The Color is Coming!

It started off rather subtle...but the town is falling for Autumn. Red and yellow leaves are making a shy appearance, even as the days top of still at 80 degrees. Our wildfire smoke is less these last few days, making it enjoyable to be outside. The sun shines through with a brighter light and everything has been glowing. :)

My Friend's Kickstarter Project! Please check it out!

Years ago this young student, Jesse, joined the lab I was working in one summer. He was pretty cool and we've thankfully kept in touch since then! He has always been an inspiration with his world travel, amazing outdoors-man skills, and more recently his filming. This guy knows what he's doing! Specializing in time lapse and areal imagery, his film techniques are breathtaking, and he's started Spaulding International Cinema. It has been a hoot watching him become this amazing professional, and seeing what videos and images he'll present next.

A gorgeous photo from Jesse

His latest project is a pilot episode for a series him and his girlfriend (now fiance!!) are putting together about the history of hunting: Hot on the Trail. (And not just your Montana style elk hunts. We're talking all over the globe, the history of and the cultural ties to this endeavor.) Pretty cool, huh? I'm excited!

Photo published by High Contrast Review. Aren't they adorable? If you're wondering what they're sweatshirts say it's "SIC," Spaulding International Cinema

Their Facebook page is continually updated with information about the series: Hot on the Trail

Of course, beautiful projects like these require some funding, which is why he's set up a Kickstarter account to try and garner enough dough to get them off and running. Please check out their sneak peek video and consider donating some funds. Every little bit counts! So it doesn't matter how big or small. They only have a few days left to gather their donations from this site. It's all or nothing, so they need all the people they can get!

This is the Kickstarter page to donate: Hot on the Trail Kickstarter!

Thanks for your consideration with this worthwhile film project from MT. :)

Homecoming 2012!

It sure is easy to 'come home' when I still live here! As a proud 2008 alum I attended our annual homecoming parade with my parents this year. I wasn't able to go to the football game (tickets are hard to get for staff!), but I enjoyed the school spirit and festivities. Dressed in Griz wear we descended on Higgins Ave. to watch the biggest parade to date. My high school band went by, then the UM alumni band with a few old teachers that I adore, the Forester's float (which is always funny), the Shriners in their tiny cars, our Japanese sisters school's band complete with dancers and feathers, and our family favorite: The Red Wave. In middle school band, there aren't enough kids to march per school, so they combine ALL the middle schools into one huge marching band. You practice marching for weeks in Missoula neighborhoods and then all decked out in red T-shirts you cruise the parade route. It was fun as a kid, and still fun to watch now. :)

Daddy and I (in front of the pipe shop...LOL) watching the parade

Me in the Red Wave years ago :)

Me and my friends marching for our high school back in the day :)

Can't have a parade in MT without horses!

Foresters!

The Homecoming Hustle is a 5K race that starts before the floats. They get to run down the parade route in front of everyone. :)

 

One of the Japanese students. So pretty!

I had a great time this year! Always an event I look forward to. :)

What I'm Drooling Over!

Sometimes I find things on the interwebs that I feel I just have to have! Though, in reality, they're all usually quite unrequired. Still fun to window shop though, eh?

First up is this amazing duvet and pillowcase set from IKEA. The colors and design are lovely!

Next is this new houndstooth dress from ShabbyApple. Wow! I have a gift certificate here and I may be spending it on this little number. :)

Halloween shoes! Seems odd? I  just love the wacky and awesome designs they come up with that they sell at Spirit Halloween stores. I'd wear some of these way more often than just Halloween!

What are you craving right now??

The Dirty Dash!

I used to run 5ks all the time. I loved them. But what I've learned since as I much more enjoy races with obstacles! Last year my sister and I teamed up for Missoula's first annual Mad Mudder. We ran around one of our local mountains, following deer trails and coming up on all sorts of obstacles. Blind jumps, monkey bars, hurdles, crawling through dirt. It was a hell of a work out, but (despite the name) involved very little mud. This year, the same charity that put that one on, teamed up with the Dirty Dash. Much more mud was expected! The Missoula event took place on Saturday and was a BLAST! Climbing straw bales, crawling under netting, running through tires, navigating through half-submerged tubing. The best part though? MUD! So much mud. Huge ponds of it where you had to climb over logs and you slipped and slid and fell into it. My goal through the whole thing was not to get any in my mouth post-jaw surgery! Success! My sister's goal? Not to hurt her injured right hand---which is in a cast. We were quite the pair! Dressed as Loki and Thor from the Avengers, we enjoyed the course on a crisp Montana morning. There were so many people! And all in costume of some sort! Hopefully the Dirty Dash folks will come back next year for another round. I'll def be there!

