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some of my favorite posts

rainbows in my home pt. 2

by Kaylah Stroup

rainbows inside, apartment rainbow

Toward the beggining of the year I discovered the magical world of rainbows in my apartment. I purchased a suncatcher that attached to the window with a suction cup. It changed my world. That sounds so ridiculous and dramatic but truly having rainbows fill my apartment daily is so relaxing. I can’t imagine not having them now.

Because I have the type of personality where when I like something I’m OBSESSED I’ve been looking for even more ways to make my apartment magical. I basically have a suncatcher in each window that gets direct sunlight but I wanted more. I was poking around Amazon, clicking through suggested similar items from the suncatcher listing, and ended up stumbling upon a set of two crystal ball pendants for under ten bucks. They had significantly less reviews than the suncatcher but figured they were worth a shot. The very fact I’m writing a post solely about them should tell you exactly how I feel. But first, some photos…

the dainty squid, rainbow, suncatcher, rainbow maker

The photo above shows rainbows from both the suncatcher (long skinny rainbows) and the crystal balls (short round rainbows.)

The crystal balls come with pre-drilled holes but without any way to hang them. At first I had some string, as pictured below, but later realized how much nicer looking fishing line is. I have them currently have them hanging from the lock on my office window but they’re obviously very easy to move around. With the fishling line, you can’t even see how they’re attached.

If I had to choose between the suncatcher and the crystal balls, I think I would choose the suncatcher because those rainbows take up a lot more space. That’s 100% not to say these aren’t awesome though, like I said I definitely wouldn’t be dedicating a whole post to them if they didn’t completely wow me! I love the way rainbows dance around the room when the wind blows. The small rainbows are a lot less cheesy looking of a rainbow, if that makes any sense to you. I guess what I’m trying to say is that they look like a happy accident instead of a giant rainbow stripe.

For the price, I kind of want to line my window with them! In my opinion, this is definitely a case where more is more. Bring on allll the color. I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful having rainbows in your home is. Like I mentioned, I have some sort of rainbow maker in each of the windows in my apartment that receives direct sunlight but I think my favorite has to be in my bathroom. The timing always seems to work out so that when the sun is hitting it perfectly, that’s the time I’m going in there to shower. I have a clear shower curtain so rainbows cover my body each day while I get cleaned up. It’s the best way to start the day.

He finally caught the rainbow!rainbow maker, the dainty squid
For more rainbow photos be sure to check out my first post about the suncatchers here & for even more magic, try a disco ball.
Updated 8/17 – I found an even better deal on the crystals! A set of 10 for just a few bucks more than I paid for the original set of two. In the year since this post, I’ve filled my window with crystals. It’s THE BEST.
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State of Ohio Asylum for the Insane Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup

tico cemetery, cemetery, spooky, weird headstone, creepy, specimen

Like any completely normal adult, I have a cemetery bucket list. Bucket list seems very appropriate in this context. Ya know, just a bunch of cemeteries I want to see before I too kick the bucket. At the very top of this list was a single headstone that is actually in Ohio. One word…

Specimens.

What in the world are ‘specimens’?! I mean, obviously, I know what the word means but having it on a tombstone seems… I don’t even know. It’s weird. It’s concerning. Just like skulls on a headstone, I think the appeal to me is that is just seems like it has to be fake. It seems more like a Halloween decoration. But it’s not. This headstone resides in Columbus at the State of Ohio Asylum for the Insane Cemetery. Specimens in this case are most likely parts that had been removed during standard procedures and kept to study at the hospital. (Tumors, gallbladders, kidneys, etc) After a number of years it’s easy to imagine they’d probably have a pretty large collection of spare parts that they didn’t know what to do with. I guess it’s also in the realm of possibilities that it’s something a lot more sinister…

I don’t remember how long it’s been on my radar but it’s safe to say it’s been a loooong time. From the minuscule amount of information I could find about this place I was under the impression that it was private property. Despite what my previously blogged about adventures would have you believe, there are certain places I’m just sketched out about trespassing. Patrolled state property is definitely one of those places I don’t want to be lurking around on my own.

