Happy New Year!

This year our church had a New Year's Party! I love being a part of a church family that loves to party!!! We always have such a fun time together. We spent the night eating, playing games and of course dancing!!! This year the theme was "Classic Hollywood". We all came dressed in styles from the 1920's, 30's, 40's and 50's.  Some came dressed for the red carpet, others came dressed as celebrities from that time and others as characters from movies. We had such a wonderful time!

Along with everyone dressing up, we wanted to have some decorations to help set the scene for classic hollywood.  We couldn't have a hollywood party without a red carpet, but we did not want to spend a lot of money.  The actual red carpet was not very expensive at all and can be purchased at any party supply company such as Party City or even from Amazon (I love Amazon Prime!! It's Awesome!!!) The lights down the hallway we made from Kleenex boxes.  I took the boxes and emptied them. Next I wrapped them with silver wrapping paper.  We bought flashlights from Wal-Mart that were $3 for a 2-pack, and there you have it. A cheap decoration that is a lot of fun! We wanted to add ropes around the carpet once the guest entered the room. If you have ever looked into purchasing the poles (called stanchions. Something I learned in this process), you would know that they are very expensive. Since we didn't want to spend that kind of money for the party, we decided to make our own.  We bought plastic tupperware containers for the base. We glued the tops on the containers, turned them upside down and cut a hole the size of the pole in them. We bought PVC pipe and cut them to the size we wanted and spray painted the base and poles gold. We filled the bases to help weigh them down. For the rope we used red velvet like ribbon and attached it to the poles and there you have it! It was a great addition to the red carpet!

For the tables, we bought picture frames from the Dollar Store and printed out pictures from movie stars from that time. We also ordered mini Oscars from Amazon. We added New Year's hats, horns and tinsel and it created a fun, festive table decoration. And what New Year's party would be complete without an amazing M&M bar!!!

We bought a few disposable cameras for people to use as the guests came in and walked the red carpet.
It was fun to have all the flashes going off to make each guest feel like a celebrity!

We also had a photo booth at the party. I love photo booths! I don't know what it is about them, but they are always fun! And a big thank you to Lynsey for helping with some of the photo booth pictures! She is an amazing photographer. Check her out here!

We decided to have a contest for the best dressed. We called everyone who wanted to enter up front to show off their costumes. We had a voting booth for all the guest to vote throughout the night.

And the winner is...

Winners of the best dressed adults

Winners of best dressed under 16.

We had such a great time dancing in the new year. And of course we couldn't end the year without the Cupid Shuffle and Gangnam Style.

And here we are...

It was such a fun night and a wonderful way to bring in the new year! Happy New Year everyone!!!

Christmas and Self Photos

I love Christmas! It really is the most wonderful time of the year.  Now that it is the new year we are trying to catch up on some sleep. As much fun as the Christmas season is, it is also very busy! We had five Christmas parties in one week, then it was Christmas day which we spent with my family and Jon's family. After that it was off to north Georgia for Christmas with my mom's side of the family and then back home for a New Year's Party (pictures coming soon).  We are pretty tired but it was well worth it.

Every year for as long as I can remember, a couple days after Christmas, all those that can make it travel to my mom's home town and spend Christmas with my aunts, uncles and cousins. We have missed it the last couple of years due to work schedules, but this year we were finally able to go! I feel so blessed to be a part of this family. We have such a fun time together. We laugh probably the whole time we are together!

We decided to go spend some time downtown reminiscing. I don't know why, but when we were little one of our favorite things to do was walk on the wall that went around the downtown area. It was so much fun when we were little so we decided to reenact it this year.

It was such a wonderful time with family. And here is a video from a few years ago for you to enjoy!



Jon and I also did some fall/Christmas photos. I am so grateful for a husband that is such a great sport about doing pictures. We actually have a blast together every time!

Party Time

We recently had the privilege of celebrating my sis-in-law's birthday! She is absolutely amazing and it was so much fun getting to celebrate with her!   My mother-in-law and other sis-in-law did an awesome job decorating and organizing the party. It was beautiful with all the twinkling lights! They even had a coffee bar and s'mores around the fire pit! It was a wonderful evening. So blessed to be a part of this family!!!

Family

We had the amazing opportunity to capture the Talley family. We had a blast! What a fun and amazing family!!

New York

If you didn't already know, I love fall!!! It's such a beautiful time of year! Unfortunately, living in the south, we don't get to experience fall. The leaves don't really change colors and it only cools off to a freezing 75 degrees. So, every year we try to head north to catch fall somewhere. We went  a little late this year because of scheduling so we didn't get to catch the colorful leaves, although we did see some, but we did get to enjoy some cooler temperatures. This year we went to visit my cousin and her family in New York. They live in a beautiful, quaint little town right on Lake Ontario.
We took a day trip to Watkins Glen State Park. It was amazing!!! If you are ever in the area it is a definite must. It has a beautiful trail through the gorge full of bridges and waterfalls.

We love this family!!!!

The next day we drove around the Thousand Islands area. It was beautiful!

We decided since we were in the area we should head over to Niagara Falls.  Jon had never been before and I hadn't been since I was a kid.  We decided to go a little off the beaten path and drive along Lake Ontario instead of the interstate. I'm so glad we did.  It was beautiful as we drove through the countryside and the farms were amazing! (I'm kinda a sucker for farms) We found a place to pull off to look at the lake. It was beautiful! (and freezing!)

We finally made it to Niagara Falls.  It was so cold. I think the high was 30 degrees that day which is pretty cold for us southerners.  If you have never been you need to.  It's pretty impressive.  We went to the Canadian side because it has a better view of the falls. The boats were not running this time of year, but we did take the elevator down so we could go behind the falls.  At night, the falls are lit up with beautiful colors. I was so glad we took the time to see the falls.

And since pictures don't come close to doing the falls justice, check out some video footage we took.  It's still not the same, but it gives you more of an idea of the power of the falls.

Senior Pictures

Wow!!! It has been a while since I have posted on here. As you know, we recently bought a house! We are so excited, but it has been ALOT of work!!! Unfortunately, photography has been at the bottom of the priority list. We still have painting to do and some other minor things, but hopefully not too much longer and we will be ready to move in!!!

Recently, I did senior pictures for Addie.  She is absolutely amazing and SO beautiful!!!! It was such a fun time getting to capture her!!!!