{a friday afternoon drive to my favorite place :: beech mountain}

a little rainy, foggy afternoon drive up to my beloved beech mountain.

worth the drive just for the sunset from the couch...

 it's amazing how quick God's masterpiece can change...

 {happy.weekend.friends}

aw

{breakfast.on.beech.mountain :: bacon, egg, & toast cups}

i'm blaming the insane heat in NC for the amount of time i've been leaving charlotte to spend time on beech mountain.  this summer is H-O-T!!  but seriously... how can you resist coming here...

yesterday morning i set out to pull a little paula dean, or better crocker, or more appropriately... martha stewart... and made the family a killer breakfast!  i give you my version of bacon, egg, and toast cups via martha stewart <--- click that link for the recipe.

here's what you'll need + butter.  take an easy start with 6 or 12 pieces of bread, depending on how many you want to make or how big your muffin pan is.  if you have a 12 muffin pan and only want to make 6, make sure you leave a space between the cups.

 once you have bread out, lightly roll out your slices.  then take a wide mouth glass, cup, or circular cookie cutter, and cut circles in your bread.  my big ol' starbucks mug worked fantastic!

once you have all your circles cut, butter your pan...

then 1/2 your bread circles before placing them in your pan.  place one 1/2 of your slice in the pan lining one side and then the other 1/2 so it lines the other side  your pieces will  overlap some.  use some of the extra bread pieces that you cut off to fill in the holes in the bottom.  melt a little butter and then brush the melted butter over the bread cups.

then cook your bacon about 3/4s of the way.  before it cools, circle the cups with the bacon slices.  the recipe didn't call for it, but i added shredded cheese to the bottom of my cups before the bacon.  everything is better with cheese right??

 once you have your bread, cheese, and bacon in your cups comes the fun part.  carefully crack an egg in each cup.  then lightly salt and pepper the tops.

then throw them in your 375 oven for 20-25 minutes.  feel free to take goofy pictures of the monkeys that are waiting to eat said food.

please pardon my appearance...   :)

 ...and voila!  you have a yummy, yummy breakfast!  just don't get too carried away taking pictures that you slightly over cook them.  thankfully i had some hungry tummies to feed and they didn't mind at all!

 {happy.cooking}

aw

{refreshing.to.my.soul::beech.mountain}

::the Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing::

-zephaniah 3:17

{Beech.Mountain.Ski.Weekend} FEB:2011

{2010... what a year you've been}

WOW!!... how cheesy was that blog title?  ...but seriously... 2010 has been quite a year, but if you would've asked me at age 20, one that i never thought i would have in my lifetime and definitely not at 27.  While having lunch with a friend from my lifegroup the other day, she was telling me how far i've come this year even though it might not be measurable by a marriage or a baby, I've come a long way. (this was said because in my lifegroup alone there have been 2 weddings, 1 engagement, 5 babies born, and 1 more on the way... yup)  ...and ever since our lunch meeting i've been really thinking about my life in 2010...

- I decided to pursue photography and signed up for an 8 week course to learn more about the craft.

-I shot my first engagement shoot in march with my cousin & her fiance and then their wedding in august

- I traveled to Philadelphia, Nashville, and New York City for work and play.

- I turned 27 and got one of the best surprises ever... my beloved Canon 5D Mark II

-Had my first opportunity to start 2nd shooting weddings for the wonderful

Carly Brantmeyer Photography

- I set up and completed a few couples, engagement, baby, and family shoots with friends to get to practicing on my photography skills that I've learned

-Spent some great times on Beech Mountain with the family in the spring

-One of my photos was used for a marketing campaign with Mountain Khakis

-My life crossed paths through mutual friends with the wonderful Elizabeth Marx and I began working with her company, Almond Leaf Studios, as a 2nd shooter for weddings.

- I travelled to Dallas, TX for the wonderful Love Affair Workshop and had an amazing time learning more about photography and met some great friends!

-Fed my love of music - 2010 Concert Recap - Mat kearney and Ingrid Michaelson, Shane and Shane, Matt Wertz, Dave Barnes, John Mark Mcmillan, Music on the Mountaintop festival in Boone, NC, The Infamous Stringdusters, Thad Cockrell, Needtobreathe, and The Civil Wars

-Fall fun times on Beech Mountain with the family 

-The season with having my best friend of 22 years, e, as my roommate came to an end after a year and 1/2, which means I'm living by myself for only the 2nd time in my life

-Started attending New Charlotte Church and volunteering with 1st through 5th graders on Sunday morning in The Warehouse.

- committed to going to UGANDA, AFRICA in January 2011 with Sports Outreach Institute AND agreed to be the official photographer for the trip under Silent Images 

-...and many, many other wonderful things!!

...and when I look at it that way, I see the Lord's hand in my life in big ways and my friend was right, I have come a long way in 2010 despite my so-called "failures."  I feel incredibly blessed and cannot WAIT to see what's in store for 2011.  I pray that as doors open, that the Lord would make it absolutely clear that I am taking the right steps in 2011 and I pray that my heart seeks Him more than any other year of my life and that I will have the courage and faith to take whatever steps He calls me too even if they're absolutely scary and outside of the box of what I think my life should look like. 

{aw}

{beech mountain - part uno}

a few weekends ago we headed up the mountain for another beautiful fall weekend on beech mountain.  the air was cool, the leaves had turned, and all smiling family faces were present.  we relaxed, we played, we hiked, and we went to the famous "woolly worm festival" (more pics coming tomorrow from that!)  i love this place more and more every time we come.  i'm really starting to believe i could split my life between mountain life and city life... is that possible? :)  i love the simplicity, the clean cool air, being with my family and smack in the beauty of the Lord's creation.  it makes my heart sing and is a time of refreshing for me as this life has been busy. too busy.  i'm trying my best to slow it down and enjoy each day as it comes and have had some success.  unfortunately blogging has taken a back burner as you well know so i hope you enjoy these pictures!  thanks for continuing to stop by and i pray that each one of you has an amazing and fantastical week!

{fred's general mercantile}

two fun loving, goofy kiddos who love each other...most days :)

{happy.wednesday}

aw