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some of my favorite posts

Exploring Ohio

by Kaylah Stroup December 23, 2015

Sometime mid-2015 I got in my mind that I wanted to move to a different state. I dreamed of living somewhere that I could find new things to explore, and photograph everywhere I looked. I’ve lived in Ohio my life, and while I love it here and it will probably always be “home”, I want to experience new things. The traveling I’ve done these last two years, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t all that crazy but it definitely put a bug under my skin.* I don’t even have a specific place I’d like to be living instead, just somewhere new, I guess.

I don’t think moving out of state is in the cards for me right this moment. (Mostly because I would REALLY miss my parents. Hi mom, you’re welcome!) Instead of moping around that I’ve done everything I want to do or that I’ve seen everything that would interest me in the area I’m making it one of my 2016 goals to make an extra effort to find new things, and appreciate the other things I’ve taken for granted in this state. I want to explore Ohio to the fullest!

Last Saturday we got our first snow of the season. Sadly, it wasn’t all much. It actually melted by the end of the day. Whomp, whomp, whomp. I still thought it would be the perfect excuse to head to the beach. I bundled up, grabbed my cameras, and ventured out to the lake.

Over the summer I found some little fishing trail type things (great description, huh?) along the water. All the hours I’ve spent at the beach and somehow I never knew they were there. They quickly became my favorite spot to bike to because despite being at our most popular waterfront park, they were always free of crowds. One or two lone fishermen at most, but I’ve found that people who are fishing usually won’t try to spark up a conversation. They’re just looking for a little peace and quiet as well.

The trails were even more peaceful lightly covered in snow even as the waves violently crashed against the rocks. I’ve never been afraid of the water. I’m an excellent swimmer.** Yet the water still made me uneasy. The trail was iced over in a few spots, reminding me that I wasn’t exactly safe from being splashed. I walked the whole trail stopping every few feet to take in the beauty, and snap a few photos. Eventually, when I thought my fingers my freeze off, I made my way back to the car and headed home.

I think if I ever move from Ohio walks like this will be one of the things I miss the most. I am so lucky to live mere minutes from the beach. Here’s to getting out and finding more things to love here!
xoxo

* I just realized that might not be an actual saying and that I’m just
kind of combining a few phrases. Google doesn’t really seem to know
what I’m talking about.

** I was on the swim team…for one whole day. Truth be told, I lived
too far out in the boonies to make it to practice every day before
school. That’s one of the very few things I disliked about where I
grew up.

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15 ways to fight the winter blues

by Kaylah Stroup December 22, 2015

Today is the first day of winter which means it’s that time of the year when the sun is late to rise and disappears again all too early. I get the winter blues baaaad. I don’t mind cooler weather, and most of the time I enjoy the snow but the lack of sunlight really gets to me. Already I’m seeing a slight shift it my overall mood. Before it gets too late in the season, and I’m completely stuck in a rut I thought it might be helpful to compile a list of ways to combat the winter blues.

15 Ways To Fight The Winter Blues.
▴ Buy some plants. Indoor gardening is super satisfying, and bringing the outdoors inside is a great way to boost your mood. There’s always room for one more cactus, I promise! 😉

▴ Light your house up! Burning candles always feel so cozy to me, and I swear I love my living room 100x more after hanging Christmas lights from my ceiling. They’re definitely staying up all year long.

▴ Wake up as early as possible. The cold weather makes me want to sleep in. My bed is just so cozy, especially when Jeff sleeps over but when it comes right down to it I feel so much better getting up early. Since the sun is so limited this time of the year soaking it up every second you get is way better than staying curled up in bed.

▴ Embrace the season! Ice skating is a blast, and what could be more fun than sledding with friends? Last year we talked about making a snow fort but it never happened. Maybe this will be the year!?

▴ Catch up on reading. I recommend Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs. I’m currently dragging my feet through the third book. I just don’t want it to end!

▴ Visit the beach! The beach in the winter can be pretty amazing – see here + here. Make sure to bundle up though, being near the water is always drastically colder.

▴ Visit your local greenhouse or botanical garden. If you’re near Cleveland, you need to go Rockefeller Park Greenhouse!

▴ Clean. Am I the only one who thinks cleaning is really relaxing?
Yes? Well, it’s a great way to de-stress. Take the time to clean out
your closets, and donate anything you no longer need or use.

