I'll Take All of the Sweet Potatoes, Please

The house is all clean and ready for our Thanksgiving party tomorrow.  We trade off hosting duties each year with one of the other Hunt brothers, and this year, it's our turn!  It will be a little strange though because neither Andrew or Taylor will be there.  Andrew hasn't been in town for Thanksgiving for years, but usually I have Taylor to help represent our family.  Not this year, but we are talking about face-timing each of them on a different phone so it'll be like they're there.  It'll be kind of funny because not only will they be able to see all of us, but they will be able to see each other too, phone to phone!

Anyway, I guess it's time to start planning what I'm going to wear.  Thanksgiving has always been a little more casual than Christmas, with the girl cousins usually wearing colorful jeans and sweaters rather than a nice dress.  But I may wear a dress or a skirt this year, since I won't be here for Christmas.  Something along these lines.

(photos collected from shopstyle, loveofcloth.blogspot.co.uk, etpourquoispascoline.fr, and popsugar)

An Infinitely Complex and Fine-Grained Portrait

My Amazon Prime items showed up on Friday, as promised!  The leggings will do just fine in Europe as they are a little heavier than my usual ones; perfect for outdoor sightseeing!  The marble phone case looks sleek and cool for winter, and it matches the Game of Thrones box!  I've already watched five of the ten episodes.  It's one of those shows that is a constant cliffhanger, and you can never guess what crazy things will happen.  Even the most beloved characters aren't safe, and a single scene can turn a raging bad guy into someone you sympathize with.  And after I finish the season, I'll watch through it again with director and actor commentaries!

(photo by e.hunt)

You Mean Winter As in Penguins and Eskimos and ICE?

Well, we had our first snow of the season this weekend.  It didn't stick, of course, but it was exciting.  I'm so glad we have a lot of big windows at work.  It was all we could do to serve customers while also trying to look at the pretty snow falling and whipping around.

I also took advantage of our holiday extra employee discount over the weekend.  The Starbucks Christmas Blend is only available for about a month every year, and it is by far the best blend we offer.  I don't even really drink brewed coffee, but I love this blend.  Anyway, Dad decided that we needed to bulk up a little more this year than my weekly complimentary bags.  With my extra discount, it was quite a steal!

(photos by e.hunt)

Today Should Have Been Friday

Well, I just signed up for a thirty day free trial of Amazon Prime, which features the highly desirable free two-day shipping option.  I ordered up a few items, to be delivered on Friday... Friday!  Fleece leggings, a new, wintery phone case, and season three of Game of Thrones will be arriving on our doorstep at any moment, and I can't wait.

And today, I found the first few radio stations playing constant Christmas music.  I guess the week before Thanksgiving is acceptable.  I seem to recall it started November 1st last year, which is a bit early.  I enjoy Christmas music, but not for two solid months!  I wonder if all public places play it in Europe like they do here.

Well, this post got a little ramble-y, but who cares.  These are my thoughts for the day, paired with some recent Instagram finds.  I hope you enjoyed tuning in!

(photos collected from Instagram: thefrontdoorproject, thesartorialist, and pumpkintheraccoon)

Kingdom of the United

I would like to introduce you all to The London Boots, as my mother affectionately named them.  I had been looking for an updated pair of black boots since last year, and finally found these a little over a month ago.  They look cool, they're comfortable, and they're the perfect ankle height.  I like the name, especially since I am taking them to Europe, and they will indeed tread ground in their namesake city.

(photos by e.hunt)

What This World Needs Is a Group Hug

I am shocked and saddened by the world we live in.  Especially tonight, as the events in Paris continue to unfold in increasingly horrific ways.  My month spent in Paris was one of the happiest and most progressive times in my life, and thus these attacks are effecting me greatly.  How can something like this happen in such a city as Paris?  A city of life, of history, of love.

Sadly, this is not the only event that is occurring at this moment that makes me sad for humanity.  The way we treat the environment is an embarrassment to our knowledge of it, and the way we treat people who are different than us is abhorrent.  What this world needs is more than a hug, it needs a lesson in respect.

