I'll Help Myself, Thank You!

Lily was playing with her toys in the kitchen while my mom was getting out ingredients for her Saturday breakfast. She pushed a carton of a dozen eggs to the back of the counter, up against the wall. Since Lily is not only in her naughty teenage years, but is also too curious and smart for her own good, pushing items out of her reach is a typical precaution in my parents' house. Before she started cooking, my mom went upstairs to wash her face. As she was drying her face with a towel, she noticed that Lily was being exceptionally quiet, which is never good. My mom raced downstairs and into the kitchen. An empty carton of eggs was upside down on the floor and not one bit of evidence remained from all twelve eggs. Lily had decided to help herself to breakfast that morning.

It's pretty obvious based on my blog posts, but I love all dogs; especially Boxers. They just have a soft spot in my heart. The jowls, the funny ears, the notorious Boxer wiggle...I love it all! Although my parents' Lily is very naughty, she is the most affectionate dog I know and I love her to death! Looking at this face, how can you not love her!!!

I think this was probably the face Lily gave my mom when she was caught eating the eggs. "What?! I'm a little angel...I could never do anything bad!"

This one's for my mom. She loves Boxer profile pictures.

Since it's so cold in Buffalo, Lily loves to wear her coat and sit on top of the heat register when it's chilly.

And last, but not least, is Lily's "Billy Teeth". She is one of those dogs that will literally let you do anything to her. So my sister loves to show off her under-bite by sticking her upper lip behind her teeth. It looks a little scary, but it cracks me up!

A Little Addition to a Big Family

My mother's family is big. I'm talking, fill the whole house with 40-50 exhausted parents, hyper kids, and giggling babies big. It's so big, that whenever we have a family get together, I don't get to talk to everyone because there are too many people to visit at one time. Not only is our family large, but it grows at crazy speeds! Every time we go to Buffalo on our yearly visit, there is inevitably someone pregnant, newly married, or just born.

So I was so excited to see my huge family over Christmas because I got to meet a new cousin for the first time; little Luke. I was equally excited to take pictures of this cutie...he's such a doll and has the prettiest blue eyes! His parents, my Aunt Kim and Uncle Tom, just added a painting studio to their house, so we had really nice light for the shoot. I think Luke loved all of the attention and the photos of him in that little red hat just kill me!

Old Made New #1

I knew they existed, but didn't know the condition they were in or the extent of the collection. So about a year ago I asked my grandparents to pull out their old photographs from when they lived in England. As they dragged out a large, dusty cardboard box from their closet, I stood behind them with the same anticipation a child has on Christmas. My heart sank a little when I saw the box's state because I knew it would be a hint to the condition of the photographs inside.

Although unfortunate, as I rummaged through the box, the poor condition of the photos added to the feeling that I was uncovering something rare and really special. Every picture revealed people and places that, although foreign to me, seemed oddly familiar. Every photograph offered a glimpse into my family's past. Occasionally, I would be lucky enough to find a date, name, and/or location on the back of a picture that gave me a little more insight to the context of the photograph. They ranged from late 1800s photographs of unknown family members, to my dad's baby pictures. The people in the photographs are all connected to each other and to my family so I couldn't bear the thought of the images being forgotten, lost, or destroyed.

As I sat on my grandparents' bed with hundreds of photographs surrounding me, I knew what I had to do. After begging my grandparents to entrust me with their photos, I brought them back to Atlanta, scanned them, and returned them back to their rightful owners. Now I face the daunting task of retouching about 300 old, dusty, wrinkled, and torn pictures. I'm not kidding myself...I know it will take years for me to complete, but I know it will be worth in in the end! I think that if I commit to posting the before and after photographs on my blog, I will stick to it and slowly work my way through the files. So with that, here is my first "Old Made New" post of my great-great-grandfather and his dog in an English pub. I think it's one of my favorite photographs...ever.

Iced In

I ran to look out the window after hearing tires squeal loudly in our parking lot. While a car tried its hardest to get out of the lot, it slowly slid down to the bottom of the hill that leads out of our complex. Eventually cars started to line up. One by one, each car took a turn trying to go up the hill, sliding down it, and then eventually turning around to go back home. We weren't snowed in, but iced in! Since today was a work day, I was determined to not let the ice beat me. I went outside with my snow boots (which I was so excited to actually wear for snow!) to get a good look at what I would be dealing with. I slipped and slid across the parking lot which had literally become an ice skating rink. I couldn't even see the pavement...it was solid ice! There was no way I was getting out today, so instead of sitting around inside, Douglas and I decided to go on a little walk on our hiking path behind our apartment.

Since one of my goals for 2010 is to be a little more open and personal on my blog, here are some fun photos from our "Ice Day"!

Douglas looking adorable, as usual. I particularly like that you can see his breath!

I LOVE THE SNOW!!! Can you tell?

He's a cutie.

This is my general feeling toward having my picture taken. Douglas was trying so hard to learn how to use my camera...I'm afraid I'm not a very good model.

