…and Blue Sky

 

Didn’t we just have a Friday the 13th a few months ago? I distinctly remember making a cute little graphic for that week’s Friday Favs!

Before we dive into this week’s list of five, I have a question for you guys! Does anyone remember the Target Tuesdays linkup that was a thing a few years ago on Fabulous But Evil? I noticed that my Friday Favs posts almost always contain recent Target loves, so I was curious if any of you would be interested in starting up a Target Tuesdays linkup again! Let me know if it’s something you’d be into! And speaking of Targs…

1. I stopped in Target for basically no reason after riding yesterday evening. (It was like 74 degrees, I had to get my butt on a horse!) It was one of those days when ALL THE THINGS were on sale and I needed them all. I picked up a spare pair of my beloved “Socktopus” socks that I’ve mentioned here before…

Sorry, Mr. Octopus! I have calves. 

All of the adorable socks from that brand were marked down from $4 to $2, and there’s a deal on Cartwheel for an extra 20% off certain women’s clearance items, so they were $1.58!  (And yes, I totally own the nightshirt that matches these socks. It’s sooo soft and stretchy and comfy!)

2. I also got the leg warmers I’ve had my eye on since winter! I love them but couldn’t bring myself to spend $10 on them. $1.98 with the Cartwheel discount, though? SOLD! I was worried they might be scratchy since they have sequins, but they’re so soft and comfy and warm! I might pick up the black or pink ones, too, now that I know how great they are.

3. I got TWO of these crazy vintage 70s rompers at a thrift store sale earlier this month. (Other one is same print, different colors.) Now I just need the courage to wear them! 😉

4. This Beezie Madden gif:

She’s so awesome, she’s been a badass in showjumping since I was a kid! If you can’t tell, her horse takes off an entire stride too soon here, but she’s just like “Whatevs.”

5. It has FINALLY been warm enough to switch from wintery clothes to dresses!

Yes, I totally took that pic in a Walmart. I was just so excited to not be in layers or barn clothes for once! (Dress is from Stitch Fix. I really need to get around to writing a review of the Fix it came in!)

That’s it for me this week! I have a dentist appointment this afternoon (wheeee), but hopefully the actual weekend will be fun!

Linking up with these rad women!

HOW is it already May? April seems like it flew by, and I’ve hardly blogged at all in the past month! Eep! Let’s catch up a little with some Friday Favs!

1. My absolute #1 favorite thing this on this week’s list? The strangers who brought me gas when I was stranded at the side of the road last week.

I was on my way to ride horses with a friend. I’d been too tired after my ride that morning (Yeah, busy day!) to stop for gas on the way home, so I’d already gone pretty far with the gas light on. I’d planned to stop at the closest gas station to my house, but I guess I was totally lost in thought and zipped right past it, as well as past the next one. OOPS. I had the “OMG, I forgot to get gas!” realization about 30 seconds before my car decided that accelerating was no no longer a thing it did. I’m pretty sure I actually swore out loud when I glanced down and saw that I’d driven 60 miles with the gas light on (I know it can usually go about 50 after the low fuel message comes up), and then yelled “NOOOOOOOOOO” as I slowly eased off the road.

My view for a really long time.

Long story short, I stood out by the road holding my notebook, on which I’d scribbled “GAS?” in marker… for about 30 seconds. I was right by the Branson theme park Silver Dollar City, so there was quite a bit of traffic, but the whole “stranger danger” thing was just too freaky so I gave up on that plan pretty fast! Got back in my car, eventually got in touch with a roadside service place, and had been waiting for them for about 10 minutes when some random people pulled up and asked if I still needed gas. I told them I had someone on the way, and they replied that they’d run up to the gas station and had a couple of gallons for me. WHAAAT? They figured I wouldn’t want to ride with them, so they decided to just grab a container of gas and bring it to me if I was still there when they got back. SO NICE! I tried to give them the few dollars of actual cash I had in my purse, but they refused. How awesome are those people??

2. The awesome folks at Chewy.com sent my cats a box full of Natural Balance Delectable Delights cat food! Every time I see this food in a pet supply store, I giggle over the super cute names for the flavors. (like Catatouille!) We got the Land ‘n Sea Cats-serole, which is a tuna and chicken flavor combo. My cats love when they get to “review” food and treats!

“This looks like it’s probably for me.”

I tried to get a pic of Tennyson eating, but black cats are so freaking hard to photograph that he had almost all of his food gone by the time I got a decent pic! This food was a big hit with all of the cats, even though they tend to prefer chunky foods to pate. I definitely need to pick up some of the other flavors for them to try!

