crocker park.

on my last evening with them, i took my cousins andrew & alexandra to crocker park-- a local outdoor mall. we picked up my favorite road trip snack at trader joe's, stopped in at the apple store and had so much fun doing cartwheels {them, not me:)}, playing chess & riding turtles on the green. as you'll see, they are both so full of personality and i love every bit of it!

goobers. haha

life size chess!!

i'm still thiiiiis much taller than him:) not for long though!

i think i might like Mona Lexi even better than Mona Lisa:) 

Tutorial | Driftwood Necklace

 I know project tutorials have been rather sparse on the blog throughout this summer but I'm excited to share more in the coming weeks!

Let's start with a simple driftwood necklace I created with inspiration from THIS.

Materials:

as many pieces of driftwood or sticks as you like | chain or ribbon | round links | drill + small drill bit | paint + paintbrush/toothpicks

1} Use your small drill bit to create holes where you'd like them placed in the stick
2}If needed, sand off any rough edges

3} Get creative & paint any pattern you like! {Here are some ideas ----> 1,2,3}

4} Once paint is dry, thread the chain or ribbon through the holes you drilled. How you do this & how the sticks lay is up to you. I used two small circles just below the upper stick to keep it from laying right next to the lower stick. Since my necklace was long enough to fit over my head, I didn't need a clasp but you can find those {as well as the chain & circles} at most craft stores or a jewelry/beading shop.

Thanks for letting me share this project! I'd love to know if you try something similar!

culture & art.

one sunshiny weekend towards the middle of august, anna & i set off to do some exploring, experience a little italian culture & soak up some beautiful art. little italy was celebrating the feast of assumption so the streets were lined with italian food vendors from all over the city! what better way to experience a culture, right?!

after walking around a bit, we discovered a 3-story-church-turned-antique-store which was jam-packed with anything & everything. we poured through rooms of treasures, amazed at all they had under one roof! after we finally pulled ourselves away from all of the interesting things in that shop & toured a few small galleries, our focus was on finding something to eat. 

it took some time to decide what we wanted due to so many options but in the end, we each got to try yummy new foods:) ravioli & a cannoli for anna, eggplant rollatini & tiramisu for me.

the cleveland museum of art was next on our list and we managed to fit in an hour of gallery browsing before they closed. visiting a place like that with anna was so great because she's an art/illustration major & knows so much about many of the artists/the way the art was created which helps me to appreciate it all the more! my favorite gallery was "modern gothic: the etchings of john taylor arms" while anna loved the impressionists gallery with rembrandt, monet, degas, van gogh...

it was such a fun afternoon and i'm so blessed to share those memories with you anna!

Holy Rosary Catholic church

my eggplant rollatini which was really yummy!

anna with her delicious ravioli

my desert choice: tiramisu 

anna's desert choice: a freshly made canolli

most of the art museum was under construction but there is some stunning architecture on display and i can't wait to see it again someday when it's all finished!