State of Ohio Asylum for the Insane Cemetery, graveyard, cemetery, state hospital

sunken in headstone, numbered headstone, graveyard, columbus

On the way down to Louisville the weekend before last Jeff asked if I wanted to stop at the cemetery. I’ve honestly been begging him to go down there with me since we met but my lack of information on the place made the drive seem like it might not really be worth it. Since I was driving he mapped it out and got me directions. I was nervous we wouldn’t be able to visit but excited that he was finally willing to go with me.

There are a handful of cemeteries that the mental health hospital used and luck was in my favor because two of them have geocaches. I know that just because there is a geocache somewhere doesn’t make it a legal place to be buuuut you have to agree that “Oh, I’m sorry, we were just looking for a geocache.” sounds a lot better to most people than “I like to photograph cemeteries.”

My main priority was finding the ‘specimen’ headstone so that’s where we headed first. Jeff went straight for the geocache while I proceeded to photograph headstones. I’m not going to lie, finally seeing it was sort of anticlimactic. I had a very vivid vision in my head of what visiting would be like and this was nothing like that at all. We parked in a parking lot and walked into a fairly well manicured cemetery. No sneaking, no feeling like I shouldn’t be there, just a regular old cemetery. Still, I was pleased to be there.

About 25% of the cemetery is filled with headstones similar in shape to the specimen one except they have names and dates. At first I assumed the rest of the cemetery was empty or at least had a bunch of unmarked graves but I quickly realized how wrong I was. Small headstones the size of bricks cover the cemetery. Each one marked with a number and “M”for male or “F” for female. Despite the fact the cemetery wasn’t overgrown or abandoned by any means, its easy to see how in another ten years or so any traces of the smaller headstones could be gone. This was only my second experience with headstones that didn’t have names, only identifying numbers so it’s still a bit perturbing to me. (See Wayne County Home Cemetery) These ones especially so since marking with male or female makes it seem even more anonymous.

After the first cemetery, we headed to a second. I was a bit more hesitant about visiting this one but again, geocaching seemed like a good enough excuse to be there. We parked on a little dirt pull off on the side of a fairly busy road and followed a muddy trail back to the cemetery. The approach to this cemetery was a bit closer to what I imagined the other one being like. Despite following a very clear path there, I felt like we had discovered a little piece of forgotten history.

One of my favorite things about the second cemetery was the arrangement of the headstones. There was a grave marker in the middle that was almost illegible except for “C. O. L. Asylum”. Surrounding that were small, rectangular headstones. There were lots of interesting ones including a few unknowns, a handful with names and only death dates but my favorite of the group had to be “(?) GLICK” Was that their nickname and their real name was unknown? Perhaps Glick was their last name and their first was unknown? Either way, I think it’s really interesting to put a question mark on a headstone. headstone, question mark, State of Ohio Asylum for the Insane Cemetery

I am so happy to finally crossed “specimens” off my list of things to see, and even happier to have also visited a second cemetery with equally as interesting headstones. There is so much history packed into these places!

headstone, gravemarker, State of Ohio Asylum for the Insane Cemetery, institutional cemetery, columbus

Check out even more interesting graveyards under the “cemeteries” tag!
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what I wore : leopard print

by Kaylah Stroup

overalls, the dainty squid, cleveland fashion blog what I wore, fashion blog, kaylah doolan, the dainty squid, cleveland, green hair

details
hat – black hat via Target (currently on clearance!)
glasses – Louise via Warby Parker
sweater – summer robe c/o Moorea Seal
pin – Ace Ventura by Two Ghouls Press
top – Charlotte Russe
overalls – released hem overalls via Charlotte Russe (also on sale!)
shoes – tassel slip ons c/o The Fix

It’s faaaaall! Or at least it feels like it. After a summer of trying to avoid spending any time in my apartment because it was so darn hot in here, this last week and a half have been such a relief. I’ve got a pumpkin scented candle burning, and there’s a cool breeze blowing in. Without a doubt, this is the best time of the year. I could not be any happier.

