Tag:

the little things

Thankful

by Kaylah Stroup November 22, 2018

Before I even started typing this post, the water works started. 2018 has been amazing so far. I have so much to be thankful for it’d be impossible to write it all in a single blog post but here I go anyway…

I’m thankful for the all opportunities I’ve had to travel this year. We went all over the United States. Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine and a bunch of stops inbetween. Sometimes it was just Jeff and I but the trip that stands out the most is, very obviously, our wedding trip. I’m still just over the moon we managed to convince everyone to go to the desert with us. That was easily the most special week of my entire life. I’m thankful for everyone that came and shared it with us and for all the memories we made.

I’m thankful for my pets who have grown closer this year than ever before. Having all three of them up on the couch with us together is no longer out of the ordinary. I might even call Professor and Klaus buddies. I mean, they do give each other kisses!! These three make me smile every single day.

I’m thankful for my friends and all our adventures. Bike rides, day trips to other cities, and doing our best to try every place we’ve never eaten before.

I’m especially thankful for my friendship with Elycia. Keeping long distance friends isn’t easy but somehow we’ve been doing it for the last seven years. She’s the absolute best, and maybe the only other person in the world I can handle being around for long periods of time other than Jeff.

(above photo by Madeline Barr)

I’m thankful for our apartment and our neighborhood. I still can’t believe we managed to snag a newly remodeled apartment that fit all of our needs in the heart of the neighborhood we wanted to live in the most. Two years later, I’ve only come to love Tremont and our cozy little apartment even more.

I’m thankful for my husband. What a wonderful year it’s been for us! I didn’t think that marriage would change anything. I mean, we were really just adding a silly piece of paper to our relationship but y’all I LOVE being his wife. He spoils me, cheers me on and generally just helps me be a better person. We’re a dream team together. I feel so lucky!! (I am purposely keeping this brief because we have an anniversary coming up and I don’t want that post to literally just be a repeat of this!)

More more more! I’m thankful for…
▴ everyone who posts cute animals and positive things on the internet on a regular basis (the world needs you!) ▴ honestly? netflix. streaming whatever I want whenever I want is pretty awesome. ▴ the fact that my pets don’t bother my plants ▴ saturday mornings spent at our favorite coffee shop ▴ night walks around the neighborhood ▴ my parents for many many reasons but also because they always babysit Klaus for us no matter how little warning I give them ▴ living so close to the Lake & the fact that no one is ever there

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!
xoxo

that time I reunited antique photos with their family…

by Kaylah Stroup November 7, 2018

I got my collecting gene from my dad. We both love junk. He doesn’t necessarily collect things like I do but he certainly loves to buy them. His Saturday mornings are spent auctioning and he’s a huge fan of a dollar box.

If you aren’t familiar with auctions, larger items and things that are worth something get auctioned off individually but there are tons of items that it’s just not worth anyone’s time to do that with. Those get thrown in a box. Before an auction starts you have the opportunity to go around and finger through things and see if a box might contain something you’re interested in. Sometimes boxes go for a lot, when someone spots something inside they have their heart set on, but quite often they sell for next to nothing. Dollar boxes are fairly common at the auctions he attends, and sometimes the auctioneer will even offer a lot of boxes for a single dollar simply because no one is bidding. My dad loves that. Many times he’ll come home with just boxes and boxes of random things because he couldn’t resist. He then distributes the finds among my brothers, their children and I. Of course, there is lots of actual junk but he’s definitely found more than a few really great things.

Over the summer, one of his dollar box finds was three photo albums chock-full of old photos dating all the way back to 1912 which he gave to me knowing I LOVE old photos. I pored over those albums. The photos were incredible. I had no idea what I’d do with the massive album and it’s two smaller buddies but I certainly couldn’t let them just get tossed.

Fast forward to last week, I was cleaning my office and stumbled upon the albums again. I remembered that there were some Christmas photos which made me think maybe I could find an old Halloween photo as well and that it’d make a cool Instagram post. While flipping through the pages of the largest album, I spotted a newspaper clipping. Mrs. Mary Krall had written in to The Cleveland Press about her giant turnips requesting that they share a photo since she took such ‘great pride’ in them. Out of curiosity and not really expecting to find anything, I decided to look up the name and address listed. I found a listing on FindAGrave that revealed she was buried in a cemetery near my home!

