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New Apartment Sneak Peek!

by Kaylah Stroup
I’ve been living in my new place for just about a week now. Other than the furnace going out on my second night here it’s been amazing. How ironic is that since I was just complaining about my old place having a furnace I couldn’t control that was always set WAY too high. All my things are unboxed and for the most part, placed in the general area where they’ll stay. This place is going to be SO cute when I finally finish decorating.

My apartment has two bedrooms which is great because I can now have a separate room for my office. I chose the larger of the two bedrooms for my workspace. It’s actually the biggest office I’ve ever had (except for when I was working in the basement of my old house, which kind of doesn’t count) Aside from being massive, the room has two big windows that have a view of … wait for it… MY PORCH. Maybe that’s not a big deal to you but the one thing I really really missed moving to Cleveland was having flowers. At my old house, before I moved to the city, I had tons of plants. Each spring that was what I looked forward to the most. Now I finally get to have plants again. 

I’m sure you’ve noticed after looking at a few of the photos, it’s… a bit colorful.
The funny thing is, I didn’t even notice at first. After my first tour of the place Jeff and I were talking about it in the car and he mentioned something about the yellow walls to which my response was “what? yellow walls? where?!” I guess I was too busy checking out the general space and layout to even think about the wall colors. Then I kind of freaked. I planned on asking if I could paint it. Who could say no to white or beige, right? My next time in the place the landlord was raving about how great the colors were so I didn’t mention it. The next time was to sign the lease which clearly stated “no painting” so colorful walls it is! 
I’ve actually really come to love the colors already. They aren’t something I would choose but they’re working out really nicely with my things. My plants and maps look awesome up against the yellow. I’m pretty sure when I finally get everything hung I’ll like the colors even more. Builds character! This place is kind of quirky, and I’m digging it.

The other thing I’m over the moon about here is that I have a laundry room! At my old apartment there was laundry in the building but it was down four flights of stairs. After hauling your laundry down all those stairs there was then the possibility the only two machines down there might already be in use. (I also had neighbors who were great at leaving their wet clothes in the machine for days at a time) Even at my old house laundry was in the basement. This is my first time with same floor, in suite laundry. I’m so pumped to be able to wash clothes at my leisure!

I’m also excited that the washer and dryer are in a pretty decently sized room. The one thing this apartment is lacking is closet space. I don’t have a ton of things to store but I do have a few odds and ends – like my tent, sleeping bags, etc – that need somewhere to be placed. Right now I’m thinking the laundry room will be a catch all storage room. There’s also a chance I might turn it into a massive closet / dressing room. We’ll see!

And of course, the animals! They’re adjusting to the new place much quicker than they did to my old apartment. Squid hid in the litter box the first night but after that has been completely comfortable. Professor has been exploring since a few hours after his arrival. As for Klaus, I’m not even sure he realized we moved. As long as he’s with his two favorite people, Jeff and I, he’s a happy pup!

I also think the move brought the animals closer together. Klaus has wanted to be friends with both cats since day one but they’ve always wanted nothing do with him. In the past few months Professor has been warming up to him, and even laying in bed at the same time as him – never touching, of course. But Squid, she’s always kept her distance. If he’s even in her sight, she’s gone. This last week though? They’ve been hanging out a lot more. They were even caught laying on the same rug enjoying a ray of sun together. Slowly but surely they’re all getting more and more comfortable. I’m overjoyed! Above is the very first picture I have ever taken of the three of them together.

I’m looking forward to making this place my favorite yet. It has such potential. I keep wanting to type that I can’t wait to show you more but really, I just can’t wait to see how this place turns out. After a year in my old place I was finally just figuring out exactly how I wanted things. Hopefully this apartment gets put together a lot more quickly. I’ll be sure to share more pictures as I finish off rooms!
xoxo

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abandoned school

by Kaylah Stroup
Last week we showed some out of town explorers a few of our favorite spots around Cleveland. One of our stops was the abandoned middle school I blogged about a while back. This was my third time shooting it and I’m still not satisfied. I just want to shoot every corner of this place. This school is one of the very first abandoned places I ever shared
here on the blog. It’s also one of the very first I really really loved. It’s just so wonderfully colorful, and even after all these years of being abandoned it’s  still packed with things. Things that help you get an idea of the lively place this used to be. Notes filled with secrets, and papers with names. Little pieces of what used to be.