(Please click to make bigger!)

Please head over to Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday posts!

Halloween Wreath Make-over!

I've had a boring, white, wreath hanging around for awhile. It's been beat to a pulp and is missing some flowers. What to do? Well, I have a Thanksgiving style wreath for November, but I don't really have anything for Halloween. A-ha! While my sister puttered around Lowe's today, I had her drop me off at Michael's craft store. I found mini gourds on sale along with some nice quality glittery spiders. Perfect! Home I went and warmed up the hot glue gun. (Man, what did we do before hot glue?!) I added the gourds in between the flowers and then the black spiders to the white blooms. Perfect for the season! I think it came out well and took me only a few minutes. Now the wreath has a new lease on life, and my house is one step closer to my favorite holiday. I should probably wait till October to put the rest of my decor up though... :)

Supplies!

Happily gluing!

Done and on the door! (Sorry it's a little dark!)

Rednesday! Stripes!

Yep, this is the time of year when my house gets taken over by....stripes! I do love them! Especially in fall hues of orange, yellow, purple, green and.....red! Soon I'll be bringing out the fall leaves and wreathes. The fabric pumpkins and corn husks. But until then, I'll be enjoying my stripes! :) Head on over to A Very Cherry World for other red-themed posts!

Germanfest!

This last Sunday, sister and I wandered down to our river-front park to celebrate this year's Germanfest. Always something I enjoy, I usually have to drag others with me. Not this year! She was just as excited! I ate cheesecake and poked around at the booths. (We have a sister city in Germany). There were lots of beautiful pictures! There were also crafts for the kids, tables of authentic food, a wonderful band and lots of lederhosen! Older couples polka-ed while the younger generation tried to keep up. Our own local German brewer tapped the first keg of Oktoberfest and everyone cheered! It was a nice cool afternoon, with the German flags fluttering behind the band. What a fun event! And everyone looks vaguely familiar. I guess German genes are strong ones!

Laughter is Very Good Medicine

Even if it hurts to laugh! Hard to injure the jaw and still try to giggle. :) Worth it though! My family keeps me in stitches (no pun intended) most of the time, but I've also been visited by a very good friend the last two weeks. He's on tour with How to Train Your Dragon's arena show and only can come home and visit every few months. I have known this man for 21 years! We've gone to all the same schools and shared a lot of the same friends through all those years. We made the most of his two weeks here, even though I was a bit limited from surgery. We had campfires and lots of wine, visited our favorite haunts in town, delighted in fancy dinners and dancing. We talked all hours of the night, until my jaw was too sore to go on. :) He is a truly wonderful friend who has taken very good care of me through my surgery both being near and far. As the years go on, and my good friends get less in number, I'm left with a few golden, kindred spirits and he is one of them. I'm a very lucky girl!

What I'm Loving Right Now

As September slowly covers us in the folds of her golden sweater, I am enjoying the late season sunshine, the cool crisp mornings, and all the things that will come with Fall. Below are a few of the things that I have been enjoying most. :)

Hot Apple Cider! I cheat and make mine in my Keurig coffee maker, but it still counts! It's so delicious and tastes great as the sun rises.

 

Dance Classes! My ballroom class has been canceled (boo!) but has been replaced with a free-form partner dance class. We'll focus less on ballroom specifics and more on styles like the Hustle. My instructor says he may host a Quick-Step day just for me to get it out of my system though! That's what I want to learn most!

Fall Dresses! I have a gift certificate burning a hole in my inbox for Shabbyapple.com I can't wait to get one of their dresses. I'm waiting for more of their Fall line to appear. They're all so pretty!

Halloween Planning! Yesterday I went to a local fabric/crafts store and was delighted with all their decor and Martha Stewart crafts. I have been planning my house decor and costume for a few weeks now. I love this upcoming holiday!!!

What are you all loving lately?