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Two years ago, one of my best friends lost her very best friend…her mom. I’ve known Ashley for several years, after meeting her thanks to mutual friends, we just clicked. Maybe it was because we’re both Pisces, or because we both have dark hair, or that we both love being near water. Her fun-loving, positive spirit was contagious. She had just recovered from a horrible bout with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and was regaining strength every day. Her family and friends had helped her make it through the sickness, the pain, the nightmare. And then a few years later, she called me…that dreaded phone call…it was back. The cancer was back. My heart sank. She was losing hope. I couldn’t let that happen. So her other friends and I visited her in the hospital. Although she barely remembers us being there, staying behind the plastic wall that protected her from all the outside germs, we smiled at her through tears. We knew, we just knew, she was going to beat this thing! She had to. After all, her mom had made her hospital room the most vibrant, beautiful, calming room ever…photos, swatches of color, hand-made paper designs hanging from the ceiling. And she did it, she made it through for a second time. I’m so happy to say that she has celebrated over 5 years of being cancer free. Her mom’s story is a bit different though. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, fought a tough battle while keeping hopeful, and she passed away two years ago. Ashley had learned her positive, courageous spirit from her mom, who loved life and adventure. She lived life to the fullest, and shared it with her family, her friends, and those who would quickly become her friends after just meeting her. Her family held a celebration of life, complete with family photos on tables, flowers, her journals of travels to India while she was fighting the battle of her life. Under a tent and rainy skies, we celebrated her love for life. For that’s what she would have wanted. The family asked those who attended to write letters to her…in my letter, I promised I would be there for Ashley no matter what. And I had the honor of doing just that a few days ago. After all, she’s kind of like a sister to me, along with our friend, Audrey. A small impromptu gathering was planned to honor Ashley’s mom, in the very place where we had all gathered 2 years ago. But on this day, no rain drops fell. Only dappled, sparkling, beautiful sunlight streamed through the tall trees in the garden – her garden – the very garden that she had helped maintain, as her daughter and friends shared stories and remembered her radiant and colorful spirit. The flowers in the garden couldn’t have been more beautiful and perfect. Dear Ashley’s mom, you are loved and missed!

The owners of this beautiful property were some of Ashley’s mom’s dear friends. In addition to the beautiful gardens, they had two of the cutest and sweetest dogs…Rudy was not camera shy at all!

Despite the tough times my friend’s family has endured, they have grown in strength, love, and hope – together. Much love to you all.

In a beautiful light

I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe 4th of July! We were lucky enough to enjoy 2 amazing fireworks displays over the weekend while visiting with family and friends. I captured a few images on the 4th and also took a little creative freedom with some of them, in honor of the holiday spirit! Although I love fireworks, I really like the ones that don’t look like fireworks at all…see what you think!

And a perfect lunch on the 4th…grilled BBQ bacon cheeseburgers, sweet and juicy watermelon,

and buttery corn on the cob! My husband is quite a chef and grillmaster!

Now on to the show!

In black and white you can see how the sparks intertwined with each other, just amazing!

And if you like abstract art, just imagine one of these hanging on a large focal wall…just about any of these would work in any orientation. Hmm…I think I may have to try this at home!

This is one of my favorites! I love the fireworks that turn into shimmery sparkles,

and this is what that is from, with my own little twist on it.

I remember when I was little, my friends and I would name the fireworks. One summer, we were fond of using different cereal names, like Apple Jacks and Fruity Pebbles. Today, I might name this one Trunkless Palms.

I don’t think I would ever guess that this one is of fireworks! I love the color!

This is my absolute favorite! The color, the lines!

I was so excited when I saw this on my little screen!

Traveling at warp speed!

Which one is your favorite? Leave a comment to tell us about it!

Happy Birthday, America! Fireworks and Creative Freedom

Over the weekend, we visited with some family. Despite the soaring temperatures and high humidity, we hung out in my Grandma’s backyard in her beautiful garden after dinner and dessert. It was great to spend time with family on such a sun-kissed day. I’m truly blessed with a warm, happy, and loving family. Of course I had my camera with me, sooo…I took a few pictures. Here are some of my favorites!

A warm glow filled the garden area…favorite!

My Grandma has such a keen eye and sense of style, just look at her pretty plants and details…

I just love the whimsical birdhouses and the statue of Saint Francis of Assisi.

I had so much fun finding all the little gems hidden around…like this cute monkey!

And my favorite find was this frog! He seemed to enjoy “hiding”

among the plants and “hopping” in the sunlight! 🙂

Ohhh, the lighting was just sooo pretty! *Swoon!*

Now if only a cute little bird had been sitting outside this house!

Mr. Frog was quite the model! 😉

Have a great day!

