Holiday Spirit 82/365

We drove home on Sunday and Tyler was so excited to get our tree setup. Last year, we bought a pre-lit tree on the morning after Christmas. It seems like so long ago because it has been sitting in it's box, in our garage, since then. I loved having a real tree for the past few years, but I HATED putting on and taking off the lights! It took us a little time to get our new tree fluffed up to perfection, but once we did...we just plugged it right in! BRILLIANT! We watched Angels and Demons and decorated the tree. We hung our stockings and ordered in pizza for dinner. We enjoyed the last bit of our incredible long weekend and headed to bed early in preparation for our week. What a perfect ending to my favorite holiday weekend!

Blast From My Past 81/365

The guys headed out for a second round of golf on Saturday morning, and while Tracy went back to bed for a mid-morning nap, mom and I snuck out to JCrew and the grocery store. We parked in between our two destinations, next to a Hummer in a beautiful shade of turquoise. We got out of the car, walked around the Hummer, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw the license plate. I cheered for GAC for 8 years and loved every bit of it. My smile lasted all day and my heart filled with memories made. How great it was to stumble into this unexpected reminder :)

After our errands, I met up with my aunt, uncle and cousins who live in Greensboro so I could practice taking pictures of them too. What a great time we had! It was completely beautiful outside and they had me doubled over with laughter throughout the shoot. I think we got some great shots and I am definitely learning more and more with each time I get out and practice. After we finished, I went home to watch the FSU game with Tyler, Matt and Carrie. It was an ugly one so we followed it quickly with a tasty dinner at home and another fabulous bottle of wine.

Miss Maya 80/365

The house was filled with family and friends all day on Thursday, and on Friday it was quiet. Tyler spent some time on the golf course with Ben and my dad while I enjoyed lunch with Tracy and my mom. We realized it is a rare occasion that the three of us get to have lunch together, so we stretched our mother-daughter time out and went shopping!

We all headed back to the house and, after some downtime, went out to dinner and shared some incredible wine. The food was delicious and the wine was top notch :)

Gorgeous Girl 79/365

Thursday was my favorite day of the year...THANKSGIVING! Tyler and I were up early and enjoyed a relaxing day spent with family. We had our traditional tuna sandwich lunch and smiled as the house filled with smells of dinner. In an attempt to practice taking pictures of people, I took my aunt and uncle from Atlanta out to a park as guinea pigs. We got some great shots of them having fun in opposing hockey jerseys and loved spending some time outside in the beautiful weather. I even managed to snap this picture below of my gorgeous little sister :)

Tyler and I have so much to be thankful for this year and we smile every day as we realize more and more just how happy we are. We hope everyone we love knows how important they are to our lives and we thank you all for sharing your love with us.

Celebrating Seventy-Five 78/365

Tyler and I both worked half days in the office and then were on our way to Greensboro in the afternoon. We packed up the car and the pup, and headed off to enjoy our long Thanksgiving weekend. Wednesday night we headed to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner and celebrated my grandfather's 75th birthday. We prepared our stomachs for our favorite day and enjoyed a delicious cake in celebration!

Perfectly Pretty 77/365

Tyler and I layed low on Tuesday night. We looked forward to short Wednesdays in the office, and knew that 24 hours later we would be settling into bed on Thanksgiving eve :)

After missing day 76, I decided to show a sneak peak of the newly updated powder room for day 77. When the Key Hotel opened it's doors to our good friends Ashley and Riley, Ashley and I took some time to paint the powder room grey. Since then...little has happened otherwise. I decided to use our friends and family coming into town for the Wake Forest game as a motivator, and got to work on adding some fun color and details to the room. I blew up a picture taken of a gorgeous flower in Blowing Rock and added these wall vases for fresh flowers. There is still a little more to be done, but I am loving it so far!

Bound to Happen 76/365

Well, 75 days went off without a hitch. Then, on day 76, a sad thing happened...we went to bed and forgot to take a picture! The plan was to take pictures early in the day so at least there would be options. But, with all the rain we've been getting, that has been happening less and less. We've had close calls, but one of us has always mentioned it as we were getting into bed or thinking about calling it a night. We came home yesterday, threw in some laundry and got dinner started. We caught up on some shows and enjoyed taco salads while we watched Slapsgiving 2009 :) We got into bed and talked about how much we were looking forward to the short week and spending Thanksgiving with my family. And then.....we went to sleep! I woke up this morning and couldn't believe it.

