dc weekend

riding the escalator up from the metro
we ate lunch outside of bread & chocolate
brookie took a great one of jen and i!
brookie & jen at the captiol
it was a gorgeous day

we walked forEVER
only to find that the washington monument wasn't really that big...
until we got close to it : )
the world war II memorial was amazing...



jen and brooks in front of honest abe
jen and brookie on the metro ride home!

We had an amazing day on the National Mall! I think we must have walked over 6 miles (in flip flops no less), but it was worth it. In one day we managed to shop the artists' booths at Eastern Market, walk to the Capitol, and see most of the major monuments in the DC area. For me, the most interesting of the day was the World War II Memorial. Being the newest monument on the block, I had yet to see it. I was amazed at all the thought and detail that went into it. It truly was a place for people to gather and remember. I carted the camera around, as Jen practiced her best "DC tour guide" act...of which I'm sure there will be many repeat performances.

Thank you again to Jen for being such a great hostess! Can't wait to come back : )

alexandria here we come : )

brooke, jen and i decided to get a little dressed up for our night out in old town alexandria!
get ready, cuz here we come!
we are just so silly...
jen's house warming gift!

This past weekend was a blast! It started with a drive up to Alexandria, VA to visit Jen and her family in their new home. On the ride up, during one of our many phone calls,  Jen and I realized that we hadn't seen each other in almost 6 weeks! I think that is a record since we've known each other (a record that was ready to end). The Wilson's new home was beautiful (of course...Jen couldn't make it any other way), and perfect for their new lifestyle. I brought a small addition of my own, a painting that I had made for their living room. The birds in the painting have special meaning to Jen and I, and brown and orange just happen to be our favorite colors, so it was meant to be for this to end up on their wall. 

I was so excited to see Jen, Caden, Scot and Brooke that it would have been a fabulous weekend no matter what, but we ended up doing all kinds of fun things to make it even better. The photos above are a few shots Scot took of us before the three of us girls headed out for dinner in Old Town Alexandria. We hit up a yummy Thai restaurant called Mai Thai, and then grabbed ourselves a Starbucks before walking along the Potomac. We found a bench and gabbed until the parking garage was about to close (I think I did a little too much talking....ha ha), and then headed home to chat and giggle some more. It was a perfect evening!

Stay tuned for pics of day two...sight seeing in DC!

my favorite 2009 senior...take 2!

one of brookie's favorite things is her purses!
surrounded by her favorite things...a "prada" purse i passed on to her a couple years ago
love it!
born and raised on dublin dr.






So, the benefit of your cousin being a photographer, is you can have as many senior sessions as you want!  I love taking photos and I really love taking photos of my family, so it is GREAT that Brookie has a good excuse to take pictures! :)  We've been having so much fun the past couple of weeks taking pictures together, not too mention just hanging out.  I grabbed these shots while I was at home in Atlanta a couple weeks ago.  

my favorite 2009 senior!

love this shot with the sun in the background
we found this cool door in front of city hall
isn't she so pretty?!! :)






one of my favorites!





gotta love the shoes...
i'm in LOVE with this shot!!


getting dirty...

I CANNOT believe that Brooke (or "Brookie" as she will always be to me) is going to be a senior!  It doesn't seem that long ago, Brooke was the little flower girl in my wedding and now she is "all growed up"!  Being the fabulous cousins that we are, we never have a dull moment when we are hanging out.  Brookie comes to stay with me at least twice a year and I always hate to see her leave.  We headed out to Old Town Alexandria tonight to get some senior shots and we had a BLAST!  We started the session by raiding my closet and putting together a pretty rockin' outfit, if I do say so myself. :)  We walked around and found some cool spots to get some shots and enjoyed everyone commenting on Brookie's sparkly dress.  Of course, this is only round 1 of her senior session.  Brooks is coming into town to hang out with us this weekend & we will definitely be getting some more shots.  We already have the outfit picked out!  Love you, Brookie and I hope you like your pictures!  Can't wait to see how the next ones turn out!!! 

a day in seattle

garrett and i are in our favorite bakery...la panier : ) i LOVE their macaroons.
post alley...the home of theater sports and the amazing GUM WALL...garrett looks pretty cool
we decided to leave our mark (and germs) behind!
i just think this colorful little piece of signage looks neat
 i always thought these looked like dinosaurs when i was growing up
the ORIGINAL starbucks in pike place market...this is where the addiction began!
pike place blend in pike place market (how cute)!
garrett in the fountain at westlake : )
i like how the water made a "window" for the windows : )

So, this is my final post about my fantastic trip to Seattle. I have stretched it out as far as I possibly could...as is very evident if you scroll down the blog!

This post is about an afternoon I spent with my dear friend Garrett. Garrett and I have known each other for more than 7 years now! We met in art school. Actually he sat by me at orientation, which I remember because I was mortified (I wanted to be invisible and he was being so loud and outgoing everyone kept looking our way), and he does not remember because...well...I guess he was too busy being outgoing and loud! Long story short, throughout our 2 years at the Art Institute and the time that followed Garrett and I forged a friendship that will last a lifetime. He is truly an inspirational person in my life. Garrett is an amazing and talented  graphic designer (check out his website here), he cares deeply about his family, he is dedicated to personal growth, and he has a sense of humor, style, and taste that is to be admired! He brings little lovely gifts into my world like hilarious laughter, interesting websites & books, unique new music, and shops & boutiques that carry anything but the mainstream. Garrett's friendship is a valued treasure in my life.

On our afternoon (we couldn't break tradition), we had to hit downtown Seattle to revisit our "youth." We walked through Pike Place Market, ate lunch at a French Cafe, then travelled over to one our favorite haunts from school La Panier for some delicious treats! Along the way we saw the sights, shared laughs and stories, and caught up on the last year or so. Later that evening we all got together with friends, including Garrett's beautiful girlfriend Shauna (who I was so happy to meet!), to go out for dinner and dancing to some awesome 80's tunes! It was a great "last day" home.

Stay tuned for some pics of Jen and I in VA this coming weekend! I am so excited to see her, her family, her new place, and all off it! You can be sure the cameras will be on the whole time. : )