A Few of My Favorite Things (48)

Posted on November 25, 2013 by mhayes24

[Stella & Dot outfit of the week:: Sweater (Target) // coral skinnies from Express // Allegra Necklace // Eden Studs // Christina Link Bracelet // Renegade Bracelet]

[our bear turned 3!]

[window treatment project complete]

[beer tasting at Stout Brothers]

[BBQ served in a skillet. YES.]

[operation house painting begins]

This past week was a fun, busy one. Coco Bear turned 3, which is hard to believe. We FINALLY got around to finishing the window treatment project that I’ve had on the list since this summer. I’m going to do a little DIY post recap later, but I just had to share a photo because I LOVE the way they turned out!! Our weekend started off with a beer tasting at Stout Brothers, which is a cool little beer market located at Smyrna Market Village. The guys there are really helpful and friendly, and they have all sorts of locally-made snacks that are the perfect accompaniment to their brews. We also checked out a nearby BBQ place, called Hottie Hawg’s, for lunch Saturday — it did not disappoint.

And as if this holiday season weren’t shaping up to be busy enough, we’ve decided to take on the big project of having our house painted, as well as getting a lot of trim repaired/replaced. While we’re not crazy enough to attempt this project ourselves, it’s still a large task to undertake. How does one ever narrow down the color choices for an entire house?? We’re in the process of deciding between the top and bottom colors (see photo above) — and I think we’re both leaning toward the darker one as of now. Please feel free to weigh in!

In case I don’t make it back here before the holiday, I hope everyone has a wonderful, healthy, happy Thanksgiving spent eating lots of turkey with the ones you love!

A Few of My Favorite Things (47)

Posted on November 19, 2013 by mhayes24

[birthday dinner at Del Frisco’s, complete with mustaches]

[Stella & Dot outfit of the week:: black/white Old navy sweater with blue elbow patches / neon Old Navy skinnies / Somervell Necklace / Nancy Studs / Secret Garden Ring / Renegade and Luxor Link Bracelets]

[pretty fall sunset on the way home from work]

[photo session with my college friend Dana and her family]

[last remnants of fall leaves]

[Cheese’s surprise 30th birthday dinner]

[house divided for the Georgia / Auburn game]

I’ve been a little busy editing and posting photo sessions lately, so this is a long one, folks. Sorry I’ve been a little slack on regular posts the past couple weeks! This new photography business of mine has kept me quite preoccupied, but in a very good way! Thank you to all of you for your support and advice — it’s appreciated more than you know.

The past couple weeks have consisted mostly of this — eat/sleep/work/watch football/eat/sleep/work/watch football. That’s about it! I love football season, but I also love when it winds down and we can have our weekends back again. And I’m pretty pumped for Turkey Time next week!!!

photo session:: the Rounds Family

Posted on November 13, 2013 by mhayes24

I had the pleasure of photographing the Rounds family last weekend at a cute little park area behind the Smyrna Market Village. Beautiful fall leaves, an overcast afternoon, and a pond filled with lots of ducks made for a great session… not to mention the two adorable little ones!

photo session:: the West Family

Posted on November 11, 2013 by mhayes24

When one of my oldest college friends, Dana, asked me to photograph her family, I was so excited. We don’t see each other as much as we would like, but when we do, it’s like no time has passed. Her husband adores her and their 3 little girls, and speaking of… how absolutely precious are those little ones? It was such a fun morning playing in the leaves, kissing on baby sister, and letting one little budding photographer snap some photos of Dana and me in between.

And a silly one to end our fun family session!

engagement session:: Shannon + David

Posted on November 8, 2013 by mhayes24

Shannon and David are getting married in Atlanta next June, and when I decided to embark on this photography journey, I immediately reached out to ask if I could do an engagement session with them. They graciously agreed, and here we are! They were so easy and up for whatever, whether that be balancing on railroad tracks, lying on the ground, or trying to fit their heads into what I’m sure is the TINIEST football helmet ever made. It was hard to choose my favorite, so here are several from our afternoon session around Vinings. Can’t wait for the wedding!

photo session:: the Redmond family

Posted on November 6, 2013 by mhayes24

Our friends have THE cutest little boy. Seriously. He has the most adorable, six-toothed smile (is that a word?) and I just love his red hair. Chase is so sweet and smiley, and he’s generally one of the happiest little guys I know.

I got to photograph him and his parents for a holiday session in the park over the weekend, and despite his best efforts to make me chase him all over the place, we ended up with some great shots. I think the verdict is in — he definitely prefers eating his puffs and playing on the swings and slides over sitting nicely and posing for portraits. Big surprise — I’m sure most of us would!

photo session on Krog Street

Posted on November 4, 2013 by mhayes24

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of photographing 3 different groups of people near and dear to my heart. First up, my cousin’s three beautiful, blonde children. We headed down to Krog Street to take advantage of the graffiti art and do some skateboarding with the boys. It was a fun morning, and I loved getting to spend time with my cousin and her sassy, silly, not-so-small babies.

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batman + robin do halloween

Posted on November 1, 2013 by mhayes24

Well, folks…. another Halloween has come and gone. But before we get into full Thanksgiving/Christmas mode, here’s a little recap of Batman + Robin’s Halloween adventures.

We had a potluck lunch at work, and of course several of my fellow puppet coworkers donned their best costumes… I am partial to Ursula the Sea Witch (which is funny because I was absolutely terrified of her as a child).

My contribution to the potluck — Ghost Brains! (aka Nutella S’mores Rice Krispie Treats)

Ursula brought a lovely concoction of Zombie Meat Hands. Yum!

Thanks to The Bert Show (a local Atlanta radio show), I got the great idea to hand out glow sticks to trick-or-treaters, and it was a big hit! I couldn’t give up candy completely, so we had both… and ran out of both. First time ever not ending up with a large bowl of extra candy for weeks!

Our next door neighbors LOVE Halloween. They take off work and spend the entire day decorating their lawn and house, and it’s gotten bigger and better each year we’ve lived there. The 100 lb pumpkins were smoking so much when I pulled in from work, I thought someone’s car was on fire.

Batman + Robin

Coco despises anything being placed on her, so she was not up for a costume this year. Instead, she chose to wear a glow stick necklace.

And this is why I love our neighborhood on Halloween. We just set up camp on our driveway, and we get a parade of little costumed characters early in the evening, and then another round of older kids once it’s dark. This year, some of our favorites were Rick, the Sheriff from The Walking Dead, a pint-sized minion, a sister and brother dressed as Snow White and Sleepy Dwarf, and a dad dressed up as a life-size parrot.

Batman got the non-chocolate bowl.

The neighbors’ concoction for the adults, complete with gooey eyeballs

Coco got a little rowdy once things got going, so this is how she spent most of her Halloween night. At least she had a good view of the action.

And Halloween 2013 is done! Batman + Robin OUT.