I guess in the grand scheme of abandoned buildings this place isn’t
really all that great but for some reason I can’t get enough. I just feel a special attachment to it. I’ll honestly probably cry when/ if it gets demolished.

The first time I went I didn’t own the 10-22mm yet, which quickly became my absolute favorite lens to shoot with. For the longest time I swore I didn’t need anything other than a 40mm or 50mm but abandoned buildings got me itching to shoot wider. I wanted to show more than the tiny details. Other than my bike, that lens was my best purchase last year. I’m pretty excited about the shots above. The first one is probably one of my favorites I’ve ever taken in that school.

Hope you’re having an awesome start to your week!
xoxo


See more posts about this school here, here + here.

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Movin’ on up!

by Kaylah Stroup
Things have been a bit quiet here on the blog front lately. Maybe not post wise, but I’ve been bad at responding to comments, emails, and everything else in a timely manner. Why? I’m moving! I’d been looking for a new apartment since around mid-summer. I wasn’t hunting too seriously up until recently but I had been keeping my eyes peeled for things that fit my criteria. I wanted out of Lakewood, to be closer to downtown, in a specific neighborhood that offers bike lanes, and a bit of a more friendly, down to earth atmosphere. Every time I’d find something that looked perfect, I’d end up scrolling to the bottom of the post and seeing those two awful words – “no pets”.  It’s 120% not even an option to move without those three goofs so the hunt went on. At times I was almost positive I was going to be stuck in this apartment for another year. It’s not like it’s all bad, that apartment was exactly what I needed a year ago, moving to the city for the very first time. But I’ve outgrown it, it no longer suits all my needs.

The night before Christmas eve I found the place! I was hunting craigslist, as had become habit every night, and there it was! I immediately emailed, explained I would have called but it was late and I didn’t want to interrupt any family get togethers but welcomed the landlord to interrupt mine as soon as they got a chance because I was beyond interested. She called the next morning while I was on my way to my parents and we set up an appointment for the day after Christmas. I was filled with butterflies. What if this was it? Would I have to move immediately? What if the place was a dump inside? What if they changed their mind once they saw photos of Klaus or when they saw my hair and tattoos?

All my fears were erased when I walked in the door and saw the place. It was perfect. Wait, back up a second, I lied. All my fears weren’t actually erased, they just changed. Now I worried that it was too good to be true. What if they were scam artists? What if someone else jumps in and rents it before me? The take home from that story? I’m the queen worry wart, or maybe just princess. Queen title goes to my mother! (Hi Mom!)  I hate having to make quick decisions that will affect my life for a long period of time, and dang, moving is scary. But hey, the best things are always scary at first. A few days later I signed the lease and I’m actually already staying over at the new place!

Packing up my things left me full of mixed emotions. I’m obviously beyond excited I finally found the perfect place for where I’m at at this time in my life. But at the same time, I’m sad to leave this place. I’ll miss the free heat that was always set WAY too high, sometimes frustratingly high, and the huge windows that filled the space with tons of natural light.* That apartment will always hold a super special place in my heart for being the very first place that was MINE. Despite the fact I was a homeowner before moving to the city that apartment is way more special and holds way more amazing memories than that home ever did. There couldn’t have been a more perfect place for me at the time than that one!

So, you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit slow getting back to you or if the blog seems a bit slow for a day or so. But once I get things in place, these next few months will be full of new room tours, new adventures, and so much more! I can’t wait to tell you all about my new place! Now I’m back to unpacking and trying to figure out where to put all my dang globes!
xoxo

* I will not miss living on the third floor, carrying groceries up ALL THOSE STAIRS, expensive laundry in the basement, and the lack of air conditioning! BUH-BYE

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found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup
Back in May of last year while wandering the beach I noticed I was seeing a lot of lighters. Every few steps I was finding one. I decided to pick all of them that I
found up in hopes that I’d maybe find enough to take a neat picture. By the time I was done, maybe an hour and a half
later, I had found fifty lighters total. I decided to stash them away in my car and continue collecting them throughout the entire summer. I was curious how many I’d find and I, of course, wanted to take a nice big color order photo of them all together.