I flipped through the album a few more times, searching for faces I could tie to names and names I could hopefully tie to headstones I would search for. In my hunt, I even found photos of a family headstone that were taken back on Halloween of 1948.

Armed with names and a hand-drawn map I made from the terribly hard to read ones available online I headed for the cemetery! Luckily, the map I drew had some key elements that made hunting down the headstones fairly easy. Less than two hours after looking up the name online I was standing at her grave.

Being able to hunt down the graves of those in the album was a thrill! I have so many interesting old photos that I’d love to figure out more about. It’s just really neat to be able to tie names to photos to headstones. More exciting than that though?

I’VE REUNITED THE ALBUM WITH IT’S FAMILY!

As I write this post, the three albums are in the mail heading to one of the men in the photograph’s great-niece. When I was looking up some of the names I found in the albums on different sites, I happened to notice a comment on FindAGrave that sparked my interest. Someone had left a comment indicating they thought this person might be their great uncle. I couldn’t click on the name fast enough! Her profile made me even more excited as it was clear she was super interested in family history. She had surnames listed on her page that matched up with the album. I had chills.

I reached out, showed her the photos and offered to send the albums her way. She seemed very excited and shared some family history with me. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if the tables were turned. I’ve literally had dreams about finding old albums of my family in random places.

It’s so funny that one little comment she left, probably not thinking much of it, was able to connect us. I guess that goes to show if you’re interested in your family tree and doing research online, always leave a trail of breadcrumbs so people can find you!

Another fun tidbit from this saga – The large black album? The woman I reached out to said a matching one was found in her mother’s things when she passed away. So interesting, right?!

I’m still just over the moon about this whole thing. Every step of it has been exciting – getting the album, finding names, researching their history, searching out the headstones, and of course, tracking down a living relative to give the album back to. It’s always been a mystery to me how old albums like this get tossed in the trash or put up for auction. I couldn’t imagine how no one in a family would be interested in keeping them but now I’ve realized that just because they end up in these places doesn’t mean everyone in the family knows they’re there. My dad doesn’t recall which auction he got these from or what else was there. I’m so curious if there were more old albums stashed in other boxes or if there were other important family heirlooms floating around that auction. I’m just so happy to be able to play a part in getting a little piece of family history back where it belongs.

Gosh, now all I want to do is find old things at auctions and track down family who might still want it!
xoxo

it’s the little things…

by Kaylah Stroup October 9, 2018

like spending time doing the things that make you happy.

This post? It’s really just an excuse to share some photos from recent beachcombing trips. My love of the beach has a natural ebb and flow dependant on not only the season (cooler weather is always better!) but based on what I’m finding. Obviously, there’s no rhyme or reason to what you find on the beach on what day. It’s all random and no one can control what the lake decides to wash in. But one good day of finds will lead to me being there a lot more often the following days.

That’s what happened here. I spent the afternoon at the beach with my husband and sister-in-law over the weekend. She’d never been beachcombing before so Jeff and I were both very excited to share with her how fun and relaxing it is. I did not expect to hit the jackpot like we did though. Aside from lots of great blues, a couple red and yellows, and other awesome odds and ends, we found marbles! I’ve never seen a marble on this beach so when she raised something green in the air and said “what’s this?” I never expected that’s what it would be. I was super jealous but very excited for her and very excited to know that it was something I could possibly find some day.

Ten minutes later, I’m squatting down to grab a piece of beach glass that caught my eye when I watched a marble get washed in with the waves. It was SO incredibly exciting. I spend the next couple days going to the beach each day. Not specifically to look for marbles, although I certainly wouldn’t be upset if I found another, but because it reminded me how much I enjoy being there. Consider me 100% addicted to the beach at the moment.

I realize it’s just trash. Trash that the lake has tumbled and washed back onshore but there is just something so darn satisfying about it all. I love spending even the smallest portion of my day beside the water, listening to the waves, and searching for treasure. It’s so relaxing. It’s easy to just stay in, lay on the couch, scroll on my phone, and call that relaxing but actually getting out and doing something I love really does wonders for my mental health.

