My favorite part - the hot chocolate bar. AMAZING.

Isn't this cake amazing? And you can't even tell I actually took a huge hunk out of the icing when I took it out of the box! WOOPS. A few re-arranged snowflakes and some creative cropping....it was as good as new:)

These were my 2nd favorite part of the part - melting snowmen cookies! They were just as tasty as they look. She found a LOT of these ideas on Pinterest:)

This part was probably the most work on her end - she took a weekly photo of Addy for her ENTIRE first year. So she bought these snowflakes and printed out each weekly photo, then strung all 52 snowflakes across the living room....with a slideshow of photos running in the background:)

The cups were dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.....add some hot chocolate, caramel and marshmallows, and you pretty much have the most amazing hot chocolate EVER.

The birthday girl and her very own mini smash cake:)

Here's the cake progression:

Touched the icing, isn't sure what to think of it:

Quickly looks to mom saying "what's on my hands??"

Starts crying because she doesn't like being dirty:)

Finally realizes she can eat it:

Claps because it's so tasty:)

I'd say this is the face of a girl who thoroughly enjoyed her first piece of cake:)

Happy Birthday Addy Marie! Aunt Tina loves you to pieces!

We'll be heading there for 5 days (a short trip) with my sister and her husband, and another couple....it's going to be amazing, and I. CAN'T. WAIT. Only a few short weeks until we leave! Happy February!

The first week was ROUGH. To say I like my sweets is an understatement (obviously you aren't supposed to eat sugar on this diet). I had a REALLY hard time not having a little something sweet after my dinners. Plus, when you're first trying diets and trying to find recipes you like, it can be pretty hit or miss. By day 3 I wanted to stop, but good thing Jay is on board, he made me push through. So far we're about 3 weeks into our new, healthier, eating ways, and I'm glad I stuck with it. I feel a LOT better lately. And the best part of this diet? It requires you to take one cheat day a week. One day where you can eat anything and everything you want. It's just what I need to get through the week, knowing I can have anything I want to indulge on by Saturday. Mentally knowing I'm not TOTALLY cutting out everything I love really helps me get through the week:) Also - you're allowed to have red wine! I never loved red wine, but since it's allowed on the diet, I've become a fan:) That's where my January desktop came into play!

So far, after 2 weeks I'm down 6 pounds, and Jay is down 10 - I consider that a pretty huge success! We'll be adding in the exercise portion of the 4 hour body in the next week or so, I'm excited to see even more results:)

Here is my breakfast every morning - two eggs and a tomato. Even though the diet is getting easier and easier every week, it's STILL a diet. And this is how I feel a lot of times while eating:)

Happy Friday!

I wish I had that kind of graphic design skills, but alas, I do not. I'll stick to snagging the pre-designed wallpapers:) AND this wallpaper even ties into my self portrait for January....more on that soon!

Isn't her invite the cutest? (excuse the iPhone quality) I headed down early to my sister's house to help her get ready for the party this weekend, AND to celebrate my own birthday:) I told my sister my name better be on Addy's cake too, since our birthdays are two days apart. We'll see if that happens:)

I'm sure I'll be posting tons of Addy pictures when I'm home next week!

To quote a statement released from the Paterno family yesterday, "When he decided to forego a career in law and make coaching his vocation, his father Angelo had but one command: Make an impact."

Well Joe, you made your impact.

To say he made an impact is a gross understatement. He has made a difference in the lives of thousands of athletes, students, and alumni across the nation. He was a great man, and has done SO MUCH for Penn State. He dedicated his life to that university. In my opinion, he is the heart of Penn State.

I'm so proud to say I'm a Penn Stater. I'm honored that I was able to sit (or should I say stand) in the stands with JoePa coaching on the field for all four years of my college career. It blows my mind that both of my parents sat in those very same stands during their college years, with JoePa coaching on the field. He's a true legacy, and will be sorely missed.

I choose to remember Joe Paterno for all of the good he did in this world. I believe he was a great man, and it's hard to even begin to explain the impact he has made on Penn State University. He has done so much good for the school, the students, the athletes, and the alumni. His legacy will live on forever.

Joe, you will never be forgotten.

Penn State football will never feel the same without you.

You are a main reason why I'm proud to be a Penn Stater.

WE ARE!!!

My good friend April just had her first baby girl, Charlotte, back on December 19th, and I was finally able to visit her for the first time this week. She is SO itty bitty, I think she's only 6 pounds at this point:) How cute is she? (that's Amanda there on the left, her and I went to April's together....love her!)

Little baby yawns are the cutest:)

Those rabbit ears were killing me:)

Charlotte opened her eyes for about 3 seconds during our visit:

Then it was back to this:

Love these girls! PS how amazing does April look 3 weeks after giving birth?! I hope I'm that lucky one day:)

The day was exhausting.

"Please, no more pictures."

Ah! So mini and squishy.....so cute:)

April, it's so fun seeing you as a new momma!

Can't wait to visit Charlotte again soon!!

Yes, we're photographers and still can't get the hang of photobooths - why can't we figure out you need to look at the CAMERA, not at the SCREEN? And why do photobooths give me anxiety? By the time the last shot is taken I can't figure out what to do, I think that's evident by my creepy/Cait's drunk look.

I broke out the creepy hand for this one.....we actually got a nice one in the last shot!

Remember when I said photobooth photos are super unflattering of me? Check out that first one below. Quite possibly the worst photo ever taken of me:)

Can't wait to hop in more photobooths in 2012:)

I can't tell you how many times I've taken a picture near a mirror and realized, "crap! I'm in the picture"....and don't ask me why I have a flash on my camera outside in full sun. Just trying to work out my arms, maybe?

Yikes, who knew I look so intense while giving posing instruction....I swear I don't bite.

I'm not gonna lie, I love to get my dance on at receptions. I mean come on, check out my moves.

Cait has some fierce moves also. Yes, the bride's dad is thinking "she's an amazing dancer", and definitely NOT thinking "what the....?"

Love that my job sometimes takes me to a golf course, while the next weekend I'm on the water....

Whatever it takes to get the shot. Sometimes that means laying in alleys next to trash cans. Other times it means kicking the driver of a horse & carriage off so I can steal his spot. Then there are other times I'm doing something SO intricate (aka eating a quick snack) that I manage to get gum stuck in my bracelet, and proceed to get it all over my face and hands. I keep it classy folks.

Loved all of my shoots on railroads this year. That's Jess & Matt below.....they happen to live about 2 miles from Jay and I, so we've gone out a bunch of times....it's the best when clients become friends:)

Ahhh the glamorous life of a wedding photographer. Aka shoving food and water down your throat in a parking lot in the 1 minute you have to spare between locations.

I promise there was a reason I was shooting in front of a speed limit sign:)

Photobooth fun:)

Cait just loooooves when I test my reception lighting on her:) I think I have a variation of this shot at every.single.wedding.

Happy 2012!!