Remembering Rosebud 208/365

We had breakfast in Greensboro before we drove back to Charlotte on Sunday morning. We grabbed quick naps and then went over to Birkdale Village for date night. Or our version of date night. :) I really wanted to see The Last Song and Tyler had yet to see Shutter Island. Neither of us was at all interested in seeing the other, so we went to different movies. Tyler's movie was longer and started about 30 minutes before mine, which led to a little un-necessary but much enjoyed shopping. I stumbled onto a brand I had never seen before and it made me smile. We called my grandma Rosebud...and I just couldn't walk out of the store without buying something that made me remember her.

Tyler's movie ended up with sound issues, so he came in and watched the second half of mine with me. After the movie, we grabbed dinner at Eez and enjoyed a nice meal outside. We both had Monday off of work, so it was nice to relax knowing that we would be sleeping in and spending another day off together.

Heavy Lifting 207/365

I woke up early on Saturday and headed to Chapel Hill to take engagement pictures for our friends Maggie and George. Tyler had breakfast with my mom and went on a walk with Tess and my dad and Sophie before my parents got packed up and left for the Charlotte airport.

About a week before we were set to take pictures, I remembered George having a pair of seats from the Dean Dome and asked if we could bring them along. Little did I know how HEAVY they would be! George and Maggie were great sports as we hauled those chairs all over the UNC campus. We got some great pictures but this one really makes me smile because it perfectly shows what we spent most of our morning doing...moving those chairs! Despite the heavy lifting...I had a great time shooting with Maggie and George. We visited all their favorite spots on campus and had a great lunch at Top of the Hill when we were finished.

After we grabbed lunch, I drove back to Greensboro and met up with Tyler. We headed out to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers play an exhibition game against their MLB affiliate, the Florida Marlins. We met up with friends and enjoyed an afternoon outside. Tyler and Matt were even chosen to participate in a promotional event on the field between innings. Carrie and I raced down to the bottom of the stands to catch a few pictures of the action. We watched the final four games that night and had an impressive cook out between games. It was a long day, but a great one to spend outside.

Hot Hot Hot 206/365

Tyler and I both got out of work a little early on Friday, so we packed up Tess and the car and headed to Greensboro for the weekend. We went out to dinner with my mom and dad before they left for Italy the next day. We went to a fabulous Asian Fusion restaurant that Tyler and I had never been to before...and we can't wait to go back! The sushi was unique and tasty and the food was just as incredible. We came back to the house after dinner and I can't tell you how or why we started talking about tequila, but we did. And talking about tequila led to a shot of tequila...which made for a very fitting picture of the day.

Urban Uptown 205/365

For Thursday's class, we got to bring models for an urban portrait shoot in uptown Charlotte. We ended up shooting for all 3 hours and I was so lucky to have Erica come out to play with me! She wore an amazingly bright color and brought shoes, jewels and accessories for fun. :) She was up for anything, which included climbing up the clock on the corner of Trade and Tryon and feeling silly while I grabbed this great shot of the bus driving past her. I learn so much each and every time I shoot and I am SO grateful to have amazing friends who subject themselves to crazy requests, hot days and me fiddling with my camera in order to find the perfect shot. E...you are gorgeous and your smile makes me smile. Thank you for being in firm agreement that we can always ask for forgiveness later and for being understanding as I learn and gain confidence. You are my perfect practice model. :)

Sweet Sleeper 204/365

I'm always the first one asleep. I can say that pretty certainly...always! But on Wednesday night, after our incredibly successful first attempt at a homemade quesadilla night, Tyler fell asleep upstairs watching a movie. So he came down and we got into bed and turned out the lights. And then, like several nights during any given month, I sat straight up and had him turn on a light because I hadn't grabbed a picture yet. This sudden alarm doesn't even bother me. I can jump up with excitement, scrounge around the house to grab a picture and then be asleep less than 5 minutes after laying my head back onto my pillow. Tyler is not so fortunate. He has to be really tired to fall asleep. And if I get into one of my chatting moods as we are laying down, he has to all but tape my mouth shut so he can start falling asleep. So on Wednesday, I got up to take the picture and he worked on getting to sleep. I grabbed this shot before he realized he was the subject of my picture. After this one, I kept catching little smiles that he couldn't help but give me. But here, my sweet and patient husband, is trying to get back to sleep and hoping I will quickly turn off his lamp and return to bed myself.

Pretty Close to Perfection 203/365

Tuesday brought back the beautiful spring weather! Hopefully April won't be filled with showers...I for one have had my fill and am ready for an abundance of sunshine! The plan was for me to go to the grocery store to shop for our short week of dinners and for Tyler to either go to the gym or spray down the yard with weed killer. We started chatting on the way home and Tyler suggested a different plan altogether. He said why don't you meet me at home, I will spray the front yard and then we can pick up dinner and have a picnic at the park. He even suggested bringing a fabulous pink bottle of wine that has been sitting in the refrigerator just begging for a perfect spring day! And so we did...we met at home and packed our FSU picnic basket. We threw the blanket in the car and stopped to pick up dinner. Tyler got a sub and I got some sushi and away we went. We pulled into the park and walked over to the beach. The park sits on Lake Norman and we would have a great sunset view on the water. We talked about our upcoming trips and enjoyed the spontaneous Tuesday escape. The sun warmed our faces as we ate dinner and drank our perfect bottle of wine. Suddenly, our Tuesday felt more like a Sunday and we could not have been more grateful for that. As we walked back to the car once the sun set behind the houses and it started to cool down, I gushed that we should do this every week! Tyler's simple response was that if we can make Tuesdays this much fun...then life must be pretty great. And it is...very great!

Go Forth 202/365

Monday is our favorite night to snuggle in and watch TV together after dinner. Our favorite show, How I Met Your Mother is on at 8...followed by several others that we enjoy. This past Monday however, How I Met Your Mother was a re-run, so instead of splitting up to watch Gossip Girl and play video games, Tyler suggested we watch Star Trek. I have never seen a single Star Trek or Star Wars movie...I have zero intrest. But, in an effort to agree to something we could do together, I said why not. The deal was that we could turn it off at 10pm and watch either the Greek season finale or the second part of a two-episode special of Castle. So we started watching. And although I refused to admit it...it was pretty enjoyable. I liked some parts more than others, but overall, not even close to as bad as I was preparing myself for. In fact, when 10pm came, I almost suggested watching the end before jumping into one of our favorite shows. But I didn't...that would sound crazy! So we watched Greek...and headed to bed. And as we got into bed I asked Tyler if he would mind if we put Star Trek back on...I was very curious to see how the story would end. And so we did, we watched the end, and snapped a fitting picture before falling asleep. Always nice to give something a shot. :)