Picnic in the Park

How can you not smile when you see this photo? Whether or not you know the subject of the photo, you see a picnic, in a park, on a clear and beautiful day. This is an all-American perfect weekend day! My Dad is compeltely unaware of the photograph being taken, I, as always, am blissfully aware the camera is on me. My Dad is consumed by me, doting on my every move...or trying to get me to sit still and eat my lunch. Either way, it is clear is loves me. ;) I'm waving at my Mom who is, without a doubt, taking the photo. Why am I so happy? Gosh, to list the reasons would max out the word count blogger allows per blog.

I am wearing a baby pink onesie, white tennis shoes, and....you guessed it! White, lacy, fold-over socks. Mom, did you have any other socks in my wardrobe at this age? It is amazing I'm not still wearing them! I clearly could not accessorize an outfit without these beloved socks! My Dad is wearing a white shirt, I can't tell if it is a polo, a button down, or what? It has a pocket like a button down, but it appears to only open part way down...and the collar is really confusing. Half polo half button down? Not entirely sure...it was probably an 80s or early 90s style that no longer exists. :) He's wearing it with khaki shorts and tennis shoes that are pure, 100% 80s.

My family is known for their fabulous picnics and tailgates. I can see now that it is because they've been practicing for two decades. I love my family picnics, they know how to do them in style. Although, I think we usually have our picnics on a quilt, I think this was done because keeping a kid at that age focused on eating is meal can only be accomplished when eating at proper table. Of course our meal was brought in a wicker basket. How else would a picnic be prepared? Ha, Dad is drinking diet coke, as he still does daily. Mom has her A&W Rootbeer, her favorite drink far before I was born. And me? Probably water. My parents were sticklers about what I could drink. My grandma once offered me juice after a certain time of day and I informed her I was only allowed water. What kind of kid doesn't take advantage of her grandma's offer of juice knowing it would break her parent's rules? What kid doesn't jump at the chance to break the rules? I'll tell you, the kind of kid who has principals as parents and is convinced they have spies everywhere she goes. Because, as you know, principals know everything that happens in their school and that ability, of course, is transferred to the home. ;)

And look at the wicker plate holders! Yes, my parents know how to picnic. :)

Hoosiers Outrun Cancer

As many of you know, my Mom is breast cancer survivor! So when Eric and I were asked to walk in the Hoosiers Outrun Cancer event, we were quick to say "YES!" When we first moved to Bloomington, Eric and I began looking for organizations to join to meet other young professionals. One of the first organizations that popped up in our search was a subgroup of the Chamber of Commerce: hYPe (Helping Young Professionals Excel) As it turns out, this is the best group to have joined! We met our first real friends at the college outreach committee of hYPe. We later joined the philanthropy committee which got us involved in Hoosiers Outrun Cancer. More about hYPe in another post, today we're focusing on HOC!

Hoosiers Outrun Cancer (or HOC as it is fondly referred to) is a huge event for Bloomington! I couldn't begin to count how many people were there, but I heard that the largest group was one of the Bloomington High Schools with over 500 walkers. Can you believe that?! It is a pretty cool experience to see so many people gathering together in support of a single cause. No matter what type of cancer you have, you are part of this tight-knit community of survivors and celebrators. Many of the people walking had "In Celebration of" or "In Honor of" tags on their backs. Of course, I was walking primarily in celebration of my mom beating cancer. But I was also walking in honor of my two grandpas who lost their battles with cancer. It is a tough disease to fight and I'm proud of both of my grandpas for their long fights (whether or not they knew they were fighting it at the time.)

Our hYPe group gathered around 8:30 to get our t-shirts, meet our fellow walkers (some of us hadn't met yet), and get organized. Note to self for next year: bring coffee! Eric and I just grabbed half a bagel each before the event, needless to say, we were starving by the 11:30 end time! Everyone passing us had their venti Starbucks coffee and I have to say, I was envious! It was so fun to meet our fellow hYPe members, reconnect with those we had met before, stand back and watch as the crowd grew in front of our eyes to the huge mob you see in the picture above. If you've never participated in a walk or event where people with intense desire for a particular cause gather together, you haven't experienced the immense kindness and passion of the human race. It is really something unparalleled.

Eric and I had a really geat time, despite the rain. Next year we'll bring Huxley, he'd love to meet all the dogs that walk! We are having a great time getting invovled in our new community. We can't thank Bloomington enough for making us feel so welcome! We love our new home.