I’m also super pumped to be able to wear comfortable clothing again! I can’t be the only one who starts to get reeeeal tired of wearing just a tank top and shorts. I truly don’t understand how other girls look so cute in the summer. For two straight months, I’m essentially just a sweaty gremlin. Sooo, I celebrated the new season by picking up two new pairs of overalls. I don’t know how I ended up browsing Charlotte Russe’s site, it’s not in my normal rotation of places to shop for clothing, but I’m sure glad I did. They have so many different pairs of overalls, aaaand they’re way cheaper than the pair of Levi’s I’d been eyeing up. Even though they said they weren’t available in stores I decided to pop in anyway.

I fell madly in love with a pair made from a light colored denim. I was buying those for sure. This black pair though, I wasn’t convinced. They fit really nice but I’m still trying to save all the money I can because roadtrips will always be more important than clothing to me. Buuuut the sale was too good to resist considering I know how often I wear overalls (basically always.) After putting together this outfit I am so so so happy I “splurged”. I foresee wearing this exact outfit basically all fall and winter!

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body talk

by Kaylah Stroup

green hair, braid, the dainty squid, kaylah doolan

Body image is such a strange, strange thing. In my case, it can also be a very fragile thing. This post could go a thousand different ways but let’s start here…

I’d like to think that I know better than to be jealous of something I see on instagram. I know that most people out there aren’t purposely posting their less than flattering moments, that they’re really only posting when they look or feel good and that’s perfectly fine! It’s not that I want to revel in their ugly photos or anything. For me, it’s just so easy to get discouraged when I see beautiful person after beautiful person after beautiful person. Perfect body after perfect body. I know, and have briefly written about how one person’s beauty doesn’t take away from your own but some times it’s hard not to feel crappy. I’ve been struggling with that a little bit lately.

On top of this, Jeff and I went shopping together a week or two ago which should have been a fun thing but I left feeling a little bit blue.  I’ve found that most stores in the mall don’t really carry clothes that I would or can even wear. My local H&M is consistenly sold out of anything that isn’t a size 2 or 4. I rarely fit in Forever 21’s clothing and their plus size section is too big. It’s like there’s a gap of sizes that got left out. If I do magically fit in their clothing it’s obscenely short. Again, making it unwearable. Then when we went to Victoria Secret, where Jeff was so kindly offering to buy me something, they didn’t have my bra size.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s small fries. I don’t regularly shop at the mall nor did I really need anything but it’s hard to not feel discouraged. I felt like a giant. Like I was “too big” to be a woman. This is a super crappy feeling I deal with quite often. I am not a delicate flower. I have never been. In middle school I was proud to be bigger than all the boys. I was strong, and not to be messed with. Somewhere along the line I became self consious of my size. I wanted to be small, delicate, “feminine”, and perhaps most of all, shorter.

This whole flare up of feelings at the mall happened two or three days before I needed to take some photos for an “in kind” campaign I was doing with Athleta. That just means they sent me some clothing in exchange for photos. I had picked out two things I was super excited to wear – a striped sports bra + a cozy sweater. I picked the two of them together with a specific photo in mind that I would take. My deadline was approaching, and despite any negative feelings I was having toward my body, I had to get at least one photo.

I took a handful, not expecting too much. Wouldn’t you know it I LOVED what I was getting. I ran back in front of my camera, posed some more, and got even more photos I loved. Photos that made me feel good about my body. Photos that showed me my own body in a different light. That helped me remember how incredibe my body is. Maybe its not the thinnest, daintiest, petite thing but it’s a damn work of art. This body is strong. It houses all the good things I have inside me. Most importantly, it’s the only one I have.

