three65 sky – week 4

I am beginning to see patterns in the sky from one day to another. This week the sky seemed to slowly transition into the next day’s landscape. Can you see? Check out all my progress here. (I am a few weeks behind…should have time to update it today)

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baby banana spider weaving in a tree

Face your fear of spiders and scroll…

…you may surprise yourself and decide they are beautiful!

Here are 2 cool facts I learned about banana spiders (I would have given 3 facts, but I doubt anyone is reading this, and you certainly won’t get past 2 if you haven’t already clicked out of my blog):

1. They were formally known as Golden Silk Orb Weavers. Prince ain’t got nothin’ on that formally known as name! I wish I was formally known as an orb weaver of golden silk.
2. Every banana spider we see is a female. Male banana spiders are tiny, brown, free-loaders. Literally, they live on the female-made golden orb, providing nothing, eating whatever they want, sleeping whenever they want, and…doing…it…whenever they want. Ladies, learn from these 8-legged females. Don’t weave yourself into a banana spider relationship.

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lilac twilight over bristol marina

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a rainy weekend in cozy greenville

Stay at Park House Bed and Breakfast. Private, quiet, luxury rooms. Delicious, gourmet breakfast. Afternoon wine and cheese on the front porch.

Eat brunch, lunch or dinner at The Green Room. The eggs benedict and home fries are delightful.

Sip some coffee at Coffee Underground. It really is underground. And have them spike your drink with something fancy.

Spend at least an hour at the Mast General Store on Main Street.

Stroll Falls Park on South Main Street. Walk the suspension bridge…it shakes a little bit. Invigorating. Face your fears.

Indulge in tapas at  The Art Bar on Main. Peruse local art in a casual, laid back setting. And if you are feeling saucy, buy something!

Last but not least, do everything on foot. Greenville has so much to offer their pedestrians. Even in the rain 🙂

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Three65 Sky – Week 3

4 of my 7 daily sky photos this past week were taken from Brittlebank Park, a green space in downtown Charleston that overlooks the Ashley River. Check out the photos…maybe I should tweak the rules, again, and shoot solely at Brittlebank! The sky was mesmerizing.

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just photos wednesday

A shot from my photo shoot at 1714 Middle Street. I love that the owners couple this  grand, formal dining table with vintage, mismatched chairs. Elegance meets fun. More about this fantastic home and additional photos here.

This is Biscuit resting in her Thunder Shirt. My anxious border collie mix usually burrows beneath blankets, under beds or curls herself snuggly into a human’s lap to take a snooze, but the shirt cures her anxiety during times when she feels scared (and that is almost always). If you have a dog with anxiety, ranging from thunderstorms to vacuum cleaners, check out more on the ThunderShirt here. Its a miracle product.

Shem Creek right before sunset…from the Shrimper’s dock. Shh, don’t tell I sneaked on to steal this photo. The lighting was just too good not to break the rules! This is one of the first photos I took with my Nikon Coolpix S8200. Loving it already!

A self portrait of sorts!

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porch: a glimpse into history

Sullivans Island, South Carolina holds a treasure trove of historic homes for those in love with the charm of days gone by. And 1714 Middle Street could be considered the greatest gem of this small, island town’s historic treasury.

Once a Post Exchange and Recreation Hall for Fort Moultrie soldiers of the US. Army in the early 1900’s, this historic property now serves a quieter, more humble purpose, but in it holds stories and warm memories from the past and present. Last week, I was fortunate enough to photograph this magnificent piece of Sullivan’s Island history, and its porches too. It will be hitting the market in a few days, so more photos will come soon, along with links to more information about this amazing Sullivans Island property for sale.

Naturally, the front porch is grand and I could imagine uniformed soldiers walking through the front doors with dates on their arm, excited for a dance or a social in the recreation hall. The entirety of this property – all 7,581 square feet of it – has been converted to a truly charming, single-family home. I know, I didn’t think anything of this size could be described as charming, but the recreation hall makes up nearly half of the square footage, and the rest of the home was so thoughtfully restored that the home feels warm, and more importantly, centralized. In so many “massive” homes I have photographed, each easily becomes a maze for guests, winding from room to room. This home is NOT one of these labyrinths.

In fact, I told the owner that one of the things I loved most about his home was that EVERYTHING about the restoration is logical. What I mean by that is, the floor plan flows like a home built for today’s buyer. There is a true great room…bedrooms offer privacy and bathrooms throughout the home are well appointed. The light switches have been placed where it would make sense for them to be. And those light switches turn on the lights you think they will! Have you ever been to an old house with beyond confusing electrical? When the light switch in the foyer turns on the lamp in the kitchen? Not in this wonderful property. The master bedroom sits beneath a parallel archway on the other side of the foyer. And comes fully equipped with a private, cozy porch for perfect Sullivans evenings.

And now, what you have all been waiting for…the recreation hall. A space where soldiers once danced, so much from the past remains in this beautiful recreation hall. The ceilings are adorned with pressed tin panels and the walls made of original brick and stucco. The original historic electric panels have been preserved as artifacts. And with gleaming wood floors, a full length balcony and a half bath, this space can now serve a multitude of purposes, and the current owners have taken full advantage of this rare venue.

