This week’s prompt for Through The Lens Thursday was ‘Music’. So I snapped a couple of photos at my friend’s house who plays the piano.
Next week is ‘Round’. Something round, round the corner? Who knows, I am sure I will come up with something ’round’.
Philomena and Ruth is the name of a newly opened shop close to St Louis. They specialise in hand made and local products, everything from clothes – new and vintage – to soap, accessories and jewelry. It is in the lovely town of Waterloo in Illinois and about a 30-40 minute drive from St Louis. I have never been to south Illinois before and I enjoyed seeing the countryside on the way and checking out the old barns and pretty towns we passed.
We stopped on route at the fastest drive through McDonalds ever! Filet o fish ordered and eaten within 10 minutes. We were hungry and on a mini road trip! This time warp speed set the theme for the rest of the afternoon because we were on a misson, a mission to plant.
Elizabeth the gorgeous owner of Philomena and Ruth, needed us to fill and plant the enormous planters she has installed outside the shop on the sidewalk.
You can see the empty planters in the above photo. They were crying out to filled with dirt and beauty! Thankfully I had master ninja florist Kate to head up the planting misson (I was just along for the ride to be honest!). Off we swept to Rural King to get soil and flowers. Rural King had everything we needed along with a selection of kayaks, wheelbarrows, animal carriers and tubs of worms should you need them. Rural king indeed!
Yes, you can buy a wooden wind tower too if you feel the need. We had a car full of soil, so we had to leave it behind this time!
I grabbed two shopping carts which are pretty hard to guide by yourself! That will teach me to be a smart ass and try to co-ordinate the impossible, I think it amused the local shoppers though. Kate turned into super gardener woman and we were in and out of Rural King with a car full of plants and bags of dirt within 15 minutes!
Twenty two bags of soil later, we had developed a few more arm muscles and the plants were planted! These are going to look so amazing as they all settle in and grow and bloom.
Once we had planted in record time, we had a browse around the shop which is spacious and airy with so much to see, you need to take at least two laps around and you will still see something new when you look up. Elizabeth has fantastic displays and of course her stock is all wonderful. Makers and artists from across Illinois and Missouri are represented, all with a great variety of wares for sale.
Elizabeth is also the designer and maker behind the Just Liv brand which sits alongside the other handmade products perfectly.
All of the decor is divine and has such a unique and stylish feel, I think I could move in!
This shop is welcoming and friendly and is the perfect destination for treats and gifts for everyone who needs something for friends, family or themselves.
I hope you are having a beautiful week, the sun is shining here and the plants are growing!
Joining in with the ever gorgeous Pip at Meet Me at Mikes for this week’s ‘One+Four=Life project – one week, four photos!
1. Pablo the French Bulldog came for a walk to school and found himself a tennis ball!
2. It was Field Day this week and a lovely day was had.
3. and 4. At the weekend we went to a sale at a local antiques mall and picked up a couple of bargains, left the cow there although she was pretty cool!
Have a fab week! Happy Star Wars Day.
I am granny square-ing up a storm. I am not sure how many I will need for a blanket, but I am fairly sure it is more than five! I have an evil plan to granny square all summer and it will be my ‘on the plane’ activity when we fly over to Cape Cod for our summer holiday. So, yes, I will be the crazy lady on the plane crocheting pretty squares!
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Happy weekend!
I took this prompt very seriously indeed. I thought and thought about what I could take for upside down and ended up laying in my back garden with my head upside down and taking a photo of the grass and the white flowers which currently reside there.
Let me tell you, it is not easy trying to set camera numbers and settings and look and press buttons while upside down in grass which really needs mowing. Yes, my grass needs cutting, but the white flowers are all over it and so pretty, I can’t do it (or won’t do it, I will leave judgement up to you!).
I suppose I could have made it easier on myself and just taken the photo right way up and flipped it afterwards, but no, I wanted to fully experience the upside down and bugs eye view (if you are an upside down bug) of the world!
There were some shots which were a mite more in focus than this one, but I slapped the f stop right down to ‘one point something’ and got this lovely bokeh effect and the flowers are in focus enough to know what they are! I just love the colours and the light of this photo, so I can forgive the soft focus all over effect.
