Up & down & 'round & 'round

What an insane roller coaster week this has been!  So to prevent any further decent, I'm going to post some pictures of things that make me happy.

Jumping into a big pile of leaves:

 Bubby's curly, crazy hair:

 My silly boys and their creativity:

 Bubble wrap:

 Hot tubs:

This one has a double purpose. Weddings/Photography: 

 Penguins:

Vacation Catch-Up

So much for blogging during vacation!  Our hotel did not have free wi-fi and we only paid for one day of internet service, which worked out well because we barely touched the computer after that.

We did a good job of not packing too much into our time and taking advantage of our time away from the kids.  Saturday was mostly spent in the hotel room, snoozing and watching tv.  We went to lunch at Bubba Gump's, which is a seafood restaurant based on the movie Forrest Gump, even down to the newspaper under the fish-and-chips.  Next was Ripley's Believe It or Not museum where we read some very interesting facts from around the world.  That was it. Not even dinner since we were both full from lunch still. Well, I did have a piece of pizza leftover from the night before, so I guess I had dinner.

Sunday morning we tried the log cabin pancake place across the street.  I had blackberry crepes and they were so incredibly good!!!  After breakfast, we headed to the huge outlet mall in Seiverville, about 20 minutes away.  It felt great to try on clothes and actually buy them without worrying too much about it.  Mark worked hard the week prior so we could have extra money to go play with while on vacation.  After spending a large part of the day and a large part of our money shopping, we headed back for a rest.  That evening we tried Cherokee Grill for dinner. It had the best reviews for steaks in the area.  Unfortunately, the steaks did not live up to the hype. They were great cuts of meat and cooked very well, but had no flavor whatsoever. 

Monday was a sad day.  It was the day we had to leave.  We packed up and checked out by 9am and started taking a southern route which was beautiful and scenic. However, the gas light came on and after about 30 minutes we found there were no gas stations for quite a bit longer, so we turned around and headed back to Gatlinburg. We grabbed breakfast at McD's, snacks at the gas station and headed on our long journey home. 

I highly suggest Gatlinburg to anyone who is looking for a get away. They have so much, for couples, singles, families, indoors, outdoors, tourist sites, outdoor sports....

Gatlinburg, TN from a nearby mountain

Gatlinburg Town Square

Mark and I arrived last night around 9pm.  I am so glad we took my car. I drove through the mountains and I cannot imagine doing those windy roads, between semis and concrete walls, with any other vehicle!  You enter into Gatlinburg and it looks like a city-sized tourist attraction.  The streets are lined with shops and so many places to visit and things to do.  Plus they still have their lighted Christmas displays up, so we are going to walk tonight so I can get some pictures.  It really reminds me of an updated Clifton Hill (from Niagara Falls).  My intentions this weekend were to stay in our room and veg; I'm not sure I can follow through with that now.

What would keep me in our suite is our suite.  It is beautiful!  There is a full kitchen and dining area.  The couches and chairs are very comfortable and all have a viewing of the stone fireplace.  And to top it off, there is a jacuzzi tub in our master bedroom next to the king-sized bed.  I have been so cold lately, so as soon as we got in, Mark bumped the heat to 75 for me and turned on the fire. Its nice not having to worry about the propane for once. :-) 

After scurrying around all day in NC and then driving 6 hours and taking a detour (a road was closed due to snow and ice in the Smoky Mountains) to get here, we decided to park our butts on the couch and stay in.  We ordered pizza, watched tv and just enjoyed being next to each other.

I rolled out of bed about 9 am, made some coffee and turned on the fireplace.  It is so nice to just get up and do whatever it is I want in the amount of time I diem necessary.  I miss my boys, but I know they are in very capable hands and will have lots of fun this weekend.  Mark and I need this break together and I am so grateful for family and friends that helped make it possible. It was long overdue!

My Protege'

Austin loves to take pictures, like his Momma. Its interesting to see what he believes is important enough to photograph. I have a hard time with the abstract but Austin is certainly an "outside-of-the-box" little boy. One of the photos I posted is the inside of a plastic bag. It was sitting on the table when he opened it, positioned the camera and intentionally created the photo.

Reminiscing

I found some old pictures of my boys. I love looking through albums and seeing how much they have grown and watching their personalities unfold.

Inspiration

I have fallen in love with this photograph:

I have decided to decorate my guest bedroom with a beach theme and plan to hang this photograph in the room.  I absolutely love the true color and life this photo displays. When I look at it, I can feel the wind blowing, the smell of the sand and sea, hear the laughter of the family throughout the event.

Is there a particular memory, photograph, sea shell, blanket that inspired you?

Weekend Away

Next weekend, my husband and I are traveling to the mountains for a little time away.  We have not gone on "vacation" along, just the two of us, since our one year anniversary! That was over seven years ago! We typically go with another couple, other times its with the kids, and there have been plenty of times Mark had to stay behind due to work. 

Needless to say, this little escape is much overdue and I am truly looking forward to it.  We are retreating to Gatlinburg, TN, at the base of the Smoky Mountains.  The resort is called Gatlinburg Town Square. Our room should have a mountain-view and stone fireplace.  We have recieved many suggestions on sites to see but the thing I am looking forward to the most is laying in bed without any time frame or responsibilities except my own stomach to fill!

http://www.summerbayresort.com/gatlinburg_townsquare.htm

New Furniture

I think its cute how my husband cannot seem to keep a secret from me. I can't count how many times I've heard, "I was going to surprise you, but..." This time he arranged for a family friend to make us custom bedroom furniture for exchange of car work.  I am so excited!  We decided years ago, when we moved from Michigan, we were no longer going to purchase cheap, venier-covered furniture but wanted to invest over time in solid, wood pieces.  Now we can finally start doing that and I even get to design it. 

We recently purchased a new bedding set and installed new flooring in the master bedroom. I've decided on a blue color for the walls.  Now I am scouring photos to find the right style for our headboard, night stands and a book shelf.

While its a slow process, I am enjoying piecing together our bedroom to make it personal and relaxing.

Here is the new bedding:

Welcome

Inspired by my cousin who recently started her own blog, I decided to move forward with a plan to create a personal blog once again. I have one for my photography business but try to keep it professional. I am hoping to use this for any and everything "Tara". What inspires me, makes me happy, irks me, photos, poems, scriptures...you get the idea.  Just a place where I can let loose, type away and be real.