Bookish Beauty ~ What I Wore

Sweater: Ann Taylor LOFT

Button-down Shirt: J. Crew

Jeans: The Limited

Shoes: Sperry Topsider

Necklace: The Limited

My New Office [in pictures]

The Lotus Festival via {Instagram}

Ever since moving to Bloomington, we've heard all about the Lotus Festival. It was an event that shouldn't be missed, we were told. So when the much talked about weekend finally arrived, we were sure to catch as many festivities as we could. For those of you not familiar with the Lotus Festival, it is a festival that celebrates music and art from cultures around the world. It is full of diverse artistic performances from musicians and artists. True works of beauty everywhere you turn.

The Lotus Festival is a four day event with concerts starting on Thursday for those who have purchased individual tickets. You can also purchase a weekend pass for Friday and Saturday when the majority of the concerts take place. With a weekend pass you have open access to over 25 concerts and art performances. Artists came from places such as Sweeden, Oceanic cultures, Africa, Brazil, Poland, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Bulgaria, Ireland, Colombia, and Australia.

For my Columbia, MO friends, think True/False Film Festival for music!

The two pictures above are of Australia's Strange Fruit. Their artistic performance combined acrobatics, theater, and dance. Three women performed on top of tall spring-like structures. The pictures really do not do them justice, so I've included a short video of their performance on Saturday night: click here. Now I realize this is supposed to focus on Instragram, but another great app is Glmps! Check it out. While taking a photo you also capture a short "glimpse" or video of the moment. It is pretty cool. You can see a longer video below.




We wanted to fully experience what the Lotus Festival was all about during our first year. But next year, we are definitely volunteering! A few friends of ours volunteered this year and have done so for several years prior, and they highly encouraged us to take part as well. For more information about volunteering, click here.

Our two favorite performances were by Te Vaka, a group from Tokelau, Tuvalu, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand. Their music is inspired by Oceanic cultures. They sang, they danced, they were excellent percussionists, but my favorite part was the costumes. They had more costume changes than I could count! There were two women who did the majority of the dancing, a man joined them occasionally, but the women were always costumed in elaborate grass skirts, feathered accessories, and elaborate head pieces. Really a wonderfully beautiful display of artistic work for many senses.

Our hands down favorite performance of the weekend was Movits! Holy cow, this group of guys is the epitome of cool. They are...wait for it...a Swedish rap band with a swing twist. Yes, Swing + Rap = Movits! I can't even explain how much swagger these guys had. I couldn't understand a single word they sang (partly because they were rapping and partly because they were singing in Swedish) but as they say "a party needs no translation." And these guys know how to party. My picture, unfortunately, does not capture much. So I embedded one of their music videos. Enjoy.



 This video doesn't even do them justice. The energy at their concerts is indescribable. The crowd really adds a lot. They are just. so. cool! Oh yeah, and I'm a BIG fan of their style.


 

Storytelling in 30 Photos ~ Day 16

{Storytelling in 30 Photos}

16. an unusual picture ~ What?! I'm not posing for the camera?? ;)

Vague Memories

This photograph looks like it was taken from indoors, through a window. I imagine that my Dad was working outside and I was "helping." I took a break to swing and Mom tried to sneak a picture through the window. But I have a sixth sense for a camera trying to take my picture, so I smiled my million dollar smile and posed perfectly on the swing. Yep, that is how I imagine this picture being taken. I really have no recollection of this picture.

I've seen that jumper before, though. Perhaps in another picture, perhaps we still have it tucked away in our cedar chest. I'm not sure. I love that cute little jumper with three flowers on the chest. A jumper could be a bit tom-boyish but I pair it with a frilly white shirt with puffy sleaves and a lace collar to make sure everyone knows I'm no tom-boy! Sure, I'm wearing sneakers but paired with fold-over socks with lace trim. My golden locks may seem messy, but I prefer to call it "wind-blown." Yes, a fashionista from the day I was born. :)

I have a vague memory of this swing. I recognize it, but I can't place it. Perhaps it was at my grandmother's home? My mom's mom owned a day care, but when I picture where everything was located I can't picture this swing. Perhaps it was in Wien, where my dad's parents lived? Maybe outside the old school house? No...I remember those swings being wooden. Or was it in my own backyard, in our first home? I don't remember much about that house, perhaps I have a faint memory of the swing that was there. Or could it have been at my Aunt and Uncle's house? They always had a ton of toys: trampolines, swings, barns to climb on. More likely, this is at a random park.

My favorite part about this picture? The flowers. You didn't notice at first, did you? Yes, there are beautiful pink flowers scattered all over the ground! Doesn't it look heavenly? I wonder what kind of tree scatters such lovely flowers?

A Huxley Life

Greetings readers of A Hasty Life!

Huxley here. It has been about a month since my last post and in my 7-month-old wisdow I think I have a lot to share on a dog's life in the Hasty Household. Yup, I turned 7 months since our last exchange. Which makes me about 5 years old in Human Years.

