The Weekend Lens

FRIDAY NIGHT | Dinner at a farm that's been in a family for over 170 years.

SATURDAY NIGHT | A trial run of watching a movie out in our backyard (part of my summer manifesto). Of course we started with The Princess Bride. We've got a few people coming over tonight for a little get-together and most likely the move we're showing will be The Goonies.

Katie picked up this screen at Goodwill last summer for a couple dollars. We keep saying we're going to do this and finally made it happen.

I have a small projector I've used for teaching classes in the past (Optoma PK301+ Pico Pocket Projector) that I connected to my laptop. It worked awesome except I found that I definitely need some way to magnify the sound if there will be more than just the three of us watching. I'd asked on Twitter about portable speakers for my iphone last week and the overwhelming favorite was the Jawbone Jambox. I picked one of those up on Sunday afternoon and will test it out tonight.

I also saw a really fun post from Oh Happy Day about food for an outdoor movie night - super cute ideas.

While they were waiting for the movie (we could start it around 8:45pm) they played on the ipad.

It was HOT here this last weekend - hitting 100. It usually happens a couple times a summer and when it does it's really, really hot.

We ended up spending time inside hanging out since it was just so hot outside.

George, who has become an inside/outside cat, decided to stay out all Saturday night. This is what he looked like most of Sunday - totally sacked out in Lily's dog bed.

The kids go back to school in a month so I'm really savoring all that summer has to offer around here. Looking forward to spending time with my family this week.

Hope you had a great weekend!

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26 thoughts

  1. kdan says…
    08/06/2012

    Life in the summer doesn't get any better than this!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. colleen says…
    08/06/2012

    Read a lovely saying referring to cats and weather - 'the longer the cat, the hotter the weather!' And I find it so true with mine here in hot Africa!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Megan says…
    08/06/2012

    George must be a party animal if he stayed out all night!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. aliza says…
    08/06/2012

    Oh, The Goonies! How I loved that movie. I still do, and my kids liked it too. Love when that happens.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Lynn says…
    08/06/2012

    You guys must not have much trouble with mosquitoes. If I tried the outdoor movie night here in damp, humid Florida.... we'd all be eaten alive! :-/ It does look like fun though, and I admit I looked a lot like George yesterday too. ;-)

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Lisa W. says…
    08/06/2012

    Nothing better than summer. Your looks awesome green...over here in Michigan its all dead:( Major drought happening! Praying for some rain!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Eileen says…
    08/06/2012

    What a great picture of George. If only I could sleep like that!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Suz says…
    08/06/2012

    What a memorable weekend! Live that Summer Manifesto of yours large Ali! :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. hannahk says…
    08/06/2012

    how wonderful to watch movies outside...what a blessing a garden is

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. michele h. says…
    08/06/2012

    oh..the goonies...we love that movie, along with the princess bride and big (i think that's what's on the screen). all classic favorites:)

    and i'm lovin' your kitchen windows. the light in there must be so amazing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Judith says…
    08/06/2012

    Love the photo of George. His little black paws are very cute!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Kathy says…
    08/06/2012

    I've been wanting to do an outdoor movie for a while and wondered what sort of equipment you need...looks like loads of fun.

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Carolyn HP says…
    08/06/2012

    Just wanted to let you know Ali, I love when you post the Weekend Lens, love seeing your photos and things from your perspective. I so love the photo of George flaked out in Lily's bed, hope he recovers soon. We're having record hot temperatures here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada too this Summer, unfortunately it's pretty dry too, so we could use some rain to bring back some of our green areas... other than that, really enjoying a great, fun, full Summer! Have a great week!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. ChrisyC says…
    08/06/2012

    Hi Ali

    I hardly ever post a reply on your blog as there usually is SO many already there by the time l read your post. But just wanted to let you know that l continue to really enjoy reading your blog and find it a constant source of inspiration. I’m a current participant in OLW, and am hoping to take the plunge into Project Life next year. Thanks for sharing.

    Chrisy
    Australia

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      08/07/2012

      Thank you Chrisy!

  15. Marianne says…
    08/06/2012

    Love the rhythm that is summer.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. dawn says…
    08/07/2012

    LOVE LOVE the outside movie idea, so happy for you making it happen. Great pictures telling your weekend story, always makes me smile when you do this. We had very HOT HOT temps too which made it hard to enjoy the little fair our town has. How cute is George, he's a party cat. We are soaking up the last two weeks of summer at our house. Enjoy the last of your summer days also.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. kellystar says…
    08/07/2012

    Princess Bride is one of my favorites. We bought the Epson Movie Mate projector about 5 years ago and have LOVED it. We show the movies right on our garage door (it is a little trailer trashy to be sitting in the driveway watching movies, but all of the neighbors are over too, so who is there to think that?). It gives a HUGE picture vs. using a screen.
    It is a DVD player, projector all in one and comes with its own separate speaker. It is AWESOME! We have also hooked up our Wii to it and played Mario Kart and Rock Band outside. Well worth the money. We actually bought a re-furbished one directly from the Epson Website and saved some $$.

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  18. Jane Overby says…
    08/07/2012

    What an awesome night! Backyard movies are a great end-of-summer idea. Here's another fun post about outdoor movie night: http://deborahjustine.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/outdoor-cinema-aka-backyard-movie-night/

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  19. Queen Mary says…
    08/07/2012

    I love the backyard movies! Ah the days before air conditioning! Ah the days of drive in theaters! Ah my youth! They used to show movies on the mall in DC -- I don't think they do it anymore though. You brought your own picnic blanket and got to see a classic. Youth is so fleeting!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Julie says…
    08/07/2012

    So love the idea of having movie night in the yard :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Erica Hettwer says…
    08/09/2012

    Gooooonies!!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Amy D. says…
    08/10/2012

    Our neighborhood likes to do outdoor movies too. One neighbor built a screen holder out of PVC pipe and the other has a screen and projector from work. It's a blast and I have to laugh at "Goonies" as your choice. That's the first movie our little neighborhood posse watched when we did our first outdoor movie night. We all thought a good 80's flick would be fun. We were all shocked to hear
    how much bad language was in that movie...I don't even remember it but the kids thought it was a riot! Gotta love doing something as common as watching a movie outside...it just makes it more fun!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Debie Grace says…
    08/10/2012

    Perfect! :P

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Kimberlee says…
    08/11/2012

    The kids are going to have such amazing memories. I am totally envious over the backyard movie night. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. laura g. says…
    08/28/2012

    so glad you are having a great summer...it's almost over...WHERE did it go????

    Reply 0 Replies

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