Lake Erie, I love you!

rainbow beach glass, lake erie beach marble from lake erie

Life is busy and can be stressful but don’t forget to take some time for yourself!
xoxo

For more of life’s wonderful small moments, check out the tag “it’s the little things”

If you’d like to find some beach glass of your own – 7 tips for finding beach glass & 3 best spots for beachcombing in Cleveland.

10 things making me smile…

by Kaylah Stroup October 3, 2018

When you rearrange a shelf and suddenly it’s like you’re seeing everything again for the first time!

This year’s collection of four leaf clovers.

This guy who has been so fearless near water lately.

Making arrangements from found flowers.

Box monster!

Decorating for Halloween.
My house is perfect for fake spiderwebs. They just fit in so well.

Finding a new relaxing hobby – doodling on photos on my iPad.

This former shy kitty living her best life!
Always showing off her belly!

My collection of washed up warriors from the shores of Lake Erie.

Sunflowers + skeleton shoes!
My first time buying sunflowers for inside the house. I must have taken about a hundred photos of them. They’re just so beautiful!

(#11 bonus!) Ponyhenge, still!
Got a few emails recently from people who lived close but didn’t know it existed. Those emails make my day!

Even more good things;
▴ pumpkin scented candles, specifically this one ▴ making awesome six month anniversary plans ▴ filling the house with the scent of baked goods (banana bread + pumpkin muffins this week!) ▴ crazy cat antics caught on camera ▴ using a brand new notebook for the first time ▴ a cool breeze + a clean house ▴ this little devil ▴ Klaus using pillows exactly the way they’re supposed to be used ▴ Wild Ophelia cold brew coffee bites (OMG! So good. Whole Foods has pumpkin spice ones. They’re out of this world!) ▴ Professor chasing the shadow from the fridge door every single time I open it ▴ when Spotify creates a playlist for you that rules ▴ sleeping on clean sheets

What’s making you smile today?
xoxo

PS. Can’t recommend this gratitude journal enough!

28th birthday party!

by Kaylah Stroup August 7, 2018

Last week Jeff text me while he was at work to ask if I wanted to camp out at my parents with my niece over the weekend. She was unable to come to our wedding reception (where everyone camped out). She was sad to have missed it but had the opportunity to travel that weekend with friends and Jeff and I encouraged her to use any opportunity ever given to travel. We promised her that later in the summer we’d meet her out at my parents to hammock, and hang out. I had really been looking forward to it too. Hammocking with the kids is so much fun. So, anyway, I said yes and we made plans to head out to my parents on Saturday to meet up with two of my nieces and my nephew. I thought absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary.

We arrive at my parents, and I start to head over to tie Klaus up since he’s a bit of a wanderer when we’re out there. Then I hear “Kaylah!” Thinking it’s one of my nieces I turn around to look back at the pavillion but instead I spot Elycia and her family. If you’re thinking ‘I bet you cried.’ You’d be right. I did! It was such a surprise! A funny one too since I had spent the whole morning going on and on about how much I missed Elycia and how I wish she lived closer. Jeff actually said he thought I knew that I’d be seeing her later because I brought her up so much that morning.

Slowly, one by one, more friends showed up throughout the day. It was such a wonderful surprise. I honestly had no idea, and didn’t expect anything! We ate, we shot off fireworks, we ziplined. It was great. I’m so thankful to have such awesome friends and family. I feel so loved.

A few highlights of the weekend…

▴ That picture of Olive above. COME ON. Is that pure summer joy or what?!

▴ The zip line! If you follow me on instagram, you already got a small peek at the zip line that Jeff and my dad built earlier this summer. It’s basically my favorite thing ever. I love going down it over and over but I also get a lot of joy from watching others on it. I’m just tickled pink to have such a fun family.

▴ My parent’s dog, Ellie May, is hilarious in the pond. She doesn’t drink from it like a regular animal, she has to get completely in to get a drink. I’ve seen her do it a million times but it still makes me laugh.

▴ Hammock party. We had six hammocks hanging together between a few trees. It’s so cozy and such a fun way to sleep under the stars. (Get one! They’re under $20. Mine has lasted four summers so far!)

