A little slice of my life.

Many of my updates lately have been all about photography. Which is swell and all (since this is, after all, a photo blog) but I have a tendency to neglect the portion that tells my story. The entire name of this blog/business is Laura Kaster Photography, and it's about time I focus more on sharing the "Laura" portion of the equation. I actually meant to post this last week, but got a wicked bad stomach virus (I turned into what I like to refer to as "Exorcist Laura" - not fun).

So, in no particular order, here's some fun non-photography stuff I've been up to lately:

A month or so ago, I went to Goodwill to drop some stuff off that had been taking up space in our apartment. After dropping them off, I made the mistake of entering the store and impulse-bought a papasan chair and a cute lamp and lampshade. Well, the lamp wasn't exactly cute at that point (it was painted what I like to call "Grandma Pink") but it definitely had potential. 

A couple of weekends ago I decided to awaken that potential and spray-painted it a nifty blueish-turquoise. It was way easier to spray-paint it than I thought it would be! If this whole photography thing doesn't work out, maybe I could rescue ugly things and spray-paint them back to life. Watch out Etsy artisans, you might have some competition!

In case you're wondering why I took photos of the lamp in our kitchen, it's because we live in a garden apartment (aka an apartment on the ground level, quite a common occurrence in Chicago), so we don't get a ton of natural light. In our kitchen we have these fantastic glass squares that let in a ton of light, hence making it the ideal place to take well-lit photos.

Which is why this photo also features my *clean* dishes and my knife collection.

In case you haven't noticed, Pumpkin is a Persian and is quite fluffy. During the bouts of 100+ degree weather we had over the summer, the poor girl resorted to sitting right in front of the air conditioner to get some relief from the brutal heat - I figured that was a pretty big hint that it was time to get her shaved.

Since all of the groomers I found in Chicago were hoity-toity and super pricey (or could only groom her on a weekday), Brian and I decided to invest in some electric clippers to shave Pumpkin. We figured it couldn't be that difficult - after all, if the people in the YouTube tutorials we saw could do it, then by golly we would have no problems doing it!

...yeah. We were wrong. So wrong. Even lots of treats and promises of catnip couldn't get her to sit still.

Don't get me wrong - we did shave her. Just....not all the way. Her hair has grown out a little so it doesn't look as silly any more, but still. You can tell that it's cut like when a five-year-old decides to cut their own hair with children's scissors.

Of course Pumpkin decided to be Little-Miss-Sassy-Pants and was very uncooperative for the camera for once in her furry life when I tried to capture the last remnants of her haircut. Brian theorizes that it's because she's getting older and more resistant to my demands requests...which of course makes me sad, because I don't like to think of my cute little fluff balls as "old".

Word to the wise: even though it's super-cute, if a cat presents you with her belly, do not give her a belly rub. In the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar: "It's a trap!"

I *almost* got this in focus! If only she weren't so darn sassy!!

The recent more temperate weather in Chicago is getting me really excited for my favorite season: Fall! Crunching leaves, crisp air, pumpkin-flavored and themed everything, Halloween (Brian and I are planning on dressing up as Han and Leia from Star Wars - yes, we're nerds and we're proud of it!) apple picking, spooky stories....I could go on and on. 

And let's not forget about my favorite sport to watch! Football season is starting (yay!) but a majority of the first few Packers games are either on ESPN or NFL Network (boooooo - we don't have cable because we're cheap). Brian and I really want to go to a game at Lambeau this year, especially since the last one we went to was in 2010. Which is way too long ago for my liking.

...so we're going to the season opener against the 49er's. YAY!!

This photo is courtesy of Sherah G* Photography. Pretty much sums up our relationship: Brian's somewhat normal, and I'm kind of crazy. ;)

That's about it for now. Until next time peeps!

It's the season after summer, it's before the winter...

Ahhhhh fall, how I love thee. The crunch of a leaf beneath my boots coupled with the crisp air and promise of hot apple cider are just a few reasons why this time of year holds special meaning for me.



Oh, and we can't forget football season.

Those of you who know me well know I am a rabid Green Bay Packers fan. Since I'm one of only about 500 fans in the metropolitan Cincinnati area, needless to say I end up at BW3's, watching the game on mute while screaming obscenities at the other team while others look on in amusement and/or fear.

Yup, I'm that crazy Packers fan.

Imagine my shock and uber-super excitement when I found out my husband had bought me and his parents tickets to a Packers game.

At Lambeau Field.

This weekend.

*insert HUGE smile here and lots of jumping around and screaming with delight*

Needless to say, I have the best.husband.EVER.

So, be on the lookout next week for some awesome photos of my family and in-laws, along with my favorite team in the NFL.

Where Have All The Colors Gone...

I love Fall (as I'm sure you've gathered from previous posts), but I dislike that the gorgeous leaves stay on the trees for only a couple of weeks until the inevitable gusts of wind tear them away.

I'm typically not one to go hiking or do many outdoor activities after October, but the climate in southwest Ohio is much milder during the transition from Autumn to Winter than in Wisconsin. In honor of the wonderful weather yesterday, a Cincinnati friend of mine (formerly featured here) introduced me to Winton Woods.

At this picturesque park, we were greeted by a quaint lake, which during the warmer seasons provides opportunities for paddleboating, kayaking, and canoeing. Since we couldn't do any of the water sports, we simply strolled around and enjoyed what nature had to offer at this time of year.













The park even had a campground, which won major brownie points in my book. Who's up for a little winter camping in Cincinnati?

Fall musings (and more adventures)

Ahhhh, Fall - one of my absolute favorite times of the year (besides Christmas). The crisp weather that begs the layering of cozy sweaters and a mug of hot cider with pumpkin pie is what makes this time of year so special.

To celebrate the changing of the seasons, a couple of weekends ago my husband and I decided to venture out to one of the area's many family farms for some good old fashioned autumn fun.



They had a lot of pumpkins, as well as hayrides, helicopter rides and a corn maze.



My personal favorite parts of this place were the quaint shops that sold autumn-inspired merchandise and food. I had to resist a lot of temptation so I wouldn't come home with ten pumpkin pies.











After the fall fest, we took a different road back home and came across a MillerCoors brewery. Those familiar with Milwaukee know that it is the home of all things beer - why else would there be a sports team named the Brewers?! Well, we figured since the Miller brewery in Milwaukee gave tours with free beer that maybe this place would extend the same courtesy.

No such luck.

Turned out it was an actual brewery - I smelled it the moment I stepped out of the car - but not terribly tour-friendly. In fact, the place had rather high security, with cameras everywhere along with a gate and check-in point to even enter the grounds. Needless to say, we were both surprised and disappointed that not all of the Miller breweries gave tours (and free beer).

Random MillerCoors brewery on random Ohio road = Fail.



The day after our fall fest adventure, I joined a couple of my new-found Cincinnati friends (who will be featured more on this blog since they will give me loads of great writing material) to the Ohio Renaissance Faire. Even though I couldn't wear my period costume because it was too baggy on me (maybe a good thing?), I still had a swell time stepping back into Ye Olde England.





It's good to be the queen.



My companions beautified their locks.











On the way back I spotted something very exciting. Oh large bodies of water, I miss you so.



My friends took me to a local camp they used to work at. God I miss hiking and gallivanting around the woods.



I must be off, since I have a lot of work to do (freelancing, rehearsals, cleaning, etc). Through my festive cat, I must bid you all adieu.