sneak. peek.

infant photography.the wonderful family that i am babysitting for this summer kindly let me practice my photography skills on their precious boy. i love infants and photography, so it was really fun combining the two. i am really excited about the pictures from my first photo shoot. it helps when the model is adorable and so fun! more to come.

my fave towels.

i have to give credit to my mom.  she introduced me to these girls when i was registering for our wedding.  the brand is royal velvet and they are called the duet towels.  you can find them at good ole bed, bath, and beyond.  they are super soft and absorbent and come in an array of colors.  what more can you ask for in a towel?  so if you are in the market for some new towels, check these out!

blondies are more fun

for the cookout on friday night i decided to try out some blondies.  i am a huge fan of them, but had never ventured to the lighter side of sweets.  the best part about blondies is that they are part brownie, part cookie. hence some people categorizing them as "brookies".  someone once said "brookie.  i am sweet like a cookie, but have the ability to go nuts like a brownie".  if you know where that came from, you are probably laughing your head off right now. 

anyways, free time of friday led to creating some blondies.  i found a recipe off of bakerella's website and modified it a bit. 

here is what you'll need.

• 2 3/4 cup of flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup butter, softened {not melted!}
• 2 cups light brown sugar {= 1 lb}
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1  1/4 cups butterscotch chips {i didnt' really measure, i just poured in a lot}
• 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips {again, just eye it}

what to do.

*i did all of this by hand.  consistency will be quite different if done with a mixer.  work out those arms instead!

1. Stir brown sugar into softened butter in a large bowl {until butter is gone} 
2. Add eggs one at a time and stir well.
3. Mix in vanilla and chips
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Sift the dry ingredients into the first bowl with the sugar mixture.
6. Coat a 13 x 9 pan with spray/oil and spread batter out evenly.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden.

yum. enjoy!

cook out.

i love when friends look so much a like that they could almost be sisters.  this is my one and only picture from the davis' cookout. must mean i like y'all :) so good to see you beautiful ladies!

my new lip obsession. 

i am typically a burt's bees that's all i need girl, but i am in love with something new.  brace yourself ladies, it's a lipstick! when i hear the word 'lipstick' i definitely think of an older generation.  lipstick is supposed to be dry and get stuck on your teeth.  oh how i have seen the light! i was perusing the aisles of ulta, coupon in hand, trying to find a pale pink lip for the summer.  i gravitated towards one of my favorite brands, two faced.  it is a line from london {of course} and i currently use one of their blushes called "georgia peach".  i started at the lip glosses, but i am not a huge fan of them because of their stickiness and how gloppy they can feel on my lips {hence why i typically stick with burts}.  then i glanced at the lipsticks and found their line called "lip of luxury". okay. i read on and it said "A luxe champagne-infused lipstick".  i was hooked.  i choose the color "free love" and it is the perfect pale pink for my lips.  it was kinda pricey, but since the only make up i have bought in the last 4 years lip wise has been a couple tubes of chapstick, i decided it would be worth it.  i am so glad that i bought this! it is so light and smooth and i have loved wearing it.  if you don't have an ulta near you, you can also find two faced products at sephora and online at their website.  

the lipstick in action

Vote for Marian!

my dear friend marian has applied to have a show on oprah's new network, "own" {the oprah winfrey network. how perfect}  marian has a wonderful idea to do a sports show geared toward woman.  marian would be great at this, and she has an idea that would be a hit! so vote for her!

click here to vote for marian!  

Our Weekend in Savannah

for our one year anniversary, we spent the weekend in beautiful savannah, georgia.  neither of us had been there before, so we were very excited about exploring a new place together. we left the city on friday afternoon and spent two nights at the olde savannah inn in the gorgeous bellevue room. neither of us had ever stayed at a b&b before, and we could not have asked for a better first experience! kathleen, the owner of the olde savannah inn was so welcoming and her breakfasts were unbelievable.  on sunday morning she made us homemade blueberry pancakes topped with her amazing whipped cream, maple glazed bacon, and fresh fruit.  unreal.  the decor of the b&b was perfectly balanced with victorian charm and luxurious comfort.  her english garden was in full bloom and the parlor was always stocked with giant chocolate chip cookies.  i felt like i was in europe and in another time period...both of which i dream about. 

we spent friday evening strolling the cobblestone roads of enchanting savannah.  we stopped in the savannah candy shop for some taffy {one of our favs} and then went to the six pence pub.  hello london! it was a precious pub with a red phone booth outside and displays of british china on the inside.  

saturday after breakfast we headed over to tybee island for the morning.  it was fun to drive around and see what tybee island was all about.  unfortunately boca grande has spoiled us with it's charm and peacefulness, so tybee didn't really do much for us.  so, we headed back to savannah for lunch.  