So what if it will never grace the cover of a magazine? Ahem, I mean, I did that already. So what if it doesn’t garner attention from every dude on the internet? I don’t want that anyway. So what if I can’t buy cheap-o clothes from the mall? I should make smarter purchases, anyway. It’s like I’m intelligent enough to know that the reasons I want my body to look a certain way are stupid but still can’t help but sometimes feel like my body could be ‘better’.  Fitting into clothes from the mall wouldn’t make me happier. Being pestered by more men who only like the way I look certainly wouldn’t make me happier. So why do I feel this way sometimes? It makes no sense.

I guess I just wanted to write this post to 1) celebrate a time when I felt really happy with my body and 2) share that even the people you might look up to still struggle with the same things. It’s only human.

Quick run down of some important things –

  • The beauty of another does not take away from your own!
  • Everyone EVERYONE struggles with their appearance from time to time – even that human who you think is like the ultimate good lookin’ person! Chances are every once in a while they look in the mirror and think “who is that dingus?”
  • Taking selfies isn’t vain, sometimes it can be a really cathartic experience that will help you see things a little bit differently.
  • STOP COMPARING YOUR BODY TO OTHERS. Everyone is built different.
  • Not being petite doesn’t make you any less womanly or worth any less.
Bra + cardigan c/o Athleta.
Leggings by Girlfriend Collective. They are PURE MAGIC. Literal best leggings I have ever owned. They’re made from recycled water bottles. Plus they earn major points for using models with a variety of different body types.
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10 things making me smile

by Kaylah Stroup

dumb, happy puppies.

finding mushy photos I honestly don’t even remember taking.

making crazy colorful bouquets of whatever I can get my hands on.

finding random things I don’t quite understand.

‘Y’ did you nail this here? Maybe it’s super thought out, maybe someone found the letter and randomly nailed it there because why not? Either way, I’m very into this sort of thing.

this litter nose creep.

making pals while geocaching.

the tiny world of mushrooms.

this tooth holding our toothbrushes.

 photos that feel like summer time & that handsome dude on the bike.

these photos of my dad + I from my birthday.

Toward the beginning of the month I received one of those awful phone calls from my mom. The kind where as soon as you see who is calling you get a pit in your stomach.

‘Hey, what are you doing?’
‘What’s going on? Why are you calling me?’ Her question of what I was doing didn’t even merit a response. I could hear it in her voice, something was definitely wrong.
‘Don’t cry because it’ll me make me cry but dad was in a motorcycle accident.’

My dad, the strongest, most badass person in the whole wide world, has been out of commission for essentially the entire month. It’s heartbreaking. You don’t want to think about your parents being anything less than invincible, ya know? He was finally supposed to go into surgery today but that got cancelled yesterday. Its obviously a bigger bummer for him than me but it still sucks. I just want my dad to be happy, and healthy again. I’ve been stressing out about this all for so long so I thought it only appropriate to make a list of ten good things.

So, tell me, what’s making you smile today? I need to hear about allllll the good things!
xoxo

PS. If anyone could just magically make my dad all better, that’d be great. If not, I’d love it if you tweeted me photos of cute animals. (I’m @thedaintysquid, of course.)
PPS. This tweet + photo about my dad from last summer also make me smile & should probably be linked here too!

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five of my favorite hair products

by Kaylah Stroup

the dainty squid, hair, kaylah doolan, hair care, products for colored hair Five of my favorite hair products…

Hask Placenta. Out of all of the products I use daily (make up, hair, face & body care, etc) this has to be the one I’ve been using the longest. I am a die hard fan of this stuff.  It’s a leave-in instant conditioning treatment. I apply it every single day after washing and towel drying my hair. It makes my hair so soft and manageable. I can tell an instant difference on days I don’t use it. I’ve been recommending it here on the blog for years, and have received countless emails and comments from folks saying it helped them out big time too. If you try one thing from this post, make it Hask Placenta!

