101 in 1001: #59 Visit Stan Hywet at Christmas.12.31.11

As a kid, I was obsessed with Christmas! According to my grandma, I would “practice” getting up on Christmas morning weeks before the actual day took place. Like I said: obsessed.

I vividly remember visiting Stan Hywet as a little girl and being swept up in the magic of the holiday. For those of you not familiar with this Akron mansion, it was built between 1912 and 1915 by F.A. Seiberling, the man who founded The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. This house is unbelievable—not a detail was forgotten—and it’s especially unbelievable at Christmas. So many lights and trees and decorations.

Now that we’re in Northeast Ohio, I’ve wanted to take Nathan to all these spots I remember from childhood, including Stan Hywet. Although I was NOT prepared for the crowds (it took us hours to get through 10ish rooms … be warned if you decide to go next Christmas!), I did love reminiscing. And the magic of the holiday was still there between those walls.

 

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Home at Last12.28.11

Pssst …

Hey, guess what?

That key up there …

… goes to this house here. And the key is on MY key chain! Nathan and I officially own a darling 1940s colonial. I love it.
And, I can’t stop smiling. :D

Once we got our keys we had our first dinner in the house, complete with champagne. Being the super fancy people we are, we chose to eat Wendy’s and drink a $7 bottle of champagne. Hey, we have a mortgage now!

But seriously, we’re both so, so thankful that we are able to call this house ours. Although we saved and saved and saved for our “one-day house,” now that it’s here we can hardly believe the key is in our hand. As we sat on the floor and made our way through salty fries and sweet champagne, we talked about plans for the house—what would go where, the best paint color for in there—and my heart was so full. Sometimes there are no words to describe how incredibly thankful I am  for the life I live every day; it just feels right. And I know what an unbelievable blessing that is.

I’m so excited to share our house with you, faithful readers. Stay tuned for before-and-after pictures as we slowly make this place cute and cozy!

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Merry Christmas!12.25.11

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101 in 1001: #19 Upgrade my camera.12.22.11

I just have one thing to say:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! :)

I’ve upgraded my camera to the Canon 5D Mark II! I’ve been thinking about this for awhile and the time has officially come.

Allow me to be a camera dork for a minute … the biggest difference between the Canon 30D (my “old” [now back-up] camera) and the 5D Mark II is the ISO capabilities, or the camera’s light sensitivity. On my old camera, ISO 640 was just about as high as I could get (meaning I need more light sensitivity because I’m shooting in low light) without the grain getting really bad. On the new camera, I can shoot at ISO 1600 (SO high!) with hardly any grain. So crazy.

Can you see the difference? These are straight out of the camera and were both shot at the same settings (ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/30).

And, here’s the zoom so you can see the grain.

OK, dorkiness over! :) Can’t wait to use the new camera this upcoming wedding season!

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101 in 1001: #9 Join the [b]School.12.20.11

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about 2012 business goals. It’s exciting and overwhelming at the same time. But mostly exciting. :) There’s so many things swimming around in my head, it’s going to be hard to narrow the ideas down to a manageable number. But I’m gonna do it, and I’m gonna share them with you all so I will be held accountable. Get ready!

Before that though, I have some other end-of-the-year posts to get out there … starting with another 101 in 1001 check mark! I wanted to join the [b]School to help with my networking. The [b]School is a social network for professional photographers, and so far I’ve only been on like … two … times. So, I’ve technically joined; now I just have to learn to utilize it. Stay tuned for my 2012 goals for that one!

And in case you’re in need of a little inspiration as we near year’s end, check out this awesome photography blog, Ground Glass, that’s actually great for non-photographers too. My friend Leah sent me this post about how to love what you do. I am absolutely amazed by people who can take a complex, overwhelming concept and break it down into beautiful, relatable, encouraging writing.

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First Snow.12.17.11


“When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I’ll know I’m growing old.”

—Lady Bird Johnson

 

 

 

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101 in 1001: #69 Take a class at the YMCA.12.14.11

OK, all you spinners. I don’t know how you do it. I consider myself fairly in shape, but spinning? It’s pretty hardcore.

When I was looking at the classes our YMCA offered, I was, quite honestly, looking for “pretty easy.” On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the hardest), I thought a class that was a 4 would do the job. I wanted a workout but I didn’t want to be in extreme pain afterwards.