yeah tybee island..

when we got back to savannah we rented a vespa for the day, which was so much fun and the best way to see savannah.  parking is tricky in savannah, so it was great having the vespa and being able to park it anywhere!  we rode that thing around for hours and enjoyed lunch at the goose feathers cafe' and went into some fabulous shops.  my favorites were the paris market, terra cotta, and the kitchen on the square!

for dinner we celebrated at garibaldi cafe.  it was very yummy and tyler had a local bakery remake the top of our wedding cake.  the original was disgusting after a year {go figure} so we were glad to have a fresh cake to enjoy.  

sunday was such a sweet day!  we watched our wedding video and looked at our wedding album, reflecting on that day and this past year.   we were so sad to leave the olde savannah inn and all that charm.  i guess we will just have to go back!

love & marriage

 happy one year anniversary, love.

pretty zinnias

yesterday, i drove to auburn for work and squeezed in a little visit with our friends the harts.  they have been gardening this summer and their zinnias are amazing!!! luckily i had my camera with me, so i was able to snap a few shots of their beautiful blooms. enjoy :)

rainy afternoon

i love a good thunderstorm on a summer afternoon.  growing up in florida, they came like clockwork every day.  summer afternoon thunderstorms are so perfect to me.  you spend the morning at the pool and the rain comes in the afternoon to cool everything off.  then it's time for a movie or an afternoon nap.  summer days. how i love thee.  i spent today's rainy afternoon reading and journaling and then spent some time on the porch. how glorious.

pretty porch

 birdie friend staying out of the rain

new blooms

my new favorite o.p.i. color: dulce de leche

i have been in love with o.p.i. ever since i was old enough to have my mom paint my nails.  the names are so fun and the quality is amazing.  i dream of collecting all of the fabulous colors and displaying them in my bathroom one day.  if you are in the market for the perfect neutral nail for summer, "dulce de leche" is your girl.

happy b-day, ty

let me begin by saying i love birthdays.  i once took a personality test and the first feedback that it gave me was that i was the "keeper of birthdays". it was a little freaky. how did they know about my passion for celebrating birthdays? {haha} 

growing up birthdays were a huge deal to me {who are we kidding, they still are}.  in my family, it wasn't just a day, it was called "birthday week".  and sometimes it even evolved into "birthday month".  with so much different family and people to celebrate with, sometimes we would just have to drag it out.   

tyler, on the other hand doesn't get into birthdays as much.  maybe after a few years of marriage my enthusiasm will rub off on him...we'll see. 

anyways, {tangent} june 10th has arrived.  tyler's birthday is always fun for me to celebrate, because it reminds me of the different events of our relationship.  when i met him, he was a mere nineteen {i was eighteen. baby} and we were at camp.  we had become good friends, and i remember hearing that his birthday was the upcoming weekend.  his birthday?! because i was in the early stages of a crush, i panicked.  i had to do something nice for him...but without being OBVIOUS.  i had some extra stationary, so i decided to make him a birthday card.  i had all of the other workcrew girls sign it, so not to give away my crush.  

crazy times at camp

by the time his next birthday rolled around, we had been dating long distance for almost a year and he was studing abroad in London.  now i could do something big.  he knew that i liked him, so need need to worry about freaking him out. right? so what did i do? flew to England a week early before my study abroad began to surprise him on his big birthday.  never been to Europe before, but how hard could this be?  it was quite a journey over the pond to get the most priceless reaction from him.  he opened the door to his flat and was so shocked he shut the door on my face. hilarious.  by the grace of God and lots of prayer, everything worked out beautifully.

fresh off the plane

now he is twenty-four and we are married. crazy how time flies by.  there were no huge surprises this year, just a sweet day of celebrating him.  i got to have lunch with him at CNN and go on a little tour of his office and then have a lovely dinner with him at the amazing Agave.  and what would a birthday be without cake?  i whipped up the red velvet cake for him and doused it with birthday sprinkles {thank you katie for keeping me company through that fun process!}.   

happy birthday, tyler!

the finished product.

so many candles. and sprinkles.

make a wish :)

yummy layers {i did 5 this time!}

Life in The City

we are in the a-t-l and are loving it {so far}! for the first few weeks of summer we are house sitting and get to live in this:

i don't start work until next week, so this week i have enjoyed playing in this amazing house! watering the garden, doing laundry, planning for tyler's birthday, baking, cooking, grocery shopping, hanging out with friends, and getting to know atlanta.  everyone has beautifully blooming hydrangeas and the neighborhood has a look out point where you can watch the sunset.  there is also a pool and workout facility.  unbelievable.