▴ Explore your neighborhood. Bundle up, and take a walk. I did this right after moving to my new apartment (see here) and it’s still one of my favorite walks I’ve ever taken.

▴ Take a bubble bath. You can find a list of my favorite bath products here.

▴ Bake something! The smell of something cooking will make your home feel super cozy, and you’ll have something to snack on. It’s a win/win. Nutella swirled banana bread is always great. It’s not baking but this brandy fudge is certainly delicious.

▴ Throw a party. It’s an excuse to decorate, have friends over, and eat – what could be better?! May I suggest a breakfast for dinner party?

▴ Write letters or postcards to your friends. Snail mail is the best ,and it will brighten someone else’s day as well!

▴ Try night photography! Use the fact it gets dark insanely early to your advantage, you get to practice a new hobby and still be in bed by 9pm.

▴ Buy yourself some flowers! So maybe you’re not the indoor gardening type, but flowers are always nice. If you’re allergic, there are still paper flowers!

What are some of your favorite ways to fight the winter blues?
xoxo

my 6 favorite bath products

by Kaylah Stroup December 17, 2015

This post might seem totally random but winter is bath season for me. As soon as the weather starts to cool the bathtub suddenly becomes one of my favorite spots in the whole apartment. Sometimes I take one first thing in the morning to wake up, other times I take one right before bed. Doesn’t matter what time of the day, nothing is more relaxing to me than sipping tea, reading a book, and soaking my stress away. It’s my favorite way to warm up if I have a chill… which is basically always. I consider myself fairly well-versed in bath products so I thought it’d be fun to share some of my favorite things that make baths even more relaxing.

1. Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil. This, surprisingly, is one of my favorite bath products. It contains menthol so it’s the perfect thing to clear out your sinuses (because winter means I inevitably get sick at least once!) It also comes in a bath soak. Using both the oil and the soak at the same time is heaven. The foaming bath oil is also a great multi-use product because not only can you take a bubble bath in it, it lathers really nicely if you’d like to use it as a shower gel. The smell is super energizing, and perfect for those early morning baths or showers.

2. Lush bath bombs are obviously going to be on this list. I’m pretty cheap so I totally understand not wanting to spend $6+ per bath product but they are absolutely worth the splurge. I don’t use them every single bath but they are an amazing pick my up when I’m feeling blue. If you haven’t tried Lush yet, quit stalling and go buy a sex bomb. I swear, there is nothing better!

3. A bath pillow. Do I have to explain why having a bath pillow rules? I don’t think so but I’ll tell you one thing, it’s so much cozier than laying your head on the tub or just putting a towel behind your head. It also makes it easy to keep my hair dry!

4. Overflow drain cover. Having one of these is a must if you’re over a certain height. Bathtubs that are long enough that I don’t have to decide which part of my body – feet, knees or boobs – has to be cold are few and far between. While having an overflow drain cover doesn’t completely solve the problem it gives you a few extra inches of water. Once you have one you’ll wonder
how you went without it all these years! I feel like a dork for not having mine pictured in this post but after a few years and a lot of different hair colors, it’s not very pretty. Trust me, you don’t want to see it.

5. Candles, candles, and more candles. I am a verified candle addict. They make relaxing in the tub so much nicer. Recently I got a few from P.F. Candle Co. from Moorea Seal and holy smokes, they’re amazing! They smell wonderful, and last for quite a while. My current favorite is Gardenia & Coconut. If you’d rather purchase candles in person, I recommend hitting up TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. They always seem to have an awesome selection. I could spend forever just sniffing candles there.

6. Herbivore’s Coconut Milk Bath Soak. This stuff had been on my radar for quite sometime. I finally got my paws on it and let me just say – I was missing out! The other day Jeff came out of my bathroom and exclaimed “Wow, that coconut stuff smells amazing!” Not only does it smell great, it leaves you so so so soft.

Also, if you need a new tea for bath time… or all the time – try Bigelow’s Salted Caramel. It’s easy to accidentally over-steep but when you time it just right it tastes like candy! It’s my current favorite. I haven’t had it for all that long at all and I’ve devoured almost a full box.

