little yellow house.

a new city, a new house and reunited with my hunny. it's essentially a new life and a fresh start! since graduation from western carolina university, i've been living with my parents while searching for a teaching position. finally, after a year and a half, and hundreds of resumes later... i've found a JOB!! i'll be teaching 6th grade science and coaching boys and girls soccer! i feel blessed that we were able to move to the charlotte area, where michael and i have some of the best friends. hello real world, i have just arrived.

we moved in a week ago and the house is still in shambles, no pictures on the wall, random furniture and my computer is on the floor as i blog. i can't wait to fix everything up, but it will definitely take some time {and a few paychecks}. i've been super busy at school, preparing for the 25th when the students arrive. *biting nails* i'm not going to lie, i'm a little nervous. so before i get swept away with being a teacher, i wanted to share our new pad: our little yellow house. i love it!!! and can't wait to warm it up with a little tlc... and friends :) the guest room is ready for our first visitors!

{ front room: connects to living room and kitchen entry on right wall }

{ front room and hallway back to rooms + bathroom }

{ office }

{ guest bedroom }

{ master bedroom }

{ master bath }

{ master bath }

{ 2nd full bath }

{ kitchen }

{ appliances }

{ living room and stage/dining room? ..used to be a car port }

{ sitting room goes out to back porch }

{ garden, eat fresh }

{ us }

and there it is. our little yellow house!
I hope everyone has a happy sunday.

back to school,
christina

Bridal Portraits: Megan McNeillie.

As promised, sister Megan's bridal portraits. I've been so excited to share my first bridal photography session!! Time flys by so fast and before you know it, your little sister is married. On June 25th Megan and Gary got hitched, two days later they left for Costa Rica on their honeymoon, upon return they've settled into their new home in Maryland. WOW! I'm so proud of Megan for so many reasons.

I am no professional photographer... but what we got this day I was really happy with. I shot in the raw, so we had that going for us. I also just found a great photo editor online: picnik! It's so easy. Of course, looking back, I thought of some things I would do differently and other ideas to try. But, the bride was happy. What else can you ask for? {to read more details of our day, see my earlier blog post from april titled: photo shoot..}

~ I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave me a comment ~
(click on pictures to see them enlarged)

She's beautiful,

Christina

It's 4th of July Weekend!

Time to break out everything red, white and blue. I have to say, the 4th of July, I love. There is something so nostalgic about this holiday, that takes me right back to my childhood. and it is sweet. Block parties, pool days, cookouts, neighbors and our own firework display (the parachute firework was my favorite... where the firework goes off and then this little army man falls down from the sky attacted to his very own coffee filter:) It was great... and I could run fast.

This year I plan on spending the weekend on Lake Murray, again, with family parties and cookouts. We've got a close knit group of Chapinites that know, this is what we do. Nothing has to be planned, we just gather accordingly, like clockwork. The great thing about the grown up celebration is: a) I am 21. and b) the grown up firework display. It's held every year and I've been watching it for some time now. Saturday evening we'll be tuning our radio to the station that plays everything American and watching the fireworks light up the lake. (catch: no parachute firework).

Need ideas for a festive fourth? I took the liberty ;) of gathering some inspiration, from where else, but etsy. I hope you, too, have a fun and safe weekend celebrating America the beautiful!

a red, whtie and blue

happy weekend,

Christina

and a $20 date.

Do you want the best $20 date of your life? Look no further than your local meat market or hey... how about Food Lion? CRAB LEGS!

These days Michael and I are a long distance pair. When traveling to visit one another, we usually eat out just to have some alone time, away from the parentals. One weekend, early May, Michael and I lucked out. My parents were out of town. fabulous! Michael and I both love to cook together so we seized the opportunity to stay home and use the kitchen utensils, tablecloths, candles, pots and pans... We turned on our favorite band: Widespread Panic, popped couple of beers and made 3lbs. of delicious crab legs. mmmm MMM!

We loved this night... and you can, too!

-Christina