EARTH DAY!!

leave it to a holiday to inspire me to write...
i love holidays.
i love having a reason to celebrate.
i love focusing on something specific and dressing, eating, drinking, celebrating accordingly.
very event-oriented, i am...

that being said, i love earth day.
i love the earth, i love the outdoors, i love the fresh air, i love trees, i love flowers, i love fruits & vegetables, i love gardens, i love picnics, i love mountains, i love fields, i love rain...i love it.

(but at the price of feeling so strongly about holidays (earth day, included), i feel guilty the days surrounding i do not focus on the aspects once so-celebrated.)
THIS earth day, i was stuck inside working, sad i could not visit the farmer's market and eat my finds on a checked-blanket at the park--yet remained inspired with the magic of the day, as my brain whirled with the thoughts for this post...and the fact that, yes, every day can be earth day. here are a few of my specific year-round loves + new tips i am striving to adopt.

IN REGARDS TO FOOD...
- go to the farmer's market!! (or if you live in kansas like me, drive down the road to a local selling their produce off the side of the road.) :)

FM with mom, perfect peaches, FM with the boys & dad, mouth-watering tomatoes, farmer cole, mom getting some goods at the FM.

- eat local, organic, and in-season.

shelling purple hulls with mom, weston apple orchard, osceola cheese, bulk it with nicholas, heirloom, and the peach truck!

- buy whole foods, and make your own meal. (no product placement here, the actual adjective.)

homemade apple chips, radish tea sandwiches, blackberry cobbler, fresh-pressed orange juice, my new favorite recipe, oatmeal & fruit, homemade tomato soup.

- use reusable tote bags when...toting.

IN REGARDS TO WATER...
- filter/purify your own!!
- use cold water to wash your food/clothes/self, as much as you can.
- take showers, not baths.

IN REGARDS TO HOME...
- plant a garden!! (and make your own compost.)

baby coley & me with my first garden.

- turn off heat/AC during the nice months.
- take advantage of that daylight!!
- unplug and turn off electric appliances when not in use.
- use natural cleaners on your homes/selves. (whether it's making your own like this, this, or this...or using eco-friendly/toxin-free brands like this, this, this, or this!)
- give back, and plant a tree!! (not possible? try filling your home with air-purifying plants.)

IN REGARDS TO TRANSPORTATION...
- carpool as often as you can.
- avoid traffic, slow down, and keep those tires inflated.
- and when possible, ride your bike!!

dad teaching me to ride a bike...whilst actually riding my bike.

IN REGARDS TO CLOTHING...
- make your own!!
- buy from local and/or small business.

this beauty--that is sadly, no longer.

- if neither of those are options, buy used as much as possible. (thrift stores, antique malls, yard/garage/estate sales, flea markets, etc.)

is there anything better than antiquing/thrifting with the ones you love?

IN REGARDS TO FUN... (you mean, besides what i've already addressed...??)
- read a book.
- have a picnic.

a perfect day at shawnee mission park.

- go to the lake and kayak, fish, swim.

kayaking with the fam.

- go to the park.

"vintage" deanna rose park.

- go on a hike.

yellowstone, smokies, and rockies.

- play some yardgames!

croquet your heart out, quinny.

*anything you love doing, if possible, try doing it outside...catch some fresh oxygen and vitamin d, while developing an appreciation and wonder in mother earth.

learn about some KC local beekeepers here,  here, and here.

AND OF COURSE, reduce--reuse--recycle.

dear, blogging community.

to all those who read; to all those who care...

iMISSblogging.
ugh.
i cannot wait till the week is over, and then i can start back up again...i already have four great posts lined up. (unfortunately my ocd with photo-editing/copy editing prolongs this process.)
not one, not two, but three 'what's for dinners'...and one 'thrifty thursday' comin atcha.
get your party pants on.

thrifty thursday.

for the girls' Christmas gifts this year, i had this cute idea that i'd write a recipe down (recipe coming soon) on a cute recipe card and put it in a ball jar with a vintage apron!! :) i was so excited about it.
i looove aprons; i guess you could say i collect them. i have 23. ha.

an olathe antique mall that we frequent never lets us down. we've found a lot of "goodies" there...including several aprons.
obviously, i couldn't resist buying a few for myself.

i first walked in and saw this adorable apron with red polka-dots and rick-rack along the edges.
i love how it looks worn in the middle, like a lot of use has gone into it; a lot of history in this one.

then i saw this beaut. i already have a lot of predominantly red and white aprons...but nothing like this. checkered, rick-racked, annnd cross-stitched.
this one would just look so great hung up in a kitchen even!!

and then i came across this darrrling apron.
oh my gosh, i'm in love. i'm such a sucker for sheer aprons. with blue and yellow detailing.

all under 10 bucks each!!

tell me about your thrifty finds!!
other thrifty thursdays found here and here.

thrifty thursday.

