Georgia Aquarium

I've said this before, but I have a fascination with aquariums.  They are breathtakingly beautiful and they have a serenity that is hard to come by on land.  The Georgia Aquarium houses 120,000 animals, representing 500 species, in 8.5 million gallons of marine and fresh water; it was the world's largest aquarium when it opened in 2005. 

My favorite sea creature is the sting ray, they glide through the water like a bird glides through the air. Standing 10 inches away from them, I just put my hand against the glass and almost feel the manta ray's silk wings swim by.  Standing in the IMAX of aquarium displays was a whole new experience, just sitting and watching all the animals around me.  Even the dancing jellyfish and the tiniest seahorse, with its tail woven around the seaweed have a genuine beauty. Every time I leave an aquarium I have a new sense of calm around me and can only image a life away from the sun and into the deep dives of the blue ocean.

Rainy Day Art

It's that time of year again, for another adventure and another place to add to my collection!  Last week I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to see Amy, a good girlfriend from college. It's always more fun to share trips with people close to you, having more laughs, a second opinion and a local tour guide. 

On our first day of adventuring in Atlanta, we went to the High Museum of Art, somewhere Amy had been wanting to explore and I, as an artist, am drawn to by nature. We were lucky to see their latest exhibit of Dutch painters including Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring! It was such a beautiful collection of paintings where I could have spent hours staring at the delicate flower still lives or the warm landscapes that make even a blizzard scene look cozy and inviting.

Museums become the keynote of my travels since art lifts my spirits and inspires my creative soul. I hope these beautiful images I collected from the day inspires you and gives you a little taste of the High Museum of Art.

Maxie B's Meet-up!

This weekend marked the first meet-ups of the Southern Blogger Society summer event.  Every state will be holding an event for bloggers to meet and greet and get to know some new SBS members throughout the next week.  As the North Carolina state representative I planned the event, we had on Saturday, in Greensboro, mid-point between Charlotte and Raleigh.  We meet at Maxie B's Bakery, one of my favorite spots in town! Their cakes and cupcakes are renown to all Greensboro locals and is always my first pick for sweet treats!  My personal choice is the hummingbird cake, but with unique flavors such as 7up, pink lemonade, thin mint, mocha buttercream, and chocolate mousse there's something for everyone's taste!  However, if the delicious cupcakes aren't reason enough to stop by the bakery, the atmosphere they have created is just beautiful!  It's the small details they've included into their new renovated decor that makes the ambience soft and intimate. It is the perfect place to host any meeting especially for a group of bloggers who love to photograph pretty food, places, and people, as all bloggers do.

For our morning meeting I choose a light strawberry cupcake, with real fruit filling, and a cup of Raspberry Zinger tea.  Even though our meet-up was small, it was so great to meet some fellow NC bloggers and I got to know two sweet ladies a little bit better!  Check out their blogs with the links below!

Haute Couture by Grace Lee

Hokie, ESQ by Manisha

Maxie B's Bakery Blog

Barnyard

It's official.  North Carolina had an entire day of sunshine!  As most of you on the east coast have been experiencing, we've had 18 days straight of rain, maybe not pouring, but it has rained for a least 30 minutes every day for three weeks. And then there finally came a day of sun!  I've been so lucky to be able to go home several times this month, probably more then I have in the past two years.  But spending time with my parents and getting to see my girlfriends who live distances away has lifted my spirits.  Home is a place a family and old friends and there aren't many times a year when we can all be together in Concord.

Nina, who I visited in Boston last year, was home for a family event and we were able to spend an afternoon lounging around her house before she headed back north.  The humid air and falling sunlight made for some glowing photos of her mother's garden and her father's horses.  I hope you can spend a few summer days at home with your loved ones this year!