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on the cutting room floor

by Kaylah Stroup May 26, 2016

On the cutting room floor is a series that was started with the sole purpose of sharing photos that didn’t necessarily warrant a whole post but didn’t deserved to just be buried in my photo archives.

Last weekend was a good weekend. While I did nothing blog worthy per se, I did end up with a handful of photos I want to share. I think that celebrating the little happy moments in life is super important. Writing these things down and looking back on them is one of my favorite things. Not even the tiniest bit embarrassed to admit that I often get lost in my own blog archives. Life moves so fast and things change so quickly, it’s nice to stop for a second to acknowledge that despite all the little annoyances, everything is pretty darn cool.

A quick run down of the day these photos were taken; Sunday morning Jeff and I slept in (until like 8:30am which really isn’t sleeping in for anyone except us) then got breakfast at Bonbon, one of our favorite spots. If you go, get the bubble & squeak! Who would have ever guessed that brussel sprouts would end up being one of my favorite foods?! From there we headed over to the bridge we climbed on our first date, enjoyed a beautiful view of the city and watched the people below. A little bit later in the day we ended up in a cemetery geocaching where I found my first 17 year cicada. To end the day we took a short hike where I found mushrooms and more interesting critters.

Hope you’re having a lovely day.
xoxo

two minute beach clean

by Kaylah Stroup May 24, 2016

beach trash, lake erie, cleveland, green, plastic

Since my last found on the beach post there have been some definite improvements to my favorite beach. Judging by the marks in the sand, they did that thing where they just plow everything into a dumpster. It gets rid of all the driftwood, a lot of the sand, and some of the trash. I’m not 100% sold on this method of cleaning up the beach considering the fact that it just pushes a lot of the trash into the remaining sand, making it sort of like buried treasure. Better than nothing, I guess. It does nothing to stop more stuff from washing up though.

I mentioned it briefly in one of my previous beach related posts but I recently started following a bunch of other folks who really love the beach, and all things beach related. Seriously you have to check out plastic monster! I wish they posted more. This fills up my explore feed with even more of these beach lovin’ people. I’m normally a little creeped out by how “smart” the internet it, how it shows me what it thinks I want to see, but I’ve really enjoyed being exposed to more beach combers and their finds.

Something I kept seeing was the hashtag “2minutebeachclean“. I was super excited to find so many other people who helped pick up their beaches. It was also reassuring to see that my beach isn’t the only one with these issues, that it’s a global problem! I mean, obviously it’s not a good thing that it’s a global problem but when I share these posts and everyone comments “MY beach isn’t that dirty! Lake Erie must be gross!” you start to think “Oh no! What if it is only my beach!?”

After browsing instagram for a little bit I felt inspired to do my own two minute beach clean. The photos below show everything green I picked up in a short stroll from one side of the beach to the other. It’s a fairly quick walk. I just used google maps to measure it, 530ft wide. I was planning on writing “this was obviously longer than a two minute beach clean” but I guess technically it could have been since it’s such a short distance. It definitely didn’t take long to pick it up. As with every one of my found on the beach posts, I spent more time organizing it all for photos than I did picking it up.

lake erie, great lakes, trash, beach trash

According to the 2 Minute Beach Clean website, June 11th is first annual beach clean up day. Even if you don’t live near a beach, take a few minutes out of your day pick up some litter on your daily walk, from the parking lot, from the ditch, etc. Every little piece counts!
xoxo

bikes, a picnic + Cleveland

by Kaylah Stroup May 23, 2016

Slightly obsessed with this photo of Jeff. It’s the lock screen on my phone. *Insert a million heart emojis.*

The weather is finally warming up again in Ohio. I feel like I’ve probably said that five times already by now but this great state keeps doing that awesome thing where it’s warm then all of a sudden the temperatures drop like crazy and we have a second, third or forth winter. It’s a wild ride but it makes you appreciate the warm weather even more.

Jeff and I have been really really bad about riding our bikes this year. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve ridden in the last few months. It honestly makes me feel a little bit guilty. I definitely miss it. I want so badly to get back into biking as regularly as I used to. Since it finally is warming up, hopefully for good this time, I suggested we go on a bike ride / picnic date to get the ball rolling.

We biked to a secluded spot along the river. It was the perfect place to
take a break, and have a picnic. We watched as boats and rowers made
their way across the river. Rowing is apparently a really huge thing here. Must of had fifteen groups of them go by!
Some geese and their babies joined us for a bit, coming just close
enough to hiss at us a whole bunch. The sun set slowly and treated us to a most beautiful golden
hour. Sometimes I still can’t believe I live here. It’s like the
absolute furthest thing from where I grew up but somehow it fits so
perfectly for me. I can’t get over the fact that I can just hop on my
bike and three miles away watch the sunset across downtown Cleveland. We
aren’t the grandest city, but we’re definitely something special. As much as I daydream about running away to the desert I can’t imagine living anywhere else but here.

