Fall Inspiration! Herb and Flower Arrangements
The Wall Street Journal is providing some awesome fall inspiration, and this one, of many caught my eye! It sounds delicious and beautiful all at once, to have the fragrant herbs and flowers to create a beautiful home arrangement!
WSJ: Herb & Flower Arrangements - "Mint and basil are flowering, autumn is releasing its early blooms—now is the moment to combine them. New York flower expert Nicolette Owen explains the basic steps."
For details about how to make the pictured arrangement read on!
Mint and Lavender + Pom-Pom Dahlias + Grass
Step One: Start with a slightly asymmetrical base of greens. We used flowering mint. Leave some stems nice and tall so the arrangement will be taller than the pitcher. Step Two: Place your large showy blooms throughout the base of greens. We used pom pom dahlias. Play with the directions of the "face" of the flowers so they are not all looking the same way. Step Three: Finish the arrangement with a bold gesture of grass to balance the shape of the pitcher. Sprinkle little sprigs of flowering lavender throughout to add some extra fragrance.Click here to view "The Off Duty Fall 50"
I'll definitely post a pic when I get the opporunity to make my own arrangement!
Brother Kane Chips Now Available Online!
One of Paul's client's, Brother Kane, is now selling chips online! Jim Kane Sr. and Jim Kane Jr. have been long-time customers of my parent's at The UPS Store in Dacula, and have been working with Paul for design, photography, web design and more.
We were first introduced to Brother Kane peanuts, and they are AMAZING! They are some of the biggest, crunchiest and most flavorful peanuts you will find. Then they branched out even further with potato chips. And I honestly think they hit the nail on the head with these chips!
Paul and I absolutely LOVE Brother Kane Chips, but like so many others, have only been able to find them in varied vending locations and random grocery and gas stations. BUT NOW, they are online!!! We absolutely love these chips, specifically the Baby Back Ribs, Cracked Pepper, Jalapeno, and my absolute favorite Buffalo Wing Bleu Cheese!
You should definitely check them out, whether you decide to order online, or find them in your local store or vending machine, they are definitely worth it!
Sushi and Laughs for Biscuit's Birthday
For my Biscuit's (Monica's) birthday, we did it up with a fun-filled day and evening of good eats and laughs.
We started out the day with a trip to the Home Show with my Mother, Trey (my nephew) and Desi! It was a pretty good time once we got over to Cobb Galleria. We stopped into Buckhead Pizza Co. and Monica and I tried their Gluten Free Pizza - It was AWESOME!
Then we headed into the Home Show, and Desi got to meet her HGTV Curb Appeal Idol, John Gidding, as you can tell she was very happy and excited!
Then onto the evening at Zest Sushi and Tapas Bar in Roswell, GA. Monica LOVES sushi and made a point to me that she will have sushi for her birthday. It was actually a great place to start the evening as it had a great atmosphere, Tapas for those whom aren't fans of sushi, and awesome sushi! Everything was cooked, and seasoned to perfection, the presentation was top-notch! The atmosphere was warm and contemporary trendy. The entire package was amazing! Our meal started with calamari, pan seared scallops, lamb lollipops, spicy shrimp over mashed potatoes, dinner consisted of several delectable rolls of sushi, and we ended it with a chocolate soufflé and cheesecake! Don't worry we shared it with 8 super cool people! Everything was absolutely phenomenal! We were all very satisfied with this great restaurant.
From the restaurant we moved to Andretti, unfortunately not for racing, but for a comedy show! Funny Farm Comedy Club has moved their shows to Andretti, and the new location was not quite what I expected, but the comedians and show more than made up for that! We saw Pat Dixon, someone we haven't seen before, but definitely would check out again. He was hilarious, with his dry humor and wit! You should definitely check him out!
Overall I think the Biscuit Birthday was a success, doesn't she look happy? Awww I love my Biscuit! Happy Birthday baby
Super Cool New FaceBook Timeline Developer Release! Check it out!
This is a super cool new Timeline Developer Release! You have to set it up to be able to view FaceBook in a timeline format. Only those that set this up can see other's Facebook in this format.
It's really cool! You can hone in on certain dates in the timeline to see pictures, posts and comments, etc. Definitely worth checking out! Click Here to access details about set-up...
Medabolic Recent Program is a Success!
Following the HC3 Trim program, we continued the process moving into the Metabolic Reset Program in which we continued taking supplements, and maintained a low-fat, low calorie diet (1200 calories for me and up to 1500 calories for Paul).
