audrey.

I still remember the day that my friend, Kelley, told me she was pregnant.  She was thrilled and so was I.  Kelley had dreamt of being a mom for as long as I could remember.  It was really important for her to experience the miracle of motherhood and I knew that she would be an amazing mom.  After all, this lady can bake anything from scratch, send a hand-written thank you note faster than you can blink and love to the moon and back.

Although Audrey didn't make her debut on her official New Year's Day due date, she arrived healthy and fashionably late 4 days later.  On January 5, 2013 Audrey Kelley was born.  Excitedly, Kelley and Jason shared photos of their little bundle of joy and to my amazement, she is more beautiful than I could have imagined.  I had the pleasure of meeting this lady at eight days old and already I can relate to her affection for tummy sleeping and her distaste for cold hands.  Expectedly strong willed, Audrey impressed me with her endless patience as I captured many photographs of her during my visit.  Luckily, we even got a smile out of her!

I love her already.

And of course, I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of my pal and Audrey's sis, Sydney.

published: Southern Weddings Volume 5

I have wanted to share this post for some time now but life has gotten busy.  However, as the inspiring Making Things Happen team shared with me this year - Done is better than Perfect.  So here goes...

Ben and I have worked really hard this past year and this week I had the opportunity to reflect on all of the things our little duo has accomplished during 2012.  Some of these accomplishments were the result of our 2012 goals and others came about through unexpected opportunities.  In my opinion, the unexpected opportunities often lead to our proudest accomplishments.  These opportunities arise because friends or colleagues, whether new or old, believe in you.

This year I had the great fortune to meet Lara Casey and the ladies of the Southern Weddings at the 2012 Making Things Happen Tour in Chapel Hill.  Instantly I felt connected to these women.  Individually and collectively, they are such a warm, talented and genuine group committed to what matters and preserving the best of Southern traditions.

One very hot August day I had the opportunity to assist the Southern Weddings gals and an impressively large crew of volunteers with the Family Heirlooms shoot, a wonderfully styled photo shoot which was published in the Southern Weddings V5 issue.  To keep the crew cool I brought a galvanized bucket full of mason jars filled to the brim with ice cold water and flavored with fresh citrus and herbs - more on that later.  The day was filled with an assortment of colorful tomatoes, a jolly blue grass band, dancing, laughing, bowties, sweet tea popsicles and lots of new friends!  In addition to all of the beautiful imagery, this entire experience was a labor of love and sheer pleasure.  In fact, that splendid day at Fearrington Village  felt like a family reunion where every single person had a good ol' time.

Below are some instagram shots taken with my iphone throughout the day.

For more inspiration, check out the Behind the Scenes Photos by Faith Teasley and Jenni Bailey  or via Southern Weddings here!

Wait, there's more!

Inspired by the mason jars on the Family Heirlooms set captured by Faith Teasley here,  the editorial titled "In Celebration of the Mason" was envisioned.  I had the opportunity to build the wall complete with cantilevered shelves and assist with the set for the Mason Jar Editorial as seen on pages 48-49 of the V5 issue.  Folks, with help from my husband I built this 4'x8' shelf in our quaint dining room!  It was such a pleasure to work with Faith Teasley whose photos grace the pages of this inspirational magazine and in particular, the In Celebration of the Mason editorial spread.  For more on Faith's perspective, check out her blog.  Finally Lara's mom, Celia Casey, included a beautifully written piece on her family's memories of the mason jar.

Below are behind the scenes photos that I captured from the day including a couple of images from the Surcee's shoot.

The entire day was such a treat!  I started the day driving an enormously large u-haul with the tarp flapping in the rain and I finished the day eating pie pops and reflecting on all of the memories made in a single day.

To top it all off, I  was able to attend the Southern Weddings V5 Launch Party in November.  This golden and glittery celebration contained so much goodness.  My favorites included old timey glass bottles of cheerwine (from good ol' Salisbury, NC), mini pies, a sweet tea bar and customized corn hole set.

To see more of this awesomeness in action and lots of silly Cheese Booth poses, visit the Southern Weddings V5 Launch Party recap here.

Last but not least, you can purchase your very own copy of the entire V5 issue in print here OR at your local grocery, pharmacy, or Target!

Seeing my personal work published in print was a dream and it happened in 2012.  Friends, you never know what opportunities are around the corner.  2013 is a brand new year, make it count!

asheville.

Last weekend we took a trip to Asheville with friends.

Below are a few highlights of our trip:

• I made a friend (who happened to be a 160 lb dog) while partaking in a wine tasting at the Misty Creek Winery.
• We attended the Alive after Five Event in Downtown Asheville and I had the opportunity to try out several local brews and eat the best organic pizza I have ever had.  Check these guys out: Rolling Stone Pizza Company.
• We rafted on the Nantahala River - our 4th time!  We had so much fun, even though the water was unusually cold.
• At the end of our trip I saw a beautiful butterfly, up close and personal.

Throughout the weekend I laughed a lot.  Laughter really is - good for the soul!

peach cobbler

I absolutely LOVE peach cobbler.

I LOVE the way it tastes, the way it smells, how it reminds me of Fourth of Julys spent with my family, and, most of all, all of the love that goes into making it.

I had high hopes of baking my very own peach cobbler this past 4th of July to share with my husband, of course.  Unexpectedly, I met my fate with the illness bug all over the Independence Holiday.  Fortunately for me, I can make cobblers, or anything for that matter, most anytime.  Anytime, this time, was last weekend when I decided to take the leap in honor of my father-in-law's birthday.

On Wednesday afternoon during lunch, I ventured downstairs from my office building to the downtown farmers' market to claim a crate of oversized peaches.  Since the peaches were not quite ripe by Thursday evening, I took the farmer's advice and placed all of the peaches into a brown paper bag to expedite the ripening process.  I was excited to find a bag of juicy peaches when I arrived home Friday afternoon.  Since the recipe for one cobbler only called for a total of two cups of peaches, I quickly realized that this bag of peaches could produce much more than one cobbler.  How exciting!

When I pondered what to do with another cobbler, I immediately thought of my husband and his co-workers who had spent the entire week working endless hours to prepare for the upcoming week's conference.  I started peeling right away and luckily finished both of the cobblers in time to deliver the first to his office along with a half gallon of vanilla ice cream to help power the team through Friday afternoon.  The second I delivered as an unconventional birthday dessert later Friday evening while visiting my in-laws.  Fortunately for me, after a celebratory dinner out I was able to enjoy the savory goodness of cobbler that I had look forward to so much.

dig in.

road trip [as seen in black+white]

During a recent road trip, destined to celebrate my dad's birthday, my sister was kind enough to drive while I experimented with my camera in the backseat. What started as a session intended to re-familarize myself with with my camera and callibrate my creative focus turned into an opportunity to document the experience of our journey.  Although I did not take care to photograph every detail of our trip, including the many snacks consumed along our journey, looking at these photos transports me back to the promise of that Friday afternoon.  Most everyone can relate to a similar experience and the emotions aroused by a car stuffed to the brim with snacks for sustenance, a navigation device clutched in one hand, and upbeat songs cued back to back.  For me, the anticipation and excitement of getting away for a weekend to enjoy the simple pleasures of life - like quiet morning walks, coffee on the porch, and watching the sunset - is worth remembering.  May we never get too busy to remember the good times, too.

For those of you with a vacation in your future, breathe it in and savor every minute.

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