Romantic Restaurant Week 142/365

We had SUCH a great Thursday. I was feeling much better to start things off, and then we got to have an unexpected lunch together. I was asked to pick something up for work and it happened to be located in Tyler's neck of the woods. So we got to have Firehouse subs together (one of our favorite sub spots) in the middle of our day which was a big treat. After work, we met at home to feed Tess and then headed out to Mickey and Mooch to enjoy Charlotte Restaurant Week. During Restaurant Week, restaurants all over the city offer a $30 coursed menu. Mickey and Mooch has a location in Huntersville and they really went all out with their menu.

Hey, speaking of great menus and great food...my sister Tracy has a fabulous foodie blog called alphabEDIBLE adventures. She and Brian are making their way through the alphabet of restaurants in Nashville and are loving every minute of tasting, drinking, rating and blogging their journey. Check out their great adventure at: http://alphabedibleadventures.blogspot.com/

As for our dinner, Tyler got the mini crab cakes to start and I got the shrimp cocktail so we could share a seafood appetizer duo. Then it was on to a ceasar salad for each of us. I chose the 3 lobster tails for my entree and Tyler got the sliced filet, so we shared a little of each to make our own surf and turf. Then...as if we needed anything else...it was onto dessert. They had 3 cheesecake choices. Tyler got the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and I got the tuxedo. We definitely ran out of room so we took home the cakes for later. They made a perfect picture of the day...taken by my fabulous hubby!

Happy He's Home 141/365

Tyler finally came home from his trip on Wednesday, but I still wasn't back to feeling 100%. We stayed in and had spaghetti for dinner, I kicked off my shoes, Tess put down her bone and we enjoyed spending time with Tyler. We're always happiest when he's home!

We Danced 140/365

On day two of my "husband is out of town and I really don't feel well," I snagged a shot of a gift from our wedding. I must have really been missing Tyler :) because this made me think of our first dance at our wedding and the random moments that we find ourselves dancing through life.

Reading Right Now 139/365

Tyler was still away in Salt Lake City on Monday and I managed to grab a bit of a stomach bug that lasted for a few days. I can't say I'm proud of my "I don't feel well so I'm just going to photograph something and be done with it" pictures...but they are part of my year, so here's the first of 3. I follow lots of fabulous photogs, and several suggest the reading of this book. I picked it up and have really enjoyed the life/business lessons. Tyler takes the title literally and gives me a hard time that I have to read a book to make friends...but eventually I will convince him to read it too :)

Took my Heart to Utah 138/365

Tyler left bright and early this morning for Utah. He has business meetings there for the first part of this week. I always miss him when he's gone, but for some reason I missed him a little extra today. He is spending the day in Park City and enjoying the Sundance Film Festival scene. He's already had star sightings, snagged a free pair of sunglasses and he's hoping to check out a film showing tonight. Then it's off to Salt Lake City in the morning...back to work because Mondays are still Mondays, even in Utah.

I Think I Can 137/365

We had a busy day planned for Saturday! Since Tyler was going to be leaving on Sunday morning, we decided to have our bagel breakfast on Saturday instead. After breakfast, we got ready to head to the race track. One of Tyler's co-workers helped organize a fundraiser for a friend who is fighting cancer. We went out to show our support and had a great time checking out the silent auction, enjoying hotdogs and the bake sale, and especially riding the John Deere pulled train with some kids. I laughed hysterically when Tyler couldn't fit his legs into his car, the lead car ran out of gas (so I jumped out and grabbed this picture), and when the driver got out at the end of our ride and gave us hugs because we were the biggest kids he had given a ride to all day.

We headed home for a quick nap and then we went down into the city for the Bobby Bowden tribute party put on by the Charlotte Seminole Club. There was a GREAT turnout and the party was a huge success. The board was thrilled with the outcome and we all really had a great night!

Bloomin' Love 136/365

Our plan was to stay in on Friday night, but when we got home from work we decided to grab dinner out. We have some gift cards from the holidays that we need to take advantage of, so we headed out to Outback to share some appetizers at the bar. We even splurged on a bloomin' onion :) I got to drive Tyler's new car for the first time on our way home, and we swung into Blockbuster to grab a movie for the rest of the night.

Comfy Check 135/365

Tyler got a great pair of pajamas from his sister this year for Christmas...and I don't think he has worn anything else since! And so, here we are, dedicating a picture of the day to these burberry checked pants :) I seem to be a fan of everything in black and white tonight...so enjoy a glimpse at our weekend in B&W.

