berries, peonies, and backyard flowers

I made these earlier in June.  I think it was the first time i went scavenging for some goods along the trail.  I came home with some of the mini Queen Anne's Lace (i'm not sure if that's what it is exactly, but it looks like it) and the berries.  I actually found some of the berries in my back yard, but they were too high up in the tree to reach or climb too.  I bought the peonies and the rest are from my yard.  I have to say i really like trying to find things from my yard that I can add in to arrangements.  I planted some seeds of different things, but so far only a few things have shown up and the dinner plate dahlias are kinda wilted and brown and more like teacup size.  Although a second one has bloomed and it's looking better.  Fingers crossed it makes it!  Anyway, i'm trying to work with what i've got and it's been pretty rewarding seeing the outcome.  Going out in the back yard trying to figure out what colors will go together, what won't wilt after cutting, and finding new things growing with a new season (like that pokeberry....i've used it a few times since this one and i'm sure i would have used it here had it been blooming since it's in the same color scheme).  There's a neighbor down the street with an apple tree...don't think i haven't wanted to go clip some of the branches.  Jeremy just shakes his head and calls me a klepto.  I did go into my next door neighbors garbage after i saw him trimming his rose bush and throwing away what looked like perfect roses. I thought about it for a couple hours and after it got dark i went to check them out.  Well there was some other trash on top of it and i was afraid i was going to get caught so i didn't linger for too long.  I came back empty handed.  Anyway, enough about my kleptomania problems.

Kitchen table mess

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this one was made up from some of the leftovers

a summer arrangement

The other day i got The Flower Recipe Book in the mail and after looking through all of it one evening and having flowers on my mind i scrounged up a few things to make this little arrangement.  Most everything is either from my yard (zinnia's, pokeberry, spirea, and nasturtium) or i clipped from a trail down the street (queen anne's lace and sweet pea).  I did buy the alstroemeria (white flower)...not a favorite, but they're cheap and have a really long life span.

i love these little sweet pea tendrils!

I took these pictures last night before it got dark.  The living room has the best light, but has this not so nice blue carpet.  I like how the pictures turned out though...kinda dark and moody.

City Museum

The other week i went to to the dentist, which is downtown on the 17th floor.  It had been awhile since I've gone downtown and after driving and walking around i got the itch (speaking of itch...I've got some poison ivy on my arm and it's been really itchy this morning) to go back.  We used to live just a few blocks down the street from the City Museum and could even see the ferris wheel on top of the building from our apartment.  Out of the 2 years that we lived there we had never even been.  So the other weekend when we talked about wanting to go do something downtown i remembered we had gift cards to the City Museum!  We had always heard cool things about it and had even walked past it countless times.

Ferris Wheel on top of the building

of course as soon as we get on the wind picks up and a big cloud comes by.

this was the fastest Ferris Wheel I've ever been on!

there is a slide below the girl climbing...we didn't climb up but we did slide down after climbing around in this thing underneath the praying mantis.  It was pretty scary actually and i was definitely wearing the wrong shoes.  It was just these metal bars and it felt like we were going to fall but i couldn't use the grip of my shoes so i had to use my knees to climb out of it.  

10 story slide.

This used to be an old shoe factory

bugs and skulls

All through out the building inside there are these jungle gym type climbing things.  Or these caves that you can crawl in.  And slides.  Lots of slides.  That's a slide above beside the man sitting.  My knees were bruised from crawling around.  I saw some kids with knee pads...a very good idea!  

*Note: we weren't the only adults climbing, sliding, and crawling around!

Here's a view of the outside.  It's from a couple years ago in the winter though.  We did the rooftop stuff, but when we were about to go out and do some of the other stuff it started to rain.  I think Jeremy's sister and her kids maybe be coming to visit in a couple months and we were thinking of maybe going back.

This place is like every kids dream!  

The fourth of July

Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!  We had a nice day out walking in Forest Park and another walk around the neighborhood.  Grilling out and enjoying the patio lights and neighborhood fireworks. Here are a few pictures from our day...

We hadn't been to Forest Park in a long time! (well we've been to the zoo a couple times, but i mean to walk around) We used to go here all the time when we lived downtown!

^^ I finally got to use my little basket/food protector from bugs thing...the flies were out too! ^^

^^  Ziva giving kisses.  There were a bunch of fireflies out...ziva liked to chase them and try to eat 'em up ^^

We hung out on the backyard patio for awhile.  We could hear all kinds of poppers, screamers, firecrackers, and other fireworks going off around the neighborhood.  After it got dark we went to the front yard and saw some kids running around with sparklers and the people across the the street were firing off fireworks in the street.