[ Weekend ] Snapshots

long walks with the puppy and my love at sunset. a very muddy county fair. and shipping my first etsy sale!

love the unintentional blurriness of the first 2 photos.  it would make such a cool painting... hmm... ideas, ideas :)

have a great week!

[ Weekend ] Sunsets and Symphonies

this weekend came and went just as fast as always... but, it was a beauty :)

friday night, mark and i went to our old college hangout spot, church point, took a dip in the water, and then attended our college's "River Concert Series,' a summer long series of classical music, every friday night.  this was the last concert of the summer, and a great way to unwind after a stressful and HOT week.  (we just closed out on the hottest July EVER on record. YIKES. )

saturday, we just hung close to our house, watched the sunset down at the river, and enjoyed a workless evening.  the past few saturday nights mark has been working a catering/bartending gig, so it was a nice change of pace to be able to have ALL day to be lazy.

and then sunday, mark's parents came down for the day for a visit.  we walked through our local gallery, and had lunch "downtown."  i used the term "downtown" loosely, since it's only a block or two wide, but it's cute, quaint, and typical southern md.

i can't believe it's already august... this summer has flown by.  just 2 weeks of camp left.  CRAZY!

today is a BIG day for me because we have finally decided to get internet for our apartment!  (they are having a special, and we have decided to go with the smallest data plan to make it more budget-friendly)  i cannot wait to be able to blog at all hours of the day, and not just on my one hour break.  i have to  admit, though, a little part of me will miss the simplicity of being disconnected :)

i hope everyone had a delightful weekend! 

[ Weekend ] Plein Air Festival

Yesterday, we went to a Plein Air Festival in Easton, MD and I competed in a "quick draw" competition for artists under 25 years old.  it was so much fun, and combined both my love for painting and competition :)

Mark and I got to Easton at 8:30 am, scouted out a location to paint, and checked in.  at 10:00 am the painting frenzy began, and for 4 hours i painted my heart out.  at 2:00 we had to move our easel and paintings to line a block for potential buyers and the judges to take a look at our work...

and my painting sold within the first 10 minutes of the sale!! i was so relieved!  i unfortunately didn't win any of the prizes, and i'm not gonna lie,  i was super disappointed.  i was so pleased with my painting, especially for it being my first competition, and reallyyy thought i had a chance.

but at the end of the day, and even after not winning, it was still a great day!  Mark even had a blast too, just watching me paint, and getting to explore the town of Easton.  he sees me paint all the time, but rarely from start to finish.  we promised each other we will go to every event like this we can.  and even with time, gas, and materials considered, i still made a little profit from the sale of my painting :)

 for those of you who aren't painters, i think its still a great experience to see how artists work, be surrounded by beautiful work in the cutest little town, and the opportunity to collect work from "up and coming artists" :)

 

me, my painting, and my red SOLD ticket :)

i hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!  did you have any exciting adventures? :)

[ Weekend ] Snapshots

 we stayed home this weekend (thankfully) and spent the days recharging, harry potter-ing, yard sale-ing, and shootin' some things... more on that later :)

it seems like every weekend lately we have been driving to our hometown (nearly 3 hours away) for one thing or another, so it was really refreshing to be able to sleep in, and not spend the day traveling in my car (that has no a/c).  even though we love being able to spend time with our families, so much traveling and activity doesn't always feel exactly like the break we have been looking forward to all work week.

this weekend...

i got my haircut FINALLY on friday!  i was afraid my hair was bordering on the grossly-long stage, so it was in desperate need of a shape-up.  and its still ridiculously long.  i'm thinking about waiting another month or two, and then giving a big heev-ho for Locks of Love. EEK!

we also went and saw Harry Potter 7.2! i won't spoil it for anyone and give away any details, but in my eyes, it was absolute perfection :)

our neighbor, capturing Mark in the zone, ready to take out some milk jugs :)

and now to explain the last few pics in this series...

it really wouldn't be Southern MD if some .22's weren't involved ;)
to release some stress from the work week, our neighbors like to set up targets from the back porch of the main house, and go to town.  i've never witnessed this weekly phenomenon until now, but i've gotta say, i totally understand.  there's just something about blowing stuff up (well not really, since a .22 is a pretty small rifle) that really does allow you to get your frustration out.

SAFETY FIRST, ALWAYS, and no animals (or humans) were harmed in the process :)

next weekend we will probably on the go again (i think we are planning on going to Easton, MD for the Plein-Air Festival, which i am SUPER excited about! can't wait to post pics!) so i really cherished staying put all weekend.  hope everyone had a great weekend, too, and are ready to face this week head on! i'm not quite sure if i am, but i'm hanging in there :)

First Day of [ Work ]

It was my first day of work today, and I really feel like I was meant for this job! It's a sculpture garden and art gallery, and I will be helping with their summer camp program.  Today we were preparing for their exhibition opening tonight, so I got to let my perfectionist tendencies run ramped (I'm a mad woman with a level and an X-acto knife :).  Next week will be training, and then the real fun (and the chaos) starts the week after that...

This post is gonna be a short one because I'm camped out at Starbucks, and I feel a little weird to be here and not buying anything.  Haha, but I'm on a budget, and $4 for a cup of coffee... no, thank you :)

I think I'm finally getting a hang of this blogging thing (4 months later...) and I actually posted everyday this week, hooray!   Tonight I'll be putting on the final touches on our garden, so will be posting lots a pictures next week for that.  

Happy Friday, and I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!