TUTORIAL IT

Anderson trip 2011 Friday Saturday

This past weekend HeyMatthew and I took a quick trip to Anderson and it was A-MA-ZING! We had the absolute best time and had already started planning our next trip on the car ride home. We left Sumter around 6pm on Friday afternoon and made it to Mott & Papas (my dads parents) house a little after 9:00. I had hoped to get into town a little earlier but a late night arrival didnt keep Mott from feeding us like it was Thanksgiving. As soon as we arrived we sat down in Motts kitchen and had the most delicious casserole and green bean supper! Love it! Saturday morning started early and Mott and Papa took us down to the barns in their backyard. I played throughout all of Papas buildings as a child and was so excited for Matthew to see everything Id been telling him about for weeks. I was a tiny bit disappointed when I couldnt find my "rabbit catchin hole" that Id dug as a child but I guess all things cant stay the same. Walking into Papas buildings is like taking a trip into the most magical antique shop there is. Not only are the buildings filled with treasures but most of those treasures belonged to my ancestors. After M&P realized that I was diggin all of their cool stuff, they quickly started passing on the family heirlooms. I left with kerosene lamps that belonged to my great & great-great grandmother, my great grandmothers breadbox, a kettle that Mott used to heat her bath water as a child, my great grandmothers piano (!!!) and tons of other amazing pieces! Im going to do a post to show everything here in the next few days. Im so excited!

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My Papa


The lamps. Arent they gorgeous?

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After our treasure hunt we ate a quick snack and headed over to Linda and Eddie Rays house to meet up with the rest of the family! Linda is my dads sister and I think I inherited my love for all things crafty and all things old from her. She has so many cool pieces in her house and she (like myself) isnt above digging through old barns to find great antique...just no spiders, please! I was so excited to see that my cousins Tyler (also a Charlestonian now living in Sumter + one of my BFFs), Marina (married to Tylers brother, Alston) and new, tiny, wonderful baby Olivia (child of Marina and Alston) were already there. Olivia is only a few months old so this was the first time that I have ever been around her. Id heard that she was beautiful but I had no idea just HOW beautiful! Olivia is the tiniest, sweetest little angel face ever!! Shes easy going, laughs a lot and best of all- she let me hold her for SO long! It was the best. Id told Marina and Alston (Olivias parents, my cousins) that I wanted to do some photos for them so not long after we arrived we propped baby Olivia up and started shooting. Ive got a separate post of Olivia photos that Im posting later on so youll get to see all the photos. It was so much fun!! Not only is Olivia beautiful but shes super patient and was easy to photograph. While the girls played with little Olivia, Alston, Eddie Ray, Matthew and Tyler went out to the backyard to play cowboys and indians shoot Alstons bow and arrow.

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Tyler


HeyMatthew


Alston

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I was scared that someone was going to get hit in the leg or something but everything went smoothly...other than a few missing arrows. Sorry, Alston. Later on in the afternoon, Nick (L&ERs oldest, my walking partner in wedding processionals), his amazing wife Sherrea (I love her to pieces) and their two kids Aslinn and Carey (also super cute, sweet and wonderful) came over and joined the fun. Aslinn and Carey are so precious and I was so lucky to be able to photograph them too! Ive got such great childrens photography posts coming up- cant wait for you to see! I know everyone thinks that the kids in their family are the cutest but mine REALLY are. No, REALLY!
Linda and Eddie Ray prepared the best dinner for us. They grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs with sides +toppings! Yum! Mot & Papa were also over by this time and we had a great night eating and talking together.

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Yum! by Linda + Eddie Ray

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12 hours flew by and before we knew it, it was time to head back to Mott & Papas to get some rest. I had such a wonderful time with everyone and I hated to even leave. I could sit up and talk with my family all night. I didnt realize this post was going to be so long and even though Id planned on writing about the whole weekend in one day, Ill save the rest for later.

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Announcing Winner of DMBLGiT September 2011

I recently created a holiday customer appreciation dessert table for my friend Maria of Studio Sister photography.  Be sure to stop in on Monday when I share the entire table!

Have a great weekend friends!!
Hugs,
Pam


*PS Harveys "Holiday Sparkle and Cheer Collection"

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AP survey Recovery to remain sluggish into 2011

In the April 12, 2010 article "AP survey: Recovery to remain sluggish into 2011," Associated Press economics writer Jeannine Aversa says a survey of economists suggests U.S. economic growth will remain quite modest until at least 2011.

"Among the first surveys key findings:
• The unemployment rate will stay stubbornly high the next two years. It will inch down to 9.3 percent by the end of this year and to 8.4 percent by the end of 2011. The rate has been 9.7 percent since January. When the recession started in December 2007, unemployment was 5 percent.
• Home prices will remain almost flat for the next two years, even after plunging an average 30 percent nationally since their peak in 2006. The economists forecast no rise this year and a 2.3 percent gain next year.
• The economy will grow 3 percent this year, which is less than usual during the early phase of a recovery and the reason unemployment will stay high. It takes growth of 5 percent for a year to lower the jobless rate by 1 percentage point, economists say."

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Anushka Sharma on Hi! Living Magazine Cover Page November 2011

Anushka sharma on Hi! Living Magazine cover page, Anushka sharma photoshoot for Hi! Living Magazine november 2011, bollywood actress anushka sharma Hi! Living Magazine scan, stills, photo gallery.

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