Tonight in Paris, the group who opened fire on innocent people enjoying their lives tried to take the hope that we can be better away, but it is only drawing the world together.  Tonight, I stand with Paris in solidarity and without fear.  I stand in love, and in support.  Paris, je t'aime.

(photo by e.hunt)

The Monday Night Club

The other night Mom, Dad, and I went out to dinner with Grandma to this really cool Italian restaurant called Napoli.  Apparently the owners are part of the interconnected Italian restaurant family system that exists here in St. Louis, of which most of Grandma's favorite restaurants are a part of.  The food was delicious, and there was this cool centerpiece light show going on the whole time as well.

And after the wonderful meal, the waiter brought over the dessert menu.  Oh, the tiramisu was calling my name!  It was gone shortly after this picture was taken.

(photos by e.hunt)

The Greatest Secrets Are Always Hidden in the Most Unlikely Places

It's November, but still in the mid to high sixties everyday.  This unseasonable warmth has been great for the leaves, though.  It seems that in the Fall's of years past, the leaves change to their brilliant reds and oranges and yellows for a few days, and then all fall to the ground in a matter of days.  This year, the beautiful colors have lasted weeks.  I won't lie, I've stopped at Starbucks for a cinnamon dolce latte and just driven around Kirkwood several times over the last month, just admiring the beauty this bronzey, leafy fall.  And I get to open the curtains up to this masterpiece every morning.

(photo by e.hunt)

Bringing The Ocarina of Time to Life

The plan for Halloween was that I would meet Mandy at her apartment to get ready and then we would go to a friend of hers' house party.  Rather than getting a large men's polo shirt for a tunic, I found this perfect dress.  Paired with a white turtleneck, a few belts, and my brown elf boots, I was looking pretty Link-like.

Before leaving, I found our old ocarina, which really took the costume to the next level.  Mom helped me finish everything up: taping the sword sheath to one of the belts, and helping attach a strap to the shield so I could wear it on my back.  She also whipped up the sock hat.

I was really happy with how it all came together.  I arrived at Mandy's and she was right in the middle of painting her costume.  She was a pop art character, and I ended up helping paint the POW! before we left for the party.  Both of our costumes were big hits, and I only wish I had gotten a picture with a guy who was dressed as another famous video game character, Donkey Kong.  Happy late Halloween!

(photos collected from comic.staticvine, and by r.hunt, and e.hunt)

The Age of Childhood

Happy November!  I've spent the last week working on my Halloween costume, which is why the posts were lacking.  My friend Mandy texted me early in the week to see if I wanted to go out for Halloween, and since I was off work on Sunday, I agreed!  That meant I had to come up with a costume before Saturday though.  I considered doing Leia or Han Solo from Star Wars, but Andrew was already making an epic 'Luke on Dagobah' costume, complete with a paper mache Yoda coming out of a backpack.  So, no Star Wars for me.  Then it hit me.  I could be Link from The Legend of Zelda video games!

We spent hours playing Ocarina of Time on the good old N64 Nintendo system, and I knew that it wasn't so obscure that I would have to explain it to people all night.  Also, it would be pretty easy to put together in a few days.  I could find a green tunic at Goodwill, buy a cheap plastic sword, and get some foam board from Hobby Lobby to make the shield.  It turned out to be a fun project.  The sword was easy; all I had to do was paint some of the hilt accents blue.

I got a piece of grey foam board for the shield and cut out the general shape.  The interior background is blue, so I painted it the same blue as the sword for continuity.  

After that I cut out the interior shapes to add a little texture to the flatness.

After a paint job I glued the pieces down.  It looked good, but it needed a little more dimension, so I cut some random geometric pieces to go around the edge in the grey part.

Turned out pretty good, I think!  The last step was to add some handles on the back so I could hold it as a real shield.  I picked up some brown duct tape at Hobby Lobby, planning to use it to fashion a sheath for the sword, and it turned out to work on the shield as well.  I was all ready for Halloween the next night!

(photos collected from media.moddb, by e.hunt, r.hunt, and gamasutra)