Well, I collected a total of 199 lighters. In those seven months I visited the beach maybe twice a month or so which really isn’t very often for me at all. I can’t even imagine how many I would have found if I went more often. After I cleaned up the lighters I headed to the other side of the beach to shoot some photos only to find at least eight more on the walk. 

It’s crazy to me how much litter washes up the beach. While the amount of lighters and trash I pick up is shocking it’s nothing compared to everything else that makes it way onto the sand. I was particularly taken aback on the day I went to lay out my lighters for the above photos. SO. MUCH. PLASTIC. It’s so colorful, it was weren’t absolutely disgusting it might kind of be pretty.

xoxo

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Project 365 + why you should do one too!

by Kaylah Stroup
At the beginning of the year I made one of my goals to do a 365 photo project. Back in 2010 I completed one (but for some silly reasons didn’t share it on the blog, just on flickr which I have since deleted. D’oh!) and since then I’ve been itching to do another but always made excuses until the beginning of this year. Even though I haven’t taken my photo for the day yet, I’m fine counting my chickens before they hatch and saying this year’s project 365 was a success!I’m so happy with my project 365 that I’d like to encourage others to take on a year long project as well! Project 365 is a super simple concept – one photo a day for the whole year. Lets first get it out of the way that you don’t need a fancy camera, the camera on your phone will work just fine. You don’t have to be good at photography, and you can’t use the excuse “my life isn’t that exciting!”

Here are some reasons you should do Project 365 in 2015…

  • Everyone likes a challenge right? I like a project that I can do a little of each day for a long period of time. The feeling of accomplishment at the end of the year is great!
  • You’ll get to know your camera better which in turn will make you a better photographer. You’ll learn more about lighting, composing, and how to use your camera in just about every situation.
  • It’s a great way to help remember all the little special moments in your life! At the end of the year you’ll get to look back and see what you did that day, who your were with, what your hair looked like, what you were wearing, etc. It’s a lot of fun looking back through the pictures, especially when you can look back and see things that you would have otherwise forgotten! Photos are awesome little triggers to other memories alongside what is captured. The photo below, in the box, of mine and Elycia‘s feet doesn’t mean much to you but I can tell you so much about that day that I’m not really sure I would be able to remember otherwise. Nearly all of my photos spark lots of other little reminders about when it was taken.
  • You’ll get less shy about taking pictures in public. This is something I’ve struggled with for a long time. I’m so weird about taking photos in public but forcing yourself to do it often is the only way to get over it. You’ll become more calm in public with your camera and not feel so strange about pulling out your camera to snap that perfect picture!

 Tips for a successful 365 project… 

  • Take your camera everywhere! Did you read that..? E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. Everywhere you look there is a photo opportunity! Have a really great meal at your favorite restaurant? Take a picture! Love the way the rain looks hitting your window? Take a picture! That squirrel that always hangs out in your yard? Take his picture!
  • Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’ll have awesome days, and you’ll have days you want to delete your photos. In my experience, I’ve found that even the photos I hate when I take them, I end up happy that I have them.
  • Don’t quit if you miss a day (or three!), it’s not a huge deal in the long run!
  • Tell your friends and family you’re doing it. It’s a much easier project to complete when you have others supporting you. They’ll be a great reminder especially in the beginning when forgetting you’re doing the project just might happen! Setting a timer on your phone to go off until you get into the swing of things will help too.
  • Keep up on the project. Going to edit your photos? Do it the same day instead of letting them pile up. Staying on top of the project is one thing that I know helps me tremendously. I edit and add the photos to my 365 post every two or three days that way I never have a large backlog.
  • Keep a list of things you might possibly want to photograph so you never have a day where you say “there’s nothing left to take pictures of!”