We are loving sharing this project with you and have to apologize to our loyal followers! Your support has been so amazing and we hope you will continue to love getting a glimpse of our life from our eyes :) We are counting this post as day 76 because it is part of our year...maybe we will take a picture on day 366 as well. On top of that, we promise to more than make up for this with tons of Thanksgiving pictures this week!

FINALLY Here 75/365

It has been 18 months since Tyler and I got married last May...and our wedding album is FINALLY here! I was SO excited to bring it home with us on Sunday :) It is huge and I am completely in love!

Bright Light 74/365

We woke up Saturday morning and drove into Greensboro. I had a jewelry party and Tyler grabbed lunch with my dad and then headed to Matt and Carrie's to watch the FSU game. My party was a success and so was the game! We made "dinner and a movie" plans with Matt and Carrie and headed out for the night. We had a very tasty meal at Macaroni Grill and went to see The Blindside which was fabulous! The story is heartwarming and the acting was great...we all really enjoyed it! The picture below is of the lights above the pool table in my parent's basement. It's fun to have a different house to shoot in!

Shopping Season 73/365

How am I supposed to concentrate on anything that needs to get done around the house, when our mailbox is FULL of catalogs for holiday shopping :) I worked on Friday and grabbed take out from Coral Sushi while Tyler waited on a delayed flight in Phoenix. He finally made it back home around 11:30pm. We were both happy to look forward to a week without traveling!

Love You Love You 72/365

I decided to play around a little more with the "ghost" trick I learned in class. It is Tyler's favorite thing I have learned so far, and even though he is only gone for one night...I always miss him a ton when he travels! I love you love you and am SO looking forward to spending the holidays with our families!! XO

Countdown to Turkey 71/365

Yesterday was week 3 of my photography class...and I am still loving it so much! We learned about color temperature and filters that are built into our camera to help color correct when we have bad light. We were learning about the filters by photographing something white so we could see the color change. I pulled out my calendar and used it as my white surface.

After Tyler and I caught up and he got all packed for his trip, I decided that my calendar pictures would be just fine for the daily photo. I have been counting down the days until Thanksgiving, so the calendar is actually very fitting :)

Creeping Ghost 70/365

One of my motion assignments for my photography class was to create a ghost image. Tyler and I had too much fun with this last night before bed. It was really nice to smile so much after a long couple of days. Our favorite was the one of Tyler's ghost creeping up to open our door. This image is straight out of the camera...I love learning what my camera is capable of!!

In Loving Memory 69/365

I've been avoiding this post since Monday evening because I'm not sure the best way to handle it. We've been sharing the details of our life with no problem, but my uncle passed away suddenly on Monday and it has been very tough on me. I do think some things should remain private, but I want to stay true to the purpose of this project which is to capture and share a year of our life. I guess I knew that would include the good, bad, fun and boring but I never really prepared myself for the possibility of loss. So, I dedicate this picture today to my uncle, Andrew, in loving memory. He was a kind man, a loving father and my dad's little brother. He will truly be missed, and my hope is that his sudden passing will be a positive reminder to live each day to the fullest and love to the tips of our fingers and toes.

Fly By Cars 68/365

One of my homework assignments in my photography class this week involves motion. It was beautiful on Sunday, so Erica and I decided to spend some time at Davidson's Landing taking picture of the cars and practicing our panning. By the end, we actually started getting pretty good! This is one of my best shots :)

I-40 Tailgate 67/365

We got up early on Saturday morning and loaded up the cars to go meet the bus. We were welcomed by our bus driver Mike and away we went. We were enjoying our drive and were excited to be getting close to Winston-Salem...when our bus broke down with only 20 minutes to go. The picture of the day is our entire tailgate taking place on the side of I-40! After waiting for a bus and finally getting a mechanic, we made it to the game at noon after a 2 hour tailgate on the highway. We decided it could not have been a more perfect way to prepare for the game...we loved every minute of it :)

A nice police officer pulled over to make sure everything was okay, and after he found out that a new bus was on the way he left us to our tailgate.

Maybe we should try to hitch a ride...for 25 people?!

The guys played corn hole on I-40...

...and the girls played flip cup!