Evo love touch shine spray. This stuff is magic. It helps hide split ends, and tames fly-aways. I spritz some on the ends of my hair after it’s dry on days I wear it straight to help make my hair seem shinier and less dull. It makes my hair look so much healthier, especially when it’s in need of a color touch-up. It also smells very very very good.

Argan oil. I started using argan oil when I bought a curling wand. I apply it to dry hair before using any heat styling products. The result is softer, smoother looking hair. I’ve tried other brands of argan oil but always end up coming back to this one by Arganics. It smells the best, and leaves my hair with the best results.

Aveda shampure dry shampoo. The only dry shampoo I have ever liked! In my opinion, nothing beats clean hair but on days I can’t wash, this dry shampoo comes to the rescue. It helps my hair appear less oily and gives me a bit of volume. It is important to note that it is very easy to overdo it with this stuff. One little puff goes a long way (which also helps justify the price! I haven’t even made a dent in my bottle yet!) This stuff is also really great if you want to give your hair a little bit of texture before braiding or putting it up. My hair is extremely straight which kind of makes for blah ponytails. Adding just a bit of this dry shampoo gives me exactly what I need for the perfect messy bun.

Herbivore sea mist. First of all, this smells amazing. Even if it did nothing I’d probably still want to use it so that my hair would smell that good. I use this spray on days that I want to wear my hair straight. My hair is naturally very, very straight and kind of lifeless. This spray gives me a little bit of volume, and texture without little effort. I find its most effective when I apply to dry hair and then scrunch.

Other than those things I don’t use too much else.  Sparks Color Care Sulfate-Free Shampoo + Conditioner is awesome for helping maintain my hair color and I’m a big fan of their color protecting spray for days I’ll be out in the sun a lot. I also use coconut oil to condition the ends of my hair fairly regularly (I slather it on the ends of my hair before bed, lay a towel down on my pillow, then wash and rinse as normal in the morning!)

If you have any hair questions or are looking for more tips + product recommendations, check out my hair master post! 
xoxo

 

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fun lighting must-haves!

by Kaylah Stroup

Over the last year I’ve developed a bit of a lighting obsession. I think it may have started with the lights my landlord installed under the kitchen cabinets. One strand and it just adds so much to the entire room. They were apologetic because they thought it would look cooler but I LOVED it.

Since the beginning of the year I’ve slowly but surely been adding to our little collection of neat-o lights. One purchase last week just completed the living room. I knew immediately I needed to do a little round up of what we’ve got going on over here, and show off my favorites!

cheap lighting, light solutions, LED strip for tv

I feel like I shouldn’t be starting with my favorite first but I am honestly just over the moon about this purchase – LED light strips for behind my television! There hasn’t been one night since I bought these that I didn’t say “OH MY GOSH, our living room is amaaaazing!” Twenty bucks well spents for sure.

We have a 55 inch televeision, and I bought two strands of the LED strips. I started each strip in the middle of the television and ran them down their own side. They reach a little bit past half way. I was worried it would be obvious and look like we skimped but it puts off the perfect amount of lighting! You can’t even tell it doesn’t reach the bottom of the tv. If your tv is much bigger I’d probably recommend getting a third strip though.

You can adjust the brightness, as well as choose from different colors and patterns. I absolutely love the smooth fade pattern that cycles between colors so that’s all we’ve had going on over here. At first we were like “Oh no, we can’t have it on the color cycling option because they won’t match up” which is true. Randomly they will match up for a handful of colors but then each strip goes it’s separate way. Luckily, I actually like it even more with each strip doing it’s own thing.

When I sent my mom a video of the lights in motion she asked if they were distracting. I don’t think so at all. If anything, they’re very relaxing. When I’m actually concentrating on what I’m watching I don’t even notice them. Don’t quote me, I’m just a lighting obsessed blogger, but I feel like they also reduce eye strain. You’re not just staring at this bright white tv. There is ambient light while the room still has that perfect cozy evening movie watching vibe.

I already want more of them. I don’t know where I’ll put them but I know I need more of these in my apartment… that’s how much I love them.