▴ After it got dark, we rode the zipline while holding roman candles. It was SO MUCH FUN. Zipping into total darkness is really strange. I’m looking forward to doing it again!

▴ Sitting around the fire with my mom, Jeff, Elycia, my nephew, and niece after everyone else went to bed was so much fun. We did lots of laughing, and gained more than a few new inside jokes.

▴ I hate seeing them grow up but I am really excited to actually become friends with my nieces and nephew. They’re such cool kids!

▴ You guys, this was my fourth time seeing my best friend, Elycia, and her family in just as many months!!! That’s really good for us. We were both a little too lax about making plans for a while. I love her so much, and her children are just perfect. I’m so happy blogging brought us together.

▴ Olive really liked wearing helmets. Tiny children in huge helmets is a very, very cute sight. After stripping herself down to a diaper a bit earlier, she insisted on wearing a helmet before going on a fourwheeler ride with Jeff. A fashionista, for sure!

28 is off to a pretty rad start!
xoxo

10 things making me smile

by Kaylah Stroup May 16, 2018

▴ This sleepy plant that goes to bed every evening and wakes up refreshed in the mornings.

Rattlesnake Plant

▴ Fun socks!

▴ Combining bike rides + geocaching!
(Also, my pretty bike + hanging out with my brother!)

▴ Pressing plants.

▴ Cats in bags!
(My babies are almost always hanging out in or on a paper bag but I still always point it out to Jeff.)

▴ Matching my lipstick to my earrings!
(And just wearing fun earrings, in general!)

▴ Doing even the tiniest bit of gardening outside.

▴ This guy + those flowers he showed up at my bridal shower with.

▴ Getting a perfume named ‘Arizona’ in this month’s Glossybox.
(We’re getting married in Arizona, in case you missed that! Little coincidences like this are the best.)

▴ This wild little beast.

Other good things on my mind:
▴ weather warm enough for cook outs and sitting by the fire ▴ the smell of camp fire ▴ seeing Klaus play in puddles ▴ talks of building a zipline at my parent’s house before our wedding reception ▴ bike rides – forever + always ▴ rainy mornings that turn into sunshine filled afternoons ▴ getting a cat cafe IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD! ▴ booking plane tickets for the wedding! ▴ building a fun collection of earrings ▴ homemade chili (even if it means having to turn on the air conditioning to eat it) ▴ holding my new squishy baby niece ▴ finding my first four leaf clover!

What’s making you smile today?
xoxo

PS. Can’t recommend this gratitude journal enough!

the little things

by Kaylah Stroup May 7, 2018

Since the moment Klaus came into my life I’ve been sharing little updates on how he’s been getting along with the cats. Perhaps that’d be better worded as ‘how the cats are getting along with him.” He’s always wanted to be friends but Squid and Professor have been a little resistant. I thought maybe it’d take six months or a year but never did I think it’d take five years!

We’ve had tons of major progress since moving into this apartment at the beginning of 2017 though. Over the weekend we had a pretty awesome lil thing happen…

I walked into the living room from my office and spotted THIS beautiful sight. Jeff was sitting on the couch too but on the complete opposite site, not in contact with either animal. That makes this only the second time I’ve caught them cuddling alone and definitely the time with the most contact. My jaw dropped when I saw them. Jeff was instantly ‘What’s wrong? What happened?!’ ‘Look at THEM!’ I squeaked.

In the past Professor probably would have scurried away when I got out the camera and started taking photos of the two of them together but instead he stayed, and rolled around a bit. I nearly lost my mind when he stretched and put his tiny feet on Klaus’ back.

I am so in love with these two and their budding friendship. The cuddling was obviously cute but Klaus’ brand new red collar matching Professor’s red bowtie really took it over the top for me.

I can’t believe it’s taken SO long for this progress but I am HERE FOR IT.
xoxo

For more of life’s wonderful small moments, check out the tag ‘’it’s the little things‘

Cute photos from their last caught on camera cuddle session here.

10 things making me smile…

by Kaylah Stroup April 11, 2018

▴ Klaus playing in the water!