For our picnic, Jeff made us sandwiches which I really wish y’all could taste through the screen. I’ve never been all that crazy about lunch meat but I would have to say Jeff showed me the way. These sandwiches are a super simple food made gourmet. That boy can pick some fiiiine ingredients! Drinks? Those are my strong point. I picked up some Milo’s Cafe Style Tea in two flavors, green citrus tea, and sweet tea. This is the first summer of my life where I actually like sweet tea. Do you guys get jealous of drinks other people really love but your taste buds don’t appreciate yet? I definitely do. Coffee was one of those things, sweet tea and lemonade too. I’ve come around to all of them. FINALLY. These new teas are affordable, organic, and made with no preservatives, additives or acids. We nearly polished off the whole bottle. Bike rides make me incredibly thirsty and this stuff is so refreshing! Use the store locator to find where to purchase near you. If you’re in CLE, Steelyard WalMart carries it! PS. They’ll be located in the refrigerated juice + dairy section since it’s all natural!

I ended up getting a flat tire, and we had to walk back home after eating but it was seriously such a gorgeous evening that I didn’t even mind. I’m pretty sure picnics in this spot will need to be a regular thing for us!

Cheers to you, Cleveland! I’m so glad to have moved here.
xoxo

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with
Pollinate Media Group® and Milo’s Tea, but all opinions are my own.
#pmedia #TastetheMilosDifference http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Brown Pet Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup May 19, 2016

While I was looking for things to check out on my little day trip to Columbus I stumbled across Brown Pet Cemetery. I have been to countless cemeteries over the years, like a lot a lot a lot. I blog about them so often that they’ve even earned their own tag here on the blog. I’ve never been to one that was the final resting place for people’s pets though. I wasn’t sure what to expect (yes, I did. I knew that I’d cry!) but felt compelled to check it out! What can I say, I was curious…

Brown Pet Cemetery is located in Columbus, Ohio, right across the street from the airport. Certainly not the most peaceful of resting places but an absolute beauty! Some of the oldest headstones I spotted date back to the 1920’s. Some are handmade, and others are more elaborate than some I’ve seen for humans. A surprising number of the headstones even had photos! The front of the cemetery seems to be fairly well maintained. The back half of the cemetery is nestled in the woods so it was understandable to see that a handful of headstones that have been damaged by fallen trees. It also appeared that some were slowly falling down the hill little by little each year.

The majority of the deceased seemed to be dogs, followed by cats but I also saw a headstone for a bird! Online, while researching this cemetery, I found a photo of a headstone for two ducks but I somehow missed that while I was there. Probably because my eyes were all blurry from crying!

So what was it like? Oh, I just sobbed… the whole time. Like red faced, snot nosed, runny make up SOBBING. Every time I’d start to regain my composure I’d find a headstone with an inscription that got me going all over again. Jeff texted me while I was there to say something like “Hope you’re having a nice day!” When I told him where I was his response was “What are you doing there?! Why!? That’s so sad!” While it was incredibly sad, it was overwhelmingly beautiful. Obviously I wept for their owner’s loss but half the tears came from a place of great appreciation for the friendships we form with animals. It makes my heart swell to think about those bonds. Seriously, I sometimes get teary eyed when I see strangers sharing a special moment with their pet. Basically, when it comes to animals, I’m a huge blubbering fool.

It’s so lovely to think what an impact these animals made on their owners lives that they decided to get them such beautiful headstones when they passed. Some of the headstones with photos were so old! It’s crazy to think about a time when photography wasn’t even a fraction as popular or accessible that someone was like “Yeah, I really love this cat. I’m going to need to get some glamour shots done of her.”

My absolute favorite photo found on a headstone at the pet cemetery.