So there you have it, if you want a cool funky bokeh picture, all you have to do is be brave with your f stop settings and lie in the grass with your head tipped upside down – think ‘fish’ pose in yoga – while holding a camera!
Next week is ‘Music’ and you can see all the Through The Lens Thursday info here.
Happy Thursday!
I am joining in with Pip at Meet Me at Mikes this week for One+Four=Life, a snapshot of the previous week using four photos.
Bit of a cheater cheater pumpkin eater on this one as all of mine are from one day. We went to the State Capitol at Jefferson City with school on a beautiful blue sky day and toured some of the capital buildings.
The kids were well behaved (phew!) and we had a lovely day full of information and fun.
On the way back I snapped a few pictures from the bus window, I do love Missouri countryside, there is always so much to see.
1. I wanted to get more photos of the magnificent capitol building, the white against the blue sky was a stunning contrast. Remember Mum, you are here to look after the kids, not snap photos!
2. The corridors all looked like a scene from a TV show!
3. Amazing murals in the lounge depicting Missouri history.
4. Closed gas station caught with a tanker speeding by, taken from the bus window.
Have a lovely week!
Thankfully the rain today was warm, so although the kids playing outside got soaked to the skin, they were not cold.
I wonder how long it will take for the shoes to dry!?
For this week’s picture, I used Snapseed, Brushstroke and Word Swap apps.
Join Six Word Saturday on Instagram if you like, #SixWordSaturday.
This was a quick shot of random soda (not even sure there is caffeine inside…) for the prompt this week.
I have been at the Missouri State Capital all day with the kids from school and while I was taking lots of photos, there was no caffeine. Ironic as all I really wanted was a giant coffee!
When we got home, I bought my boys a slushie, and snapped a photo. Phew!
This week I saw a lovely necklace made from painted wooden beads and decided to make one for myself. I have some wood beads which I bought from the Upcycle exchange here in St Louis and they are ideal for this little project.
A spot of upcycling and DIY on Earth day, don’t mind if I do!
I grabbed a few colours of the new ‘Hand Made Modern‘ craft paint in Target. It took me a few minutes to decide on a palette, there is great range of colours. Once home, I ripped open a used paper shopping bag to protect the table, cracked open the paints and got painting.
To keep hold of the beads without getting myself covered in paint, I put each one on a cocktail stick so that I could hold it to paint and then balance it across a narrow necked jar to dry. Just be sure that the stick reaches each side of the jar or beads fall and paint is ruined and swears burst forth. I may have done all of this….
Once the masterpieces are all dry, they can be threaded onto the leather cord for wearing. To fasten, you can just tie a knot at the back and you are done, or I like to use a sliding knot.
I started with a 40 inch length of leather which I find is a good length to make a finished necklace which can be worn short or long.
To make the sliding knot, I followed this video. This is a great knot to know as it means you don’t need to buy and add a fastener and the necklace can be worn longer or shorter. Hurrah for choice!!
I love to be able to whip up a necklace to wear, this one will be perfect for the Spring weather.
Happy Earth Day!
1. I went on a Goodwill Outlet field trip with my friend (who knows the way!) on the train. I got a few bits and bobs including some snaps of the old St Louis Armory which stands next to the Goodwill building. Of course I am the person that stands to get photos in a rather dodgy area of the city. I couldn’t resist this great old building and I was quick! St Louis seems to be chock full of old impressive buildings which are left to ruin, hopefully this one will be developed without destroying it.
2. While mowing my neighbor’s front grass – yes, it is that time again, mow mow mow – I smelt the lilac before I glanced up and spotted it. So beautiful, I finished the mow and went home to get my camera to get a snap.
3. ‘Record Store Day’ was Saturday so we headed to The Grove in St Louis, for a coffee and a wander around and while we were wandering I spotted this amazing art on the side of a building. The Grove is full of street art but this one caught my attention, the boys thought she was a bit creepy, but I just think she is in a pondering mood.
4. It rained lots over the weekend and the woods was a green as could be yesterday when we went for a little explore.
I am joining with Pip at Meet me at Mikes for One+Four=Life, pop over and see more shots of weekly life!
Clare Davis Etheridge 