Meet Me in St. Louis...

Hey everyone, just thought I would share with you some glimpses of my trip to St. Louis. Fair warning: there are a lot of pictures of the Gateway Arch; it just thought it was really picturesque. Enjoy! 

reading for the plane// working the Juniata booth//annual conference//riverboat cruise//old union building on the Mississippi//building a bridge//view of the arch from the river//the Cardinal's stadium//view of the river from the arch//on top of the arch//visiting Wash U!//pictures of the arch//the courthouse - the Dred Scott case was tried there//me. 

xoxo, 

Laura 

Melmac Monday: Cups in St. Louis

Hey all! I've been so slacking with blogging this past week. I really don't like only posting Melmac posts, but this past week it was inevitable. I have been so busy, going to a mile long yard sale with my sister-in-law and niece on the 4th - that was SO much fun-  working on Day Camp and preparing for Annual Conference in St. Louis! I'm here now and I'm having a blast. I get to see the Gateway Arch today, so I can't wait to show those pictures! 

I thought I would share some of my favorite Melmac cups that I have been seeing on Etsy lately! Happy Monday everyone! 

rojo y negro

limón

verde y salmón

blanco

menta y rosado

xoxo, 

Laura 

Melmac Monday: Mix-Matched

Happy Monday all! 

Today I'm sharing some mix-matched Melmac that I got up at a thrift store up at school. I liked the colors of the plates together, but there was only one cup. There wasn't a price tag on them, so I sort of nervously asked the owner what the price was, because that store was sort of price-y. She looked at the plates and said $2. And I'll even through the cup in." I was SO excited because this Melmac is really nice and durable, so 8 pieces for two bucks was fantastic. 

Today was just a fantastic day. My friend, Allison, came over for supper and a quick trip to the ice cream parlor. 

And then I pulled out a book that I got recently called "How to Speak Dutch-ified English" and we just laughed and giggled over the words and accents that we grew up around. I don't know if I ever talked about this before, but my mom's family is very PA Dutch and I we use a lot of words that are different. My grandma has a very strong accent and my mom's is fairly strong too. Even though sometimes I get so frustrated with the conservative area that I grew up in, I really do like my PA Dutch heritage. I really want to share some of those words, food, and customs of my family and the PA Dutch culture. I'll keep you posted. (Literally). =P

xoxo, 

Laura 

Friend Fashion: Sarandon

Hey all! I would like to introduce to you my gal pal, Sarandon. She is is one of the high school interns that I have the privilege of working with this summer!  

Read on to find out a little more about this lovely lady!

Name: Sarandon Smith
Age: 16
Hobbies: making art/music/people happy, working at a small town ice cream shop/ running the ship with the one and only Laura Whitman. 
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?: I want to go to Juniata College (Laura's note: 

Because that's where all the cool people go to college!)  majoring in religion and philosophy/art, then hopefully off to Bethany Seminary to study to become a Youth Pastor,  maybe with a year of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) between college and seminary. I want to find a guy who will travel the world with me.

Favorite movies: I love Harry Potter and sappy romantic comedies 

How would you describe your style?: My style is take what is clean and make it work.

Favorite quote: "Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

Favorite place to shop: I love shopping at Jubilee (a local thrift store chain in our area), H&M, and Forever 21.

Favorite thrift store find: My chunk blue and white striped sweater that is filled with holes that my mother won't let me wear in public.

Whose style do you most admire?: I love Zooey Deschanel's style because she really knows how to rock retro/vintage clothing

Biggest fashion mistake: Not having enough confidence until lately!

Dress: Forever 21

Tank (over dress): Hand-me-down from a friend

Belt: Rue 21

Flip Flops: Gap

Thanks Saradon for such a lovely photo shoot/interview!

You can check out my other "Friend Fashion" post here!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

xoxo, 

Laura 

Butterfly Kisses

Oh my goodness, this past week has been so cray cray. Work has been wonderful, but busy. I'm so glad that I finally had time to take some photos. 

My lovely housemate, Bethany,  and I have finally stopped crossing paths in our crazy travels for a little and had such wonderful times, including watching ugly man cries on the Bachelorette and great dance routines on So You Think You Can Dance?. We have been cooking (!) and tomorrow we are going to the Farmer's Market. It should be a lovely day, indeed! 

The weather has been so warm, so I pulled out one of my favorite thrifted sundresses. I got this when I first really getting all my clothes thrifted; I found it in a bargain basement for $1! It is so versatile; I simply love it.   

 One of the high school interns, Sarandon, and I had a great time taking these photos around my house and the church, including the peace pole,  which I really love, especially the one at our church has the "may peace prevail on earth" slogan in Spanish and Sign Language. Stay tuned to see the lovely pictures I took of  Miss Sarandon! 

Dress- Thrifted 

Cami - Thrifted 

Necklace - Small store in the Dominican Republic 

Bracelet - Gift/Thrifted 

Shoes - Payless (old) 

See you guys tomorrow!

xoxo, 

Laura 

Melmac Monday: Family Support

Happy Monday everyone! 

Hope that everyone had a fantastic weekend. I got back from Tennessee safely and had a great weekend. 

Also, today, I cooked. That is a BIG deal. I'm not used to cooking, so I'm really proud of the meal I made. I'll have to get some pictures of something I make soon. 

Anyway, these adorable little bowls were given to me by my sister-in-law and niece. They were a part of a plate set that my sister-in-law had gotten a thrift store. She knew that I would like the bowls, so I had a surprise when I came home! It is pretty awesome when your family starts supporting your obsession passion.  These mustard colored bowls are going to be great this summer for ice cream! Thanks, gals, for making this Melmac Monday extra awesome. 

xoxo, 

Laura 

Southern Belle

Hey y'all! 

I'm in Tennessee right now for a conference and it is going wonderfully. I'm having a blast and kind of sad that we have to leave tomorrow. 

One of my workshops was in the Social Work department! I went to their admission's office asking for information about their grad school program. I still can't believe I'm checking out grad schools already. So unreal.

I am IN LOVE with this shirt, so expect to being seeing it a lot more this summer. Well, I'm going to keep this post short and simple today because I just found out there is a Goodwill, 5 minutes from the dorm I'm in! Score! I'm off to have some thrifty adventures.

Shirt - Thrifted
Sweater - Hand Me Down from my sister (H&M)
Jeans - Kohls (old)
Necklace - Thrifted
Ring - Claire's (a LONG time ago; I used to be obsessed with the 10 for $10 deal they had. This ring is one of the very few things I still like)
Purse - Thrifted (Target )

Have a great day!

P.S. Shout out to my supermegafoxyawesomehot friend Katie, who took all the pictures of me! :)

xoxo,

Laura