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

i love the holidays…

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1. it SNOWED! … a beautiful snow. and i feel so lucky that Lora Grady Photography invited me to go play in it with her! she is wonderful…

you can go to her link above to see the rest. she is AH MAY ZIING!

2. SCHOOL’S OUT…..for Thanksgiving! my break started this last Thursday…until next Tuesday! yes YES  Y E SSSS!

3. Saw Breaking Dawn … love me some dogs and vamps on the big screen!

4. SKYFALL …. love me some double OH seven even more!

5. we have a house guest!!! can’t think of anyone else i’d rather host for than Dave Cashman. what is not to love?? fun times this week! James has been all smiles having his man bestie here.

5. City Creek is the classiest mall. makes downtown holiday browsing much more festive with all the lights and window shopping! but really… classy.

6. VEGAS in a DAY! – road trip with only the best of company…Lora and Dan Grady! we will do Las Vegas in style. i will paint my nails in sparkles for the occasion!

7. after Vegas come CALI! …my first california visit. ever! to LA…visiting some Gossling fam for the big turkey day. and i do believe there will be skeet shooting.

8. did i mention we’re stopping in VEGAS again on our way back?!

9. Christmas is already up in our cozy abode! just love Christmastime!

10. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND…..

a  S N E A K  P E E K of our wedding weekend is up via BP.FILM!!!…

Sneak Peek: Whitney + James from bc.film on Vimeo.

this gets us so excited to see the whole thing when she’s done!

we love us some bethany petersen!!!

yes, LOVE

11. i need to go to bed now… more ‘tivities coming in the ‘morrow…

love, whit

merry and bright

my sister, Dacy, and her familia drove down from Virginia the day after Christmas.

there was some gift opening…(zia loves her papa tutt)…

quinlan loving her OWN new camera…

ry LOVES his kindle fire…

this little man is SUCH a bundle of love!!…

..my family makes cute kids. no big deal.

and of course…the usual crazy Papa Tutt tickle attacks of never-ending squeals…

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and…being the favorite aunt… (yes, true statement)… i gave “makeovers” to the girls. something i’ll probably be begged to do every day until they leave.

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3 year old Zia, all glammed up:

…trying to “pucker up”…(don’t you just love her glasses?!)

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max…happy to be a boy…

and Quinlan…in her mom’s old cheerleading uniform…

Zia reminded us of Madonna being a “Material Girl”…

love these kids.

(nevermind my overly-happy baby face)

love, whit

december list

(i like the sweatshirt – not the robot necklace)1 – i LOVE lists!

2 – i’m sick. blechk.

3 – being sick did not slow me down this weekend = all day wedding/reception photo gig + 3 day maggiano’s diet + Christmas ‘tivities with my sunbeams + straight no chaser concert downtown.

2 – ITALY = t-minus TWO WEEKS!!!! (as if i haven’t been eating enough i-talian lately)

3 – Christmas is even CLOSER!

4 – 2012 is coming…time to reflect on the past to make the future brighter.

5 – no, a weekend every 2 months will not cut it

6 – remember the reason for the season – i’m in the mood to give and not get

love, whit

Christmas Gift Wrap Ideas!

i get so excited when i give gifts!… and half the fun for me is wrapping it up, especially when i see so many amazing ideas such as these:

’tis the season for giving!

love, whit

enthused.

mom puts together this Christmas newsletter every year to send out to family and friends. actually…she does it in poem form. rhymes and all. and for quite a while around the house in the month of December, we get to hear about how she needs to get it done and how she needs help in finding a good picture to put with it. generally, no ones pays any mind to it until it becomes overly annoying. ha! so last night…we finally succumbed to getting together and making it happen. this is how enthused we were…

happy holidays. from the Tutt’s! ….ha.

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speaking of enthused. today is one of those days…where i ended up having to take a trip to the store during my lunch break to pick up the following…

…all my feel-better comfort food cravings. gushers. flaming hot cheetos. dark chocolate. and odwalla. a sick and unhealthy combo, i know. but the day called for it. so judge me! Odwalla was on SALE though…total perk. i bought three.

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found this in my coat pocket today too…

remember enthusiasm. indeed.

love, whit

smart online shopping

did i ever show you my shoes? i don’t think i did. and i cannot believe i didn’t. because i am sooooooo in love with them. (i’ve had them a few months now…but still, why not share?!) i designed them myself. and waited impatiently for a month for them to be made and shipped. light and fit and FAB-O-LUS. everyone at the gym covets them.

thankyou, NikeID.

speaking of online purchases…

i just made another today!

online shopping is just so easy…which can be terribly DANGEROUS! but, i feel i have it under control. i mean, i do a lot…and i mean A LOT…of online “window shopping”. haha. great time waster! however, i’m pretty good at pricing around, watching for sales, comparing, and convincing myself i don’t NEED things.

but this…this i feel is an investment. and wise. and will be well used. and after doing my research…i feel it’s the greatest idea ever!!!…

i know what you may be thinking. “Whaaa??!”

when it comes to photography, i’m all about natural light. no modified light or flashes if at all possible…because it destroys so much of the “feel” of the moment. though i understand, sometimes it’s necessary because even with cranking up the ISO (noise, ew!) and adjusting the aperture or shutter speed…light is needed. or maybe you want a dramatic side-lighting for a studio feel?

and then i found this beauty!!!! the MicroPro LED.

why so amazing?