Loving my goofball husband :)

LOVED having Amy in town!

Some of the girls at the game...in our GREAT seats.

Some of the guys got to meet Anne Bowden.

Best buds...

...and more best buds :)

Playing on the 50 yard line!

Always great to spend time with Drew and Linds!

Happy kids playing on the field.

Almost a complete group shot on the field...what a gameday!

The Key Hotel 66/365

Tyler took the day off on Friday and got everything ready around the house for our guests. His parents got in town with Drew and Lindsey during the afternoon, and after that everyone started pouring into Huntersville. We plowed through 2 lasagnas and enjoyed a relatively low key night in preparation for our early and long Saturday to come. It was great having so many of our close friends and family in town and we were happy to open The Key Hotel to so many visitors.

Tess' Excellent Adventure 65/365

Tyler wasn't getting in until late last night, and I still had lots to do to prepare for everyone coming in town for the weekend. I came home after work and let Tess out before heading back out to run some errands. I made a couple of stops and had a car full when I got home. I started unloading and bringing things in. Once I got everything unpacked, I started working on dinner for Friday night. After about 20 minutes, I noticed that Tess wasn't downstairs. She hates noises and I was banging around a little getting pots and pans out so I figured she was hiding at the top of the stairs. I kept working, thinking nothing of it, until about 20 minutes later when I hear a Tess scratch on the front door...from the OUTSIDE! I had locked my poor dog out of the house and luckily her adventure brought her back home...I guess she saw all she needed to of the unfenced world! Luckily, I didn't really have any time to panic; at that point, she was already home!

Tyler got in around 10 and I told him all about Tess' adventure outside. He was also very relieved she was home. I hate to imagine the wife he would have come home to if I had actually realized she was gone and hadn't come back yet! We worked around the house a little more and then started to get ready for bed when Tess got sick. This was when we discovered what her little adventure really was all about. She must have gone on a hunt for dog poop...TO EAT! Well, it came back up with her dog food and it was a horrible experience for everyone involved. Tyler, bless his heart, geared up for clean up and I just had to get a picture. All in all, Tess' adventure...NOT very excellent!!

Smiles for Photography Class 64/365

Hooray for Wednesdays....Photography class is on Wednesdays! We had homework from last week and the picture below is one I took at work for my last piece of homework. He's excited it's Wednesday too :)

In class this week, we talked a lot about light. I signed up for this class to learn more about my camera...and it has been so much more than I expected. I have learned SO much about my camera's capabilities in just two weeks. Below are 3 pictures taken of the same object. A small change was made in each one with a touch of a button, but that small change makes huge differences.

Rain Rain Go Away 63/365

On Tuesday, Tyler headed to Ohio for work...and he MUST have taken the sunshine with him! It started pouring on Tuesday and did not stop until Thursday evening. Of course I had lunch plans on this very rainy day, but was happy to face the elements to catch up with Christy. The picture below is from inside my car, in the Panera parking lot, while I was waiting in the warmth as long as I could.

New Sushi Spot 62/365

Yesterday we prepared for another travel week for Tyler which will be followed by a house full of family and friends for the Florida State game this coming weekend. Well, we didn't really prepare, we more enjoyed the calm before the storm :) Our plan was to bring in Chinese, but after doing some research we stumbled on great reviews for a new sushi restaurant nearby that we haven't tried yet. Since we moved here, we have stayed loyal to Osaka for sushi. We have tried others, but our favorite always came out on top when compared. Always that is...until last night. We headed out early and tried Coral Sushi and it was FABULOUS! Their menu was great and there were plenty of interesting new rolls for Tyler to choose from. The fish was fresh and we were happily surprised by the reasonable prices! So, after 3 years here, we are making the move to Coral Sushi! The picture below is the finished product...empty plates, full tummies, and satisfied smiles :)

Practice Makes Perfect 61/365

Sunday was such a pretty day! We've been going, going, going so it was nice to relax a little after our regular Sunday breakfast...bagels from Bagel Bin. We watched football and took naps and I spent a little time outside practicing what I learned in my photography class the week before. We learned a ton, but our homework asked us to focus on aperture. I love the way you can see the sun rays in the picture below. I can't wait for my second class this week!

