sunny spring weather

This has been the first week here in Provo, Utah where I could walk up to campus in short sleeves! The heaps of piled up snow are gone and the sun is shining. This spring weather couldn’t make me happier!

It was so nice today, James and I went on a walk to get lunch. We decided to try the much-raved-about local joint, Communal. It was just as I’ve heard – Amazing! We wish we’d tried it sooner. Cool, clean, fresh, delish! We both really liked their Gala Apple Salad…

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Time is flying and this Spring is bringing so much our way…

NOTABLE: Today marks ONE YEAR exactly from when James came home from his mission in Argentina.

Paige and I were there to greet him after he was released because she was really good friends with him. I only knew who he was, but happened to snag the first hug because Paige had run to the bathroom. James and I started carpooling to work a few days later…and a year later we find ourselves happily married for amost 6 months! CRAZY!

Best year ever, though.

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So back to what Spring is bringing…

1. IMAGINE DRANGONS concert on March 22nd in SLC!

2. Weekend Trip to SEATTLE Easter weekend …we have a couple free Marriott stays we need to use AND want to take advantage of being on this end of the country before moving back to GA. I’ve always heard so much about Seattle! Can’t WAIT!!!

3. Moving back to GEORGIA end of April and making pits stops along the way: Littleton, CO – Tulsa, OK – Houston, TX …taking advantage of the cross country trip to visit fam and friends!

4. Beginning of May – Most likely I will be driving with my parents as they move to ARIZONA so that my mom won’t have to drive alone. She’ll be trailing my dad in the U-Haul. So I’ll get to see family in AZ again and meet my new NEPHEW!!! …Just need to book a one-way back to Atlanta and it will be final!

5. My photography business is becoming more and more official! Website in the works!

6. Later in May for my birthday – A trip to CHARLESTON, SC! We’ve never been! Hoorah!

7. AAAAND Even later in the year – TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT in Nashville, TN for our one year anniversary! (Sept 28) Her last concert of the Red Tour. fun fun fun

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I know what you may be thinking. Yes, we work. But in the words of Cher Lloyd – “WORK HARD – PARTY HARDER!” …hahaha…

Also, seeing as we are currently child free, we’d like to really make the most of that married freedom. Makes sense, right? We think so.

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Lastly: Just look at kitty…she loves being a Gossling and is getting a tad more plump : )

it may be because she enjoyed my Valentine’s See’s just as much as me…

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May the sunny days continue!…

love, whit

 

Christmas with the Gossling’s

This was James and my first Christmas together as newly weds! We were both thrilled to be able to go home to Georgia for it.

We spent the first few days at home with my parents, but then they headed west to spend the holidays in Arizona…so James and I had a 100% Gossling Christmas this year. (Which is fine by me…I know how some “Christmas with the in-laws” stories can go – ha!)

I was not the best at documenting our trip…but I do have a few moments to share…

let’s start with the Carrie Underwood concert! it was fun with family and friends…

James and I spent a couple days at Gossling Farms – Sarah, Sydney, and little nephew James (not pictured…also not to be confused with “big james”, my hubby) helped me make treats for the family Christmas party! we had tons of fun that day watching the kids:

after which, us “big kids” enjoyed four-wheeling and skeet shooting!

after Papa Jim showed me the way, I shot five birdies in a row with the 12 gauge!…super proud…

We had the Gossling Christmas party on Christmas Eve Eve. A delicious dinner of honey baked ham + the works…and some tamales & toppings. Followed by the debut of the Grandma Goose Puppet Theater…a hit with the kids and a hopeful yearly tradition. I caught the whole the on video (the first minute as a separate clip – but the rest is below for your viewing pleasure….probably only family would be interested – but super cute! way to go Carrie and Adam!) (my personal favorite happens close after 7:30 minutes)

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After the show, even the big boys had some fun. Meet the Gossling brothers:

Then the kids ran around, sang some songs, opened presents, and ran around some more. getting a decent picture was close to impossible…but entertaining!…

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We ended the evening with the adult white elephant gift swap and some all-inclusive Christmas caroling (which often turned into the heavy metal version thanks to Adam and James):

then everyone went home and we were post-party pooped…

James and I purchased an Atlanta City Pass for our trip…so over the course of our two weeks home, we enjoyed the Georgia Aquarium/Dolphin Show, World of Coca-cola, Zoo Atlanta, and CNN Headquarters (unfortunately there was just not time for the High Museum of Art or the Fernbank Museum IMAX)

