.holiday eats

A quick look into the fabulous holiday meals prepared and enjoyed by my family this Christmas season.

Merry Tuesday, my friends.

Carolyn

.is Christmas really over?

"Do you ever wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? 

I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it!" -The Great Gatsby

Sometimes I feel the same way about Christmas. I spend months in preparation- decking the halls, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, baking cookies, decorating cookies. All for Christmas morning to come and go almost as quick as the flash of a tiny twinkle light.

Today is New Years Eve. Tomorrow will be the first day of 2013. Yet I am still enchanted by Christmas.

So today, my friends, I am giving you one last chance to marvel at the the beauty of multi-colored lights strung around a giant evergreen. And to savor the joy of this wondrous season for a few more moments until it is lost in a sea of fireworks and resolutions.

Here's what I saw one rainy evening in downtown Portland, Oregon:

I hope y'all have a sparkling New Years Eve filled with good friends, good conversation, and lots of bubbly.

Carolyn

Photo of me credit: Emily www.plantbywater.blogspot.com

.merry christmas

"Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and his gospel is peace

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother

And in his name all oppression shall cease"

Merry Christmas to all of my lovely blog readers. 

Carolyn

PS I took this photo in Portland, and it's one of my favorites ever. I didn't even edit one thing on the entire image. Pure beauty. :)

.cortese. family session

Last weekend Ashley, of Smitten Design, asked if I could snap a few family photos for their Christmas card. They're so photogenic that it only took about 30 minutes to get more than enough images for a Christmas card! 

Here's what I saw last weekend on an overcast afternoon:

Tony and Ashley, thanks for letting me be a part of sharing your lives with others!

Have a great day y'all. I'm headed to Portland!

Carolyn

.thanksgiving recap

Holidays are always a big deal in my family. 

We have a pretty big clan, and everyone is always invited. Growing up every birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Fourth of July.. (you name it!) we had at least 25+ people. There were many years that I remember my Mom renting plates so we would have enough. 

But this year was a little different. Life happened, and a good chunk of the family was unable to make it. We only had 12 people, which was sad, but it did have its perks. One of them being Mom could use her own china! Less people also meant Mom had to spend less time preparing food, and more time fellowshipping with the rest of us. I was grateful for that. 

My sister and I decorated the two tables (we usually have 4-5!), and I thought they were beautiful and totally picture worthy... if I do say so myself. :)

Here's what I saw:

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter who you spent it with. 

Carolyn

.a pinterest worthy party

What better way to kick off the weekend than photographs of a 21st birthday party?!

As of April 11, my best friend Meredith and I are both finally legal! We have always been friends with people who are older than us, which inevitably means missing out on a lot of fun! But not anymore folks.

Meredith is a gracious, selfless, caring (and all other synonyms) girl lady who means a lot to a lot of people. I knew that she deserved a grand birthday party. So, my parents and I did what any good Southerners would do... bought 15 pounds of shrimp, 10 pounds of potatoes, corn, onions, and sausage, one large box of Old Bay, and whipped out the stockpot. Nothing brings people together like  Lowcountry Boil.

As it was a 21st birthday...we also had plenty of beers to choose from, plus a delicious batch of sangria, and of course this is the South..whiskey.

The smiling faces in the pictures below prove that a large time was indeed had by all. :)

Here's what I saw:

Handmade birthday cards are the best.

Clearly, they needed to lay off the drinks at this point.. ;)

Me & The Birthday Girl. =)

I know it's blurry, but I love this picture!

We had to relight the candles. :(

Thanks for the cake pictures, Emily!

Thank you to Jim, Robyn, and my parents for contributing to this awesome evening.

PS I was so pleased with the way that the whole party turned out- the food, the decorations, etc- I told my Mom that we totally threw a Pinterest worthy party. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!
-C.