▴ Lazy weekend mornings with coffee, french toast + my main squeeze.

▴ This light chasing little dweeb.

▴ Being surrounded by plants (+my long hair! Do you know how many years I ‘tried’ to grow it but always cut it!? So pumped to finally have followed through!)

▴ The Screaming Squid.

▴ Avocado pit progress! (Check out my last update here)

▴ This photo of my dad + his favorite daughter.

▴ Evening sunlight.

▴ This little cat about to beamed up to be with his people.

▴ This sunset, forever + ever. Maybe the one on our wedding day will top it? Not sure what the chances of seeing another rainbow cloud are though…

Other good things on my mind:
▴ Buying a wedding dress! (Will it fit? Will I LOVE it? So nervewracking and exciting) ▴ catching Squid + Klaus cuddling ▴ warm weather coming later this week ▴ riding my bike ▴ less than two months until the wedding! ▴ wedding = desert = best weather ▴ weekly coffee date at a coffee shop less than a five min walk away ▴ dog watching from my office window ▴ having a clean kitchen ▴ morning bubble baths ▴ Professor chasing his tail

What’s making you smile today?
xoxo

PS. Can’t recommend this gratitude journal enough!

apartment must have : a disco ball!

by Kaylah Stroup March 6, 2018

Last year I discovered the joy of rainbows in my apartment. Two suncatchers and some crystals hanging in the window means that when the sun is shining my apartment is filled with tiny rainbows. It’s nothing short of magic. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite things in the whole world. I had no idea silly little rainbows could make me so happy. You’d think after some amount of time they’d have lost their charm but I’m still just as amused by them as the first time I saw them.

I’ve known that set in direct sunlight a disco ball would be equally enchanting but I’d basically written them off because if there is one thing that doesn’t fit my decor style, it’s a disco ball! The suncatchers, and crystals I have in the windows are fairly inconspicuous. They’re small, and to be honest, I never really notice them. A disco ball, on the other hand, is a little bit harder to miss. I had no idea where I’d put it, how to display it, etc.

A few weeks ago, I couldn’t resist the appeal any longer. I bought an 8-inch mirror ball… and guess what! I should have done it so much sooner! The first day I put it out in the sunlight had me rapid fire texting Jeff “Oh my gosh, disco ball is life. This is the best thing everrrr!”

disco ball apartment, mirror ball light

So, how am I hiding the disco ball and making it fit my style a little bit better? Truth be told, I’m not.

Like I said, one of my biggest concerns with buying a mirror ball was where in the world it’d fit into my decor style. Well, it doesn’t but you guys, the light it throws off into the room makes me 100% not care at all what it looks like. Instead of hanging it somewhere or giving it a permanent home I’ve found the way to best utilize it is to move it from room to room as the sun moves through the sky.

In the morning, sunlight fills the kitchen which means the disco ball goes on the kitchen table. A little bit later in the day my living room is sunshine central, the ball goes on my table in there. Finally, in the evenings, sun comes in my office so I’ll bring the disco ball in there.

I’m well aware that what I just described sounds like a pain in the butt. If I had read that before buying it, I probably wouldn’t have been convinced. Obviously it’s not necessary to drag the disco ball from room to room but my point was that this thing I would consider kind of tacky looking doesn’t have to become a main piece of decoration in any one place. It does it’s job and then I move it.

Magical, right?!

I’m absolutely obsessed with all the fun things that happen here when the sun shines. Rainbows and specks of light covering the walls always bring a smile to my face. It’s one of the few things that is guaranteed to make me stop and just appreciate the moment. I think everyone could use something like that…

Everything else aside, if you have a cat and get direct sunlight in your home you should just go ahead and buy a mirrorball for your cat. Professor is OBSESSED. You should hear him chatter when this thing lights up the room.

You can read more about the rainbows filling my apartment + find lots more photos here.

Updated 8/17 – Still loving this, so much so that I purchased a 4-inch disco ball as well. This one I don’t move around, it has a permanent home on my pencil cactus. It obviously doesn’t throw as much light as the one twice it’s size but it’s still great! I’d definitly recommend picking up a smaller one if you aren’t sold on a big one that you move around your home.

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