(you can find the background to this segment here.)

my grandmother has a lonnng history of loving nearly all-things vintage.

growing up, i would stay with her and my grampa for a weekend at their beautiful house in st. jo, and occasionally she would take me along to her little booth at the local antique mall. we'd walk around from booth to booth, and she'd let me rummage amongst all the antique and miscellaneous goodies.

she's always had so much fun stuff at her house that i've always admired, from vintage dress-up clothes, to antique Christmas decorations galore.

the sunday before thanksgiving, we went over to my gramparents' house. as i was walking through her kitchen, i noticed somethin turquoise peaking out behind a photo frame...it was this adorrrabllle tea pot!!

i asked her where she got it, and she said "oh, just one of my many finds!!" (haha.) and then was saying how she would probably sell it at her next "sale". (she always has these grand sales.) and i was all like "nuh-uhhh, gramma...i'm callin dibs on this thing if you end up sellin it." and she was like "you want it?? i'll sell it to you right now, if you want." i tried to tell her i could just wait, to make sure she really was sellin it...but she wasn't havin it.

SIX. B U C K S.

das right, yall. mmm-i love it so much.

(if only...i could thriftily find a new vehicle. that'd just be wonderful.)

thrifty thursday.

:)
hopefully, this segment will become a regular. (and as such...more up-to-date.)
due to my love for most all things vintage, my deep nostalgia obsession, and the rush of stumbling upon something perfectly your taste-yet reasonably priced...i LOVE antique malls and small thrift stores, etc. (i get very overwhelmed tryin to shop at goodwills, salvation armies, and savers. ha.)

this summer, on our way to chicago, for the first time ever we stopped through my dad's hometown of council bluffs, iowa to literally drive down memory lane. right across the highway in omaha (my friend-kelly's hometown), they have this adorable, strictly-vintage shop called the flying worm vintage. sifting through all the racks of clothes, i found this GEM for $10. so exciting. never would've found it in a kansas shop; it wouldn't have even made it on a rack around here. haha.

1988 ncaa champions. das right.

a few weeks ago, my brother needed help finding a great outfit for thrift store prom over at midam i took him to ATC in westport and, obviously, i tried a few things on of my own.
i came out with these happenin, vintage, plaid, high-waisted bellbottoms for $9. (that was a lot of adjectives.)

photo courtesy of: cindy foster.

two weeks ago, my friend-becky and i went to the granada in lawrence and saw first aid kit (they were absolutely amazing. duh. seriously, go see them.) but first, we stopped in at aladdin cafe for some dinner, urban for some shoppin, and sylas & maddy's for some ice cream.
i came out of urban with these fricken-awesome, high-waisted, bellbottomed levis for $5. (they originally were $98, yall. be impressed.)

i also got those platforms for $8 from forever yesterday.

a couple weekends ago, we visited my mom's sister and her family in o'fallon, missouri--right outside of st. louis. occasionally, we'll go to cottleville and stop by a few little (mostly vintage) shops. this time around, we went to four quarters, and i picked up this cute, vintage, yellow tea pot for $15. :) :) :)  i LOVE it.

my mom has a blue one just like it!! :)

we also stopped by this brand new chocolate bar, vanbuskirk artisanal. so delicious!! and super unique!! chocolates, coffee, cheese fondue, and homemade ice cream. the whole feel reminded me a little of quay coffee. (and if you haven't tried THAT killer place, do it now.)

(pee.ess: shout-out to my bff, trisha marie; it's her birthday today. yeah, girl--get crunk.)

not adequate...?? DIY!!

it is no secret i am incredibly fond of the 60's & 70's; i was seriously born in the wrong era.
-my most favorite bands include the beatles, led zeppelin, and lynyrd skynyrd.
-frijid pink's "house of the rising sun" is probably my favorite song of all time.
-i wanted to be a hippie for halloween just about every year in elementary school.
-i grew up wearing my mom's old jeans and tee-shirts from high school. (she was very small. haha.) 
-i could easily keep going.

my mother and her two sisters are very nostalgic, which has rubbed off on me...including their own nostalgia and love for all things "retro" and "vintage". (retro and vintage are obviously relative terms though; it is a very weird feeling when you see a toy you played with as a child labeled "vintage" at a thrift store.) (and on another note, my intense nostalgia plays into my aforementioned hoarding-tendencies.)

i have been - o b s e s s e d - with these free people jeans ever since i saw them on the website. (along with all things free people, for that matter.)

however, there were a couple problems. one was the price. ($150 is a little much for me to pay for jeans at this moment in time.) one was their absence in my local store. (i'm fond of trying clothing on; i have a difficult body shape to please.) and one was the reviews. (each said they were an odd fit; too long all around.)
so obviously...i ordered some. ha. after drooling over them all summer long, i couldn't take it anymore.
they arrived today; i can't even button them, let alone pull them up over my hips. haaa--it was a sight to see.
BUT...in order to accept my "less is more" attitude and become more thrifty, i've decided to make my own. and with having them in hand for the next 29 days, i have a tangible template. i accept this challenge. hold me to it, yall.