Third Thursday October

I've finally replaced my camera (since my D5000 was stolen)......I've upgraded to the Nikon D90 and I am having tons of fun playing around with it. Last night at the Joplin art walk I took a few photos while wandering around downtown. The sunset was just gorgeous.

This was the last art walk of the season. My favorite thing about the art walk is stopping by the Focal Point gallery for a cheap original print by the MSSU art department. And eating pizza at the Blackthorn. Awesome stuff.

I'm so glad it is Friday.

The Crawlers.

The Crawlers are a group of bike-riding, beer drinking, pipe smoking hipsters in Joplin.  Show up downtown on Wednesday evenings on your two-wheeler, and the group 'crawls' around local businesses making 2 or 3 stops. Sometimes the group is 8-10, but it has been growing....I rode with the group just last week and we had around 20 people. The week before was a sponsored ride, local businesses provided a few free appetizers or drink specials and there was a give-away at the end of the night....usually a bike is given away along with t-shirts, free coupons for hair cuts and pint glasses. At the sponsored ride, there were over 40 people riding. It was like a flash mob. Every bike took to the streets unison, one big mass of spokes and skinny jeans. It is always exciting to ride with the crawlers, even if we are only riding a few blocks. The goal is to raise awareness in an effort to remind people to share the road with bikers. My goal is to make new friends, and get a little bit of exercise, and ride my bike before the tires go flat from lack of use while it sits in the garage. 

And ring my bell.

Mohaska Farmhouse

Farm-to-table eating is so so so good. Mohaska Farmhouse is one of my favorite spots in Joplin. I love the pizzas, the BLT (OMG the bacon), the fresh bread and pizza crusts and the freshness of all the ingredients. Sometimes they even feature Anderson's ice cream.

This summer I have eaten here several times...and I always find something worthy of a photo. 

Wood fire oven

Have you been to Mohaska yet? What did you think? (Another favorite: Eagle Drive-In)

Early Morning Sunrise Photos

Sometimes you have to get up early to take beautiful photos. Taken on my D5000 with my Lens Baby 2.0.

3rd Thursday: JUNE 2012

3rd Thursday last week was so fun! My friend Martha's shop Fluffy Pop made its debut and was very well recieved, with lots of great feedback, I am so proud and happy!!

One of my favorite things about the art walk is seeing friends that I ONLY see at the art walk. It is so fun to wander around bumping into people and catching up on what they are up to for the summer.

The question that I always get asked (by friends, family and other teachers) is: 'What are you doing all summer?" Well, I am not teaching summer school....so I am pretty honest with my answer: "What ever I want."

I've already been to the movies twice this week....and I take naps. I work out whenever I feel like it. I might go to one zumba class, one spin class, and then hit the trails another day....I try to keep the house clean, but some spaces are just always cluttered, because at the moment I do not have enough hangers for all of my clothing so it just piles up outside my closet. My studio is a dizaster. I made up that word. It means dizzying-disaster and I do not want to approach the clean up and rebuilding process.

I hear coworkers bragging about how their house is so clean and dinner is done for the day but I don't really feel like those are worthy accomplishments, I've got a serious to-do list for this summer....and I've started some massive mosaic tile projects (more about that later).

Anyway, here are some shots from downtown last Thursday.

Me and Martha

I decided to try something fun for the summer.....Last Thursday, Heather and I died my hair Ombre.....its fun, but it will go back to normal before school starts!

Fluffy Pop

Today: Summer rainstorms in the morning are the absolute best, especially when you have no where in particular that you have to be.

This is my 5th week of summer vacation....(I still have 7 more weeks off!!!)...my summer vacation is going perfectly so far. The laundry/dishes are caught up, the house is clean, I've been cooking healthy meals and making it to the gym several times a week...I'm working towards my goal of reading 10 books this summer.

I've also been creating a few items for my friend Martha's mobile shop. Fluffy pop makes its debut at the Joplin art walk tonight and I am so excited!! I think this shop/mobile art gallery is exactly what the art walk needs. I enjoy walking around downtown and talking to friends, but this show is going to amp up the coolness factor of the entire scene. Trust me.

If you are out and about in Joplin tonight, stop by the shop and buy some cool jewelry, a vintage dress, or a painting. If you don't live around here, you can check out the mobile shop over on the fluffy pop blog: http://fluffypop.com/?p=109 

Hope to see you out at the art walk tonight. I think this rain will be gone by this evening and it will leave cool temperatures for wandering around downtown!!

Eagle Drive-In

Probably one of my favorite little spots in Joplin, the Eagle Drive-In is a fun place to grab a quick drink, eat lunch, or have dinner with friends. It is also a great breakfast spot, my favorite: sweet potato pancakes.

 Over the last few months, I have eaten there several times and I always find something to take a photo of....so I decided to compile all of the photos together for a fun little post.

These were way back in December!

Probably 2 of my favorite things on the menu, Mac'n'cheese and fries with tons of dipping sauces.

(taken with my Lens Baby)

This is a peek at the breakfast menu!

Have you been to the Eagle Drive-In yet? What did you think?