A wedding reception in magnificent 1714 Middle Street

By far the neatest fact about this home rich with Sullivans Island history is that there are actually THREE “twin” buildings to this one! So, I guess it is a quadruplet structure?! And there may be more! At the turn of the century, this building, along with one at Fort Yellowstone, another at Fort Seward in Alaska  and a 4th in Missoula, Montana were built from the same stock plans, produced by the US Army. In Yellowstone, the National Park Service owns the building and it is used as a commercial space. In Haines, Alaska the building is privately owned (like 1714 Middle Street) but it is used as a restaurant and a B and B. And in Missoula, the structure is now owned by a non-profit preservation organization to restore all the remains of Fort Missoula.

Fort Seward in Haines Alaska, circa 1900

Fort Yellowstone Canteen in Yellowstone Natl Park

Now home to Heritage Hall, a venue for weddings and parties in beautiful Missoula, MT

What I love most about 1714 Middle Street – and most of the historic homes on the register – is that it is loved for the memories it holds. Owners of historic homes take pride in preserving their original amenities and features. These owners not only did that, but created a place to enjoy the the modern conveniences of today without destroying the charm of yesterday.

So a note to the next owners of this unique home – preserve, enjoy and love it as much as everyone has since the turn of the century. It deserves it.

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Three65 Sky – Week 2

I used my Coolpix for every photo this week. Good because it was so accessible and easy, but I don’t want to get completely comfortable with using a point and shoot for every photo during this 2nd attempt! By nature, the photos become less thoughtful. So, while it was a fun, easy week of sky shooting, next week I am going to make a true effort to only use my Coolpix when I really can’t pull out my dSLR. Enjoy! And check out the Three65 tab to see all my progress!

January 8-14

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project three65: a 2nd attempt

After a failed attempt last year, I am trying once more! This time I have tweaked my rules, again, and I am going to focus one subject I am constantly amazed by…the sky. I have been fascinated with it, and photographing it for years, but since moving to Charleston, I have been floored by the diversity the Low country sky offers. It is so vast against Charleston’s flat topography. Every sunset is different. Clouds change with the blink of an eye.

So here goes my 2nd attempt of Project three65. This time I will upload on Mondays. Wish.Me.Luck. Pardon my first 2 car photos…I was traveling at the beginning of the year!

January 1-7

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twenty lessons twenty-eleven taught a twenty-something

1. Good habits are harder to make and bad habits are harder to break.

I read an article that said the things we do (or don’t do) as twenty-somethings will define who we become as 30 and 40 somethings. I brushed it off when I read it (I was probably 16). I really do remember a time when it was so easy to just start eating an apple as an afternoon snack, or to quit waking up 30 minutes before I had to be in my seat at school. Now however, choosing an apple over the cookies a client brought to the office, or changing my morning routine to give me a few extra minutes to relax in the A.M are hard habits to make and break! Twenty-somethings are in the final frontier of being able to change who we become, so I need to work on myself in 2012!!

2. Sticking to commitments and plans creates, maintains and restores friendships.

In college, the best advice I was ever given was that “there will always be another party”. This advice was given to let me know that I wouldn’t be missing out if I chose studying over partying. Great college advice. But as we twenty-somethings settle into our our daily, “adult” routines of jobs, pets, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses and babies, planning a social experience is really the only way to make it happen. In college it was so easy to be spontaneous because one or more friends would always be available to hang. But we are growing up and getting busier. Friends MUST factor into our other commitments or we will end up not having any.

3. Christmas trees will start to smell bad and eventually die if you do not raise them in their stand.

Like, really really bad. Imagine a stew made of dead fish and cat poo. It is NOT pleasant for the olfactory system.

4. The saying, “Its the thought that counts” really should be, “Its the effort that counts”.

I made my own gift tags this year. …I had a lot of time on my hands…I spent a lot of time on their intricate designs. And most of the people I gave gifts (and gift tags) to appreciated the gift tag as much, if not more than the gift! People really do feel more loved and appreciated when you make the effort to do thoughtful things for them. Little acts of effort can make a huge difference.

5. One month, 6 months and a 1 year is just around the corner.

At some point in the last few years, the ongoing calendar in my head has become much more at ease with longer-term planning. Don’t get me wrong, 5 years feels forever from now, and 30 is still old – but in the dead of Winter, when I used to feel like Summer was a light year away, it is

I even caught my boss trying out my ball chair

now just a few months down the road and I already have 3 weddings and a week long cruise marked in my date book.

6. Correct daily posture is crucial.

My back and shoulders used to hurt every day. Sleeping was uncomfortable. This was because I was slumping in a chair for eight hours a day. I invested in an exercise ball chair 6 months ago. It has done wonders. Twenty-somethings are not only getting older, but we live in a workforce largely comprised of desk jobs. We need to teach ourselves how to sit properly.