PS. A lot of the reviews mention the adhesive on the back of the strips isn’t strong enough to actually hold them up but so far we haven’t had any issues. Make sure to clean whatever surface you’re applying them to first, and press them down hard! 

green light bulb, wifi bulb, smart bulb, smart lights smart lights, smart bulbs, colored living room lights

MagicLight Bluetooth LED bulbs. We have two of these that are in the lamps on each side of the couch. Just another fun little thing to add some color to the room. Controlled via the MagicLight app, they work just like regular bulbs except way cooler. You can make them any color on the color wheel shown above, dim them or turn the brightness all the way up. From the app you’re able to schedule the bulbs to turn on or off at certain times. You can even have them pulse to your music, and display different patterns, among many other silly little options I never actually use. If you have more than one you can control them seperately or together.

The bulbs and the app were easy to set up. At around 30 dollars per bulb they’re not exactly cheap but they do seem to be the best option if you’re looking for smart bulbs, especially since they don’t require you to purchase a hub. You just need the bulb, and the app (which is free.) We’ve had these since January with zero issues. For the longest time we basically just used them as regular bulbs, on the warm white setting. Now that we have the tv lights, the lamps are usually set to a shade of blue and green. It’s really neat because of the small mirror we have hanging above the television, as seen in the first photo in this post, it reflects whatever is on the lamps.

color changing toilet lamp, green toilet, led lights

Never thought I’d be posting a photo of my toilet on this blog but here we are! I bought this motion activated toilet night light for Jeff as joke for this birthday. Well… we both ended up loving it. You can set it to a single color or have it cycle through the colors. We always have it set to cycle through. It’s one of my favorite little thing, such a cheap way to add something fun to your bathroom. The first time anyone came over after we got it they heard “go look at the toilet!!” Nearly eight full months and it’s still going strong. If this one were to break or otherwise quit working, I would absolutely repurchase.

Other fun lights around my apartment…

String light lamp. It doesn’t put off much light at all. It’s really just for decoration but I absolutely love it. It’s battery operated and has an on/off switch on the bottom so it’s best placed somewhere easy to access.

Another light just for decor purposes, vintage exit sign. Just a fun garage sale find that fits in perfectly with the rest of my weird stuff. There are lots of light up exit signs to be found online – like this one that also comes in green letters! They’re pretty affordable too.

Oversized light bulb. My parents got me this for my birthday and it probably couldn’t have come at a more perfect time since we had just gotten the tv lights. This oversized bulb hangs above the bookcase in a corner of the room that otherwise has no lighting. It puts off the perfect amount of light where it can be on at the same time as the television LED strips and not be overwhelming.

I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to hang it since I’d never had something this like this before but I just purchased this 15-foot hanging lantern cord and it actually came with all the supplies I needed. Easy peasy, and it looks awesome!

Marble and gold desk lamp. Out of all of the lights, this is easily the one I turn on the least. It’s very bright, and where I have it placed makes it more of a decorative piece than one that actually serves a purpose. When turned on it’s basically just a huge ball of light. It would look a lot nicer somewhere the light was able to be dispersed. I just really like it where it is, fits in perfectly with the rest of the items on my bookshelf.

So basically, I’m obsessed with my apartment. It’s funny how much lighting can change the whole vibe of a place. Safe to say, I’m hooked. I can’t imagine this place without them now. Probably time to start adding some cool lights to my bedroom now…
xoxo

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Wayne County Home Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup

ohio, wooster, cemetery, graveyard, headstone with numbers

Wayne County Home Cemetery.

I’ve been itching to get back out and look for interesting new cemeteries to explore. Every time I think I’ve checked out everything interesting in the area I manage to dig up something new I hadn’t seen before. I don’t know how but I ended up searching on the FindAGrave app in the Wooster, OH area. It’s only a little over an hours drive away so not a bad drive if I were to find something cool.

