Steel Magnolia

Wow! I can't believe it's been a week since I updated this! You would think a housewife would have tons of time to get out and shoot, edit and blog.... Somehow I haven't gotten into that groove yet though...... This week I actually drove Alex to work so I could venture out on my own. It was definitely exciting to brave the city by myself and not get lost. I still have a ways to go before I will be able to navigate beyond main street, haywood road and woodruff road.....

This afternoon we had to run a few errands downtown and I discovered this gorgeous magnolia tree on Main Street, so of course I had to climb up on a bench to get a better shot of the gorgeous blossoms! It's one of my all time favorite trees so it was exciting to see them out in bloom so early (at home we don't see them until at least May!)

lUnAr EcLiPsE

Tonight there was a lunar eclipse and boy did that bring back memories. This time last year, my girls and I headed up to the Look Off to watch one together. It was a great time and boy do I miss my girls! Now we're all spread out in different cities, in different provinces, and different countries. After American Idol, I dragged Alex outside to see what we could capture with my camera. My moon shots definitely turned out better than last year but last year was definitely an amazing time.




Here was our vantage point - too cold for a swim but a nice backdrop nonetheless. I was so psyched to discover that the longer the exposure the better star flare from the lights :) Unfortunately the long exposures killed my batteries quickly :(

Skater Boy

This week's challenge was Winter Wonderland. Here in South Carolina .... well that is definitely a challenge. So Friday evening, I tried to convince Alex that we should go on a snow chasing hunt up in the Blue Ridge Mountains - on the off chance that we might possibly find some snow. He came up with a different idea - ice skating. There's a rink here that holds public skating several times a week so he grabbed his hockey skates (my figure skates are back in NS) and Sunday we went to public skate. I was impressed with how many people were there - who knew you could even buy skates in the South! Here are a couple of my shots from Sunday afternoon :)





This picture is definitely not a great shot -artistically or technically - but I was very excited to see the Canadian flag flying down here so I had to share anyway

be romantic

I love romantic gestures like flowers, chocolates, dinner dates, etc.... but Valentine's Day isn't really a day that I love. There's too many expectations and social constructs about this one day - a day that really isn't any different than any other. I would rather flowers on a random Tuesday - just to say I love you than I would on Valentine's Day because it's expected. That being said - I had a great day and Alex was very generous. He brought me flowers and a card and took me out to dinner and let me pick what movie to watch when we got home. It's been years since Alex and I were in the same country for Valentine's Day - let alone the same city/apartment and it was wonderful to spend it together. Below is the card I made for him, along with one of the calla's from the bouquet he picked up and what newly weds Valentine's Day would be complete without Victoria's Secret?

urban art

Here's some of the great color I found downtown on Sunday :) Isn't it wonderfully vibrant?

urban architecture

Here are some of the shots from Sunday hunt for the perfect picture of architecture in Greenville. It was definitely interesting going with a structural engineer who works closely with architects. Alex had lots to say about the different architectural styles, techniques and a couple of reprimands for things he didn't consider "architecture".

vintage ride

Check out the beautiful car we spotted yesterday on Main Street!

Soft Southern Style

One of my favorite parts of living in the south is the sunsets. We seem to get an inordinate amount of gorgeous sunsets. Here was the view from our patio on Saturday at dusk!

We're Pigs

We're Pigs is one of Alex's favorite BBQ places here in Greenville and Friday night he took me out for the experience. It was definitely good and I was psyched to see A&W rootbeer too!





This last shot is one I've been wanting to do for a while. I love the look of the blurred lights. It turned out better than I thought it would :)

The healing powers of ....

cookie dough? Alex has been struggling to get over a cold for the past few weeks and on Thursday he asked me to make him some cookies. He claims they have healing powers :P He's feeling much better after finishing them so who know? Maybe he's right :)

Mouse Hunt

Alex and I went on a hunt to find all the bronze mice that are hidden along main street on Sunday. It was quite the adventure and we had a lot of fun doing it :) Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the afternoon :) I narrowed it down better than I did from the Clemson trip :)

Tiger Pride

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Saturday afternoon in Clemson. We got there midafternoon, parked at the stadium and walked around downtown for a bit before heading to the game. I'm not a huge basketball fan but live sports are much more interesting than on tv and we both enjoyed it :)

Here's a view of the back of the football stadium bleachers.

One of the great things about this town is that they've got great school spirit. The garbage cans, streets, bleachers, street banners and buildings all have big orange tiger paws on them.

This is the only field on campus that tailgaters aren't allowed to park on during football season.

Alex grew up in Vermont and he is very conscious of trying to purchase Vermont products when they are available. This especially includes Ben and Jerry's. When we discovered there was a Ben and Jerry's scoop shop in downtown Clemson, we had to stop for a treat.

Let me introduce you to my new favorite flavor - Chocolate Therapy... chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies and chocolate pudding.... covered with hot fudge and whipped cream. Definitely Therapeutic!


A beautiful sunset over campus as we headed back to the LittleJohn Collesium

What basketball trip would be complete without a slam dunk?