1 – it’s daylight balanced at 5600K! that’s right…daylight. not fluorescent or tungsten or other crazy light side effects that need filters or look unnatural (though with an option to change to tungsten 3200K if desired). that right there had me.

2 – look at that size! 6 inches. fits in a camera bag! i-d-e-a-l!

3 – LED. heat-free. and takes batteries. NO PLUG-IN NEEDED! so accessible. so easy. i’m so in love.

4- it’s dimmable. YES! a little handy-dandy knob on the side will make it as harsh/dim as i’d like. fan-frikkin-TASTIC!

5 – comes with a shoe mount. or mount it on a light stand. and also has gel filters.

oh, and looky! currently $50 off. done AND done. i will not regret this.

i will feel so studio profesh in no time.

thank you, B&H.

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i made hashbrown crust quiche this weekend. (with the help of miss ryan who came over mid-quiche-process to update mah hurr do)

i have a new love for quiche. next time…more spinach.

….and Christmas is officially up at home….

and also in the office….

so i feel the spirit of the season…all around me…every day. love. it.

love, whit

Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving weekend came and went. It was SO NICE to have a long four day weekend to do….absolutely nothing!

Mom was out of town in Carlsbad, New Mexico with some of her siblings…and her parents (who currently no longer reside in Mexico…) it seems their health is going downhill fast. I believe it’s all my mom thinks about these days. Understandably so.

Dad and I took care of each other at home…had our own little turkey-day meal…and it was so nice. A very stress-free holiday. And the time off from work allowed me to catch up on sleep and with friends. (minus the fact that i made an 8am Starbucks date with Paige on Thanksgiving morning…needless to say, i showed up in my jammies. and then slept 4 more hours after i got home)

I visited my favorite little Forsyth family in fayetteville…ate a second Thanksgiving dinner, had life discussion with lisa, and cuddled as much as i could with little Troy. (he’s already three weeks old now, and even more adorable!)

i loveLOVElove his hair. and how he smells. is it weird that i like to smell babies? lisa’s such a good mommy. and pete is a natural daddy, too.

this month has been a double-whammy…i got to see nate TWICE! him and aimee flew in for the holiday. considering we wanted aimee to get the most of her first georgia experience…we made a night trip to Waffle House.

WaHo is my only exception for drinking bottomless vanilla coke…and eating hash browns. smothered, diced, and chunked. the tummy ache is SO worth it.

the chocolate chip waffle.

if there were only two words to describe mine and jared’s relationship…CUDDLY WUDDLY. i mean, just look how happy!

oh, the holidays.

up-and-coming:

1- my overdue haircut. thank you, ryan, for being so accommodating and fitting me in…because the 10th is no longer do-able.

2- thank you mr. boss for being so accommodating and giving me the 8th and 9th off. i do love 4 days weekends …especially when they come about so unexpectedly the way this one has!

3- i also marked myself off the calendar at work for two weeks in January. Hello Italy!

4- decorating for Christmas! how i love it. this calls for a trip to Hobby Lobby. the office is counting on me.

love, whit

utah bound

i agree. let’s not rush into things here!

i do love the holidays though.

i feel like the next couple months are going to FLY by. october sure did!

tomorrow i have a 6am flight to SLC, Utah. this is exciting! but stresses me out. i feel like there is so much i need to do before then. including sleep.

and pack. i hate packing. it’s only like 6 days. but what would take the average person 1hr to pack….takes me like 4. or 5. i don’t know what my problem is! i get distracted. and over-think. but i’m going to try and practice my “lite packing” because i’ll need to be a pro come time for Italy in January. ha!

and apart from packing i have other things on my “to-do” list. oh, AND i have Institute class tonight (church gospel studies class). which i would skip, but my dad is the teacher and always puts so much thought/planning into each week’s class – they’re great…and the spiritual “boost” is always much needed come mid-week.

anyway…things coming up:

1 – UTAH trip!

2 – Thanksgiving!! (nate’s coming home too!)

3 – i’ve been commissioned to do a couple photo sessions (and a wedding)…extra $$ for the holidays/savings. lovely.

4 – CHRISTMAS!

5 – My sis, Dacy, + hubs + kids are coming at the end of december to visit!

6 – New Years!

7 – Jan 2nd – ITALIA!!!!

8 – Jan 17th – school starts

that reminds me, i need to meet with a school counselor and get my sched figured out. and schedule that blasted spanish CLEP test. who doesn’t like easy credits?!

love, whit