101 in 1001: #25 See Niagara Falls and #67 Visit Canada

Two 101 things in one post! Whoo! Nathan and I headed up north for an early anniversary celebration since neither of us had seen Niagara Falls. I had never even been to Canada, and now that we live in Cleveland it's all so close. We stayed at a quaint b&b, took in the falls, did some wine tasting, and enjoyed perfect weather. Some things I learned on this trip:

• Even though Mapquest says it will only take you 3.5 hours to get to St. Catharine's, allow lots (and lots and lots) of extra time for traffic jams and long waits at the border.
• If you think you packed your brush, check five more times. It doesn't always make it into your bag. If my hair looks like a rat's nest in any of these photos, it's because I didn't brush it the whole weekend. Haha! No joke.
• Plan ahead when going to Niagara Falls! Nathan and I just kinda winged it and wished we would have taken into account that it was a Saturday in August when we were visiting one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country (world!). We forewent the Maid of the Mist and walk near the falls because of crazy waiting times.
• Just because the bigger ice cream cone looks amazing when you're standing in line doesn't mean that it's a good idea.
• Getting a picture of a Canadian flag isn't as easy as it seems. That picture up there was taken riiiight before we crossed the border back to the United States. None of the other flags we saw throughout the weekend were blowing quite right!

We stayed at the Springbank House in St. Catharine's and loved it! The owners are so friendly and the house is so cool! Plus, it was away from all the touristy Niagara Falls stuff.

Delicious breakfasts!

Niagara-on-the-Lake is so cute and quaint! Definitely check it out if you're headed that way!

 The end! :)

In Progress | My Office

I love that Nathan and I thought we might be done upgrading/painting/decorating our house by the end of the year ... as in 2012. HA! We had absolutely no idea what it means to be homeowners, and we're now realizing that all those lofty plans take a backseat to a leaky chimney or a freezing cold house. But like I said in my last house post, I am appreciating all of this and I think taking it slow helps me enjoy the process. We're currently on our second room—my office, yay!—and Nathan has been amazing taking my grandiose ideas and making them a reality. Seriously, how did I get so lucky?

My office is really cute but really hard to figure out design-wise. It was an add-on room over the garage, and it has a peaked roof, tiny closet doors and an alcove in the middle of a wall. We decided that wainscoting was a good choice on the walls because you can't do much with them otherwise. Plus it fit my whole vintage-but-grown-up theme (I just made that up right now). And can I please tell you that Nathan did ALL the woodwork. He is so talented. Here's his talent in the painting department:

Here's that wainscoting that Nathan built himself. Minus whittling the wood, he did it all.

And below, please don't judge my messy desk. I've been working around all the construction. :)

I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that I will be able to show you the finished product in the next couple months. Can't wait!

My Favorite Olympic Moment

I'm so sad that the Olympics are almost over. As a former gymnast, I live for the Olympic gymnastics competitions (only a slight exaggeration) and this year was SO GREAT! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you must be living under a rock. :) I'm addicted to anything Fab Five (or is it Fierce Five? I'm confused ...)—videos, pictures, spoofs, etc.—but I think my absolute favorite moment was when Aly Raisman put her team gold medal around her coach's neck after the medal ceremony. Seriously. Melt my heart. I only wish I could have been that mature and thoughtful at 18.

I love these moments you know are real because they're so quiet and unassuming. More than any gymnastics routine, interview and appearance, this simple gesture stood out to me. These are the moments I strive to capture when I'm shooting weddings or portrait sessions. The in between stuff that means just as much as, if not more than, the headliner stuff.

[Insert super awkward transition here ...]

Have you seen the video of McKayla Maroney teaching Jenna Bush Hager how to Dougie? No? Well, here it is. Just because it's hilarious. And it's Friday and I can.

And one more funny for your Friday, the 21 Best Doppelgängers of the 2012 London Olympics, courtesy of buzzfeed.com. Ohhhhh my. So funny. Can't ... stop ... laughing. Happy Friday everyone! :)

Blueberry Coffee Cake & My New Morning Routine

Just a couple weeks ago, I was stumbling down the hall to my office at 6 a.m., trying to squeeze in as many minutes as possible in front of my editing. This morning looked a lot different. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and made a healthy smoothie before turning on the Olympics for half an hour. I'm in that mode where I've been in a routine for so long, it's taking my body and my mind a little while to get out of that routine. I still felt a little guilty as I watched the Olympics, but I'm slowly realizing that I'm allowed to have some time for myself. Morning is my favorite time of day, and I'm glad I can claim it again.

On another note, who doesn't love coffee cake for breakfast?! Nathan and I made brunch for my parents a couple days ago and we tried a new coffee cake recipe. If you have leftover fresh blueberries, you need to make this! Not too sweet, but sweet enough ... if you know what I mean. :)

Cooking Light's Blueberry Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup granulated sugar 6 tablespoons butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg 1 large egg white 1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk (we used regular fat here ... probably why it was so delicious! :) ) Cooking spray 2 cups fresh blueberries (if they're in season and fresh, use 1 1/2 cups) 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (we used Penzeys vanilla sugar here)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla, egg and egg white; beat well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Spoon half of the batter into a 9-inch round baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup blueberries (NOTE: If your blueberries are fresh, make sure to cover them in flour before sprinkling into cake. They'll sink to the bottom otherwise). Spoon remaining batter over the blueberries; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 cup blueberries. Sprinkle the top evenly with 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.