Believe it or not, I am one of those people who actually doesn’t mind working out. Having done gymnastics most of my life, I’m used to physical activity, but gymnastics is so much different than going to the gym and riding a bike for half an hour. I learned that pretty quickly in college. Gymnastics was fun! We got to flip, jump and dance for three hours. Pedaling a stationary bike on the other hand was not quite the same.

But I did it. In college, I made that kind of working out a priority because I knew I wouldn’t always do gymnastics. And once it became a habit, I didn’t mind it! It was still a release, even if I wasn’t flipping.

Still though, I generally do no more than 30 minutes of cardio (on a good day!) so spinning for 50 minutes sounded pretty intense. And it was. My lovely friend Branden, who agreed to accompany me to the class, can attest to that. But guess what? I’ve gone back three times! And THAT’S what my 101 list is all about. Getting out of my box and creating new, better habits that will hopefully stick.

That being said, I’m still jealous of you hardcore spinners who sit in the front row and pedal faster on FULL resistance than I can on, uh, ZERO. Maybe one day …

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Our First Christmas Tree + Dark Chocolate Pistachio Bark12.11.11

Ahhhh, the smell of pine is in the air, which means that our first Christmas tree has made it’s arrival! It’s a bit quirky with too few lights and a lopsided lean, but it definitely makes our first Christmas as a married couple extra cozy and festive.

And, just because I know you might be looking for a new holiday recipe, here’s a super easy yet fantastic one: dark chocolate pistachio bark. Nathan and I brought it to a Christmas party last night and ate all the leftovers today. So good! (P.S. Thanks to Nathan for taking these pictures of me “cooking.” He’s already ready for his second shooting role next year. :) )

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The In-Between House.12.07.11

Our wedding countdown was at T-7 days as we drove away from Cincinnati up 71 N towards Cleveland. It was a beautiful, blue-sky day, and driving to an unfamiliar place made it hard to believe that in a week we’d be married. It felt more like we were on vacation.

It’s really kind of crazy how everything fell into place. It still seems like one of those pinch-yourself situations. Nathan got the job and we found a place to live just days before tying the knot and jetting off to Hawaii for our honeymoon.

On that day we headed north on 71, we had planned  a whirlwind afternoon of looking at temporary living arrangements with a friend of my boss’ (shout out to Greg Erlanger and the EZ Sales Team at Keller Williams!). Our goal was purely to find a place to live for a couple months while we looked at houses, and after picking a cute duplex mainly by a game of eenie, meenie, miney, mo, we felt at ease that we had a roof over our heads for the next six months.

I didn’t think about the fact, however, that this would be our very first place together. That even if it was just another bump on the road to owning our first house (because isn’t that what comes after marriage … a house?), it was a BIG bump and one that I shouldn’t take for granted. I tend to get caught up in the milestones and sometimes forget to stop and appreciate life in the in between.

So, here is our in-between house. I know this won’t mean much to a lot of you, but like Katelyn James says, this blog is a scrapbook of my life as much as it is part of my business. So, please bear with me and our very bare duplex. I know it doesn’t look like much, but it means a lot to us.

Now that we’re on our way to owning our very first house (yes, I got my milestone), I know this duplex will always hold a special place in our hearts. I hope that when we drive past it in five, 10, even 50 years, we become awash with all the good emotions that come with a first place.

Haha, we got this canvas made of one of our favorite wedding pictures, and even though we’re starting to pack again, I insisted Nathan hang it even though it looks ridiculous on that wall all by itself.

Please notice what we eat for dinner when Nathan is in charge.

The master bedroom.

The guest bedroom that serves as Nathan’s makeshift man cave … doesn’t it look like it? Haha! (P.S. What do you do with your childhood stuffed animals when you get married?)

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Creative Juices: Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson12.05.11

I absolutely love this time of year: a nip in the air, cookies baking in the oven, the chance to see family and friends, hot tea and a good book, Christmas movies on TV … you get my drift. I’m definitely a Christmas girl.

I wasn’t officially in the Christmas spirit though until I drove back to Cleveland from Cincinnati last week and listened (OK, sang along) to three (THREE!) hours of Christmas music. And since I was listening to the radio that meant four Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeers, two Rockin’ Around the Christmas Trees and five All I Want for Christmas is Yous.

While I love all those songs, it’s definitely nice to change it up with some non-traditional holiday music, and that’s what I have for you today! If you don’t already have it, you might consider downloading The Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs album. Along with Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, it features holiday music by Lenka, KT Tunstall, Priscilla Ahn and so many other awesome female singers!

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