I hesitated to share this post because it is sad and that’s not really the type of content I share on The Dainty Squid. Jeff even said “I’m not going to read that post, it’ll be too sad!” As much as I cried seeing this in person, and even though I got choked up a few times wiring it, like I said above, it really does warm my heart that people loved these animals so much! I hope you guys out there reading can see the beauty in it too.
xoxo

paint it black

by Kaylah Stroup May 17, 2016

I recently caught the painting bug. It all started with a cheap bookcase and the urge to refresh my love of my apartment. I didn’t realize that by painting that one thing that I’d all of a sudden look at every single piece of furniture that crossed my path differently. As soon as that bookcase was dry and I saw what a huge difference it made in my living room, I knew what my next project would be…

I have this little display case that holds the majority of my tooth collection. My dad won it at an auction for me three or four years ago. I was all “bid whatever, it’s perrrrfect! I need it!” Auctions make me really nervous, I hate the uncertainty. So I paced around another part of the building while he tried to win it for me. The winning bid? Ten bucks! It’s a little bit more dinged up these days than it used to be but its still the perfect way for me to display all my weird things (and not have to worry about dusting them ever!) After seeing my bookcase painted, this display case NEEDED to be black too.

Something I noticed right away with the bookcase was that I was scratching off paint when placing some of my items with pointy edges. It’s not a huge deal, especially when there is stuff on the shelf. It’s just that I really like my display case and I plan on keeping it for a long time so I wanted the paint job to be something a little bit more permanent. I had, of course, helped my parents paint things when I was little but this was my first time as an adult painting anything by myself so I wasn’t exactly privy to the fact I’d need primer, especially when painting fake wood items.

I went to Home Depot, told the woman all about my project, and she pointed me toward Valspar Bonding Primer. It was twice the price of the paint I was buying and only came in a gallon which is way more than I needed but I went for it anyway. It sounded like exactly what I needed, and the lady couldn’t say enough good things about it!

One coat of primer, and two coats of black paint later? I’m in LOVE. Just like with the bookcase, the black makes all my things really pop. I really don’t know why I never though to do this sooner. It’s so simple and it makes such a huge difference. The sense of satisfaction from knowing that I did it myself is pretty darn awesome too.

It’s amazing what a cheap can of paint and a few hours can do for ya! I don’t really think I have anything else I can paint but I’m sure I’ll find something soon. 😉
xoxo

PS. If you’re curious and would like a before shot to compare these after shots to check out this post!

Greenlawn Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup May 10, 2016

I’m trying hard to get back into the habit of taking weekly drives to fun destinations. It’s a lot harder to find new places now that I’ve been doing this for a while so I’m having to dig deeper and most of the time, drive a lot further. Last week I wanted to find a new cemetery to check out so I did some browsing around Find A Grave and ended up discovering Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is a little bit of a drive for me, just over two hours, but the cemetery looked promising.

Greenlawn Cemetery was founded in 1848 and covers over 360 acres. It’s the final resting place for over 150,000 people. It’s probably in the top five largest cemeteries I’ve visited. It’s also probably the most confusing. Most cemeteries have a few main roads throughout, and even if they’re large you never really seem to get lost. Greenlawn, on the other hand, was almost like a maze. I ended up in the same few spots multiple times while trying to navigate my way around. I’m certainly not complaining, it made for a fun day!

A lot of cemeteries have a headstone that kind of becomes their most popular “attraction”. Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery has the Haserot Angel, Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Ashtabula has the train disaster monument, and Greenlawn has George Blount. Seen directly above, below, and at the very beginning of this post. Georgie, as he is lovingly referred to, was born on Sept. 26, 1867, the only son of Eli and Sarah Blount. Mr. Blount owned the American House Hotel, where George slid down a banister and crashed into a heavy iron stove hearth. He died a week later. All these years later, locals still take care of Georgie. His headstone is one of the most visited in the cemetery, and apparently always decorated. When I visited the ground surrounding his headstone was covered in small trinkets and toys, and his hands were full of pennies. In the winter it’s a regular occurrence for him to be “decorated” with a hat and scarf (which can actually damage a headstone since they hold in moisture)

Little Georgie’s grand headstone was beautiful, no doubt, but I think my favorite of the day still has to go to Tommy with that incredible bed monument. He was only eight months old so the bed isn’t very large but my goodness, it’s detailed. I took so many close up photos trying to capture all the details, including the ruffles on the pillow, and tassels on the mattress. The artistry that goes into some of these headstones really just blows my mind.

Aside from these two, there was still tons to see! A cemetery this size is no doubt packed with amazing things. I’m sure there is so much I missed, especially since there was a section I was avoiding all together due to funeral proceedings. I did manage to find tons and tons of symbolism though. Here are few of my favorites featured in this post, see if you can spot them for yourself…

century plant – represents immortality; everlasting life.
clasped hands – farewell to Earthly existence and God’s welcome in heaven.
hand with heart – charity, used by both Odd Fellows & Masons.
lamb – innocence, often found on the gravestones of children.
willow tree – perpetual sadness or mourning

My final thoughts on Greenlawn? Definitely worth the drive!
xoxo

Artful Blogging feature

by Kaylah Stroup May 9, 2016

I feel a little bit like a braggart writing this post right now considering the fact I was on the cover of Cleveland Magazine last month and wrote a whole post about that. But y’all, this girl doesn’t exactly get featured in magazines everyday, it just so happens that two months in a row I have been though! Wooooo! This time around it’s the summer 2016 edition of Artful Blogging.

