Peacock Blue

What is it about Target, for the millionth time, that makes it such a money pit?  I wasn't even going to buy anything, just killing time before another store opened. Even as I walked in, I said to myself what a terrible idea this was.

 I have a slight love affair going on with peacock blue these days, and the first bottle I spy on the shelf is the same color I'd love to paint something, anything, in my house.  I walk out 45 minutes later with not one or two, but 4 or 5 - maybe 6 bottles of Essie nail polish. 

And for the majority that do not care about nail polish, I'm in love with the girl that saw my peacock blue toenails and said she wanted them too!  I can't believe I tried this inside the house (it's usually a back porch hot sunny day activity) ... but luck was 95% on our side tonight and she sat still long enough for them to dry. For the most part.

They're cute.  Really cute.

Unofficial Last Day of Summer

For us it really doesn't matter that the school bus will be rounding our culdesac tomorrow morning for the first day of school. We'll still go about our summer days enjoying them as they come.  We can blissfully ignore this early sign that we're closer to fall that I'd like to admit.

And then there was today, it felt a lot like a change of season is upon us.  Dark, cool, rainy and dreary.  We spent most the entire day in the house.  Cleaning, laundry, playing Candyland, watching Bug's Life and all was good.

Ed's out of town again this week, and us girls made an unofficial dinner of tomatoes and popsicles. When I couldn't stand to be inside another minute, I grabbed my new camera and decided to give it a whirl as we checked out the garden and rolled around in the wet grass. I pulled the first set of onions just the other day and left them to dry in the sun. Maybe should have brought them in before the rain?

And then there's my tomato crop... the plants are ginormous!  The one in the back is a good 9 feet tall, I just tied another 2 feet to the top of the stake by climbing to the top of a ladder this past weekend.  I foresee the next few days being knee deep in tomatoes and needing to get my jars prepped and ready soon.  Here's JJ for a little perspective on size.

And while I'd always believe it's the photographer that takes a good photo, not the camera, the new camera sure does a finnne job to pick up some slack.  I had a bit of your typical buyers remorse the last few days, but now I'm not sure there's even a sliver of regret left.

Slice of Life: Weekday Morning

A weekday, two girls home alone - I particularly love the calm and quiet of the house on these mornings.   I wake around 6:45am by the sound of Josie's bedroom door closing (she always closes it behind her as she comes down),  and then I wait for it.  The sound of her little feet coming down the stairs, through the living room and into my room.  I lay with my eyes closed and listen as she pauses to see that I'm there.  She's a monkey, climbs up the foot of the bed (our bed is too tall otherwise), flops over the rail and climbs up next to me.  She says "mama, tickle my back" as she crawls under the covers and puts her thumb in her mouth.

And so, I tickle her back (which is actually a back rub, but that's what she says...).  I ask her "who is my favorite girl?" She says, "Me, Josie!" I ask "Did you have sweet dreams last night?" and she nods and smiles, all the while, thumb in the mouth.  It's perfect.   

 

And on this particular morning, she rolled over and saw my iPad on the nightstand. We grabbed it and "colored" Angelina Ballerina (great iPad app, btw) for a little while before I realized I need a picture.  It's rare that I think to grab the camera so early in the morning, before the lighting is just right, or without thoughtfully planning the shot. I'm happy the camera was close by with a memory card ready to shoot - a rarity.  Our slice of life for the week.

Carrot Surprise

Apparently carrots ARE easy to grow. I know this to be true because they're growing in my garden!  By accident this guy got plucked with a weed and I was delighted to see it's coming along quite well. 

 I planted a kaleidoscope variety (various colors of orange, yellow and purple) of carrots - hopefully come fall we're in for a big surprise!

 
and true, sometimes naked is a good thing on a hot day.  It was a late afternoon, impromptu filling of the pool :)  I'll spare the cute butt shots!

Yet Again, Another Fair

What can I say, we're totally fair goin' people.  I don't know why.  But there's something about going every year, in the blazing heat.  Always in the late afternoon on a week day, just before sun sets when the crowds are light and we *think* the day has cooled off (but really it hasn't....).   And our fair-going habit has only reinforced 10fold with Josie completely aware of the fun to be had.  The county in which I grew up has their fair next weekend, so we might even make it to another here soon. 

But this one, the one that's just a hop and skip away from home - is a really great one.  Just the right proportion of city folk mixed in with the farmers.  And every year, the kids barn is a true gem - always local farmers that love the kids and make it fun.  Wilbur was especially fun this year, telling Josie a secret.  

But darn, Wilbur sure is a wiggly one and didn't take kindly to being held.  He sure was super cute though.

So we carried on and checked out every animal, every 4H exhibit, every food stand, gosh do I love fried veggies once a year, and all 5 of the JJ sized rides (several times a piece).   We always leave hot, sweaty, tired and completely happy to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a ridiculous amount of fun.