watkins glen visit

The weather called for rain the entire weekend but we got lucky and it was mostly sunny. It rained today in the morning, which was helpful for us since we didn't have to water the grass with our too-short hose. We have been desperately trying to grow the grass from our driveway project. We spent our weekend at GlassFest watching fireworks, eating out, and yard work.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. We could not have asked for better weather for an outdoor hike around Watkins Glen State Park. I have lived in this area for almost two years and finally visited! It is a staple in our area, I can't believe it took so long for me to get there. It was a bit crowded but it is to be expected on a beautiful holiday weekend. A few of our friends college friends came to town and we headed there in the morning.

I mentioned to Liam that I may want to take our engagement photos here because it is so beautiful, but it would have to be when it isn't so crowded during the off-season. Less people, better pictures! I'll have to mention it to our photographer.

After our visit to the gorge, we stopped at the wineries on the West side of Seneca Lake. My favorite winery on our stop is Herman J. Wiemer, a good and tasty Late Harvest Riesling and the too-expensive Riesling Josef Vineyard 2015. We went home with a bottle of Late Harvest and I can't wait to crack it open on a nice summer night with a delicious homemade dinner.

mother's day shoot

This photography thing is a lot of fun for me.
I am still trying to figure it out, what's the right exposure, is my shutter speed okay? My picture is too dark, move it this way. It comes with time and practice, so this was great! My friend Jason wanted to do some Mother's Day photos for his wife for her first Mother's Day. Perfect time to take out the new camera and snap some photos!

After looking at these photos, my heart melted with the two of them. She normally loves spending that time with dad, he's always the one to easily put a smile on her face but this day, she was not having it. We had the hardest time trying to get her to smile for us, this is why children's photography is not my thing hahaha. Her grumpy face though, the cutest thing ever. The eyebrows are key. But really, the two of them are the sweetest pair.

We tried to have her hold the letters 'M' and 'O' so we could spell MOM in picture frames. Again, the grumpy face is hilarious. We'll have to try again later. I blame the sun and the random protesters that were standing behind us as I was taking these photos. Yes, random political protests in our tiny town exactly at the spot we wanted to take the pictures! Also, the entire day was cloudy and perfect for snapping away and when we started, the sun in her eyes. HUZZAH, that's what happens on outside shoots.

I can't wait to take more!

reading list | 05

Writing book reviews would not be my daytime job, I don't have a way with words like some people when they write reviews. Imagine the people who write and choose the New York Times bestseller books. Not me.

I have been reading on and off, some books really keep me going and others I only keep going because I started already. Book #5 in series of 2017 is All the Light We Cannot See. It is based in back in history during wartime. It walks you through two characters and their stories as they grow up to present day. I loved the short chapters, it kept me reading.

There was a great storyline.
Marie-Laure is attempting to make it through the war with her father and uncle, walking blindly through a new city. Werner reminds me of Liam, curious and full of technical capability. As I read Werner's dialogues, I would tell Liam how they were similar. This was another book in the time of Hitler, surprising that I have read historical fictions and enjoyed both!

This is a must read for the summer. It is from a few years ago, but worth going back to.

happy may

Tis the season for beautiful florals and a bunch of birthdays.
May is one of my favorite months of the year because it begins the warm weather and my birthday! In less than a week I turn 30! I don't feel 30, nor do I remotely look 30, which everyone tells me is great. It's great to an extent but when everyone believes you are a teenager, it's a struggle. Celebrating with friends is my favorite part about birthdays. The best part of my birthday is that I get to share it for the rest of my life with Liam.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, we are prepping to get back to working on the house and fixing her up nicely. We have a ton of projects to do, I don't think it ever ends when you are renovating. It's the beauty of it all. The pollen is getting to me, I make sure to carry around my life line of Zyrtec. Anyone else having these issues?

Some plans for May.
We have our first wedding of the year. One of Five. Yup. We thought it was less but we added two more. Cinco de Mayo wedding! I love weddings! Love love love weddings. We haven't done much planning for our wedding and ended up changing the date to a week before so we could get our photographer. I absolutely love her and wanted her badly enough to switch it.

Since ROCtheSHOT I have been wanting to shoot more and was so excited to participate in the Styled Shoot. I will definitely post about it soon. For my birthday, we bought a new camera! I upgraded to a full-frame Nikon D750. After the shoot and seeing all the people with full-frame and how easy it was to shoot, I craved it! YAY FOR BIRTHDAY GIFTS! I want to get into photography and start shooting people, maybe second shoot for a wedding. My goal this year is to shoot at least one wedding, even if it's a second shooter or a small five person wedding!

It's going to be a good spring! Well, once the weather gets nicer! Hopefully where you are, it's spring weather!