Loyal Fans 60/365

Matt and Carrie came into town on Saturday; we picked up Allison; and like loyal fans we all headed down to Brazwell's to watch the Florida State game among Charlotte Noles. We enjoyed fried pickles and drinks and sadly watched the Seminoles lose another one. Our quarterback, the bright star of our team, is now out for the season, but we will still have faith and we will still watch. We will pile onto a bus and drive to Wake Forest next weekend to cheer on our team...like loyal fans.

Dad Would Smile 59/365

We decided to stay in on Friday night since we would be heading out on Saturday to watch the FSU game. We ordered in pizza and wings and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine. I always think of my dad smiling as he cringes when we tell him about a great bottle we tried with pizza :) Trust me, we always love nice steaks with our wine...but there seems to be something special about our casual dinner eaten while bundled up on the couch and enjoying a great bottle of wine! Our picture of the day is of the inside of our wine cooler...one of our favorite wedding gifts!

Kiss Me 58/365

Tyler got back from Ohio last night and as always, it's so much nicer when he's home :) He is traveling through the month, but we have the weekends together in between to look forward to! While Tess enjoys keeping Tyler's side of the bed warm when he's gone, it's much better when 3's a crowd. Tyler and I have 2 things that we always stick to regarding bed time...

1. We always kiss Goodnight

2. We never go to bed upset

We only have a year and a half of marriage under our belts and these things seem so simple, but maybe it's the little things make love so incredible. We sure think so!

To Write with Light 57/365

I first discovered this project in my search for an online course to learn more about my great camera. After falling in love with Project 365, I decided to get back to looking for a class I could sign up for. I discovered the Light Factory in uptown Charlotte where they not only teach courses in photography and everything related, but it is first and foremost a museum dedicated to all light generated mediums. This class is one night a week, for six weeks, and it started last night. In just 3 hours we learned so much and I more than enjoyed starting to understand the endless possibilities that my camera holds. We will get to work outside of the classroom in coming weeks, but last night we stayed in to learn most of the basics. Among my favorite new pieces of knowledge was the meaning of the word photography...to write with light. I can't wait to learn more and more each week and I am so excited to be able to put my new learnings to use in my daily pictures. The picture below is a bottle and glass chandelier that hangs in the studio where our class is held. Erica and I decided it was the perfect choice for my daily picture!

New Challenge 56/365

Tyler attended a proof reading seminar during the day yesterday and it just happened to be near my work. It was nice getting to meet up for lunch before he headed out to Ohio in the afternoon. After work, I headed home and stopped by the grocery store on my way. It was during my drive home that I discovered this new challenge to our Project 365...daylight savings time! I love that we get more light in the morning, but the sun was setting behind the trees between 5 and 6pm. This means no outside shooting after work. We are going to have to get creative!

About Time 55/365

We figured it out last night...we have been trying to get together with Brent and Amy for about 3 months now! I see them each month at our leadership group meetings and Amy and I got together last month while both Tyler and Brent were out of town. But between everyone's crazy schedules during the past few months, we have not been able to get all four of us together since early August. FINALLY, last night, we met for dinner at Alexander Michael's. And thank goodness we made this work. Brent landed in Charlotte at 7:15 and headed straight over to meet us at dinner, while Tyler leaves today for Ohio for the next 3 days. And our schedules don't slow down after that! We had less than a 24 hour window and just had to jump at the opportunity. We had a yummy dinner and enjoyed finally getting all caught up. What a great way to end a Monday :)

Saving your Spot 54/365

We slept until 9 on Sunday morning and definitely enjoyed that extra hour of sleep! We met up with Drew, Lindsey, Jordan and Laura at Jim and Milt's and enjoyed a tasty breakfast before heading back to Charlotte. We got on the road and with our alternating driving and sleeping (Tyler definitely did more driving and I probably did a little more sleeping), we made it back home in about 8 hours. We walked in the door to an excited pup and just had to smile when we saw where she had been sleeping all weekend. We got a new blanket recently and we have a soft and heavier blanket underneath for winter. Apparently, Tess much prefers the soft blanket as she destroyed our nicely made bed to create a sleeping nest for herself. She pushed all of the pillows around and must have cozied up to stay warm. She is always so good when we are gone, if this is the worst we ever come home to...we will happily take it!

The other thing we were welcomed with when we got home...fallen leaves on the deck. Looks like fall is starting to turn into winter...