!

And the biggest boar---weighed almost the same amount as the giant pumpkin!
And a lovely view of the fair from the sky glider.
All in all, it was a fun time, enjoyed the sites, the company, and relived my years in 4-H. And now, the wait begins for next year's fair!

When I grow up...

I want to be like this girl! This print is from Elizabeth House and I stumbled upon her blog and love her stuff! She's into printmaking and bookbinding and also is a new fabric designer! Maybe when I grow up I can be a fabric designer too (or just be printing and bookbinding in my "studio" aka the basement :)

Fall done by Etsy

I've been thinking more and more about fall lately, probably due to the mild August we've been having. As I've thinking about fall, I've been looking at some finds on Etsy that my fall spirit is pining for :)

First is the great shawl by TickedPinkKnits:

And this great combo, sold separately, but they look great together, from Elmstudios: plate, bowl

And these great fall earrings from ShopClementine:

I love the color combo in these kitchen towels from MichelleBruse:
And everybody needs a little vintage inspired art hanging around :) Great little print from monkeypoweredSo much stuff to look forward to fall with :)

Weekly Round-up

It's been a busy week (as seen by my lack of posting), so here's a weekly round-up of all things of this week :)
I made delicious banana bread early on in the week :) It's my grandma's recipe and it is so delicious :) Matt and I went through half a loaf right after I made it
On Thursday I got free tickets to the I-cubs game. I haven't gone to a game in 2 years at least, so it was fun to go. The game was really pretty good and the I-cubs ended up winning. Unfortunately we left at the bottom of the 8th because the wind really picked up and I could barely see because of my contacts. It started raining as we walked back to the car.
And to top off the weekend, Kindra and I went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. I'd never gone before, but I throughly enjoyed it. I ended up making this beautiful bouquet for $3.50! I love fresh flowers!

After the flea market we stopped at West End Architectural Salvage. It was a really cool place, a little on the pricey side, but pretty cool. Have to remember it when I own my house someday. We also stopped out at the bridal store so Kindra could show me my bridesmaid dress. I'm so excited for her wedding :)

A very busy week, but a great one....and soon, a post about the one and only Iowa State Fair :) Gotta have some fun before school starts (in a week, eek!)

First Trip to a Real Zoo!

That's right, I've experienced my first trip to an actual zoo. And when I say actual zoo, I mean one that isn't a petting zoo or the Las Vegas Zoo (never go to the Las Vegas Zoo, unless you want to pay $8 to get chased by crazy birds). This last weekend Kari and Grant came down to the big D to visit and we went to the Blank Park Zoo. It was a good time and Kari got some great videos of our zoo experience. Here are some of the pics I captured.

Summer Time

Summer is nearing an end here in the land of Ioway. One of my favorite parts of summer is the abundant amount of fresh strawberries. During my last berry binge, I found a quite peculiar strawberry and just thought I'd share :)

Enjoy the rest of summer!

Ossian Fest!

Last weekend was the grand ole Ossian Fest. Matt and I took the trek back up home Thursday night in preparation for Ossian Fest on Friday. Woke up for the free breakfast (pancakes and Brockman's sausage is the best!) and then wandered around town, grabbed a couple of 19 cent ice cream cones and checked out the flea market. Later that evening we grabbed a piece of curb and watched the parade. Here are some pics of the fabulous Ossian Fest Parade.
This was crazy! This man had trained all of his ducks to march in line with him and every one of them had different little costumes.
And the classic shriners in their clown get-up.
And here's one of my great uncles driving his restored tractor.

All in all Ossian Fest was a great time. Good times with friends and classic Ossian Fest goodness :)

Another Treasury + Sale!

It's back to school time and everyone needs a new book or two! It's time for BESTbooks Team Back to School Sale! I will be offering free shipping beginning Aug 8 going through Aug 10. Check out the BESTbooks blog for the complete list of sales. Also check out our sweet treasury here :)

Fun Treasury

My lack of posting is starting to show...so I apologize. I have contracted a cold (from my brother, little poop) so I have been trying to recoop.

Today I did get a nice little convo today that I've been featured in a treasury! :) Thanks to RainbowMom for featuring one of my handmade books. She even gave me some props on her blog :)

Thanks RainbowMom!

Storque Article!

One of my books made it into the "related items" in a storque article! I was so excited (and still am). I've never been on the front page so this is the first time I've come close to the glory of the front page treasury. There my little book is on the bottom of the front page of Etsy (the little pink arrow is pointing to it)

And this is the article about creating memories with your kids and they mention creating photo brag books and that's how my little book came in :)And at the bottom of the article there is my little book :) Middle book in the top row.

And now I'll wait and see if this brings any more views (or better yet, sales).