The Falls Never Get Old

So Douglas and I just completed our annual Christmas trek on Monday. We drove to Nashville, TN and stayed with the in-laws for 2 days. Then we flew to Buffalo, NY to visit my family for a week. Then back to Nashville for 5 more days with the in-laws, followed by our drive back to Atlanta. Even though it's exhausting, I wouldn't trade this trip for anything. It's our fifth Christmas doing this vacation and I wouldn't have it any other way. Being around family and friends for the holidays is so priceless and we'll do what we have to do to make it happen!

Every year Douglas and I do our snow dance when we get to Buffalo. Atlanta's idea of snow is a few baby flurries that you have to see with a magnifying glass, whereas Buffalo is more like 2 feet of snow! So, to the dismay of my family, we cross our fingers for snow every time we visit. We didn't get too much snow this trip, just about 4 inches, but it was beautiful!!!! Douglas and I added to my family's annoyance when we not only wished for snow, but insisted on going to Niagara Falls in a sleet storm. Come on, it's tradition! We have to visit the falls every time we go to Buffalo and the magic never wears off. If you haven't been to see the falls, it's hard to explain how pretty they are. The photos don't do it justice, especially since it was sleeting and absolutely FREEZING!!! Just trying to take pictures was difficult and scary! The wind was so strong I worried my camera would fly away!

Here's Douglas and me at the falls. We were freezing, but loved every second!

And here are the falls...so pretty.

Real Life Stuffed Animal

I can totally see why Shih Tzus (in this case a Shih Tzu mix) are categorized as toy dogs. Not only is Lucy Louise a petite little girl, but she looks just like a toy stuffed animal. She bounces around, playing with her toys on the floor, completely unaware of how totally adorable she is. Even more adorable is her bond with her owner, Ryan. It's so obvious how much they love each other and it melts my heart! I love when rescue dogs find such a great forever home!

Baby Penelope: One Month Session

I just can't get enough of this little one. Baby Penelope is so sweet and was wide awake for her one month photo session. Just look at those eyes!

Notes From Santa

As soon as we woke up, Lou and I would run downstairs in our pajamas as fast as possible. We would turn the corner to see the living room transformed. The Christmas tree lights twinkled, Christmas songs played in the background, and presents surrounded the tree. Crumbs accompanied the yearly note we got from Santa thanking us for the milk, cookies, and carrots (for the reindeer, of course!). Although we are grown, Christmas will always be magical and the notes from Santa will always be loved!

Although we don't get to see Chloe on Christmas, I imagine she will look just as adorable on Christmas morning as she does below.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Cavie Cake

My friend Kori had a birthday last week and since she loves her pups so much I made her a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel birthday cake.

Jackson, her dog, was the inspiration for the cake. They sort of resemble each other, except I think the cake also looks a bit like a bunny!

Happy Birthday Dad!

When Douglas and I go to Buffalo, NY in a few weeks, we will stay in my parents' guest bedroom and we'll see my dad's guitar sitting in the corner. My dad has always loved music, as you can tell by the below picture! As usual, when I see his guitar over the holidays, memories will flood back to sitting around the living room while he strummed away singing "Blackbird" by the Beatles. My sister, Lou, and I would trill along and ask to play a cord or two, but would inevitably fail miserably. We would sit around in our pajamas singing and laughing until bedtime. Although my family isn't perfect, to me these moments were perfect and will always be perfect. When I think of some of my fondest childhood memories, the image of my family sitting around and singing to Beatles songs warms my heart. Thank you, dad, for giving me and Lou this memory that will always be cherished. I hope you have a wonderful birthday full of even more fond memories.

Leaning Tower of Crepes

I poured...and I flipped...and I stacked...for almost an hour! Sometimes it's true that good things are worth waiting for (and working for). When my one of my closest friends, Ryan, suggested that we make a crepe cake to help celebrate the move into his new house, I wasn't too sure what I was doing. Not only had I never made a crepe cake, but I had never heard of one either. It was a lot of work, but so worth it. The cake was about 25 crepes tall with a mascarpone cheese filling between each layer and then topped off with a nutella sauce. DELICIOUS!

A Reason to Call

She never misses a day. While I'm snuggling up in my pj's, my mom calls me every night just to say hello. We usually don't have any news, usually there is nothing new. We talk about our day and what we are making for dinner. We talk about how we miss each other and how we wish we lived in the same city. We chat about our family and her dog who is always getting into trouble. Our conversations are nothing to write home about, but I look forward to them every night. It makes me feel like even though my mom lives hundreds of miles away, we don't need a reason to talk and we don't need a reason to say I love you.

Today there is a reason to call my mom and a reason to say I love you. There is a reason for me to be thankful for everything my mother has done for me and the support she has given. Today is a day to tell her she is loved and appreciated more than she will ever know, because today is her birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom. I miss you and love you so much.

Baby Penelope: Newborn Session

A few posts ago I blogged about Liz & Chris’s maternity shoot. They were too cute and we had so much fun playing at the park! Well, a couple of weeks ago, they welcomed a new addition to their family! Meet baby Penelope! (How adorable is that name?!) She is the sweetest little baby and her hair is totally punk-rock. It is the prettiest shade of blonde/silver and sticks up all over the place….totally melts my heart. At only 8 days old, here are some of her first baby pictures. Man, I just want to pinch those little cheeks!