The Red Barn

Ah, where to begin. Well, I guess I’ll begin by saying that this is still one my favorite things to look back on to this day. My brothers and sisters and I were younger, spanning the ages from about three to twelve.

My grandparents have a big red barn with a great big loft, and it’s full of all kinds of tidbits and treasures for us to play with. Things like red wagons, hay bails, little desks and chairs from when my mom was a kid, her old toys and dolls- you get the picture. Basically a little kid from Indiana’s paradise. My family visited my grandparents every Sunday afternoon after church, and me and my brothers and sisters practically lived out there during that time. And I mean “lived” literally as much as I do figuratively. We had a whole little town going on outside. Full-on Little House on the Prairie scene. We had shops and homes and trading stands and would split up into little families, which was perfectly doable considering there were 8 of just us, and even more including the cousins. There was a little self-reliant town all based in and around the big red barn. There were all kinds of things to use for “food” and for trading and selling purposes. Just to the left of our town was a huge cornfeild. Perfect- there were unlimited uses for that stuff. Scattering the yard were walnuts that had fallen from the many walnut trees, and those we could actually eat. There were “helicopter” trees all over the place. You know the ones- a big gust of wind and all the dried up “hellicopters” go swirling through the air. Those were gathered up and peeled to be used for “beans” and “soups.” Onion grass was the perfect “seasoning,” and if we needed some added protein? Hey, there were plenty of bugs and worms around. Of course, we didn’t really eat these hearty concoctions, but we sure as heck put our heart and soul into cooking them.

I remember grabbing buckets and going down to the creek to get water to keep our town running. We’d carry it back up to the barn, dump some here, dump some there, and then grab the wagon and take it out to gather things we needed for our “homes” and “shops.” One time, the cornfeild had been plowed before we arrived, and fantastically so. Well, fantastically for us, anyway. It was actually a terrible job. The plowers had somehow missed a TON of corn. You could stick your hand down into the piles of broken stalks and pull back up handfuls of kernels. We loaded that wagon to the brim and brought it back to the barn so as to share the wealth amongst each other. That wagonload provided tons of pretend suppers for our pretend-hungry bellies. All stacked on the railings were cans, bowls, and makeshift cooking pots full of “corn chowders” and “vegetable soups” and “salads,” which were all actually pretty much the same thing- bowls of dried up corn kernels and leaves floating around in water.
Days spent out in the barn with nothing but a few old toys, some dirt, and our imaginations were the most interesting and well-spent days of my childhood.

Rubber Bands- Tried and True Friends

When I was about 7 or so, me and my family went to a buddy of my dad’s house. It started out as a regular day. We arrived, went inside, greeted everyone, etc. etc. Little did I know that this was the day I would meet my first pet and best friend.
After we had gotten settled and had a bite to eat, my sisters and I went upstairs to play. We were goofing off, and a toy ended up landing across the room behind an old space heater in the corner. I crawled my little self back there to retrieve the toy, but what I found was far better. It was a red rubber band. It was about medium size, had the perfect amount of elasticity, and was dusted with that white powdery stuff that you find commonly on rubber bands. Truly beautiful. I gingerly picked it up, careful not to disturb him. But quick! He needed a name! Patooney. It was the first thing that came to my mind. So, there I had it. Patooney, my new pet. I carried him around the rest of the day. We just kinda hung around, you know, getting to know one another. Later on, Mom said to get my shoes on- it was time to leave. Oh no. How could I leave without Patooney!? I knew I couldn’t. So, with no questions asked, I put Patooney in my pocket and took him home with me.
We spent a long, enjoyable life together. (It was actually more like a few weeks, but that’s an eternity to a 7 year old. *sniffle.*) But pets don’t last forever, and eventually he was… he was gone. I don’t think I’ll ever know what really happened to Patooney, but what I do know is that friends come in unlikely shapes and sizes. They may come from the most unexpected sources, but you will love them all the same. You never forget your first pet. Rest in peace, Patooney.

Outfit for Fall

Hello! Today I have some Fall fashion inspiration for you! Don’t you hate it when the cold weather arrives, and you can no longer use your cute summer clothes until a whole ‘nother year has gone by? Well, that’s not always the case. You can cold-weather-ify some old summer clothes pretty easily! The outfit I put together here uses a hand-me-down denim romper (from my lovely cousin Hannah,) a white sweater, a heavy knit maroon scarf, black tights, and black boots. I’m confident that you probably have most of these things already. Of course, not all in the same color, but that’s why this is “inspiration,” and not a strict code (obviously). If you’ve got a romper, pairing it with tights, a sweater, and a scarf (and I actually wore a white knit beanie on this day- sorry it isn’t pictured!) is an awesome option for transferring it from summer use to fall/winter use. Again, play around with the colors based on what you have already. Maroon or navy blue tights would be pretty as well!

