Fair Frenzy

The fair is such a nostalgic event.

I remember when we were kids and my parents would take my sisters and me to the fair. We would always get wristbands, and I would ride the kiddie dragon "roller coaster" ride a dozen times in a row. 

I remember that the first time Josh and I met each other's families was because we were going to the Mississippi fair with my sisters and their husbands. 

I love the fair. Call me crazy.

But I love the giant squashes.

(That squash is over 1,000 lbs!)

And I love the ferris wheel.

I love the view from the top of the ferris wheel.

I love looking at this huge contraption and wondering how many trucks they use to transport it.

I love love love sliding down the big slide... 

Especially because you can't use a wristband for the one in MS, and in TN you can.

And because I always win.

I love that feeling in your stomach on rides like the Fire Ball.

And I love watching other people's faces on rides.

I know it is awful, but I love fair food.

{I'll recap for you: roasted corn, funnel cake, chicken on a stick, hot dog, nachos, candy apple, and hand made orangeade.}

I didn't get the red velvet funnel cake but please tell me you had the same "What the...?" reaction. 

I love people-watching as the sun goes down.

I love the petting zoo. Especially the alpacas.

...And the sleepy baby lamb

I love picking up carrot pieces that other people have dropped to feed to the animals.

And sleeping goats (because awake goats are jerks, in case you didn't know)

I love the swings (aka Yo-Yo for some reason)

...At sunset...

...and stretching my arms out like Peter Pan and pretending I'm flying

I especially loved this random bunny exhibit.

Look at that fluff!

And those ears!

And that face!

I love watching the moon come up and the lights turn on.

I love watching families race down the big slide

And I love doing it all with this guy!

Because he loves it too.

We stayed all afternoon and evening. We saw an incredibly entertaining band from Louisiana. We saw a bluegrass band of young ginger siblings. We made a few friends. We ate til our tummies ached. We smiled til our cheeks hurt. We rode rides til... well really til the lines got too long and we didn't want to stand in them. 

It was a huge success.

Also, we have been doing a lot of rearranging and tweaking to our apartment.

Stay tuned,

The Myers

Things I'm Digging Lately

First off, this new Pandora station. All my stations kinda play the same type music (chill), such as my nearly-always-playing Death Cab for Cutie station. I changed it up a bit and created a station from The Airborne Toxic Event. 

A few of their songs will come in the mix from other stations, and every time... no really EVERY single time, I think "Man, this song is awesome! Who is this?" I click my phone on and see that some album cover and "The Airborne Toxic Event" and shrug the "Of course it is! I should know this by now" shrug. 

So I created this station and so far I'm loving it. Some of the bands in the mix are Cold War Kids, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kings of Leon, and of course DCfC. For the win. 

Now for some Pinterest action. 

I've been trying to utilize Pinterest more often. Until recently, I just didn't get into it. Not for lack of interest, but rather I just never thought about it. Now I think about it. A lot.

Such as this yummy yellow coffee table. 

Because I think, 'My couch is that color, I have weathered wood pieces, I'm still not sure about the stain for the coffee table... Maybe I could make this work'

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And I do so love yellow.

But I also love this house. So much charm!

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And because I love built-ins and nook and crannies of all varieties, this caught my eye:

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Since I dream of one day having a wrap-around porch, or at least a huge back porch, I have to make these one day! Daybeds.... outside... as a swing?! Perfection! I would lay out here all morning with a book and some coffee.

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Speaking of swings, how fun is this?

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You know the crates that are in my living room? Well I am always on the lookout for more, because I wanted to stack them and decorate them in one way or another... much like this picture.

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Those are some things that I'm digging lately. Follow me on Pinterest to see more (@halesnoels).

Hopefully we can do a project or two today. First priority today is the FAIR! I love the fair. The smells, the absolutely-horrible-for-you food, the cool air. The rides, but they are so dang expensive. 

Maybe I should be a fair owner, they must make bank.

I would insist we travel by railway like the old days.

Like Water for Elephants. You should read the book.

Stay tuned,

Haley

Beard Monsters and Chin Faces

The last weekend adventure for August '11 went like this:

Friday I went out with some girls from work. I laughed so hard my face hurt. Josh even met up with us and was such a trooper with a bunch of girls. 

But really, my first night "out on the town" was a lot of fun. And it has made work more fun now that I know some of my co-workers better.

Saturday morning Josh and I went to a big Flea Market that a friend from work told me about. It is held at the fairgrounds once a month. I was surprised how much of it was clothes, jewelry, some food stands (with samples!), prints and posters, perfumes, coin collections, ear candles etc... and not a whole lot of booths with home decor, knick-knacks or old raggedy DIY inspirations. It was HUGE though. We went into 2 buildings and there were numerous booths outdoors. 

{Side Note: Let me just point out how amazing and awesome my husband is because I don't have to "drag him around" to these sorts of things... he really likes going with me. Mostly because he likes to see me happy, but he also has some really cool ideas when he sees something unique or interesting.} 

Our only purchase was this:

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits on vinyl. 

My dad has this album and I love it, so I had to get my own.

But yeah, that's all we bought.

After our feet were thoroughly achey we decided to get some frozen yogurt from Yogi's, load it up with fruit and granola, and hang out at Centennial Park.

I thought it was cool that the trunk was twisted.

I wish I had my camera out to capture an ambitious squirrel carrying an entire rib bone in his mouth. Someone didn't dispose of their BBQ properly. It was hysterical to witness.

We didn't have a plan when we left the house, but next time we will bring a quilt. It felt like the beginning of autumn. The sky was clear and blue.

Then I decided to make a Beard Monster, but I didn't tell Josh what I was up to. I just put some grass and helicopters in his beard, gave him some directions (Smile! Growl! Frown! Lick your nose!), and snapped my pictures. Giggling all the while. No really... I was cracking up the whole time. 

Josh's reaction to my antics, "What is this nest you have put in my beard?"

Now please enjoy my portfolio of silly Beard Monsters and Chin Faces

At this point, Josh destroyed the "nest" and I yelled "NOOOO! I'm not done." {frowny face}

So I gave up on Beard Monster's hair and just gave him eyeballs.

FAVE!

When I decided I was done, I let Josh see all the pics. I was literally laughing out loud.

Josh was semi-amused.

"My turn!" 

So then I said excitedly, "No! I want flowers as eyeballs!"

And Josh begrudgingly obliged.

I was getting much more joy out of this whole experience than he was. 

I still giggle to myself when I see this one.

All in all, I highly recommend Chin Faces and Beard Monsters. 

Especially if you have lots of little trinkets handy to utilize.

If you are like me, they could provide hours of entertainment. 

If you are like Josh, you can enjoy the fact that your wife gets so much joy out of your contribution of silliness.

Loves

Post Script: I'm feeling very aware of my teeth right about now. Please don't scrutinize too closely

The highlight of our Sunday was a nice hike through the blue trail at Percy Warner Park, literally right down the street from us. It was a nice challenge. We were sweating and our hearts were pumping, but it really wasn't difficult. We have since gone one more time, after work no less. I have a feeling that we will be frequent visitors, especially as it starts to cool off. 

Then we came home and did the projects from our previous post.

I'm hoping to get another post done soon about all the neat things we found while we were back home in Jackson.

Stay tuned!

Haley