Are you a fan of bubble baths? What are your favorite bath products? Any recommendations for something that produces lots of bubbles?!
xoxo

Cleveland, from up high

by Kaylah Stroup December 16, 2015

night photography, terminal tower, Cleveland

I was about to start this post by saying I haven’t been in Cleveland all that long but it just occurred to me that it’s going on two years now! This time in 2013 I was slowly packing up my things, getting rid of anything I didn’t need to start my new life with, and browsing Craigslist for somewhere cozy for the critters and I to move. Kind of crazy it’s been that long already but on the same hand, it seems like a lifetime ago…

Anyway, ahem, the point I was going to make was that I feel like ever since the beginning of my love affair with this beautiful city I’ve been able to see it from views that probably a lot of long time residents have never seen. On mine and Jeff‘s first date he actually took me to climb a bridge. For some crazy reason, despite only having met this guy a few short hours earlier, I trusted him – I hopped a fence, and did something that at the time was probably one of the craziest things I had ever done. It was an absolute rush. I was terrified, and excited, and probably one million other emotions all rolled into one.

That was good preview of what our relationship would be like. This adventurous human has taken me some awesome places. So many firsts, especially for this gal who previously had never really spent any time in the city at all! Last week him, Jason, and I went hunting for some new views of Cleveland…and boy, oh boy, did we find them!

We ended the night pleased, full of pizza, and I came home with a few new (really gnarly!) bruises. I bruise so easily that basically all you have to do is look at me the wrong way and I have a new one. I’m still not all that confident in my night photography skills but I’m pretty darn happy with these photos! I’m sure with time I’ll come to find flaws in them but hey, practice makes perfect!
xoxo

Here’s another fun view of the city from last summer.

2 tips for switching hair color easily

by Kaylah Stroup December 8, 2015

One of the main questions I get about my hair is how I seamlessly change colors so drastically. This post, of course, is really only relevant to unnatural colors done with brands such as Punky Colours, Manic Panic, Special Effects and the like. I also need to give my normal spiel about not being a professional, having no formal training, and that everything I know is from personal experience. That’s not to downplay what I know though, I’ve been dyeing my hair unnatural colors for over eight years. I’ve got it pretty much down to a science.

Below is a perfect example of what my typical timeline looks like and what I’ll be explaining in this post. Blue in June, purple in July, and orange in August – easy peasy and with minimal damage! This is a fairly regular cycle for me. I change my hair color every two or three months depending how quickly I get bored.

When my hair was professionally dyed pink for the first time around eight years ago I knew nothing about hair! I had been dyeing it black since I was around fourteen and the extent of my knowledge was how to apply box color. But since stripping the black from hair and dying it pink no one else has touched my hair color. It costs a fortune, and after a spending a great deal of time researching I realized I could easily do it myself. I’ve always loved switching colors, and in all my years the two biggest tips I’ve found that help are…

▴ Let your current hair color fade. Y’all, I take a lot of pride in my hair. I try to always keep root growth at a minimum and my hair color bright. I’m pretty embarrassed by faded hair but sometimes it is a necessity!

I let my hair fade naturally for as long as I can stand it. Then when it hits me that “I have to change hair colors now!” I give myself a few more days. In those three or fours days, hopefully longer, I will purposely fade my hair to the best of my ability. I’ve never been a fan of bleach baths, using dish soap or anything else like. To fade my hair I rinse with hot water, take baths where I actually let my hair soak instead of keeping it dry, leave shampoo in a little bit longer than normal, and do conditioning treatments at least once a day. The conditioning treatments are especially helpful because before bleaching you obviously want your hair is the best condition possible. You can find a few of my favorite deep conditioning products in this post.

The three photos above show examples of what my hair looked like at it’s best during those dye jobs, not what it looked like before being bleached and moving on to the next color.

▴ Use the color wheel. That’s my big “secret”, which totally isn’t a secret at all but it is an important thing that is easily overlooked. I never want to say that something isn’t possible or that you can’t do something but there are definitely colors that are harder to switch between.

watercolor color wheel by Mara Mattia

While my color changes may seem dramatic they are carefully thought out. I’ve found that it’s easiest to work my way around the color wheel instead of skipping around. For example if you have bright pink hair, it’s much easier to move a few shades over on the wheel to orange, instead of rushing right into green. Is it possible to go straight from bright pink to lime green? Maybe but it’s going to involve bleaching your hair to a lot lighter of a color first. You obviously don’t have to stop at every single step on the color wheel, just keep it in mind when deciding on your next color.