(there was a good picture of Pete, Lisa, and Troy…but I found this one funnier! this trip has reinforced that not having kids makes pictures much easier)

before leaving the east coast…we did make a trip up to Virginia to visit my sister, Dacy, and her family. I forgot to take pictures though, so all i have are a couple from my phone…most of which were taken by 4 year old Zia. (it was freezing, but we visited the James river anyway…seemed namely appropriate)

New Years was spent in GA. We bought a few bags full of explosives on our way home from Virginia, so after a night of food and blasting Rock Band with friends, we made some neighbors upset with our fireworks and then made our tummies upset with Waffle House at 2:20 am. It was a great way to ring in 2013!

For the record, I would count my first Gossling Christmas as a success! – any awkward or uncomfortable moments will remain un-blogged….ha!…just kidding : )

love, whit

The Color Run – ATL

why is it i just found out about this today??!

THE COLOR RUN in…

it is a PERFECT way to check “run a 5K” off of my bucket list!

only, i’ll need some company…any takers to join me on march 31st downtown?!

(p.s. – it’s in many other cities across the country too…check it out – http://thecolorrun.com/locations/ )

love, whit

Atlanta, GA Aquarium

an afternoon at the world’s LARGEST aquarium. be jealous. it’s basically the best ever…although my hands smelled like fish all day because i chose to pet the sting rays first.

wait, the DEEP VOYAGE tunnel was the best…but let’s see some other things first. (minus the belugas…they moved too much..all my pics were blurry. and i forgot to take some of the piranhas who were noteworthy as well)…

(above: the dragon fish…way rad)

…african penguins…can you tell they’re swimming? probs not. crap photo.

i LOVE the jelly fish!

and then the fascination of the tropical reef wall that has waves at the top…

and then come the biggest fish known to man…the whale shark:

(i love this pic above)

favvvy

even lil troy enjoyed it…..kind of…

the GA Aquarium = worth it.

love, whit

4 day weekends

four day weekends are fantastic!

especially this one in which joe-beau came to visit.

i didn’t take as many photos as usual. strange, right? but, here are a few:

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we hiked to the top of stone mountain (a little chilly)…

we played with dave and paige…i just LOVE these two….

(dave and joe became pretty close)

atlantic station. new shoes. cpk. krispy kreme. jb christmas. and dj dave dance party. = a well spent weekend.

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this is how we felt about the world of coke…

(just a little overrated, but at least with good company)

our day at the Georgia Aquarium with lisa and pete (and lil troy) has yet to be documented…but coming soon.

love, whit

why Atlanta, GA is the place to be

ok, i don’t live IN atlanta…but close enough to call it home.

don’t get me wrong – i ADORE downtown. i spend plenty of time there. i LOVE cities. but i’m also a sucker for the winding roads and country scenes and the “homey” feel of tiny towns. so i live just far enough out from the heart of Atlanta to enjoy BOTH!

i guess it’s not just the ATL, but Georgia that i love so dearly. i love it’s diversity. i love it’s southern hospitality and charm. i love it’s weather – today is GORGEOUS! you get all four seasons here and they last as long as they are supposed to. and the scenery – GREEN GREEN GREEN! i need my trees and lakes and ponds and wooden fences.

lately there have been some things that make me so happy:

1 – Chick-Fil-A receipt days. Bring back your receipt and get everything on it for FREE! not to mention they put out a vase of fresh flowers on every table daily. classy fast food of the south.

2 – the heart of the town i live in can be summed up in one street – it has a library, city hall, beautiful little park, an ice cream place, two churches, a family owned cafe, an old lady salon, and a couple other little “shops”. there is a bank and auto shop across the way. i love this little strip. i can walk to it all easily from my house.

don’t get me wrong, i don’t live in the middle of nowhere. anything else i could possibly need is about a 10 minute drive away. it’s the best of both worlds. i pass cow pastures, fields, trees, po-dunk looking homes and even a huge southern mansion, and end up at a shopping mall complete with Victoria Secret, Ethan Allen, Macaroni Grill, Gap, Barnes & Noble, and seriously any place you could possibly need. WalMart, Target, and Sams Club are just down the road, too. along with everything else.