This feature is a little different than my last. Instead of an interview, I actually wrote a short piece about my blogging process. That along with a handful of my photos span three whole pages. Ahhh! I let them choose which photos to include just because I honestly wasn’t sure why they liked me in the first place. Not in a “I think my photos are crap” or “I’m not confident in my work” way but in “your magazine looks so pretty and sometimes I blog about dead things and abandoned places…” kind of way. Haha! The Dainty Squid does have a pretty diverse variety of subject matter so it was really interesting for me to see it summarized by someone else in a handful of photos. Aaaand I am over the moon about seeing my photos in print. SO. STINKEN. COOL.

I have nothing else to say that wouldn’t involve writing the word “excited” about fifty more times so I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads The Dainty Squid. It’s a really crazy feeling to know that a whole bunch of people I’ve never met swing by my little corner of the internet just check in on me, my critters, and all our crazy adventures. When I started this blog so many years ago I never imagined that I would have so many amazing readers or that I would ever be featured in magazines. It’s crazy, it’s the best and I couldn’t do it without ya! I love the heck out of all of you.

Artful Blogging is available for purchase here, it’s also available at a variety of stores (Check out the store locator!)
xoxo

7 tips for finding beach glass

by Kaylah Stroup May 4, 2016

blue beach glass, green beach glass, lake erie, beach glass

When I first got into finding beach glass I was surprised to learn that we even had some in Ohio. I guess in my mind it was probably only in Florida. I dunno why, I just imagine that the beaches in FL have lots of treasures. That combined with the fact I had only heard of it referred to as “sea glass” meant it definitely wasn’t going to be in any of the Great Lakes. I was so very wrong. The Great Lakes, as well as many other bodies of water, have incredible treasures just waiting to be found! I get a lot of questions about beach glass whenever I share photos so I thought it’d be fun to share some tips. I’ve only been doing this for around four years but I’ve learned so much in that time.

lake erie, cleveland, beach glass, mermaid tears

First, lets talk about little bit about the what and where. Beach glass is formed when broken bottles are tumbled in a body of water until the sharp edges are round and smooth. This usually takes twenty to thirty years but sometimes even longer. Glass from the sea, or ocean is slightly different from that of glass from bodies of fresh water. Generally it’s more frosted, and the edges are smoother than that which comes from fresh water. That’s definitely not to say we don’t have some really great stuff in the Great Lakes!

Different beaches all have different things that wash up. I frequent four separate beaches along Lake Erie in the Cleveland area and none of them wash up the same types of items or colors of glass. One of my beaches has tons of glass but most isn’t tumbled very smoothly, and another produces gorgeous, smooth, frosty glass but a very small quantity. It’s tempting to want to ask people which beaches they go to but most won’t share their highly treasured spots. Your best bet is to get out there and do some exploring for yourself. I think it’s important to visit a beach multiple times before crossing it off your list. Like I said earlier, I don’t know how long I went thinking we didn’t have beach glass simply because I was looking at the right time of the day, or carefully enough.

7 tips for finding beach glass!

▴ Slow down. Lets be real, this is a great tip for just about everything in life. Seriously though, unless you have a SUPER sharp eye even walking at a regular pace is too fast. Take your time wandering the beach, you’ll have a much better chance of spotting something.

▴ Get low! Obviously things are easier to see when you’re closer. On a warm day there is nothing more relaxing than plopping down in the sand and looking for glass. Which brings me to my next tip…

▴ Dig a little. Not with a shovel or anything but sometimes I actually do use a piece of driftwood just to give my hand a break. Tiny shells can be shaaaarp! The photo above? That is prime for beach glass, the thing is it might not all be on the surface. Simply removing the top layer is likely to reveal more glass.

▴ Rocky beaches! Have you noticed something about all the photos I’ve shared in this post? The beach is rocky. Choose beaches that have rocks and tiny pebbles near the waterline, in that mix will most likely be beach glass. Some beaches never really wash this stuff up though. Super smooth, sandy beaches that are very well maintained aren’t likely to yield too much. Tides obviously effect how rocky a beach is and subsequently what you’re going to find. Low tide is best but I’ve found beach glass at all times of the day.

