#ETXmeet

Did you guys know that there are people on Instagram that like, really love Instagram? I mean they love it so much that they meet people and form these groups and meet up and just take pictures for a few hours together.

Neither did I. And honestly the very thought of it paralyzes me with anxiety. But recently I started following more people on Instagram that really inspire me to take more pictures every day and stretch my creativity beyond outfit pictures a few times a week. One of these people posted about an InstaMeet earlier last week and after wrestling with the idea for a couple of days I convinced my introverted sister to go with me.
This was actually the very first Instagram official East Texas meet! How cool is that? Instagram sent Shawn (@srt4shawn), the one hosting the meet along with a couple other ‘Grammers, an entire InstaMeet kit complete with bug spray, apparently.

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We met at Bridge281 Coffee in Longview (SO.DELICIOUS. and WHY had I not heard of it before?) and had coffee, met each other, and then spent an hour or so out back taking gorgeous pictures in the fields.

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When the light was all gorgeous and beautiful we hiked back to the coffee shop and carpooled to an abandoned part of downtown.

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Oh yeah. Did you know it’s illegal for you to even step on the railroad tracks? Some very tough police officers stopped us and told us that. #hardcore

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It was so much fun getting out and experiencing something new. What a fun thing that people created.

 

 

xx

 

Follow me on Instagram! @melodyrich
It’s mostly pictures of Pepper.

Oh, Snap

I was scrolling through my camera roll on my phone and importing some pictures to my laptop when I realized I’ve taken a lot of neat photos but haven’t edited them or posted them anywhere. I don’t want to overload my Instagram or Twitter or Facebook. So I remembered I had a blog I could post whatever I want on! So here’s a new feature I’m starting called Oh, Snap where I’ll post some cool/kewl pictures I’ve taken and just want to share with the world. ๐Ÿ™‚

All of these are from my iPhone

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1. Hello. 2. All the SWEPCO trucks after the ice storm. 3. Checkers at Cracker Barrel/Family Date. 4. Freezing while the power’s out. 5. The drive home. 6. Frozen broom at work. 7. Bad day. 8. Free veggies at work. 9. My nightstand currently. I know. ๐Ÿ™ 10. The sweetest dog around. 11. Goodbye.

 

 

 

Happy FRIDAY! ๐Ÿ™‚

x

Snaps

1-4. Snaps from my birthday! Jason got up early and made me breakfast and my sister printed me tons of her Instagram pictures! Can’t wait to hang them up!
5-8. Little Bit and Pepper. The closest they’ve ever been.
9-12. Greyscale.
13-16. The surprisingly beautiful Schlotzky’s drive-thru, a Panera date, new favorite drink (Yes, it’s girly. Yes, it’s delicious.) Berry trees at school.

I love it when my sister does her monthly Instagram posts so I thought I’d copy her a little. Of course, hers are always so much better than mine. ๐Ÿ™‚

That time we went to a release party.

1. Getting some grub in the form of Whataburger before heading to Dallas.
2. The only picture I got before the party!
3. Palladium Ballroom/Jason playing Borderlands 2 before it was released last Tuesday.
4. Stage/giant recreations of the characters in the game.
5. Rudy Coby: Magician/Nerds playing the game on some seriousย consoles.
6. President of Gearbox (Jason fangirled.)/CREEPY character from the game. I moved quickly away from the front of the stage.
7. DJ Jazzy Jeff! (Will’s BFF in Fresh Prince!) Dude was AWESOME.
8. My cousins’ dog, Scout. They’re who we stayed with and went to the party with.
9. DQ on the way back.
10. A very rainy, trafficky trip back made for some quality time with J. ๐Ÿ™‚

One of the best weekends of our lives! Our aunt and uncle are friends with the girl that plans all these parties for Gearbox and they went to the release party last year for Duke Nukem. Jason said how much he loved Borderlands so they invited us along for the release party of Borderlands 2. Jason was in serious heaven there. We were VIPs which meant free drinks and access to the after-party. Woo! It was dark, loud, and a lot of fun. The after-party was in the NYLO hotel in downtown Dallas where they served coffee, cheesecake and breakfast. It was calm and mellow after a pretty loud party until 2 am. We loved driving down to Dallas and seeing more of the city! We’re really trying to find a way to move down there sooner rather than later. It’s our absolute favorite. ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you Aunt Dana and Uncle Brandon for letting us stay in your home and letting us tag along to the party. ๐Ÿ™‚ You guys are pretty cool.

 

We’re really bad at sports.

You’d think in the four years we’ve been together we’d have played some putt-putt already. Well, think again. Putt-putt on labor day was the cheapest, most relaxing thing we could have done. Besides see a movie. Course that would have also been air conditioned. And required no walking. But I’d spend $15 for some crappy golf over $50 for a crappy movie any day. Plus the movies don’t have giant replicas of safari animals.

And because I’m immature:

No YOU are.

A Family Hot Dog Day.

A couple of weeks ago I went to town with my family to blow off steam and waste time until Jason was through playing ultimate. We sat outside on the mustard yellow plastic benches and enjoyed chili cheese dogs and fries. If you’re ever in Longview, TX sit outside on a steamy summer evening at Hotdog Express! A cute triangular building boasting some seriously outdated decor. Get the hotdog or the Polish sandwich!

PS. They only accept cash!