When Chilly Nights Arrive…

November is when it really starts to get chilly around these parts. The sun goes down too soon, the wind picks up, and the cold starts to seep through every microscopic crack in your house that you didn’t even know existed. But luckily, I have a tried and true tip for you to get yourself through chilly nights that just might change your life. (No, it’s not to insulate your walls and windows. That would be too mainstream.) This is something that I do religiously. When it’s getting a little too cold for comfort, and it’s time to turn up the heat, don’t just turn it on and wait for the entire house to heat up. What I do, is I put my Snuggie on and sit on the heating vent. Seriously dudes, this rocks. The warm air lifts the blanket up all around you and creates this heat-bubble that envelopes your very being. Your eyes will get heavy as lead, and you won’t stop them. You’ll just kind of ooze around and not care about whatever the heck else is going on around you. It’s pretty much the closest thing to Heaven on earth.

Summer Outfit

Oh my goodness guys! I started this as a draft back in the summer, and I forgot to ever finish it! So clearly this is late, and clearly there’s no need to really see this outfit at this point now that it’s fall, but I’ll add it anyway for next summer. The tank top sorta rose up in the front there- I know, it’s a little racy. The jean vest looks familiar, am I right? I used it in my last fashion post! Maybe I’ll post as many outfits as I can using that same jean vest to show how many different ways you can wear one article of clothing. Well, the outfit as a whole is pretty casual and summery, so… yup. That’s it. Take from it what you will.

Back to School Outfit

This is the outfit I wore on the second day of school this year. When I was picking something out to wear, I knew I wanted to wear the flowy pants that I call “gypsy pants,” but I was having the hardest time finding a top. I tried plain colored t-shirts, but the styles didn’t match. I tried a denim shirt, but I only have a loose one and it looked way too frumpy. Then it hit me all of a sudden that I needed a jean jacket over a cute tank! Perfect, except for one thing- school starts in the summer, and it is WAY too hot to be wearing a long-sleeved jean jacket. So what do we do when we need something that we don’t have? We take the scissors to it and make it work! (Well, that’s what I do anyway.) So I just cut off the sleeves and made it a jean vest, which turned out mighty fine if I do say so myself. I don’t know what the rules are at your school regarding the dress code (sleeves,) but this was three fingers wide so it was fine. I paired it with the nude flats that had a little sparkle on them cause sparkle is what where it’s at! You can’t see the necklace in the picture because it got turned around, (and isn’t that how it always works out?) but let me just tell you that it is FAB. It’s kind of antique-y looking with two clocks on it, one with numbers and one with roman numerals. It’s pretty sweet! (Thanks Mom!)

 

 

Straw wrapper

I was with my youth group on the way to Teen Camp (holla,) and we stopped at McDonalds to get some food on the way. It was super packed that morning. Me and my friends chose a spot next to a really old lady, mainly because there was nowhere else to sit, but also because who doesn’t enjoy sitting next to a sweet old lady? So we ordered our food and sat down. Now, as everyone on Earth knows, when you get a straw you rip off the tip of the wrapper and blow it at the person across from you, am I right? (It’s rhetorical- I know I’m right.) So I tore off the tip, lined it up, and shot it at my friend across from me. I missed, and it landed behind her. Darn. So I got up to get it, like I literally STOOD UP to go get this wrapper, but a huge group of people walked past and when I looked back down, it was gone. Eh, no biggie. What’s one little straw wrapper on the ground of a fast-food restaurant? Well, apparently it’s the end of the ever-loving world! The seemingly sweet old lady looked at me and yelled “Excuse me, young lady! You go find that wrapper RIGHT now!” I didn’t want to be rude and just ignore her. She’s still an old lady, albeit a cranky one. So I got up and looked around till I found it (it had been kicked away in the crowd,) and threw it away. On my way back to my seat, she starts yelling at me again! “I’ll tell you what, if you were my kid I’d blister your butt! You wouldn’t be able to sit down for weeks!”
It was just a straw wrapper! Come on! Now if I had done something like tripped a customer on their way to get their order or something, then I could understand her response, but over a straw wrapper? But no, this is not the end of her rant. An old man who was a seat over had seen and heard the whole fiasco too, and I KID YOU NOT, he got up, came to sit with the lady, and they sat there and talked about me out loud to each other! “Kids these days, where’s the respect? Can you even believe it?” I never said anything back to her after that.
I couldn’t tell if I was scared of her, embarrassed by her, or if I wanted to tell her to get outta my business. I think it was a little of all three.