Got Cork 134/365

On Wednesday, as we were driving to work in the morning, Tyler realized he forgot his gym bag at the house...so that is where we met after work. We decided to take advantage of this oversight and have a spontaneous date night. We ate dinner early...delicious homemade burgers on the grill...and headed to Corkscrew for a drink. Tyler's office secret santa was brilliant enough to give him a Corkscrew giftcard for their gift exchange and we definitely enjoyed using it! We each had a great glass of wine, took a quick picture of the cork box, and headed to the movies to see Leap Year. Tyler is a gem for sitting through what turned out to be much more of a romantic drama than the romantic comedy I promised. I smiled through it and I think he enjoyed it just because of that.

Not So Subtle 133/365

Tyler headed to the gym after work on Tuesday and I went to the grocery store and then home to try out a new recipe. I'm always glad when we try something new, but I don't think that the shrimp and portobello fettucine will break into our group of favorites just yet.

While searching for something to photograph to remember our ordinary day by, I decided to give in and photograph the key above our bed. We have been not so subtle about having "key" objects sprinkled throughout our house. This key that hangs over our bed is my favorite of the bunch. I feel like it just sums everything up...

Big Kid Car 132/365

TADA...

...here's Tyler with his brand new car. We will probably miss the Mustang on gorgeous spring days and trips to Lazy 5 Ranch...but Tyler loves his new car! It has everything we were looking for in a car and everything he was looking for as well. It is a gorgeous Ocean Gray, which in my opinion has a little more ocean in it than gray :) It drives like a dream and will be perfect for us!

We met at the house after work and headed to Concord to pick up the car. I still had to sign some of the papers before we could drive off the lot. We happily drove away in our pretty new car and headed straight for Taxco for a mexican dinner to celebrate!

Sneak Peak 131/365

I'm smiling as I realize that a sneak peak picture is not quite as effective when I marathon post like this :) But, I took this picture on Sunday night when I got home from my trip. I'm also smiling because Tyler REALLY wanted his new car to have a keyless entry...even though I told him he had no idea what it was like to search a purse for keys every day!

World Stopping 130/365

Tyler and I both had fabulous Saturdays! He got an early start on more car searching and spent most of his day at the Nissan dealership. Between the phone calls with me and working deals with the agent, we were able to find a car and price that everyone could agree on. They still had to bring our car in from Winston-Salem, but he was able to close the deal that day!

After car shopping, he picked up Ethan and the two of them went into the city for the Charlotte Bobcats basketball game. They got tickets that had been donated by Raymond Felton, a Bobcats player as well as a Big Brother in Charlotte himself. They enjoyed the game together and the hot dogs that came with. After the game, Tyler headed out and met up with friends uptown. It turned out to be a very busy but very great day!

While Tyler was wheeling and dealing, I was enjoying the Miami weather and a fabulous lunch with the girls. After lunch, we headed out to the water and wandered around downtown so I could take pictures and give the birthday girl a birthday photo shoot. To say that the world stops for Tracey's birthday would be an understatement. It is a month long celebration and I don't see that being any different in years to come. She was a fabulous model and I had a tough time choosing my picture of the day...I just knew it should be of her! These have only been barely touched and I can't wait to use them to learn more in Lightroom and Photoshop!

I could not choose a favorite from the next two...so I posted both :)

It was WINDY...but I love this look.

I'm not sure about the overcast/over exposed sky...but I love the real smile :)

Gorgeous green eyes...

Speaking of GORGEOUS green eyes...just had to snap Kristin too!

I love you both...thanks for all the smiles...

...and cheers to a FABULOUS 2010 - you deserve it!

Lighting Up MIA 129/365

I left straight from work on Friday and headed to the airport to fly to Miami. My girlfriend Tracey's birthday was on Saturday, and I'm pretty sure I haven't missed a birthday celebration since we met as random roommates for our freshman year in college. I got in after dinner and grabbed this shot of the city from her balcony before we headed out to start our celebrating at Blue Martini.

Tyler held down the house with Tess and looked forward to a fun day ahead on Saturday!