▴ Go after storms, or even better during the rain. Any sort of inclement weather is your friend for two main reasons. One – it’ll most likely be wavier than normal which means more things being washed ashore. Two – there are less people there. While I try not to be dumb and competitive with other beachcombers (hey, we both think trash is treasure!) the fact of the matter is they could find something before me.

▴ Wear rain boots. Wet feet on a chilly day is awful. I can’t tell you how many times I went to the beach with the intention of staying dry and drove home barefoot because a wave I wasn’t expecting got me. Not to mention the fact that sometimes you’ll spot a piece of glass that hasn’t washed in yet. I swear, it’s always a color you’re looking for too! Boots mean you can get those pieces without hesitation. My fox boots are from Joules a few years ago. I had these babies for three years before I finally got a tiny hole in them last week and I am ROUGH on boots. I would highly recommend them!

▴ Don’t forget to look further up the shore. Beach glass shines beautifully in the sun when it’s wet, making it pretty easy to spot. That doesn’t mean right along the water is where you should look though. Lots of large pieces go overlooked in dry spots. In the two photos above you can see the difference between wet and dry. Look at it shine while wet but just a few more feet up the beach a similar blue piece is nearly camouflaged.

Over time you’ll develop an eye for it. Even when I’m not at the beach I catch myself noticing pieces of glass and thinking “oh my gosh, bluuuue!” only to realize it’s literally just a broken bottle. You may even start to find other things in the sand you want to collect. Pottery shards are one of my favorites. Someone on instagram was actually able to identify the china pattern on the blue shard below. Although it’s probably the most common pattern, being able to trace it is beyond cool in my book!

Looking for beach glass is honestly one of my favorite hobbies (and I sure do have a lot of hobbies!) It’s incredibly relaxing. I’d consider it my favorite way to decompress. If you’re looking for a stress free hobby, that super easy, and super satisfying – you’ve found it. Every single person I’ve ever taken to look for beach glass has gotten into it. It’s a blast! One last thing, I must warn you, searching for beach glass is ADDICTING. Once you get started, you’ll never want to stop. Good luck!
xoxo

Check out some of my favorite spots in Cleveland to beachcomb!

living room refresh : part two

by Kaylah Stroup May 3, 2016

A few weeks ago I shared a little bit about my current living situation. Wording it like that makes it sound more dramatic than it really is. Hah! Like I said in that post I’m ready to move. I have my sights set on the perfect spot but I’m currently on a wait list for it, I could move in a month or a year. Who knows! That means the new place is all I think about though, making it hard for me to really appreciate the absolutely adorable place I already live. I’ve been trying to do all sorts of little things to keep myself excited about my current apartment, including keeping it extra tidy, buying new plants, and rearranging furniture and knick knacks. So far, so good!

My latest little project was painting this bookshelf. It was just a cheap bookshelf that I’ve had for at least five years, originally purchased for fabric storage. I was over it. It didn’t fit my style and just kind of looked out of place with the rest of my things. The thought of painting it had come up before but I just figured it was such an old, cheap piece that I didn’t really love that it wouldn’t be worth it. I ended up having some left over paint from another project I worked on with one of my favorite companies (more details coming soon!) so I decided to just give it a whirl. Worst case scenario? It looks bad and I get rid of it sooner than anticipated. No big deal.

Two coats of black paint later… and I’m OBSESSED. Like can’t stop walking into the living room to glance at it, and wondering why I didn’t do this years ago – obsessed! I can’t count how many times I said “Jeff, dude, the bookshelf looks so good! Doesn’t it?!” It makes all of my books, photo albums, and knick knacks really pop. I know, it’s not a huge deal. It’s just a black bookcase but there’s this certain satisfaction from doing it yourself. This post is me taking note that painting something might just be the best way to get stoked about your space again!

I was reading a little bit about painting fake wood and realized that painting furniture is a thing that people seem to really get hooked on. Either you hate it, or you looooove it. It’s safe to say, I caught the bug. After seeing what a huge difference this bookcase made on the whole room, I want to paint e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. I might even start my next project today…

Sometimes I really wish I lived in an all white, minimalistic place but I can’t imagine I would like it more than this. One of the things I enjoy about moving so much (although I hopefully won’t be moving again for a long time after this next move) is being able to try out so many different styles and always be redecorating. I don’t consider myself a decorating expert but I really do enjoy playing around, and hey, gonna toot my own horn here, I’m not half bad.
xoxo

Pssst. Here’s the full living room tour. It’s kind of outdated now. A lot of things have been moved around but that should give you a better idea of the room, plus you can see what that bookshelf used to look like.

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