Using the color wheel as a guide is what I consider my best weapon for fighting damage. My color changes are smooth and cause minimal damage because I’m not bleaching the entire length of my hair to switch colors and the color itself doesn’t cause any harm. I normally just bleach my roots and that’s all.Since I’m not bleaching the whole length there is obviously still color in my hair when moving to the next shade. Following the color wheel ensures that my next color won’t mix poorly with the color remaining in my hair. Mixing complementary colors will result in a muddy hair color which is something you want to avoid.

If you have other any general hair questions, or questions about my hair – let me know. I’d love to share more hair related content on The Dainty Squid but I need to know what you want to learn about. xoxo

xoxo

June 2019 update – I have a video transforming green hair to orange here! I’m still pretty impressed with how it turned out!

You can find more hair dye tips and guides in my hair master post.

abandoned Rochester subway // round two

by Kaylah Stroup November 18, 2015

The weekend before last Jeff, Jake, and I hit up the abandoned Rochester subway. I guess it’s sort of an annual thing now. The Rochester subway was a light rail rapid transit line that operated from 1927 to 1956. The subway was constructed in the bed of the old Erie Canal. Most of the tracks have since been removed but it’s a really incredible tunnel nonetheless. The main part, where light flows in, is filled with colorful graffiti. It’s a really interesting spot to go visit, take photos, and poke around.

We walked the entire length again this year. It really wasn’t too much different from last year. We did manage to find a new little path to go down though which was an awesome discovery. There was an opening and a strange tunnel that kept going and kept going but I wasn’t really feeling it. It was clear someone was living there, deep underneath the city. I really don’t like the idea of invading someone’s personal space like that so if ever somewhere feels like it might be someone’s home I’m out. Not to mention the fact there were around five million cigarettes, I’m barely exaggerating here, and the smell was hard to handle. I’m so curious where the tunnel went though. I’d love to go in deeper, maybe next year…

Of course, there was new graffiti as well. I’m sure things are constantly being changed around down there. People were even painting while we there. One of my favorite things from this trip was Halloween themed graffiti! Ghosts, pumpkins, spooky creatures, and more! It was so awesome!!!

hornbill above done by Mr. Prvrt who paints some real rad stuff (+works with Wild Wings Inc, an organization that houses injured and non-releasable birds of prey in NY)

See ya again next year, Rochester!
xoxo

Find last 2014’s abandoned subway post here.

Niagara Falls

by Kaylah Stroup November 17, 2015

On the way home from Toronto Jeff and I made a stop in Niagara Falls. I fell asleep shortly after leaving Toronto and when I woke up we were parking at the falls! It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Canadian side of the falls. I was probably around eleven or twelve at the time, it was before you needed a passport to cross the border, and I really don’t remember much at all.

I know last time I was at Niagara Falls on the American side with Elycia I wasn’t super impressed with the falls. I actually barely took any photos of them. Not sure what it was, maybe the spots we stopped at didn’t have a great view or I just wasn’t sure how to shoot them. This time was different. I took quite a few photos and I really liked them all. The first photo in this post is my favorite. I actually took a bunch of similar ones. I just love the way the water looks. The colors and textures are so nice. It reminds me a lot of some of the photos I took along the Pacific Coast Highway this summer.

After admiring the falls a bit we took the incline up to do some exploring. We didn’t get very far though. My feet were killing me. I was hobbling around, having to stop every few feet so we took the incline back down and grabbed the car. My feet have literally never hurt as bad as they did that day but I still really, really wanted to see some of the Canadian side had to offer. My feet actually hurt for around a week after!!!

We found cheap parking near the main strip and took a stroll. Despite every single thing in Niagara Falls being a complete rip off I really wanted to do something fun while we were there. I bought passes that granted us admission to three attractions of our choice. We chose the Mystery Maze (more challenging than expected!), the Fun House (way too short!), and the Haunted House (sooo cheesy but still managed to get a scream or two from me) It was a blast.

I remember the main strip looking soooo huge to me as a kid. While it still was absolutely enthralling, there is so much to look at, I was surprised how small it was. I wish my feet hadn’t been hurting so bad so we could have walked more and visited more overpriced attractions. Tourist traps are my favorite!

Waterfalls, a ferris wheel ride, some dinosaurs, a gourmet burger, and so much more all in a few hours. Definitely an awesome pit stop and way to end the trip.
xoxo

list making for productivity

by Kaylah Stroup October 7, 2015

Fairly often I get emails asking how I’m so productive and I always kind of feel stumped – I don’t necessarily feel more productive than other people but I guess being my own boss and being the sole person who keeps this ship up and running has taught me a few things about getting stuff done.

