Tattoo Time!

So this happened yesterday! I haven't had a chance to take any good pictures of it yet, but it's just so lovely and Amanda did such an amazing job. I'll be getting the color at the end of January and I cannot wait! I'm so glad I took the time to draw it and re-draw a million times to get it just right. I can't stop looking at it. 

My friend Rebecca accompanied me and got herself a lovely octopus! It was spur of the moment (although she's had the idea in her head for a while)and it turned out amazing. 

Also every time I go to a tattoo shop I want to become a tattoo artist so badly. How awesome would that be? Why am I not doing this?

I promise to post pics of it soon!

Family Time

My little cousin Trevor came to visit this past week for Thanksgiving. Except he's not so little. In fact he will be turning 21(!!!) next May. Say what?! We hadn't seen him in 3 years, so it was pretty awesome catching up! We made sure to try to take him to as many cool places as we could in the city.

^^Obviously this place had to happen. Best burgers in St. Louis! And ice cream!

We also stopped by the London Tea Room. The English antique/furniture store next to it is going out of business so we scored some pretty great deals, and got some tea for the road. Then we proceeded to take some family pics.

Me, my cousin Jacky, Trevor and my little brother Matthew. 

Oh, I see what you did there Dad. : ) 

Mom had no idea. haha.

I also got to spend some time with this little darling, my 2nd cousin Bella. She seriously has the sweetest personality. I just wanted to talk to her all day because she said the most adorable things!

We don't see her or her parents (my cousin Jacky and her husband) often enough at all, so it was great to have everyone together for a good three days!

We also managed to fit in Mexican at La Parilla (pictured above), Starbucks(duh), and Dr. Jazz for ice cream.

The weekend was full but so very good and I am missing them all so much already!

Now to be completely random, I'm getting my new tattoo today! This will be my biggest piece and will take a couple of sessions to complete, but I'm so excited and I can't wait to share pictures when it's all done! 

Thankful...

Our first time hosting Thanksgiving went wonderfully...and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to have our family over and to have so much incredible food to eat!

My husband knows how to cook a delicious bird..that's for sure. 

It was his first time but he did it like a pro!

The menu consisted of turkey, stuffing, stuffed mushrooms, squash casserole, green beans, cranberry sauce, corn, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Dessert was mom's pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream and brown rice pudding from Nourishing Traditions (so so SO good. And healthy!).

My cup overflows! We are so blessed.

November So Far..

Last weekend my husband and I took some photos by Chelsea Bass Photography as part of an adoption fundraiser for our dear friends Josh and Kim Jones. God willing this time next year they will be parents to a darling little one..but for now we feel so blessed to help them in their journey. And Chelsea did a great job as usual! More pictures to come! 

If you would like to help Josh and Kim in their adoption process, Josh (an incredible musician and the lead worship pastor at our church) is releasing an EP that is available for pre-order here. It's only $6 for a physical copy and $4 for digital so it's basically silly if you don't. : )

November has been good to us so far. Here's a little bit of what I've been up to:

My dad teaches a charcoal/chalk class on Friday mornings and I've been super into it since he started portraits. We are on noses this week! 

Last Thursday was my last day as a child care worker at the YMCA. After 5 1/2 years it will be weird to work out there and not be an employee, but it was definitely time to move on. My boss and co-workers were sweet enough to send me away with the most delicious box of truffles in the world. No joke, people. Get some for yourself at the The Happy Bakery!

Other random bits: 1. My friend Lindsay got me a kokeshi doll while she had a layover in Japan. It meant a lot to me because while I was there I didn't get to purchase one. She is my favorite and looks great in my collection! 2. Seeing my husband in his element makes me so happy. This guy knows his stuff (he is studying horticulture and wants to be a tree trimmer) and could talk about tree diseases for hours. He's so cute. 3. Friendsgiving was last night. Thankful to have wonderful friends in our lives to share delicious food and laughter with!

We are hosting Thanksgiving(!!!) this year, which makes me feel more grown up than getting married did. Haha. It will only be 8 or 9 people, but I'm excited to decorate and make everyone feel cozy and seriously full come thursday afternoon. Puzzles and Rummikub will follow. It will be a good day!

Why My Students Are Awesome

This is super late, but it's too cute not to share! I taught on Halloween this year and my kids were pretty excited about trick or treating later that night. So excited that about halfway through the class I decided we would stop with our usual lessons and doodle some fun Halloween things together. They requested a pumpkin, a scared black cat, and a witch!

((excuse the *superb* quality of my phone camera))

(here's what they looked off of)

^^ Look at the bunnies! Too. Cute. I am always just blown away by these kids and what they are capable of.

Paper Doll Party!

On Halloween I invited over some of my favorite ladies for a paper doll party!

I got the idea a few weeks ago when I picked up The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer, and the section in the back has customizable paper dolls to make a mini-you! I immediately thought it would be a fun afternoon to spend with my friends. Especially when we added cookies, tea, and other sweet treats into the mix.

Here's me with my paper doll!

..and a lame phone photo closeup because I forgot to take a picture of it with my nicer camera. : )

Jillian

Erin

Jenna

Cash

Everyone!

I highly recommend having a paper doll party with your friends! : )

Art Show!

A few weeks ago we had the annual art show for our art school/studio, June W. Kelly Art Studio (named after my grandma June who was the previous owner/teacher). It was attended by an estimated 1,000 people and we had some amazing work on display!

I mean look at these! They are just so. talented. The average age of the group behind me is 8 years old.

Above is my little brother (who is not so little anymore..sniff) standing next to his piece (the mountains and water to the left of him). That kid has so much talent it is silly. You can see more of a closeup of his piece below. I'm a bad sister and didn't get a good pic of it by itself. : (

My favorite teacher Mrs. Derby (on the right) came! I had her for 4th and 5th grade, and now I teach some of her students so she came to check out their work.

And here's my man lookin all kinds of cute and awkward. Haha.