7. Social media has single-handedly caused my generation to be an unproductive amoeba of self-centerdness and insecurity.

Not only are we all filling our brains with useless information about what our friends ate for breakfast and what they watched on TBS last night, but we are bombarded with how thankful they all are to have such amazing lives. Whether its their perfect job, boyfriend, husband or baby, we are consequently forced to compare the lives of our friends to our own. And in our attempt to define who we are against our online audience, we end up creating a persona of the perfect version of ourselves. This causes EVERYONE to feel like they can’t keep up with the Jones’s, and it wastes hours and hours of time when we could be doing other things…like exercising, or reading, or talking with our voices and not our keyboards.

8. Sometimes you need to do things just to make yourself FEEL pretty.

The day to day routine is not always pretty. Getting a manicure is sometimes a better use of money than going to that movie that you didn’t really even want to see. Taking a shower after work and blowing your hair dry just to watch TV or read a book can make a world of difference in your confidence.

9. Being outside really does do wonders for your soul.

Like I said above, we are a generation of office working, computer staring, vitamin-d deficient souls. Getting outside, even if it is just walking around the office building can and will change your entire day.

10. Reintroducing yourself to an acquaintance is so much better than awkwardly avoiding them because you assume they won’t recognize you.

Both of us are doing it. We see each other from across the coffee shop and we are doing whatever we can to avoid saying hi because we are afraid the other person doesn’t know who we are. But clearly the other person does, or they wouldn’t be acting just as foolish as I am, pretending to be intensely studying the pastry menu, or worse, making the fake phone call or text message. Just say HI and reintroduce yourself, even if you’re sure they know who you are. You’ll seem more humble and nicer for doing so. I worked on this one in 2011, and like my mother told me years ago, it gets easier the more you do it.

11. Time actually is running out. Do the things you have dreamed of doing before it really is too late. 

This is our last chance to do the things we have talked about doing for the last 5 years. Those dreams we had when we were 20 need to happen NOW or they will never happen. Jobs will begin to tie us to the city we live in. Marriage will add a 2nd opinion in making a decision. And once a baby is on the way, your dreams will naturally change. We twenty-somethings need to make a plan, and make it happen.

12. Drinking water makes a visible difference in the condition of my skin, my workouts and my mood.

I don’t think this one needs an explanation.

13. Bring a bottle of wine or a food dish as a thank you when you go to a house party.

Embarrassing at it is to admit this, I actually made fun of someone who brought a little thank you gift to a house party when I was 20. Lesson learned. After now having a few dinner parties myself, I fully understand the preparation time and the money involved with hosting even a casual get together! A bottle of wine goes such a long way and really makes the host feel appreciated. I finally get that now.

14. Writing things down on real paper with my real hand with a real pen has multiple benefits.

• I remember everything I actually write down on pen and paper so much better. It must have something to do with being able to imprint my own handwriting into my memory. I have a hand-written planner I use everyday. Google calendar has nothin’ on my Baldwin Cooke Monthly Monitor.
• Practicing my handwriting on a daily basis helps when I need to (sparsely) write a check, sign my name or send a thank you note.
• It exercises my brain. Writing things with pen and paper makes me think about what I am writing before I write it.

15. Tracking expenses is so important. Seriously, so important.

Good spending habits need to begin now. More importantly, good SAVING habits need to start now. And with online banking making it so easy to track everything spent in a month, its super interesting to see a free pie chart of spending! With a few clicks, I was able to see that I spend 7% of my monthly income on groceries and 5% of my monthly income on restaurants. And in December, I spent 27% on clothing and general merchandise… (we will blame that on Christmas shopping…)

16. Learn to cook, grill and bake.

I really don’t want to juggle LEARNING to cook with LEARNING to raise babies. Better to knock out one at a time, and I’d rather not learn to raise babies right now.

17. I understand why people get lonely on the holidays.

Not that I was lonely this year…on the opposite end of the spectrum, I was surrounded by family love all day long. And I cherished it. For whatever reason, most people just don’t want to be alone for the holidays. I really do understand why, when I was growing up, my mom invited so many people from our church over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This was a realization that only occurred this Christmas…my first Christmas away from home. I am so thankful I had a 2nd family in Charleston to spend it with.

18. Taking small daily risks is invigorating.

And it changes the mundane routine most of us are in day in and day out. I stopped to take a photo of the sunset a few weeks ago. To get the shot, I jumped over a gate that said “shrimpers only beyond this point.” I forgot how thrilling it feels to break small rules that don’t really affect anything or anyone. But maybe that attitude is why I received Saturday detention almost every weekend of high school? At any rate, it felt good.

19. Family does matter the most.

In the transition from college to adulthood, friendships are largely based on what city you are living  in at the current time. And being part of such a transient generation has really made me understand that friends will come and friends will go. It’s no one’s fault. It’s just life. But family is always there. And they always have been. So whether your family is comprised of 1 person or 30 people, stick with them.

20. Loving unconditionally takes practice.

And we all need all the practice we can get. So practice loving unconditionally. Get a dog before you get a spouse or a child 🙂

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