3. I’m such a nerd – I’m SUPER excited about my new matching hoofpick and brush. I love buying horse grooming supplies, because a) I use them a lot and b) they’re generally pretty cheap, so I can get something new and fun that’s not a bazillion dollar saddle or something. I think I spent about 10 bucks to get both of these from Amazon, and they’ll last for ages!

I’ve only used them once so far, but I’m in love. The curve of the pick is just right for getting all the funky stuff out of a horse’s hooves, and the brush is acutally designed to bend around curves, so you can brush areas like legs SO much better! Grooming horses just plain makes me happy. I can easily get lost in what I’m doing and spend close to an hour brushing a horse before I realize I’m supposed to be riding!

4. Remember the “Coffee is my BFF” sweatshirt/shorts combo I got at Target a while back?

It’s technically sleepwear, but I’ve worn the top as a regular shirt a few times. You guys – I get comments/compliments on it EVERY time! I hardly ever get comments on what I’m wearing, but for some reason people can’t resist saying something about this top. And of course I admit that it’s from the Target PJ section, like a big dork. I think I’m going to order the cute mint green “Late Nights, Black Coffee” set from the same brand! Under $18 for a comfy top & shorts is so worth it!

Oh, fine, I’m sticking it in my Target cart now. (AHH! Just discovered there’s also a “Coffee is my BFF” t-shirt and shorts set when I searched for the one I wanted. I think I still like mine more, but this one is pretty cute!)

 

A photo posted by Crystal Ward (@crystalward11) on Apr 22, 2016 at 8:02pm PDT

These socks are the next thing on my Target wishlist!!

5. I found this song randomly on Spotify and have listened to it countless times this week!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend! I’ll be assisting with a horse camp at Webb Riding Academy tomorrow; 5 hours of teaching 8-12 year olds about horses! I’ll fill you guys in on how it goes on Monday! And the Show Us Your Books linkup is coming up on Tuesday! Yay!

Linking up with some other rad bloggers for Friday awesomeness!

^One of my favorite quotes from The Alchemist + pic from my first time riding Capri, a 5-gaited American Saddlebred, earlier this week. 

It’s already been a few weeks since my trip to Kansas & Kansas City and I still haven’t found the time to start writing about my adventures, so I thought I’d just tell you my top 5 favs from my shenanigans on the way to & in KC instead! (I’ll still be doing at least one whole post about Equifest and one about Topeka, as well as one about the insanely huge suite I stayed at in Kansas City!)

Here we go, in no particular order:

1. Best. Groupon. EVER. 

I just started riding horses again after a 10+ year break, so  knew that I wanted to try to get some riding time in while I was away. I browsed through the deals available on Groupon and after some super nerdy research on the stables with offers, ended up buying the one for two one hour lessons at Stutts Performance Horses just outside of KC. The $45 price was a pretty good deal since I usually pay $30/hr where I currently ride, but it was an even better deal since I found a promo code for 20% off that dropped it down to $36, and then I got 72 Swagbucks because I purchased it through their link! (Yes, that’s basically 72 cents, but it’s something!)

The stable was about 20 minutes from my hotel, but thank goodness I left early because I missed a turn and got way off track. The following conversation ensued:

Me: (whining) Hey Siri! I’m lost!

Useless iPhone: I don’t know where you are, Crystal.

Thanks, Siri, you’re a real pal. (I lost count of the number of times I asked “Siri, are you drunk?” on this trip.)

2. An awesome lesson horse.

For my lesson, I rode Remedy, an awesome Quarter Horse with a background in reining.

A video posted by Crystal Ward (@crystalward11) on Feb 25, 2016 at 4:20pm PST

She was exactly what I needed at the time – Not only was she really fun to ride, but she was super responsive to my legs and seat, so if I got off balance at all or was squeezing with one leg more firmly than the other, it would show. I had to really focus on riding correctly!

A video posted by Crystal Ward (@crystalward11) on Feb 25, 2016 at 4:26pm PST

I was only able to fit one of the 2 lessons I got with the Groupon into this trip, so I’m hoping to head back up next month for the second one! (I have until August to use it.)

3. Braving the Goodwill Outlet

It’s no secret that I love thrift shopping, so of course I checked my map app for thrift stores near my hotel. I was excited to see that there was a Goodwill outlet about 10 minutes away, and it was even on my way to the stable I talked about above. YAY!

I’d heard of the notorious Goodwill “bins” where stuff is sold by the pound, but this was my first time actually going to that kind of store. Definitely an experience!

The entire store is filled with these huge blue bins of stuff. There’s definitely not much organization – all sizes and genders of clothes are mixed together in the bins you see here, but you’ll also find stuff like sheets, pillows, curtains, etc in those. I dug around for about 20 minutes and found an almost new bag, a cute t-shirt, and some fabric, but the line to check out was crazy and I didn’t want to be late for my riding lesson, so I ended up abandoning them. Fail. At least I can now say I’ve survived the legendary bins!

