Happy Belated Mother's Day!

Happy belated Mother's Day everyone! I would like to dedicate this entry to my own mother, Rosemary Graves Hale. The best mom a gal could ask for! I have a little book from first grade to prove it, (below.)

Mom (she always does this pose...don't ask me why.)

My Mother by Katherine Hale (age 6)

55 FEET TALL and 30 POUNDS!! Wow. The 36 years old is what really freaks me out. That is only a few years older than I am now. It is hard to believe my Mom was wrangling and loving on three children, creating the most safe and secure environment for us, keeping the houseplants alive and making the yummiest dinners ever. (I can barely keep it together for one baby.) What an amazing woman, and humongous shoes to try to fill with my own family! Hopefully, the genes will help fill half.

Anyhoo - back to our Mother's Day event, Matthew organized a brunch extravaganza surrrrprrrrise for Mom (at her house of course ;) We had steak, eggs and yummy fried taters. It was delicious. Another plus being that the men did all of the cooking and cleaning...score. Here are some pictures from the big day...

Tracey (mother of FOUR), Mom, Me & Marie (New mom to baby Rose)

Matt getting ready to grill, bring on the Monterey Steak seasoning, boys.

Pj and Jasper prepping the grill, (notice the spatula, it cracks me up.)

Dad getting his "grilling" drink ready

Mama Marie and sweet Rose

Rose in her adorable outfit...it was so cute, I had to put two pics on here.

Tracey sneaking Jasper a taste of ice cream. I think she is vying for "favorite auntie" title.

...as you can see, he loved it.

"...whuuuut? I'm not doing anything?"

Well, it was my first Mother's Day as a mom myself, and we had a blast! Plus, Jasper got his two bottom teeth...he is growing by leaps and bounds. I just can't believe it. Some would say he is a baby, but he has seriously grown into a little person. Now that he can roll, his little personality has blossomed. Similar to when he was a baby, he is spirited and bossy...but with more outlets to express himself. Here is what he wore for me last Sunday, and the beautiful fushia plant for our new front porch...

I leave you with pictures of a mutha of anotha. As we were leaving Mom and Dad's place, we saw this adorable little family running across the road. I HAD to stop the car for this blog gold. Aren't they adorable!! HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE, you too Canadian Geese!

"hey mom, hey mom, hey mom, hey mom, hey mom, hey mom..."

"...wait up...hey mom, hey mom, hey mom, hey mom, hey mom..."

Miss Orlon, Cranberry's & MORE...

The rain finally passed, and Jasper & I made TWO nice trips around our new beautiful place of residence. **PLUS - We made the Staunton news! We are certainly taking this place by storm. They love us here! We literally were stopping traffic with our cuteness. As we were walking, cars were stopping and commenting on Jasper's good looks! Check out our photo in today's Staunton News Leader, (click here!) We visited some stores and met many of the wonderful storeowners (an adorable antique shop and a clothing boutique were my favs along the way.) Jasper started to fall asleep in the Baby Bjorn, so we had to head back prior to exploring all of the shops. Then on Saturday, Pj was able to join us for another nice stroll, we ate some delicious pizza from Shenandoah Pizza and walked down some of the side streets. Here are some pics of our little adventure...

Diaperbag (check), Baby Bjorn (check), Jasper (check), Pj (check), Sunglasses (check)...LET'S GO!

We are on our way!

Almost there! A view of the main street, Beverley.

Star's Hollow

So, this place cracked me up. It is a wig shop of all things, but they had a display of Miss Orlon from 1949. They have her actual wig and cap from the competition! I love it. "Who is Miss Orlon?" you may ask yourself... (I found this on the internet.)

School’s window display honors co-founder: Students at Staunton School of Cosmetology have created a window display to honor Rose Swisher Thompson, a co-founder of the school, who recently passed away.
Along with hairstyles of the 1940s, the display’s main attraction features an antique ballroom robe and tiara that were given to Thompson on Oct. 15, 1948, when she was crowned the first-place winner of a Miss Orlon contest at the DuPont plant recreational hall in Waynesboro.
The items were found in a trunk by her husband, Boyd, after her passing, where they had been safely tucked away for 60 years.

Me and Jasper trying out some of the produce at our local organic market, Cranberry's. It is a fair trade coffee shop/cafe, as well as homeopathic pharmacy, bookstore and grocer. You can smell the patchouli as you greet the front door. love it.

Here is a look at some of the magnificent homes we passed on our walk...

My neighbors irises. I am so bummed I didn't get to see all of the flowers at our house on Armstrong this spring...but this huge array out our front window helps a little.

Here are some random pics from the week...

Me and my little brother! This is one of my alltime favorite photos...Honestly, I think it the best picture I have ever taken, (besides my kindergarten shot...that is a good one.)

Have a great week everyone! I will post soon with my Mother's Day going-on's and a tribute to my Mom.

Take care -
Kat & Jasper

Personal homage to Bravo's, Fashion Show & Nappy Dreads

Hi folks! So, who watched the premiere of Bravo's Project Runway replacement, The Fashion Show last night? I have it in my DVR queue...I can't wait to watch! I am interested in hearing your thoughts...how it compares, initial winner predictions, etc. Speaking of fashion, I found some old drawings within those treasure chests I spoke of earlier this week. In case you weren't aware, I had great promise in the field. At around age 10 I decided to scrap the whole archaelogist dream, and focus my talents within the haute couture industry. Similar to the present, I drew inspiration from the culture of the time. (You will know what I mean once you look below. Feel free to click on the links for a memory refresher.) I found beaucoup's of sketches, but given we are all celebrating the new spring season, I have posted those from chapters 2 & 3, thoughtfully titled "Spring Fashions" and "Evening Gowns" within my binder. (Just as a visual, the binder is a black 3-ring with "FASHIONS" written in hot pink fingernail polish.)

Table of Contents

Notice the attention to detail: hair, makeup and shoes are all addressed.

"I'm looking for a real love, baby...a real love...yeah, yeah, yeah" -Jody Whatley

Classic elementary teacher influences

Pamela Ewing, Dallas anyone?

Oh my Barbie days will forever live on...

My subscription to "Seventeen" begins...

The piece de resistance...my favorite movie of all time, Pretty In Pink...

Here is a funny reference, this is what I looked like at the time of creating those ground breaking designs above.

"My name is Katherine, CHECK...I am a Western, CHECK...I have brown eyes, CHECK, and I like the guys...CHECK ME OUT!"

I leave you with some old photos of my adorable husband...some vintage shots, circa 1993. These are of PJ and one of his college buddies in the George Washington National Forest...getting ready to jump off of a ginormous cliff. *Fyi, PJ is very scared of heights...I guess the nappy dreads gave him courage...