The Website :: Photography

It's been one of those weeks like passes like a jar's last drop of molasses. Given the fact that I loathe molasses it's fair to say that the longevity of the past five days has been brutal. If this week were a person it would be a mix between the professor who thinks his microbiology lecture is the most important sixty five minutes on the planet, and the annoying kid with glasses sitting in the front row who extends said professors lecture by asking questions every thirty four seconds. I'm not even kidding when I say that this week would be the ugliest of ugly people. In light of  the week, I did make some changes to my website that make me an extra happy girl. Over the past few months I've listened to your suggestions and requests regarding the Michelle Cross Photography site and I've decided to take action. The updated website should be a little more clean, a little less busy, and a lot more pretty.

On that note, have a wonderful weekend, do something fun, and by all means, take a minute to check out the new face lift I got. I think it's nice.

Cornish Game Hens + Buying Houses :: Personal

They're super easy and they only take an hour and a half to bake. That's what my mom said, anyway, when I called her from the freezer aisle after seeing a chilled window full of adorable miniature chickens. Right, Mom, I said, like I'm in any state to use the oven for more than three minutes at any time given my last situation in the kitchen.

I bought the Cornish Game Hens anyway knowing completely well that I wasn't cut out for the job. Something about their size was intriguing to me, kind of like personal pizzas are considerably cuter than the large and much the same way that miniature horses, while weird, still make me look. Despite the fact that I knew I had no ability to put anything into my oven for an hour and a half and expect to eat it afterward, I still bought the hens hoping that somehow they'd make it to a plate and look especially impressive.

I boiled, not baked, them and they looked fabulous. And this marked the single most adult thing I have ever done in my life.

Today marked the second. Colton and I, much to our excitement, just found out that we will be moving to North Carolina early next month. After a few last minute phone calls to Realtors we made the trek to our new home where we are spending the holiday weekend looking at real estate. And by real estate I mean houses, real estate just sounds exceedingly cooler...and adult-like.

I crossed the state line into North Carolina today for the second time in my entire life, yet ironically this makes me even more excited to live here. Before yesterday I had never heard of the town we'll be living in, much less what side of the state it's in, however after a wonderful tour by our extra terrific Realtor, Bob, I know more about New Bern, North Carolina than I ever thought possible. I thought it might be nice for you to know a little bit about our new home so I'm leaving you with a few morsels of knowledge while I excuse myself to celebrate my increasing number of acts of adulthood. Here are the deets;

- Nicolas Sparks lives here.

- The town celebrated it's 300th anniversary this year.

- We have a town flag. It features a stellar black bear which you can see here.

- This weekend marks the town's 30th annual mums festival. Mums, like the flower.

- Mitchell's Hardware on Polluck St. was voted the South's best hardware store by Southern Living magazine.

- Pepsi Cola was born here.

The above picture has nothing to do with this post other than the fact that I like it and it's a good representation of the casual, coffee driven weekends we enjoy. The below picture makes me feel young and kid-like, which is especially comforting when I get overwhelmed by the impending adulthood being forced upon us.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Michelle

An All American Proposal :: Engagements

When Joe left the house on Saturday morning, Jill was under the impression her beau would only be gone for a half hour or so. She began making breakfast, french toast, but was soon stopped by the knock at the front door. When she opened the door to find her neighbor standing with a red rose and a card, the confusion set in. After being told she had an hour to get ready, Jill headed out to the nearby lake where she was to find rose - and clue - number two. After a row boat ride across the lake and an obstacle course challenge, she was given her second rose by Joe's fellow Marine before being directed to the National Marine Corps Museum. It was here that Jill realized she needed to prepare her mind, and her body, for the marathon she was about to begin. What she thought was a quick trip to the lake had now turned into a day full of physical challenges, relationship trivia, and lots and lots of roses. From the museum Jill was sent to the Kennedy Center, the White House, the Haupt Fountains, the Washington Monument, the Starbucks on H Street, the Korean, WWII, and Vietnam memorials, and then, finally, the Lincoln Memorial. If you lost count, that makes twelve roses, twelve challenges, and twelve Marines in their dress blues that Jill had to find.

If you haven't had the chance to experience a man in uniform in public, you should know that they draw quite the crowd. During the two and a half hours we were waiting for Jill to find her roses, the boys had little more than a five minute break from tourist after tourist asking for pictures.

Good thing the tourists were pretty cute.

This is Jill at the Vietnam memorial being asked to correctly answer how many children Joe wanted.

Internet World, the following picture is proof that we have seriously brave men fighting for our country. In the off chance you're blind and reading my blog, that's a big audience.

She said YES!

This is Joe. He's handsome.

And this is Jill. She's gorgeous.

And then there were toasts.

Jill, I know you had absolutely no part in planning this beautiful adventure of a day so I'll have to take this moment to thank Joe for letting me be part of his amazing plan. I feel so honored to have been able to document such an unforgettable moment and I cannot thank you enough for letting me come along. Congrats on your engagement and welcome to wonderful world of wedding planning!

Michelle