I graduated from the Puppy class at PetCo, I got a graduation certificate and everything. Two weeks ago I started the Basic classes. I'm the only dog in the class, but my trainer sometimes brings her dog for me to play with. I especially like it when she brings her dog so I can see an example of what the trainer wants me do. Sometimes the communication between the trainer and me is lost in translation. It is nice to have an older, wiser dog to translate what the trainer wants me to do. My favorite part of class is when the trainer trains my Daddy. It is funny to see him being trained how to handle me. He's usually in comand at home, so it is pretty entertaining when someone gives him commands!

So far, I've mastered Sit, Down, Shake, and Roll Over. I'm still working on Stay, Come, and Leave It. The most difficult for me is Leave It. Mommy and Daddy have so many interesting things at home and I have to "Leave" all of them! I really don't like Leaving socks, toilet paper, and dryer sheets. These are three of my favorite things to chew on and I have to Leave all of them. I also really like digging my face into the leather sofas. Sometimes I get carried away and forget that I'm not allowed to chew on the sofa. The Leave It command comes out in full force when I accidentily chew on the sofa. Mommy and Daddy really don't like that. Sometimes I Roll Over when Mommy and Daddy give me a different command because I know how cute they think I am when I Roll  Over. They always get so tickled! So sometimes when they say Down I just Roll Over so I can get the fun reaction out of them. Sometime they'll give me a treat anyway eventhough I did the wrong trick. They spoil me.

Besides going to school, I do a lot of laying around during the day. Mommy has to work all day and Daddy attends class every day. Daddy comes home almost every day during the week to let me out of my kennel. I look forward to these breaks. It gives me a chance to go outside, play in the grass, go to the bathroom, and stretch my paws. Sometimes I give Daddy a hard time and run laps in the living room and throw my toys around. But usually I just want to play fetch with Daddy so I drop my toys at his feet. Daddy will toss them out and I get to chase them and bring them back to him. Sometimes Daddy has a lot of homework to do, but he still holds a bone for me or takes a break to work on my training. These breaks during the day are my favorite, but I wish Mommy and Daddy could just stay home with me all day. 

Weekends are my favorite time. Mommy and Daddy are both home all day. Sometimes they'll take me on long walks, or take me to get ice cream. Just the other day they took me to Hartzell's, a local ice cream shop in Bloomington, and I got a Pup Cup! They give ice cream especially for dogs! It even had two milk bones! I ate the milk bones right away, I'm still unsure if I like ice cream. I licked it a little but then I got distracted by everyone around me so I began putting my cute on as people walked by. I got several people to stop and pet me! This is one of my favorite games when I'm out in public: see how many people I can get to make cute faces at me or, even better, stop and pet me! I can never get enough of people oogling over me. Mommy and Daddy also took me to Dats while they ate dinner I sat by them on the porch and people watched. I tried to steal a few licks of their food, but they were too fast for me. They always pulled the food away from me.

Overall, life is good. I miss my grandparents and my uncles. I can't wait to visit them over Thanksgiving break. I hope they are doing well back in Missouri! I was super excited when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit over Labor Day Weekend. They brought me some toys that I had forgotten at their house and my food bowls! I was happy to have my food bowls back. The Human bowls that I had been using weren't working as well. They tipped over easily and they were taller than my bowls. Anyway, you aren't here to listen me go on about food bowls.

Take care! I'll be back in a month or two for another update! RUFF!

Collegiate Clothing ~ What I Wore

Black Top: Ralph Lauren

Button-down Top: J. Crew

Necklace: J. Crew

Skirt: J. Crew

Tights: Gap

Shoes: Soft

2011 Primetime Emmy Fashion

<>

[Best Silhouette]

Gwyneth Paltrow in Emilio Pucci

[Best Shoulder Detail]

Lea Michele in Marchesa

[Most Interesting Adornment]

<><>

Julianna Margulies in Armani Prive

[Best Discreet Sexiness]

<><>

Kerry Washington in Zuhair Murad

[Best Feminine Details]

Aubrey Plaza in Juan Carlos Obando

[Best Nude Dress]

Elisabeth Moss in Marchesa

[Best Use of Color]

Sofia Vergara in Vera Wang

[Best Pattern]

Julie Bowen in Oscar de la Renta

[Best Television Show Plug]

Heidi Klum in Christian Siriano

[Most Beautiful Neckline]

Dianna Agron in Roksanda Illincic

[Best Dressed Over 50]

Christine Baranski in Zac Posen

[Best Use of Lace]

Minka Kelly in Christian Dior