This past weekend, I had a brand new experience: bouncy houses! The most fun I’ve had on a photography shoot this year. It all began when I received a call from a father who was planning a birthday party for his two children and needed a photographer. While being two years apart, their birthdays were only separated by one day! The combined birthday party was going to be held at Kangaroo Jac’s in Chesapeake, Virginia.     When I first walked into Kangaroo Jac’s, I was the tiniest bit overwhelmed by all the color, bouncy houses and children running everywhere. Once I...

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...

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....

Being a new home owner can be quite daunting at times when faced with walls and walls of white space that need color, accents, furniture, textiles and more. Where do I start? My idea box is overflowing after attending the Fall Homearama at The Riverfront in Suffolk, Virginia.   We toured 9 gorgeous homes and talked to vendors about design ideas for flooring, video rooms, faux painting and furniture. The homes range from 2,800 square feet to 4,000-plus square feet and are priced from $550,000 and up. If that fits your price range, there are still a few left for sale!...

It’s crazy how even as an adult I still enjoy and seek out the small, childhood pastimes. Growing up, my family took advantage of the seasons in New England. We visited the orchard to pick apples and ride the hayride, the pumpkin patch for jack-o-lantern pumpkins, the tree farm for Christmas trees and hot cocoa and the local berry patch to pick strawberries. This past year, I cut down the tree with my fiancé, picked strawberries in Virginia Beach with my friend Rachel and just recently visited the local pumpkin patch with my fiancé turned husband.   The Hunt Club Farm...

Virginia Beach just wrapped up the 2011 North American Sandsculpting Championship. It’s been the signature event of the Neptune Festival. The Championship was extended ten extra days this year. 10 countries were represented in this year’s competition and the theme was Neptune’s Kingdom: The Land of Sand.   The 22 sculptures were housed under a huge tent on the beach complete with walkways and viewing areas. Entrance into the tent was $3.00 per person and the proceeds went towards supporting The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Virginia and The Governor’s School for the Arts.            ...

While staying in Roanoke during Hurricane Irene, we noticed a large lit star on the top of a mountain. We asked a few locals and learned that it was the Mill Mountain Star. Roanoke is known as the “Star City of the South”. The star was built in 1949 and considered to be the “World’s Largest Man-made Illuminated Star”.   The star initially was illuminated in all white. As part of the bicentennial celebration in 1976, the stars design was changed to a bright red, white and blue at night. Unfortunately, we visited the star during the day and the 2000 feet...

This past weekend, we had the scare of Hurricane Irene. I live right on the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach border and the forecasters were predicting terrible things for our area.   After much deliberation, my husband and I packed our car with our most valuable possessions including my in-laws, and left our beloved first home. As I walked to each room and closed the door, I wondered if my home would be the same when we returned. I feel foolish now as the storm did little to our home, besides ripping a few shingles off and a leak here and there. However, at the time,...