garage sales, uniting the world.

Saturday rolls around and my body flips into Go mode. And that's 'G'o for Garage sales. I'm like a supa' nova, Garage-saling, queen bee. Don't mess with me and my deal, baby. I'm all over that fifty cent (please pronounce fitty, as in fitty cent the rapper) pair of jeans that one of my beasties will wear as a pair of new school pants. I know what you're thinking. I'm cheap, right?

Well, you're dead on. I so am. And I love it. I hone in and seek out a bargain at a garage-sale like my dog sniffs the rear-end scent of the next door neighbor's she-Lab. I'm focused. Determined. And I'm not easily distracted.
So what does that get me?
A whole ton of good stuff. In fact, recently I've been bringing my buddy Celia along for the hunt. We've redecorated her daughter's room in two Saturday's of shopping and spent less than you could buy curtains at Target. (I know this because we went to Target to buy curtains and they were ridiculous-expensive. Then again, they could be normal priced, but my perspective is skewed because of my yard saling addiction. Whatever.)
Anyway, my point is garage sales bring people together for not very much money at all, connecting someone else's junk with random strangers. For all I know, I could pick up a handy-dandy piece of Tupperware and by it for $1. (That's a good price at a yard sale). Well, that yard-saler could've purchased it new, or at someone else's yard sale. And if that's the case, then the person before them could've done the same.
So you see, it's like the whole six degrees of separation thing. We're all connected. We're all sharing and using the same junk...well, at least I am. And that makes us like family. Well, almost.
That's all I got. Just a deep thought that popped into my head while I sat editing for hours on end and listening to Glee music.

har har. So true.

luv, erin

so so so scandalous.

1. Today I went by the library and they had a sign posted on the door about the noise level. It was a warning to patrons that the libarary would be noisy until 3pm because of inventory. I took full advantage of that. Scandalous squeal of the century. Thanks to the LLL (lovely library ladies) for ordering a certain, particular, YA novel that I've been ever so curious to read. I'm so excited to have in my hands, Wolves, Boys, and other Things that might KILL ME.

2. My spelling is the shiz. And not in a good way. I make a lot of spelling mistakes because I can't be bothered to learn to spell correctly (I'm sure you've already made this assumption from previous posts). Anyway, I updated my photography cd holder. It's the shiz. And that's in a good way. Except for the fact that I spelled ONE word wrong. Urg. I didn't notice the misspelling until after I printed $100 worth of new cd holders. Double urg.

3. I want fake eye-lashes. Glue some mink hairs to me, baby! See, I cut my eye-lashes. Not on purpose. It was a total freak-show accident, (that I can't go into detail about without cursing) but now my sad lashes look miniture. Suggestions?

4. Today I went to the Harts (got my 32 oz DC mixed with crystal light. Yum.), then ACE (got my free bag of popcorn. Double yum.). That's why I love Pleasant Grove. If you don't live here, you should. Then we could meet down at the Harts for a 32 oz and a Dunford doughnut. Triple yum.

5. I bought the i Phone 4. But, it hasn't come and it's been one week and one day.
I WANT MY PHONE! Do you hear me i-Phonies? Send it now, lest I be tormented by the excruciatingly-ghettoness of my phone any longer.

So how's your day going? I just thought I'd ramble today. luv, erin 

WHY I LOVE BYU. my mom made me post this.

favorite.

Not the close up of the flowers.

Not the beautiful bride.

Not the soft fall of her lace veil across her shoulders, highlighted perfectly by the sun's rays.

Not the cake.

Not the food...though it was a close tie.

Not even the sassy bridesmaids in all their cheeky glory.

Of all the images I shot that wedding day, this one is my fav!

It makes me smile everytime I look at it. First, because it reminds me of fun friends. I've been blessed over the years to have a group of friends that make me smile and inspire me to laugh in loud, innappropriate bursts.
Second, it's a dang good action shot. And I'll be the first to admit that I am not an action photographer. (It's not often that I have to shoot a bride running away, so for the most part I shoot posed or near posed shots. No action for me, baby. ha ha snort)

Third, who doesn't love a group hug?

Nobody, that's who.

food. glorious food.

In the great state of W, you'll find the most charming farmer's markets, road-side fruit stands, and mom and pop bakeries. So when we go up there we make a point of stopping at two of my favorites: Wenatchee Farmer's Market, and Anjou Bakery.

The little street market is held a couple times a week in the heart of Wentchee (if you haven't been there, you should go. It's one of those 'off the beaten path' charming towns that you'd find highlighted on the Food Network or HGTV.) The farmer's market sells a range of goods from home grown produce to beaded jewelry and homemade cards. That's just my type of thing, right? I love it with a capitol L.

I bought loads of cherries, but what caught my eye first were these bad boys. Do you know what they are?

Do you know what they are? At first I thought -- mini grape? But I was wrong.