4. Finally Seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Yep, even though I’m a Star Wars nerd, it took me until February to actually make it out to see the new movie! I stayed at Ameristar Kansas City, which has a movie theater in it, so after my riding lesson I ate a quick dinner and then ran downstairs just in time for the movie. (Loved it, obvs.)

5. Osceola Cheese

If you ever find yourself driving through middle of nowhere Missouri, you must stop at Osceola Cheese Co. They have something like 250 different kinds of cheese, and samples out for almost all of them. Plus, it’s about halfway between where I live and KC, so it’s the perfect place for a break from driving!

Just one of two long shelves of cheese & samples. 

After an entire hour of poking around, I ended up with cheese, fudge, and honey. 

I’m headed up to Springfield today to help run the horse event booth for the stable I take lessons at, and then will probably be up there again tomorrow to actually enjoy the event myself! (Bye, what’s left of my money!) Any fun weekend plans?

Linking up with these lovely ladies!

Happy Friday, all! I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged since I returned from my trip. I’ve been working on posts, but they’re still all half finished! Lots of fun stuff coming soon!

Here’s what I’m digging this week:

1. I’m publishing this post late on Thursday night because my actual Friday is going to be super busy! I have a riding lesson at 10 a.m., but given all of the rain we’ve had, I have a feeling I’m going to need to get there early to clean Gambit up! Especially since he looked like this on a non-muddy day last week:

2. Taking along the awesome massagey brush that I got at Equifest to scrub him up and give him some love with! (I found them on Amazon here, if you’re a fellow horse person! They come in three different colors.)

3. After my lesson? Oh, just going up to Springfield to hang out with former President/future First Husband (First Man? First Bro?) Bill Clinton. No big deal.

4. I’m taking a free course on Forensic Science & Criminal Justice through Future Learn (Love them!). I’m way behind, but did some catching up yesterday.

The instructors discussed a case where they were able to take a DNA sample from an autopsy slide made in 1930 to find out if the murder victim was the disappeared relative of a lady researching her family history. Science! It’s nifty!

5. I found a new pet supply store in Springfield that I’m kinda in love with. Not only do they carry horse treats (I got some carrot & spice flavored ones to keep in my car. Way easier than keeping carrots or apples fresh in the fridge!), but they have free sample bags of dry cat food! Free cat food is my love language.

They also have a store cat. Being the cat lady that I am, I went up and scratched his chin and such. He was loving it for about 30 seconds, and then pulled away and sniffed my hand. I guess I smelled like my cats because he hissed and growled! I apologized for smelling like a strange cat and went off to keep shopping, only to notice him lurking at the end of the aisle I was in a minute later.

But then, over the next 15 minutes or so…

I could not stop laughing. He followed me EVERYWHERE. I tried to win him over with a mouse from the toy aisle, but nope, he still hissed. He followed me all the way until I checked out and left, always keeping a “safe” distance between us.

I think I’ve leveled up as a cat lady.

 

Friday Link-Up Time!

Happy Friday, everyone! Here’s what I <3 this week.

1. THIS GUY!

I’m working on a post about my return to riding after over a decade off, but I can’t imagine anything else topping my list of favorite things right now. Hanging out with horses again makes me super happy.

2. These socks!

I got these at Target this week – I think I’m developing a sock addiction! They’re designed to match that cute octopus sleep top that was in my Target post from last week! (Nope, haven’t bought the top yet since I’m waiting for a sale, but the socks were only $4. Even I have that to spare!)

3. I’ve been loving the Rude Tudors history podcast. No idea how to link to it, but I trust that you guys are smart enough to use the iTunes search box! It’s hilarious and educational and covers great topics in renaissance history. (There are episodes on cats, coffee, and contraception – all right up my alley!)

4. Yoga – As I mentioned in this post, I’ve been trying to do yoga every day this month. In reality, I’m actually making it onto my mat about half the time. (I do some kind of stretching every day, but I’m not counting it unless I get in at least a good 10-15 minute practice at the very least.) I’ve learned a few new poses that I love, and it’s really helping with the ouchies that come with starting to ride horses again! (Actual conversation with my trainer the other day- Her: “Focus on using your thighs and lower back muscles.” Me: “It’s adorable that you think I have those.)

On the achy muscle topic – my decade old foam roller (with lots of knicks from being scratched on by cats and dents from use) probably needs replaced asap. Any recommendations?

5. I’m not a fan of the original “Out of the Woods”, but I really like this cover:

Don’t forget to enter my Bath & Body Works minis giveaway! Just click the image below to visit the giveaway post!

Linkup time!