I like blogging about my 365 project weekly just so I can easily look back on them. But there is lots you could do with your project even if you don’t have a blog. Websites like Blurb, and Tiny Prints allow you to create your own photobooks! How awesome would it be to have years and years worth of these to look back on?! A 365 project means you’ll have something everyday to upload to instagram. There are tons of groups on flickr to connect with others doing the same thing. There are even websites such as 365 Project, and Blipfoto where you can upload your photos daily. Basically what I’m saying is there is no reason not to do one! So, what’s stopping you?
xoxo

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Favorite 10 abandoned spots in 2014

by Kaylah Stroup
Earlier in the week I was going through my posts from 2014 to make up a little list of my favorites from the past twelve months. It was a great year, so naturally I had a lot of favorites. I was trying to keep the list varied but kept finding I wanted to add posts about abandoned places. They just kept adding up so I thought it might be fun to do a little recap of my favorite abandoned spots I visited in 2014. Well, I should reword that, these aren’t necessarily my favorite spots but ones that yielded the prettiest photos and my favorite blog posts.

Cleveland, Abandoned, Observatory,
Cleveland, Abandoned,
Cleveland, Abandoned, rubber ducks
salton sea,
Cleveland, Abandoned, church, decay
Cleveland, Abandoned,
amusement park, roller coaster

There is still so much to see in Cleveland but I’m hoping, in the new year, to make a few trips specifically to see some abandoned places I have my eye on. Here’s to 2015, may it be chock-full of adventures.
xoxo 

You can find the rest of my posts on abandoned places under the “abandoned” tag.

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This year I…

by Kaylah Stroup
became a city girl!
got a cozy little place to call my own.

traveled more than I’ve ever traveled before.
fell madly in love.
spent more money on photobooth pictures than I want to think about + managed to convince the lead singer of my favorite band to get in a photobooth with me.
 made one of my best purchases ever.
explored oodles of forgotten structures.
dyed my hair a bunch of beautiful colors.
 saw my city from vantage points most will never experience, some high…
and others low…
above photo by Jeff
collected more and more plants.
watched the sun rise in a ghost town in the middle of the desert.
rode a jackalope.

above photo by Mickey. 
ate more macarons than I’ll admit to.

saw wild horses for the first time ever.
ran into dinosaurs just about everywhere I traveled.
made pretty pictures from trash.
picked up a relaxing new hobby.
 rappelled in a cave!
 above photo by Jeff
slept in a wigwam, more than once.
swam in the ocean in February.
above photo by Mickey.
started to get the hang of night photography.

And oh so much more!
xoxo

For the past few years I’ve been doing a “This year I…” post. See 2011, 2012, 2013. 
If you do a “This year I…” post, leave a link in the comments. I’d love to check it out. 
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Merry Christmas

by Kaylah Stroup

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from all of us over at The Dainty Squid! I’m taking the day off to relax (…errr holidays are never actually that relaxing, are they?) with my family. I’ll be back tomorrow at least five pounds heavier, full of Christmas candies, and with your regularly scheduled post.
xoxo


Ps. If you forgot how to wrap your cat for Christmas, or just need a smile today, for ya!

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The Rubber Duck Factory

by Kaylah Stroup

Last week some friends came up from Columbus to spend the day exploring Cleveland with me. I was racking my brain all week, trying to decided which places I knew of in the area would be perfect to take Jesi. We both prefer spots with things still left in them so that’s what I was really going for. I mapped out four fun spots. Our first stop would be the rubber duck factory. It’s not actually a rubber duck factory at all but I’m the sure pictures below will be able to give you some indication as to why its called that by other local explorers. It’s a large building, most likely used as some sort of warehouse. Now it’s filled with colorful graffiti, broken pallets, oodles of paperwork, and obviously rubber duckies. In a few rooms the roof has caved in. The building has very clearly seen better days and my guess would be that there’s no saving it now. Its in rough shape.

This was my third time visiting the building. The first time I visited this building I didn’t take any photos at all. The second time I went back I was excited to shoot the ducks but was ultimately disappointed when I found maybe a total of fifteen. I assumed people stealing them one by one eventually added up. This last time I knew there had to be more. So the three of us each set off to gather some. Even if we only ended up with fifty or so like I presumed would happen I would have been happy but after a few minutes, we hit the jackpot. In the lower level we found where they were all hiding. We grabbed boxes, started filling them, and within no time at all our pile was massive!

We ended up spending a few hours in that one building, just gathering ducks, taking pictures, telling TMI stories, giggling, and having a grand old time. It was perfect.
xoxo

Prints available on society6. 

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