After our stop in Wenatchee, we headed up into the mountains toward Leavenworth. But before we got there, or even to the cutest little town of Cashmere, we first stopped at the Anjou Bakery.

And then I died and went straight to heaven.

The treats you'll find at the Anjou Bakery are so good you won't share them with your kids. No way, baby. Not culinary craftsmanship like these fabulous goodies--give the kiddos the M&Ms. The Anjou Bakery's French pastries melt in your mouth and warm your tummy...and down the road, when you can't decide where you want to take a family summer vacation, you'll think to yourself, 'hmm, if we go visit my sister in Washington again, maybe we can convince her to drive out to Leavenworth so we can stop at that seriously-so-fab French bakery.'


And when you're plan works, you'll cackle like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons while you drum your fingers together as you wait for your delicious treats to be served to you.

objects in mirror are closer than they appear.

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Fly Guy. For a fly, he's big. And when I say big, I mean FREAKING HUGE. Thus the reason I spent time to snap his picture. And when I say FREAKING HUGE, I mean he's almost an inch.
An inch might not sound like an awfully big deal, but in Fly world that's everything.

He's such a big deal, fly speaking, that he's given up the fly ladies and moved on to making advances on me. Such as keeping me company while I spend long hours editing images on my computer. Though he doesn't talk much, he's a sensitive sort that shoes his emotion in random grunts...that sound much like a buzz...but, again, that's only because he's so tiny. (relatively speaking)

So in honor of Fly Guy, I want you to know that I'm not giving up on my little blog here. Even though my posts are sporadic and ADD-ish at best, I'm sticking around.

sweats and s'mores.

One time Dad took us camping in the Grand Canyon. After a long, hot, tiring day of doing whatever families of seven do at the big GC, Dad plunked us five kids in front of the camp fire and handed us a bag of marshmallows.

Then he and Mom went into the camper.

hm hm.

We spent the evening, singing, "On the road again," and flinging flaming balls of hot mallow across the nearby road, onto other trailers, and into the trees. It was AWESOME. The next morning the scenery looked like a scene from Cloudy with a Chance of MALLOWS! 

Now, I take a moment to reflect on two great loves of my life, brought together by chance one lazy evening in the heart of Washington.

Teal sweats, and roasted marshmallows.

remember when.

Mom and Dad took us brude of crazy kids on many road trips. And though at the time I thought they were too mean, and probably the worst parents in the world because they'd tell us to settle down, or they'd put a limit on the amount of candy we could chow, or they'd make us go pee when ever they stopped the car; now I think they are pretty dang awesome. They dragged five fighting-screaming-name-calling kids all over the western US. I remember those days like they were yesterday. I remember when we plastered a neighboring camper with molten balls of marshmallow. I remember when we took a long trip and I vomited in a brown bag. In fact, I still remember that there were little tangerine slices in the mess of vomit. Gross, I know...but still I remember it.

So, here's a shout out to Mom and Dad for being road-trippers...and passing on that love. Because without it I don't think I would have endured the last trip Mark and I took.

After driving for 12 hours I wanted to KILL my sweet Ruby. You see, in that twelve hours, Ruby wasn't so sweet. She screamed for 9 hours. Yes, literally. Her fussing ranged from a pitchy whipering to a full fledged, raging roar. That little pint-sized girl has a set of lungs. And by the time we arrived at my sister's house in Washington, I was ready to burst.

Isn't it funny how kid screaming can wind up your insides so tight you feel like you're going to explode? Or pull your hair out. Or actually make good on your threats and turn the van around.

But then when I think I've had enough of her, she turns around and gives me her big-brown-eyed gaze, and my heart melts.

Here's to road trips from Hell, and the awesome memories they bring.

Five pounds for Sage Brush

Last week, me and the gaggle-o-Summerills drove up to Central Washington for a vacation (in other words, my sister lives there so it was free staying)...(oh, and of course we wanted to see them).

I know what you're thinking. Central Washington, bah! But really, it's not all that bad. If you're a lover of wide open spaces and a plethora of sage brush, then you should consider moving to Grant County. There's a lot of that type of thing there, as shown in the images below.

But other than that, here's a list of the top 5 things I acquired on this year's trip to Washington:

1. 5 pounds (added directly to my gluteus area thanks to road-tripping)

2. Citizens for Humanity jeans -- I found these at the coolest store called Urban Archeology (unfortunately, the aforementioned jeans no longer fit because of the aforementioned 5 pound weight gain. sigh.)

3. No need for gothic eye-shadow (due to dark circles from driving all day and night long)

4. Sass-a-frass, crab-tastic, baby girl (no naps + plus bad fever from random virus or too much sun + mass amounts of road-tripping food (i.e. candy) = demonic baby girl)

5. The desire to watch people make out at a point blank range (or NOT! Hello Twilight movie makers, could there please be more up-close, tight enough to see nose hair shots, make-out scenes? I really love those and they don't make me feel vomity-sick or pedophilic at all.)