3 – the gym i go to knows me by name. and in my Zumba class, we have enough diversity that it’s so full of flavor! one lady last night was signing in her friend and shouts out across the room, “JJ HONEY, how you be spellin’ yo’ LAST NAME?!” it was so loud everybody got quiet. then from across the room “JJ” shouted back how to spell it. the way people talk just make me smile.

4 – people. doesn’t matter if you know a person – they smile, wave, and say “hey!” or “how yah doin’?!” even if you don’t know them from adam! i especially like the handful of strangers that go walking every morning – i don’t know a thing about them, but i feel like we’re friends because we wave and smile to each other every day on my way to work.

5 – Waffle House. open 24/7. better than any Denny’s or IHOP. and the environment makes it all that much better.

6 – Little Five Points. it’s like little bohemia. music venues. book stores. vintage shops. great food. the most interesting of people. full of photo opps.

7 – Fernbank Museum’s IMAX theater. educational and incredible. enough said. i love it!

8 – Papi’s Cuban Grill downtown. i could eat there everyday. and around the corner is the fabulous Fox Theater!

9 – Concerts in Atlanta. concerts in parks. cheap shows every weekend. and i love love love the smaller venues – Vinyl, Center Stage, the Loft, the Tabernacle. (the Masquerade for when i was in high school and more into the punk/rock scene). other venues – Smith’s Olde Bar. Decatur – Eddie’s Attic – SWEET POTATO FRIES! mmmm.

10 – the classy homeless trumpet player. i swear i see him every time i’m downtown. usually he’s down the corner from the Fox. he’s got talent.

11 – parks. georgia has so many beautiful parks! i love picnics or walks in the park.

12 – i’ve already mentioned diversity. but you go to the right parts of town, you really can find little Korea and mini Latin America. Caribbean too. It’s great for eating out! or shopping at all the international markets. so great!

12 – stone mountain. hiking to the top never gets old. SO beautiful! and all the things to do in the park around it. after a day there and an evening watching the laser show. i just leave thinking “God bless the U.S.A.!!”

and just some other things that make this city so great – Centennial Olympic Park, The Coca-cola factory, Turner Field, the GA Aquarium (only THE largest)….

my “i love georgia” list could go on forever.

you don’t even have to go “downtown” to find it all. this weekend, i’m headed to the north georgia mountains. It’s October – time for apple everything!

I spent my years in Utah for school. I’ve visited Arizona plentyplenty. I used to live in Florida. Texas – spent enough time there to not want to stay too long. as far as living…nothing compares to Georgia. home sweet home.

(the bus roll)

love, whit

atlanta segway tour

so, as i mentioned before, my parents’ birthdays are this week.

as a present, something different and fun to do – we went on a SEGWAY TOUR of ATLANTA! it was – SO fun!

the rents:

let’s back up a bit…from the beginning…

mom, getting a feel for what we’re about to do before the segway safety/warm-up…

helmets and the safety video were mandatory…

then a little one-at-a-time practice on the segway. our group was my parents and i, a very cordial young bloke from the UK (it was his first time ever to the states – loved his accent), and a french canadian from montreal.

i didn’t get many pictures of the tour – it’s hard to manage a sensitive segway and a DSLR. but we did take a stop and walk around a bit at the capitol. mom really wanted a pic with good ol’ jimmy – the only US president from GA. the statue is life size of him, too…

our group:

mom took this one,

the shot i was taking in that picture:

a couple more from dad’s camera…

when we passed the Ritz Carlton, we made it at the same time as the pro football team from Philly. the Eagles – coming for the game against the Falcons. there were tv cameras and crowds – i managed to get my balance enough to snap a couple…too bad it’s just the back of some of the players…

the last “break” stop was at The Varsity. atlanta’s famous chili-dogs…

i wish i was able to get more pictures, but my coordination on the segway wasn’t the best…i didn’t want to bring my camera into it. i thought mom would have problems on the machines….turns out i was the one with “incidents”…yes, there was blood…

each segway had a name, mine was “Jack”…just when i got the hang of how to ride him, the day was over…

it was definitely a well-spent 3 hours…and the rents loved the adventure…

afterwards we had some straight-up southern cookin’ downtown at Mary Mac’s. check out my fried fish platter…

…i’ll be eating on it for DAYS. after i ate my fried green tomatoes, cabbage, and broccoli souffle…i had no room for much more.

a few more photos…some more of my favs from my claire marie “photo shoot”…

 

ok, that’s enough pictures for one day.

love, whit