In Grandma’s Garden

Over Memorial Day weekend, we ventured to Dobson, NC to attend Vintage at the Vineyards. This was an amazing car show featuring vintage BMWs, held at a beautiful vineyard in the heart of wine country in North Carolina. Over 300 cars were present, and it was my mission to capture a piece of this event for my husband and his business, Reggie’s Motorworks. After the event ended, we decided to take a historic route, the Blue Ridge Parkway, to Asheville, NC, before heading home. If you want a beautifully scenic and fun drive, I highly recommend the Blue Ridge Parkway! There are tons of points of interest, scenic overlooks, parks, and wildlife along the winding roadway. We even saw a few turkeys! We would have also loved to spend some more time in Asheville. What a neat city! We found a cute sidewalk cafe called Mayfel’s, where we had the best brunch ever. I could go on and on, but let’s get right to some of my favorite images from the event and our road trip. Enjoy!

Once we arrived at the meeting spot for the event, where they provided a free car wash, a huge thunderstorm rolled through…luckily, the golf ball size hail that was predicted did not

accompany the rain! Imagine over 300 vintage automobiles sitting out in a hailstorm…yikes!

This is our 1984 318i Baur TC covered in rain drops. Love it!

The next day was just perfect and started off with a morning drive. There’s just something I love about this image…yes, it’s a bit of motion blur. I was the passenger as my husband drove through the twisty roads. So I’m moving, my camera’s moving, and the other cars are moving…

all moving at a fair rate of speed!

The drive led us to this cool turn-around point where people stopped to take photos with these old-timey gas pumps. I added a bit of vintage to it. Love this one!

And thank you to one of our new friends, the owner of the cool vintage red 2002 (the one with the roof rack above), for taking our photo!

I loved seeing people photographing their cars…I could tell that this gentleman really loved his automobile. It did look pretty cool parked on the side of the road here.

Then we arrived at the event. Say hello to beautiful Shelton Vineyards!

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful place to photograph awesome cars!

So happy to be buzzing through the vineyard in their Isetta!

Yes, like the car that Steve Urkel drove on Family Matters!

Of course I had to sneak in some photos of the vineyard! This is one of my favorites!

Reggie won a prize for correctly guessing the most parts for the e30 division! Yay!

Another fave!! Of course! 🙂

I would love to photograph this car again…it’s just so cool!

Here’s the rear view…and it’s a photo of me and my hubby! See me?

We couldn’t have asked for a better day for such a great event!

And the same beautiful weather followed us along the Blue Ridge Parkway…well, most of the time!

I was trying to get a really cool shot, when I saw myself in the mirror…Hi!

We didn’t realize just how many stopping points there are along the way. We’d see a cool spot and say “Oooh! We have to stop here! Oh wait, let’s stop here too!” Well, at this stop, we saw a family and their pet taking a hike to yet another overlook. He liked having his photo taken!

And they said he can talk!

Remember when I said I was going for a cool shot…well, here’s the result!

That’s our friend Kyle following us…Hi Kyle!

We saw some crazy road signs! I’ve never seen either of these before!

It turns out that they also make a matching sticker!

Reggie found it at a gift shop at one of our many stops. Perfect!

I loved being a passenger with a camera…just look at this cool bridge/tunnel!

I also wanted a “mountains in the distance” photo…this will do!

Due to speed limits and our multiple stops, we finally ate lunch…well, an early dinner, really, at Mount Mitchell, the highest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway! They said it’s foggy 8 out of 10 days here. This day was no exception! And their climate is actually closer to that of New England and Canada.

Before we drove up to the highest point, we had been drenched in sunshine, blue skys, white puffy clouds, and temps in the upper 70s…totally different story up here at 6,684 feet! The highest point east of the Mississippi River!

We parked near this cool, mossy tree.

Closeup of the moss…prettiest moss I’ve ever seen!

I wish I could have brought back this gorgeous wall with me…

Another tunnel!

Almost to Asheville…one last stop!

I loved seeing this tree growing right out of the side of a mountain!

If you’ve read all of this post and looked at every image, I applaud you! And you should leave your name in the comments! 🙂

Thank you for spending some time here on the blog!

Road Trip Recap!

Even though it’s a day late…I would like to wish all father’s, especially mine, a Happy Father’s Day! I hope you had a wonderful day! I was fortunate to spend Saturday and Sunday with my parents, enjoying the sunshine. Dad, thank you for all that you do, and for instilling in me that hard work pays off. You are so generous with your time and love. My Dad is always there to help when someone needs it, and never expects anything in return. He has always been strong, hard-working, and thoughtful. I love you, Dad! And since I had a post featuring so many wonderful Mothers, I thought it would only be fair to show off all the proud Fathers too!