And The Good News Is...

Shirt - Faded Glory // Cardigan -  New York and Company (Thrifted) // Skirt - H&M (Thrifted) // Socks - George // Shoes - Hotcakes

So, I actually do have really great news! These are (um, hopefully) the last crappy pictures you will ever have to see on my blog! (come to think of it, I think there might be one or two more sets of pictures from the summer...so I shall post those asap) Anyways.... I just got a real camera. That's right, I finally bought a DSLR and I am sooo excited! I've been on a few adventures over the past week, so I have plenty of pictures to post! 

I ended up with the Pentax K-30 and the best part is it's weather sealed! I was originally just going to go with Canon because, well, just because. No particular reason. Well, I guess it's because a lot of the bloggers I follow use Canon. But yeah, after doing some research, I decided to go with Pentax. And I'm so glad I did 'cause I found out later that almost all of the older lenses are compatible! And they're so much cheaper!

The weirdest thing is I really hadn't touched a camera before I started blogging. And now, in just about 8 months, I've gone from cell phone camera to point-and-shoot, to a totally awesome DSLR! I know that it's the photographer and not (necessarily) the camera that makes the photo great, but having a great camera really helps!

Just to show you how amazing the k-30 is, check out this video:

And...we'll see if this actually posts, because there's a tornado watch here and the internet's a little spotty.

Be Prepared

Dress - Monteau // Shoes - l.e.i. // Cardigan - New York & Company

Anytime someone says that I have an urge to sing the song from Lion King. Seriously, does anyone else do that? Or it is just me...

So I like to think of myself as a fairly organized person. But seriously, when it comes to weather--rain specifically--I am seriously never dressed right. I actually bothered to check the weather this time to see whether (haha...weather...whether... anyone read The Phantom Tollbooth?) where was I? Oh yes, um I checked the weather to see whether I should wear layers or not and too see how hot it was supposed to be. But for some reason I failed to see that it was going to rain. Now, apparently I left my rainboots at my parents house. But I still have plenty of other boots to wear. Since I didn't see this massive storm or even bother to listen to all the rain right outside the many windows in my house I wore flats. Not just any flats either. These particular flats apparently have a bit of a hole in the sole of the right shoe...I know this 'cause my right shoe was full of water by the time I'd made my way to the art building. And my left shoe was relatively dry...ish. Thankfully I had time to run home and switch shoes before my next class. And by that time it had stopped raining.

The awful thing is this is not the first time this has happened. And yet, I continue to make the same stupid mistake over and over again! Rainboots on...no rain. Rainboots off...torrential downpour. People, I have actually worn rainboots on days with no rain. In my defense I actually checked the weather and there was supposed to be rain! I guess I'm just a dork :p

Back to Pymatuning

Dress - Thrifted (Ulterior Motive) // Cardigan - Thrifted (New York & Company) // Belt - Corey P. (via JCPenney ...came with a dress) // Shoes - Faded Glory

I don't know what happened, but for some reason there were about 20 pictures missing when I uploaded everything. Aaaand, they happened to be the pictures that I had Catherine take of my outfit while I was standing on the dock. It's really frustrating 'cause they were on the camera on the way home, but when I went to upload them....they were gone. So yeah, not happy. Oh well, still got a couple good pictures I guess.

Anyways, only Laura, M, and dad were running in the 5k today and, since they were there, A and D ran in the 1/2 mile kids fun run. But, for some strange reason we all got up between 5 & 6 to go to a race an hour away...yes, that early in the morning. Now, I'm all for supporting family members in their athletic endeavors, but I'm pretty sure there's an clause in there somewhere regarding early mornings. Technically, I'd prefer to attend sporting events after noon (or perhaps not at all...) but the fact that we drove several hours, sat through two races, and stayed for award ceremony all before noon disturbs me.

They actually did really well in the race though. Laura and A both placed second in their age categories and D placed 3rd in his. It was hilarious 'cause we all stood by the finish line waiting for our people and my mom was just there cheering everyone on. I, on the other hand, wasn't. Cheering people on, that is. If you remember my previous post on running you'll remember that I hate running and I spent the entire time venting my frustration by yelling at Laura (jokingly, not angrily ...sarcasm clause). So, as a joke, to balance my mom's  ridiculously enthusiastic encouragement to people we didn't even know, I would say...well, not very encouraging things. Ya know, only so she could hear. But then when our family members came to the finish line I had to yell....not encouraging things at them. Don't worry, Laura thought it was funny. Just things like, "You look goofy when you run!" "You'll never make it" and "Turn back now!" And then I thought of ..."The end is near!" So now I actually want to go to another race with them just so I can bring a sign saying "The End is Near." That way I can be encouraging and still retain my slightly disturbing sense of humor. It's a win-win. Oh, I did cheer on one runner though. The guy dressed as Wolverine. Yes, a guy dressed up as Wolverine for the race--I couldn't help but cheer him on!

