The sun isn’t even up yet and everyone is ready to rip open gifts. Before the stockings come down and wrapping paper begins to fly, have your camera ready and read through these tips on how to photograph your Christmas morning.   Check your camera settings the day before. Specifically, white balance, shutter speed, aperture and ISO.   What is one item you always need on Christmas morning? Batteries. Make sure you not only have batteries for the toys and electronics, but for your camera too!   Double check your SD card or Compact Flash card to make sure you...

Over the weekend, I got my bake on! Fudge, Rum Balls and one of my new favorites, Cinnamon Sugared Pecans. What an easy recipe and absolutely addictive sweet treat!   Ingredients:   1 large egg white 3 cups pecan halves 1/3 cup cinnamon and sugar mix             1 TB cinnamon to ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla ¼ tsp salt   Directions:   Step 1: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. While oven warms, whisk egg white and pour over nuts. Make sure they are coated well.   Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the...

Christina Zazzaretti of Zazzaretti Bridal is back for her monthly guest blog post and this month she is offering an amazing giveaway! These beautiful, handmade hair pins are perfect for that upcoming Christmas party or even a holiday wedding. I purchased a hair pin from Zazzaretti Bridal for my wedding back in March and it looked fantastic in my hair! She has so many looks and colors to choose from in her Etsy store. Can you believe the flowers below?!    Welcome back, Christina!    * * *   I’m very excited to be offering the first giveaway from Zazzaretti Bridal...

This past weekend we visited Colonial Williamsburg for its Grand Illumination. For more than 70 years Williamsburg has held holiday celebrations full of fireworks, music and fun. The town is decked out with wreaths, candles and Christmas trees just like they would have looked all those many years ago. The festivities began at 10:30am and ended at 10:00pm.   This was our second year attending and each year the fireworks are some of the best we’ve seen. This year there were three different locations to watch the fireworks. We stationed ourselves at the Governor’s Palace while others viewed the display from...

Just because I have to eat gluten free does not mean I have to give up on sweets! One of my favorite desserts to make for any occasion is a Cheesecake. This recipe is great because you can make two medium sized cakes and decorate them to your choosing.       Gluten Free Cheesecake with Nut Crust       Gluten Free Nut Crust   2 cups Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking Mix ½ cup dark brown sugar 2/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1 cup finely chopped almonds     Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray...

The Founders Inn and Spa had its 20th Anniversary Founders Illumination this past Sunday. Although we only stayed for a few of the festivities, it looked like a wonderful day for children and families. Puppets, holiday music, face painting, dancers, a buffet, carriage rides and Santa were all part of Christmas events.                              If you did not make it to this year’s event, you can still view the Christmas lights behind The Founders Inn. A word of advice for next year…arrive early! The lines can be quite long....

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year. It’s not hard to catch the holiday spirit way before Thanksgiving even arrives! I've been browsing Pinterest for wreath ideas for several weeks and found one I just had to make on Living Artfully.           To make a wreath like mine, pick up the following supplies:   About 40 to 50 large sized metallic bulb ornaments (your color choice) About 20 to 30 medium sized metallic bulb ornaments About 15 small metallic bulb ornaments High heat glue gun and glue sticks A 14 inch foam wreath form   Before...