I am not normally a brave person. Really, I am still not sure how I managed to do this, and I am really glad that my friend Kayla likes photography and was just as into getting photos of this beautiful place as I was. I figured my only way in to this abandoned amusement park was to visit the flea market held every Sunday on its grounds. So when we found the flea market, I was surprised to see that it was in the parking lot, and not on the grounds of the parks like the pictures on the website I found said (in hindsight, the website was dated). We walked around and decided to go in from another entrance we saw when we first tried to find the flea market. Only thing was there was this guy in a truck like sleeping so we went to McDonald's and spent our time on Google trying to learn more about this place and the history. I found lots of photographers had gone here, and mostly that if we were careful and not disruptive to our surroundings, we would be fine.

Entering this place was amazing. I have never done anything like this before despite wanting to and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my body. I was a little shaky and definitely had a lot of adrenaline. We talked to a couple who were wandering around as well and had actually gone to the park as kids. This was such an awesome opportunity to take beautiful photos - and it was the perfect day out for photos - nice, sunny, and about 80 degrees. It is sad to see this though - someone's hard work and way of life just taken down by time and teenagers who need a place to hide and drink (the amount of beer cans around were crazy....I hate that!). There are not really many rides left, most of them were apparently auctioned off back when it was sold and the only thing really remaining is the old coaster, built in the 1930s with a train from the 70s.

This was a beautiful location, and in respect of the place, I'm not going to geo-tag this like I always do. Although I cannot say that it isn't wildly easy to find exactly where this is. I mean, I had the Google maps satellite up and we could see the entire layout of the park, which was actually super helpful in finding which way what we wanted to see was.

dress : sugarhill boutique via modcloth

belt : forever 21 remixed

pup print kids : keds

necklace : anthropologie remixed

bracelet : kate spade remixed

headband : goody remixed 

bag : hobo international via modcloth remixed
*any photo taken at a normal angle of me kayla took - thanks girl!

It's been thunder storming on and off like crazy. I keep losing power and I do not enjoy that because that is how Jason and I are able to keep in touch. Electricity is fairly essential to long distance relationships. It is also incredibly difficult on outfit photos. Every single group of photos I took from this week/weekend were right before a bad storm. It literally started storming about 10 minutes after I took these, and indeed, it IS storming during the photos of my shoes I took on my porch. I'm really just hoping that the storms stop before I head down to Orlando because I am so excited to see Jason that any delay might make me cry.

sweater : old navy remixed

dress : moulinette souers via anthroplogie remixed

bracelet : kate spade remixed

heels : steve madden via nordstrom rack remixed

headband : forever 21 remixed

necklace : asos remixed

bag : valhalla brooklyn via etsy remixed

teemo's lead & collar : silly buddy via etsy

I say it a lot in real life, but this blog has been really a journey for me in getting to know myself and gain confidence. Really, this past year has been a series of adventures in understanding myself better. I am finally understanding better on how to let go. I have a fairly (extremely?) type A personality and tend to really focus on things that don't matter and let them get to me. These photos are an exercise in letting go. After a bit of a stressful day with things at work, I decided I was going to find a bright place to take photos and just smile. Smile because there is a bright blue wall and it was so hot I had sweat dripping under my bangs but I had completely dismissed whatever had just gotten me so upset. So here's to you, little park with your blue wall and blog and blogging community in general for helping me become a better person.

Also...how have I never put these heels on blog? I love these things. They were the last thing I purchased in Cincinnati (other than my car) before moving here.

sweater : target (similar) remixed

top : modcloth remixed

skirt : everly via pitaya (similar) remixed

belt : nordstrom remixed

heels : missoni for target

bag : valhalla brooklyn via etsy remixed

watch : relic remixed

You know what awkward moment when you get to the place you want to take photos at and you realize your tripod has completely fallen apart and you are missing half of it? Yeah......Then when your dog's collar breaks while you are trying to improvise a bench as a tripod? Yeah..... So a few seconds before these I was panic stricken, but fortunately, Teemo loves me, and all he really wanted to do was go in the water. I caught him before he did that. I'm surprised I actually like these photos okay, even if there are not many of them. I really wanted to take photos in this cute area about a block from where I lived (seen here) but I needed a tripod to get the church in the background (across the street from this courtyard). We took our engagement photos at this fountain and walked by this nearly every day for almost 2 years with the dogs, so it just felt like home to stumble around in front of the fountain with a pup. Like I did almost 2 years ago.

dress : everly via modcloth remixed

skirt : girls from savoy via ebay remixed

heels : steve madden via nordstrom rack

bangle : kate spade remixed

earrings : target remixed

necklace : anthropologie remixed

teemo's collar & lead : silly buddy via etsy

I always love going back to Cincinnati. Even if I really only get Saturday to fully enjoy it, I always have a nice time. The food, the places I get to go, and my friends and family make my time there super relaxing and fun. First, we stopped at the Dilly cafe back by my old house for beer cheese dip and grilled asparagus.

One thing I really miss is the huge warehouse sized grocery store filled with international goods and hard to find foods. Jungle Jim's is such a fun trip to take. Aisles of wine and beer as well - I picked up some Ace Berry cider, Japanese candies, and some dry soda.

I met up with my friends for a pizza dinner, then Becki, Jeremiah, and I headed for snow cones at Sno Castle down in Kentucky. I had the 'Dora the Explorer' - a combo of dreamsicle and orchid flavors.

  

We stopped at Devou Park on our drive home to take photos with a nice view of the city, as per my demands. My friends really love me. Then we picked up some snacks and ciders and headed back for a night of watching YouTube videos and playing with cats.

sunnies : ray ban remixed

dress : love culture remixed

belt : anthropologie remixed

scarf : gift from my in laws remixed

bag : cambridge satchel via modcloth remixed

necklace : target remixed

bracelet : target remixed

earrings : target remixed

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Rainy grey days where I have to drive 7 hours after work might not be topping my list of fun things, but honestly, I don't hate them. I get to throw on my Crocs (what? they are just like jellies!) and listen to music and get myself a huge unsweet tea from good old McDonalds. Teemo is an awesome companion for these drives, although he really doesn't like music. I usually don't bother to stop and take photos because it's hard to find a place in the middle of nowhere on a toll road to take photos, but today, I stopped at the first exit from my house so I would ensure I got things done.

dress : sugarhill boutique via modcloth remixed

belt : target remixed

cardigan : target remixed

flats : crocs

watch : tokyobay remixed

headband : goody remixed

bad : cambridge satchel via modcloth remixed