Ever After 128/365

On Thursday, we did another in town switch. Tyler came home from his business trip and I got all packed up for my weekend in Miami with the girls. We had dinner in and Happily enjoyed our quick time together :)

Day in the Life 127/365

On Wednesday, I rushed home to let Tess out before heading right back into the city for a Charlotte Seminole Club board meeting. It was great getting plans together for the year and as always it was fun to catch up! I do hate doing that to Tess though. She is home all day by herself, so I always feel better when we can come home and spend the rest of the night with her. She is such an easy pup...sleeps all day, chews her bones in the evening, and happily cuddles right back up with us at night. The picture below is what I came home to after my meeting :)

Ready for my Closeup 126/365

Tyler headed to Ohio on Tuesday, which left Tess and I with some girl time during the week! We spent Tuesday night in, relaxing and playing with some new lens attachments I had purchased. These macro attachments certainly don't hold a candle to what a real macro lens can produce, but I am really excited to see what they can do. They are magnified attachements that go on the end of a lens I already own. I'm so looking forward to getting better and playing with beautiful flowers...once they start to bloom again! I grabbed this shot of the incredible plant in our kitchen. When we came back from Florida, it was wilted over and looked like it had seen its last breath. But, I let it soak in some water for the next couple of days and TADA...a bloom!

Shiny and New 125/365

On Monday, Tyler got packed up for his business trip to Ohio and continued to enjoy his new toy that he picked up on Sunday. Since before the holidays, Tyler had been lusting after this all in one SUPER remote! He picked it up on Sunday and got the whole thing programmed. Now, with the touch of a finger, our entire entertainment system comes on with settings based on what you want to watch. It works upstairs and down and I have to say, it is very user friendly. And he LOVES it....which is all that really matters anyway :)

Melts My Heart 124/365

We woke up Sunday morning and had our usual bagel breakfast. I headed upstairs to work in the office while Tyler relaxed and watched a movie. Around lunchtime, we went to pick up salad and sandwiches and then headed over to Jeremy and Andrea's to visit with them and Lincoln. The goal was to get some family pictures outside, but the timing of our day didn't quite allow for that. I was able to grab some sweet shots inside though and this first one just melts my heart :) Tyler's desire to be a dad is only one of the things I love most about him. This picture makes me smile so big...

Don't you even think about peeling this child away from the football game!

Since I wasn't able to have a photoshoot with Lincoln...I dragged Tyler out so I could play with my new lens. There was some serious sunshine, so it was a good learning experience.

I definitely learn a ton each time I get out and take pictures and even though I owed him a strawberry milkshake for participating, I think my handsome husband was quite the model :)

Calling All Cars 123/365

I woke up early on Saturday to take Tess to the vet for a vaccination and to get her nails trimmed. She was a big baby, but luckily it was a quick trip. We headed home and I dropped off Tess in exchange for Tyler and his car, so I could take my car to be serviced. We headed up to Davidson to meet Brent and Amy for brunch and enjoyed sharing Brent's first visit in Davidson...and Amy's first meal at Toast :) Then it was off to check out some cars. We are shopping around for a new car for Tyler. On Saturday, we drove the Altima and the Camry. It was good for him to get into them and feel how they drive. Now it's back to more research and more looking. It was definitely a good start to the process!

Also this weekend...I got a new lens...that I LOVE! Tyler bought be a fabulous lens for Christmas and with the addition of this new one, I am ready for anything! I love how blurry the background can be and how sharp the focus remains. We have cars on the brain, so I thought this would be a fitting picture of the day.

Cold Front 122/365

Ever since coming back from Florida, which was chillier than usual this holiday season, we have been hit over the head with quite the cold front in NC. It has made for a quick change into sweats when we get home and our socks and slippers have become permanently attached to our feet! On Friday night, we headed up to Vinnie's for oysters and wings. Restaurants are finally smoke-free in NC and it was such a treat to enjoy our oysters...inside...with no smoke! We came home, changed into sweats, put on our socks and slippers and had a cozy night in.

Love-shake 121/365

On Thursday, we headed back into Charlotte to watch the National Championship game at our friend Tyler's new house. We had an early dinner and went down to watch the first half with his roommates and friends. I'm in love with the house and it was a pretty eventful first half of football. I was in search of a picture when we got home...from a very college like pit stop on our drive back up (which I refuse to name or picture here)...so I decided on a shot of my favorite bear couple. I have a small collection of bear couples in the house, and this one always makes me smile :)

Operating Office 120/365

Phase 2 of moving the laptop up into the office...getting the office back in working condition! It has been the "catch all" for quite some time and I am excited to throw away and shred my heart out! I really love the room (the picture below is one of the metal flowers on the wall) and am looking forward to spending more time up there.

