Bitten by the Craft Bug

This past Saturday my friend and former roommate, Kari, and I went shopping.  I was ONLY going to return a few items and try not to spend any money.  Key word: try.  However, I was bitten by the craft bug while on our little shopping trip.  Sometimes, I get these random sperts of craftyness (if that's a word) and want to make stuff.  Nothing EVER comes out the way I have it pictured in my head.  I am the least creative person....ever.  My mom is an artist and can draw or paint anything! She is so amazing and I didn't get an ounce of that talent. I decided I wanted to make Valentines cards.  The funny part is that I HATE Valentines day but I needed an excuse to make some personalized gifts while playing with glitter.... :)  I made cards for all the little kiddos in my life that I love along with my grandmother and roommate (we always gave each other Valentine's day cards in college).  Here's how they turned out and like I said, things never turn out the way I think they will.

My supplies....A few heart stickers, red glitter, glue pen, sticker perals, cardstock, sharpies, and envelopes.

Card in the making.

My first two cards.  I love Trae's! He will probably blush and say "no" when his mom reads it to him. Haha!
Gotta love 4 year old boys!

Finished!

Ashlee Culverhouse....My Photography Friend

Before I left on my trip to Paris this summer, I wanted to have some fun pictures done of my brother and I.  We have so many professional pictures where we are posed and dressed up that I wanted to have some made capturing our relationship and personalities.  My brother and I are really close and being away from him for 5 weeks was going to be hard.  I figured if I had some recent pictures of us with me, I would at least have something funny to look at when I was missing him.  They were also a surprise for my mom.  I gave them to her right before I left for my trip and she loved them (of course)!
Ashlee Culverhouse took these amazing pictures.  These are just a few of my favorites.  She is a student at UGA majoring in photo journalism and is seriously one of the best photographers I know!  I love looking at her work and will treasure these pictures forever.

Tyler and Amanda {Engaged!}

A few weeks ago, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I shot an engagement session with Tyler and Amanda.  Amanda and I have been friends for years and I was so excited when she contacted me about doing her engagement/wedding pictures!  Tyler has a son, Hunter, from a previous relationship.  He made an appearance in some of their photos.  He was shy at first but warmed up quickly and was so cute!
These pictures were taken in Eastman at my Uncle David and Aunt Debbie's beautiful farm.  Tyler and Amanda will be getting married April 2, 2011 in Fernandina, Fl.  Here are a few of my favorites from our fun afternoon....

Santa Clause Came to See Me!

I am 24 years old and for 24 years, Santa Clause has come to our house every Christmas without fail. When my brother and I were younger, Santa Clause would stop by our house after the Christmas Eve service at church.  He would come in with a few presents for each of us (I later found out my mom would sit them outside the front door for him to scoop up) and we would sit on his lap and rattle off things we wanted him to bring.  Before he would leave he would tell us, "Rudolph won't stop if you're awake!".  Of course my brother and I would race up the stairs and jump in bed.  I always enjoy watching home videos of those special nights when we were little. On Christmas morning there are always presents wrapped under the tree and gifts set out like Santa Clause brought them.  I LOVE the fact that my mom still does this for us! I am the type of person that wants to stay a kid forever and hate when things change because I'm not.  My mom still video tapes us walking in the room to see our stuff and takes pictures of us tearing into our presents.  She is an excellent Santa and mother!
I always enjoy hearing about what Santa brought my friends, so I thought I would share with you a few things I recieved. This was a great Christmas!



Patagonia fleece pullover

Coach Perfume

My new "baby"! Ha!




Coach wallet



An external harddrive so I can keep my laptop from crashing
with all my photography nonsense

This came from Two Friends in downtown Perry.
It has been so interesting and has given me a lot of ideas about
how to be a great bridesmaid!

It FINALLY happened! I'm a BRIDESMAID!!!

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a bridesmaid. I was a flowergirl several times as a child and always had fun dressing up and being apart of the brides big day. There is a feeling I have that I can't describe when I see the bride's closest friends walk down the aisle before her.  It says she loves them so much she couldn't imagine the most important day of her life without them by her side.  It means so much to me that someone would think of me as a friend such as this. I have not been asked to be in one wedding this upcoming year, but TWO!
On June 18th 2011, I will have the honor of being a bridesmaid of Trisha Thomas'.  She is marrying my first cousin, Tyler Connell.  This will be the first grandchild to get married on my mother's side of the family.  I am the only girl of 5 grandchildren.  My cousins and I are really close so it is extra special to me to be apart of Tyler's wedding. Trisha and I have become great friends since they started dating over a year ago.  The 3 of us even went on a trip to Fernandina Labor Day weekend.  It was great bonding time.  On the way down, we stopped at Cedar Lane in McRae to eat dinner. This is where Trisha asked me to be a bridesmaid.  The whole resturant knew what was going on before we left because when she asked me I jumped up from my seat and hugged her neck and couldn't control my excitment! I really embarrassed Tyler but it was a big day for me!  Especially since it is always something I have wanted to experience.  Trisha and Tyler will get married on the beach in Fernandia.  This will be the first beach wedding I have ever attended.  I am thrilled!

Trisha and I at an engagement party.

My cousin, Tyler, and Trisha

On July 30 2011, I will stand at the alter next to one of my lifelong friends, Sarah Lamar.  Everytime I think of this day I start to tear up.  I can't imagine what I will be like during the actual ceremony! Haha! Sarah and I are the same age and grew up being pushed around Hawkinsville in strollers by our nanny's.  We have pictures together when we were kiddos, at that awkward middle school age, at our Baccalaureate's service as seniors in high school, and then of course college. My dad gave her the nickname, "Sarah G", when we were kids.  Her brother's name is R.G. so maybe that's where he got that from.  For some reason, it stuck and Sarah has always been my "Sarah G"! Even though we are the same age, Sarah is one of my role models.  She is such a great christian girl who has always had a good head on her shoulders.  She is an R.N. in Birhingham, AL with her own house, car, and now fiance! How accomplished can you get at 24?!  Sarah sent all of her bridesmaids a cute poem printed on floral stationary that read, "Im engaged as you've heard, I suppose now I have something to propose! This is what I'm trying to say, will you be my bridesmaid on my big day?" I basically went nuts (suprise)! Sarah is getting married in Young Harris, Ga at the Brasstown Valley Resort.  It will be great to have a whole weekend of wedding festivities!

The day after her engagment!

I Did It!

I am the worst at technology! My moto is, "I hate computers and they hate me!"  I just learned what a blog was a couple of months ago. Haha!  I thought they were useless and just another form of wasting your life away (ex: facebook). But, after reading a few of my friends blogs, I changed my mind.  I thought it would be a fun way to document my life instead of writing in a boring journal (which I have never done but always said I would).  I have put off making a blog though b/c I figured it would be somewhat hard since I am so terrible with these things. Turns out...it was a piece of cake!  I know I share pictures with everyone on facebook but blogging will give me a chance to elaborate more on my travels, experiences, and projects unlike facebook.  I can't wait to set aside some time to get my blogging going! So, lets keep our fingers crossed this thing runs smoothly so I won't accumulate more grey hairs than I already have! Ha!