I had read a lot of blogs and general information and my biggest fear going into those next three weeks was the fact that most people seemed to struggle to keep the weight off even eating 1200 calories and exercising. I was so happy with the results from the HC3 Trim, and definitely didn't want to be back in a position where I was struggling to keep the weight off. We weren't supposed to lose or gain more than 3 lbs over the three weeks. Honestly Paul and I both wanted to lose more during this time because we both have around 10-15 more lbs we would like to lose. Either way, we went into the program hoping for the best!
We had fluctuation in weight, but thankfully it was usually not more than a pound or two. We had the occasional slip, but generally have kept to the low-calorie diet. It was honestly a struggle to reach the 1200 calories for me, which seems surprising, but when you're not eating out all the time, it's really not hard to eat healthy and still feel full!
We have gotten through the three weeks of the Metabolic Reset, and it has absolutely been a success! I've been able to maintain, and even lose weight since the last weigh-in. This past meeting with Kelly at Optimum Health, she gave some more good advice. We are allowed to have cheat days (within reason and under certain restrictions) once a week.Those restrictions consist of three or more days of working out prior to the cheat day, limit carb intake to 10 carbs per meal excluding the "cheat meal." Seems pretty easy... I think we can handle that!
Kelly's analogy was based on taking a class, you won't fail a class if you do badly or even fail the occasional quiz, but if you fail a lot of quizzes, you will probably fail the class. When it comes to living and eating healthy, if you continue to stay on a good track, you will succeed, but if you allow those cheat days to happen too regularly, you will likely fall into an unhealthy lifestyle and fail...
Here's to continuing to drop weight and stay healthy! If we've done this well up until this point, I imagine we'll be able to continue!
Engagement Shoot in Downtown Norcross, GA
This past weekend we had a great shoot with Christine and Sean in downtown Norcross. It was a beautiful day, started out a little chilly and overcast, but the sun came out and it was a great day. We had a lot of awesome shots of this couple and they were very open to whatever. Downtown Norcross is such a great place for photography with multiple parks, a very cute downtown area and just an overall nostalgic and fun feel.
Here are some of our favorites! Oh and Paul was able to do some HDRs too... Click Here for the full gallery.
Can't wait for their wedding in November! It'll be quite the party!!
I LOVE Ray LaMontagne! & Kristin for Inviting Me to his Concert!
Some time back our friend Kristin Kneeland emailed me cause she decided to buy tickets to the Ray LaMontagne with Brandi Carlile show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA. Patrick, her husband, isn't big on Ray LaMontagne I guess, so I lucked out and I couldn't be happier!
Paul and I have LOVED his music for a long time, we even had our first dance at our wedding to "The Best Thing." Our first song together (when we started dating) was actually "Hold You In My Arms," but it was a little too slow for us to dance to at the wedding. We switched it up but still stuck with our common musical love of Ray!
Many people know him for his very popular "Trouble", but I think Paul's all-time favorite of his is "Jolene." Oh and another good one, I absolutely love is "Be Here Now," oh it's so amazing!
I love anything and everything Ray LaMontagne, and couldn't be happier that Kristin invited me out for a fun girls evening to see him live. I definitely missed having Paul there as I think I would have enjoyed it that much more with him there too, but it was also fun bonding with Kristin for this awesome experience!
Check out some highlights from the show... it was pretty amazing!! Kristin is right, Ray Lamontagne is PIMP!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-RClTHm-vE&w=480&h=360]
Interesting Read: Facebook Unveils New Customizable, 'Smart' Friends Lists
With Smart lists, Facebook will automatically group all your college or high school friends into "school" lists, or put all your co-workers into the "work" list. If Facebook makes a mistake or you don't want someone in that group, you can add or delete them manually.
Click here to read the full article!
Yeah Ben F. is the New Bachelor!
Yeah!!! Ben F. (the winemaker) is the NEW Bachelor! That will definitely be worth watching! I liked him so much and I honestly thought Ashley would have chosen him... New Season Premieres January 2nd! Can't wait! hehe
A Beautiful September Day on Lake Lanier
We were out on Lake Lanier yesterday, and it was absolutely gorgeous! This month is going to be an awesome one for some relaxing days on the lake. There was barely anyone out, I don't know if it was the time of the year of the fact that UGA was playing, but it was nice with minimal crowds, it was kind of like we had the lake to ourselves!
Check out some fun on Lake Lanier... we have video this time! Fun stuff ;-)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-dZ8cvwAS4]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF2Gg_xG0-g]
We really need to plan a camping trip now that the temperatures are cooling down (especially at night)!