 And before I forget, the pictures of Catherine in goofy poses are her mocking me. In exchange for her taking the pictures  that interestingly disappeared, I took pictures of her mocking me. Actually I'd totally take the pictures anyway, 'cause she's thinks she's funny.

That's it! I leave you with the most creative store name ever--The Store. Yes, just The Store. I had to take a picture of this incredible example of creativity.

It's a Jungle Out There?

Or maybe a zoo. Or maybe, just maybe, a public restroom that hadn't been cleaned in the past decade. No joke. It was at a state park, and well... it reminded me of several exhibits at the Cleveland Zoo. Except the zoo might have actually smelled better ...and was probably cleaner. Well, wasn't that an interesting note to start my post with? Hey, I just had to share it with someone. You're welcome.

It's sad that it's the last day to spend in California. I wish I didn't have to go back to Ohio :( I mean I guess it's still cold here, but at least it's sunny in California! They could do a show called It's Always Cloudy in Cleveland. Although as we were heading back to the hotel we saw some storm clouds. But, ya know, I can deal with some clouds occasionally.

First we stopped by Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey to buy some jackets! When we woke up in the morning, it was FREEEEZING and we decided to get jackets before we headed down to the state park. My dad just loves Monterey, so he made us all get jackets there. I wish we had been closer to Winchester House, 'cause I would have loved a jacket from there! But it was funny as we were walking around the wharf because we were trying find presents for the other kids that didn't come with us, remember which stores the presents we decided on were in, and then buy the presents...and we were in a hurry. I think we found pretty cool stuff though, even if we took a few minutes longer! I ended up getting a goofy fleece jacket that I'll probably never wear again :/ But I did get a great blanket! It looks kind of like this--only blue. My mom had a red one while I was growing up and it brings back lots of memories. I always wanted one for myself so I'm really happy I found this.

After Fisherman's Wharf, we drove down to Julia Pfeiffer State Park. And yes, that's where the bathroom was. The bathroom. Yes, that one. Anyways, enough of that. Where was I? Oh yes, State Park. My dad's wanted go here every time he's been in California, but he never made it out. Last time it was really late in the evening and I got really sick right before he wanted to make the drive. We didn't end up staying that long, but we finally made it out there and it really was beautiful! I'm not sure how to describe it, but there are pictures below. I'll just leave it at...well, it was beautiful.

We then drove to Cannery Row and stopped at a few places there. There was a great pirate store, a shell store, and...lots of stores. Honestly the shopping in Monterey Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row was so much better than San Francisco. We were hungry though, so we didn't shop that long. We ended up eating at Louie Linguini's...and I kept thinking of Ratatouille the entire time. Especially the part when the head chef is just yelling "Linguiiiiini!" ...I couldn't find a clip on YouTube though. Sorry :( I was really in the mood for crab, but I decided to go really adventurous and order some clams and mussels and some other stuff all served on noodles. I now know that outside of clam chowder I really don't like clams and especially mussels. But, I did try both! I don't know why, but the mussels just looked...weird. There was a bunch of other meat with the noodles so other than that my dinner was great. Then we stopped by the Nestle Toll House place and got some ice cream. It was great though 'cause you could make your own ice cream sandwiches and pick your own combination of cookies and ice cream. It was awesome!! I got fudge tracks ice cream with a triple chocolate and an English toffee cookie. I'll have to run for a week to burn those calories! Oh wait...I don't run. Anyways, we didn't want to get to the hotel too late, so we left around 8:30 PM.

Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf

Yes.

Two years ago...same place. same shirt.

At the state park

Pirate Store at Cannery Row in Monterey

Two years ago--same place.

Apparently the person on the packaging doesn't know how to use this product...

He has no eyes!

Shirt - Old Navy // Skirt - Thrifted // Jacket - Forever21 // Cardigan - New York and Company (Thrifted) // Tights - George // Shoes - Faded Glory

Well it was a busy, but fun, last day. You can check out my first trip here. Here's the link to my sister's blog. And here's the link (finally!) to the conference my dad spoke at. And his bio. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!

PS I didn't really feel like taking pictures on the trip home. I was just really tired and wanted to sleep. I did, however, watch The Guilt Trip and Oz the Great and Powerful. I thought The Guilt Trip was really dumb, but I really loved Oz! Anyways, I'm home now and I'm really looking forward to getting back to normal outfit posts. Oh, and I basically wore the same thing as I did on the way to California, but with the shirt in today's outfit. And my tights look they they were in a cat fight....