As luck would have it, the area is cemetery central. SO many of them! I was mainly browsing for larger ones but using the list feature I managed to spot “Wayne County Home Cemetery” With only 324 burials, it wasn’t the numbers that excited me – it was the name. “Home” generally meaning the county home or infirmary. Most of the time the people who died in these places didn’t have family to claim their body or the means to provide for their own burial so the home would take care of that for them. The headstones in places like this are usually the bare minimum, no names just numbers. …And that was if you were lucky enough to get one. Unmarked graves certainly weren’t uncommon.

Despite doing fairly extensive research on cemeteries like this I still had yet to visit one. The majority of the nearby ones are actually looked after fairly well… at least by security so I was a bit nervous about making the drive to this one thinking that I might not be able to explore. As luck would have it, it’s actually in the middle of nowhere. I felt like I went down a million little roads lined with cornfields before I finally got there. It was worth the drive.

Wayne County Home Cemetery, headstone with just numbers ohio, cemetery, rows of headstones

I thought I had a pretty decent idea of the history of this cemetery. A really interesting story that I was excited to share because it added so much punch to the whole place. I do minimal research of the places I want to visit before hand just to save myself the let down of getting super excited and then not being able to check them out. I dig in after I get home. When I went to confirm and fact check my story for this place though… I came up completely empty handed.

I am so incredibly confused. I swear up and down I read on multiple sites the history of this cemetery. My searches come up with nothing now. I even went through my browser history… still nothing. My only guess is that I simply read about so many other cemeteries I confused one of their stories with this place.

So, I don’t have any back story for you on this cemetery, just that it was established in 1852, but I still think the photos alone are very powerful. There were only a two or three plots that had newer headstones with a name. (One of which was a child that died on my birthday. Spooky!) The rest were simple stones marked simply with a number. Only one of those was decorated.

Wayne County Home Cemetery, headstone, numbered headstones

Check out even more interesting graveyards under the “cemeteries” tag!

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found on the beach – mellow yellow

by Kaylah Stroup

I’ve been holding on to these photos for quite a few months now. Sadly, I haven’t been doing too much beach combing lately. The last time I went was actually my birthday at the beginning of the month. While there is still more trash than there should be, my favorite spot to hang out is fairly clean in the warmer months. It’s also full of people this time of the year which takes a little bit of the fun out of it. Beach combing is a solitary hobby for me. It’s my way to relax, unwind, and just zone out. It’s a way for me to get out of the house, yet still be alone. I miss it, and am very much looking forward to getting back into the swing of it as soon as the weather cools down a bit.

As I’m sure you’re already aware, I’m a huge fan of colorful arrangements. They’re my favorite to make. The more colors the better, in my opinion. Like this one, my all time favorite! Slowly but surely I’ve been making arrangements of single colors though. Check out blue + green! I eventually would like to do every color so that I can make a photo collage that includes one image of each arrangement of a single color. Today, I present to you, yellow!

plastic pollution, lake erie,

Not too many interesting finds in this color, at least not on the day I made it. I normally try to include unique finds in my arragements, if possible. It’s nice because that really catches people’s attention when they see recognizable items. While drawing attention to the issue of plastic pollution wasn’t my main goal in starting this little hobby, it’s quickly becoming something I’m passionate about so anytime I can create an image that gets people to stop and look is good! Sharing only the recognizable items like dinosaurs, hair clips, army men, etc kind of stinks though because I get comments like “I never find anything cool on my beach!” We shouldn’t really be finding anything made by humans washed up on beaches. I definitely don’t want anyone to think that I have this special beach where only neat things wash up, and it’s a good thing. There are a lot A LOT of random bits and bobs of trash.  This yellow arrangement definitely highlights those. Just lots of shards of broken plastic, and bottle lids for this color. That’s honestly the majority of what’s normally on the beach at any given time.

my favorite find of the day.

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!
If you like my found on the beach collections – prints, phone cases, and more can be found here. Handmade zipper pouches + post cards can be found here.
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