Thankful

I'm a little late with my Thanksgiving post, but what a great week last week was. I have so much to be thankful for in my life, and was extremely blessed that I got to spend our first Thanksgiving in our home together with family and friends!! It was so great having my Mom in town to help us celebrate! Though we missed and were thinking about those that we couldn't spend it with. I was sooo glad I got up early that morning to walk with Julie in the Turkey Trot 8k benefiting the MS Society (one that is very meaningful to our family), because after all the food I ate that day, it made me feel a little less guilty for indulging.

{preparing our first bird}

{the final product...so delish}

{table decor}

{Blair and her amazing pumpkin pie!!}

Furniture Shopping

Matt was finally given the "OK" by his doc to ditch the crutches and his leg brace just before Thanksgiving, so we decided to venture out of the house to search for furniture for our basement. We realized that it was time to part with the 30+ year old couch, and after drving up and down Glenwood Ave. (furniture haven here in Raleigh), we had success. After one loveseat, one coffee table, one ottoman and two chairs later...we called it a day! Here's some pics of the final product...minus carpet (that's next).

The Man Cave

Here is the finished product of our most recent house project...our basement!! It was only partially finished, and well, since Matt grew up in NJ almost all houses have basements. This is where he frequented most in his house. So, it quickly moved up top on his list of things to complete. I was a little skeptical because of what he was labeling it as....see title. However, I'm pretty much sure at this point as soon as we have a functioning TV, I'll be down there as well. And just ignore the awesome teal floors...they are getting replaced with carpet, hopefully this weekend!!

{BEFORE pics}



{AFTER pics...furniture & decorating is still left to be done}



{our little helper!}

Photography

So last week officially began a new venture in my life. I started my first PHOTOGRAPHY class! It's a six-week course at our local tech school, that will teach me some of the secrets to better photography. I'm so excited!

I have always LOVED pictures, and typically don't go anywhere without my camera. It's such a fabulous way of catching every special moment in your life and being able to reflect on that for years to come. I guess it's only been up until recently where I really started developing a fasicnation for it and looking at it through a whole different light. I have found myself spending a great deal of time browsing blog after blog to see the different techniques, all at the same time while trying to gain my own ideas and develop my personal style.

I sometimes look back at my life and think about the things I wish I would have done, and lately I've been looking ahead thinking about the things that I would like to do...and should do, because it's never too late.

I'm so ready and motivated to dig right into this new adventure I can hardly stand it. Stay tuned!! xo

I'm baaack...

and hopefully this time for good. Not quite sure why the long hiatus, but things have just been busy I guess. Everytime I sit down to write, I get side-tracked, so hopefully now it's been long enough that the creative juices will get flowing again :) Stay tuned as my most FAVORITE time of year is coming up...which means lots of pictures, recipes, fashion fixes, stories and holiday cheer to share! xo