**UPDATE: After working up there at various times this weekend, I am happy to report we now have an operating office again! After 3 trash bags and a tired little shredder, it is clean and neat and organized. I still have to tackle the closet inside the office, but at least those doors can stay closed for now :)

Birthday B 119/365

After work on Tuesday, we met back at the house and then headed into Charlotte to celebrate Brent's 26th birthday. Brent, Amy, Tyler and I celebrated all 4 of our 25th birthdays together with fun events last year and we are already off to a great start again in 2010. There was a fun group of people at sushi dinner celebrating Brent turning the big 2-6. Almost equally exciting was the homemade ganache cake that Amy made for dessert. It was so rich and so delicious!

I have called Brent, "B", for as long as I can remember, so I grabbed a cute picture of Brent and Amy with B and A candles :)

Missing Mate 118/365

We have two computers in our house. Our iMac sits upstairs in the office and our laptop has found residence on the corner of our couch. It makes for easy facebook-ing while Tyler is watching nothing but football in the fall, and allows for endless (war)chanting when yet another season of So You Think You Can Dance comes along. We've talked about moving it upstairs, but we have never pulled the trigger. We have never actually moved it up to the office, plugged it in and left it there. Until Sunday....

We decided to make less "surfing" one of our resolutions this year. We are only on it so much because it sits right there, on the corner of the couch. So now, I will make that extra effort to sit through one more football game and Tyler may even watch an episode or two of my favorite show. We will keep you posted on how it goes :) For now, I think our couch corner is a little cold! (And it could definitely use a lint roller!)

A Must Have 117/365

I happily give you my husband Tyler...his second of back to back pictures, giving him 3 in the past 6 days, and even a blog post to go with it :)

When we moved into our house two and half years ago; Lindsay got to be the "lead designer" in all but one room. The one room that was given to me to design was the bonus room above the garage. Since I have been an FSU Seminole since birth; it was only fitting that I decided to go with a Nole theme.

I got a Bobby Bowden autograph panoramic picture of Doak and autograph pictures of C. Ward, P. Warrick, A. Boldin and G. Jones for the front of the room. The room was still missing something, but I wasn't sure what that was. I wasn't sure that is, until I was surfing online one day and came across a giant Seminole football helmet Fathead. Christmas time was coming up and my parents always need gift ideas for me, so I told Lindsay about it and she relayed it to my parents. My Mom didn't know what a Fathead was and even referred to it as a "Google head" to my sister. But sure enough, on Christmas morning, there it was under the tree.

On Sunday night, we put it up in the bonus room and it definitely takes the room one more step towards completion. For anybody, like my Mom, who doesn't know what a Fathead is, it has earned it's place as our picture of the day. Keep in mind that the TV below it is a 50 inch TV. The Fathead is over 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Go NOLES!

Great Ending 116/365

We woke up Saturday morning, packed the car to capacity, and started to make the trip back home. After 2 detours and some serious traffic, we made it back in 8 hours. We unloaded the car and decided to stay in, order pizza, and enjoy a great bottle of wine. We knew Sunday would be filled with unpacking, taking down holiday decorations and yardwork so we happily enjoyed the end to our fabulous holiday vacation. Tyler grabbed this shot of our dinner...delicious!

End of an Era 115/365

On Friday we woke up bright and early to witness part of football history. We tailgated in the cold and rain and bundled up to watch the end of an era...Bobby Bowden's last game. I took my camera in and got lots of fun shots. But one my favorite things I saw all day was the sign in the picture of the day. Fans, young and old, were there to support the legendary coach in his final moments on the field. We're looking forward to the future...but it was a sad day for college football and Florida State fans everywhere.

The crowd was on it's feet as Bobby planted the spear at center field :)

So happy we could be there!

Before the boys got emotional :) The crowd that would not leave...

Bobby's final wave goodbye as he was carried away on the shoulders of his players....it was an incredible spectacle and something we know we will remember forever!

It's Been Incredible 114/365

I worked a half day on Thursday and then much to Tess' disappointment, we headed to Jacksonville...with our suitcases. We checked into our hotel and grabbed a quick nap before Kristin got in from Tampa. Tyler and I headed out to dinner at Blue Bamboo while Kristin picked up Tracey from the airport. Tyler met some friends for drinks and I spent some time with the girls before our cab picked us up for the night. We headed over to River City Brewing Company for "The Official FSU New Year's Eve Party."

There were fireworks at midnight over the river :)

And we actually witnessed a La-Bomb James!

We shared a great night with great friends...

...and started 2010 with SEVERAL more coozies than we had in '09!