Jeff and I were sitting at the train station the other day and he was telling me about how he read list of things that successful people did and one of the items that really stuck with him was making lists. He told me what he’d read and my response was “Well, yeah! That’s how I make lists!” Most people make lists daily but it’s how you write those lists that really matters.

So your typical list might be:
▴ clean house
▴ buy groceries
▴ laundry
▴ do social media stuff
▴ blog

It looks simple enough but those tasks aren’t very specific. I’ve found that when I break my lists down as simply as possible I am SO much more productive. My lists look more like this:
▴ wash dishes
▴ vacuum house
▴ make bed
▴ clean kitty litter
▴ write grocery list
▴ get groceries
▴ wash clothes
▴ fold clothes
▴ queue Friday Favorites
▴ edit project 365 photos
▴ draft Monday’s post
▴ share post on FB
…etc, etc

The things on the second list are easier to cross off. They get right to the point. There’s no questioning whether or not you completed the task. Being able to cross of items more quickly will make you feel more productive. I wish there was a prettier way to write this but nothing is better for productivity than feeling productive. Looking at a massive list that you’ve already half crossed off by noon feels like you’re majorly kicking some butt which makes you want to keep on chugging!

For larger tasks that can’t be completed in a day I usually set a time limit so that I can cross it off and move on to the next. For example instead of “design media kit”, I might write “work on media kit for one hour”. This means instead of avoiding it and deciding “oh, I don’t really have time today. I’ll do that tomorrow…” I can tackle it knowing that I don’t have to finish and that’s okay.

notebooks from Moorea Seal, who seriously has one of the greatest “office” categories. So many beautiful paper things!

This very simple little tip drastically improved my productivity when I figured it out. Hopefully it does the same for you. Do you guys have any easy tips to boost productivity? I’d love to hear them.
xoxo

The Rubber Duck Factory Revisited

by Kaylah Stroup September 28, 2015

Last Sunday Jeff, Jason, and I attended a lecture on Cleveland history. We learned the history of a handful of buildings downtown, and ate lots of snacks. It was pretty awesome. Not only was what we were learning interesting I absolutely love seeing people talk about their interests. It was wildly obvious this man loved researching our city and that was enough to get me excited.

After the lecture I was feeling a serious urge to get into something abandoned. I guess it really just comes down to the fact that passionate people spark my passions. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what I love about photographing abandoned buildings but something I really enjoy is documenting changes.

Something during the lecture that piqued my interest was when he was talking about this headstone and how he was really glad someone had photographed it way back when because it is no longer legible. It’s just a worn down obelisk now. He mentioned that a lot of things can last for a while, they might stay in the same condition for hundred years then all of a sudden in the next fifty go rapidly down hill. I’ve found abandoned buildings to be a prime example of that.

After the lecture, while waiting on a friend to get off work, we walked over to “The Rubber Duck Factory” just to waste a little bit of time. I hesitated to even take any photos of the place because none will ever been fun as the ones from my previous visit but then I thought about why I loved photographing these places so much and what he had said about deterioration of things.

This old warehouse is in no way, shape or form as significant as a headstone but it’s crazy to see how quickly it’s just crumbling away like the headstone I mentioned above. So much has changed since my last visit; furniture is gone, someone has been dumping shrubbery, there is tons more graffiti, the roof in one of the largest sections has collapsed and most noticeably… I couldn’t find a single rubber duck. My last visit we gathered nearly five hundred of these dirty ducks. I checked all the spots I knew I hide ducks and didn’t see even one.

It’s funny to me that now anytime someone goes there they’ll be left wondering “Why in the world is this called The Rubber Duck Factory?” I love that I was able to go there and document a time where there was an abundance of ducks because no one else will be able to do that again. …Unless the ducks show up again…? I guess that’s not totally out of the realm of possibility. Maybe they’ve just been kidnapped!? Oh man, someone should have totally turned this into a puzzle complete with a ransom note. Opportunity lost!

Like I said, this building isn’t all that important in Cleveland history but it’s certainly fun to record little things like this. Soon it will be demolished so that condos can be built and all that will be left will be the memories and photos myself and other photographers have captured.
xoxo

Find my post from my first visit here.

Sept 27, two days after drafting up this post, the Rubber Duck Factory actually burnt down. Such a crazy coincidence.

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