Early June Weekending.

Hello and Happy Monday! Thank you for all the great feedback on last Friday's post, especially about mixing up our workouts. I added in weights and Pilates after this morning's walk ... and it feels sore in that good sort of way 😉. Now let me tell you a little about our weekend.

Marc played in the club's Member Member tournament. I have no photos. He did share that after Saturday's round they were in 2nd place and yesterday they played the team that won.

I think my weekend was a lot more fun!

The tournament actually kicked off Friday evening (players only), so I enjoyed Friday night snacks on my own.

I got an early start Saturday morning (with a speed-limit drive!) to meet Katie and the boys back at Ponce City Market and the Beltline. We had a ball ...  coffee and donuts (for the boys), a one-mile walk to Piedmont Park to the playground, then back to the market for a picnic lunch. After lunch, we walked another mile to Krog Street Market, where the boys enjoyed Jeni's ice cream, and then back again. Charlie fell asleep on the walk back so we walked around Ponce City Market to see if Sam would nap. And he did ... finally! 

at Jeni's

Katie and I both agreed it was the kind of day our husbands would hate, but we're definitely going to try it again ... soon!

Sunday morning, Holly and I walked down to the lake. She actually walked the whole way there (it's about 1-1/2 miles); I carried her home.

Then church and that big meeting I'd been planning for weeks. We installed the new team and took a photo.

In spite of that continuing open spot, I'm feeling optimistic about this upcoming year - because this is a great group of ladies!

Marc and I watched two more episodes of The Americans (we're now well into Season 5) and then we went to bed. This last photo is time-stamped just after 8 pm... and this morning my bookmark was on page 25!

I'm glad it's Monday ... I need to rest.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Eye Candy Friday | Another Morning in the Garden.

Any morning that starts with this view is bound to be a good one!

...and we ended with this. I taught Charlie the proper way to eat pizza - point first! He was a quick study 😉

In between, we visited the Botanical Garden for Story Time and a quick walk to the big lawn for some exploring and camera practice.  Quite unlike our last visit, the sun was shining and the sky was clear and blue.

I used the 24-105mm f/4L lens (with a hood, but no filters). It's a little big - and heavy - for being out and about, but when it's just me and Charlie (no stroller, no diaper bag), it's manageable. I love how versatile it is!

The garden is really a fun place to practice. But of course, the best part is sharing it with Charlie!

Happy Friday!

Eye Candy Friday | A Morning in the Garden.

The Botanical Gardens feature prominently in my summer bucket list - not only to practice with my camera* but also to explore and play with Charlie. Tuesday morning, we did all of that! Katie took the day off, so we went with both boys (and a whole trunkful of gear :-)

There are morning programs in the newly opened Children's Garden every day. Tuesday is Garden Playtime with "hands-on learning and sensory stations."  There were at least a half dozen stations with real bugs, play dough, and hidden "bugs" for the children to find.

We thought Charlie would enjoy the Splash Pad, but I think it was his least fun activity of the entire morning!

iPhone photos - I didn't want to get my camera wet

His favorite activity just might've been the Family Restroom. He and his mom visited the Yellow Door and the Green Door ... and that's when I had little Sam and my finding light moment.

The main garden features The Curious Garden. It is indeed curious. and also very fun.

It was a very cloudy morning; the city skyline was barely visible. I certainly didn't have to worry about any sun flares! 

And we didn't have to worry about seeing everything on this one visit.  I'm already planning my next morning with Charlie and an evening with his mama and a few girlfriends for Cocktails in the Garden. 

Yummm, when I snagged that Cocktails link I saw those drinks - I'm definitely a gin girl, but I might just have to give vodka a try this weekend. That White Rose Kennedy looks awfully tempting!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ... and a few fulfilled temptations!

*I had the 24mm lens (with no filters) on my camera for the entire visit. It is a wonderfully lightweight lens for being out and about. 

Eye Candy Friday | Another Day at the Park.

Wednesday morning, Charlie and I visited Tanyard Creek Park. I'd heard the playground was nice and there's a railway trestle bridge; both sounded great for exploring ... and photos. The weather wasn't great; it rained most of Tuesday and Tuesday night and was still drizzling Wednesday morning. But it worked out fine; we had the wet playground to ourselves.

The playground features two play areas - one for big kids

and one for smaller kids. Charlie enjoyed both!

Back to the big slide.

and spinning dials.

Then back to the small side. He asked for the towel.

We played for about an hour and then spent some time walking around. We spied birds, squirrels and chipmunks. Looked at the creek. and then found a spider web. (and thankfully no spider.)

We didn't find the railway trestle ... another time I guess.

The sun finally came out when we headed back to the car. and then to lunch. Charlie asked for eggs, so we went to West Egg Café. Katie says this is one of Charlie's favorite places; I can see why! There was plenty of activity to keep him occupied while we waited for our food. And the food was plentiful and delicious. (no photos of my fried green tomatoes with pimiento cheese - but yummmmm...)

back to the iPhone for photos!

The café is in an area called "the westside", northwest of the Georgia Tech campus. Back in the 1980's when Marc and I were in school, it was a part of town you did not visit. By the time Katie was there (late 2000's), it was starting to get redeveloped. There were a few restaurants and shops and now, wow! There are lots of restaurants, shops, places to live and work, yoga and barre studios ... it's very cool. I definitely want to explore more ... but maybe with a girlfriend next time. 

Charlie started school yesterday. It's a Montessori program and seems to be more structured than the school he left in Alpharetta. We're going to give him a chance to settle in (he had a great first day) and then I can pick him up for afternoon playdates. There will definitely be more parks - and next time, I think, ice cream!

Happy Friday!

Eye Candy Friday | Camera Practice.

When I upgraded to the iPhone 7S last September, I pretty much put away my DSLR (an eight year old Canon Rebel XSi). But over the past few weeks, especially as I look forward to Alaska (just three months away), I started to reconsider. This might be the only time I ever go, and I would hate to regret a missed opportunity for the best photos I could take. I pulled my camera back out. Whoa, I was rusty! It took a lot of tries, but I was pretty happy with my first effort, Renie's finished wrap.

I realized I need a lot of practice (and a bit of new equipment - more to come on that front). which means the camera is still sitting out on the counter. and I'm going to make a focused (sorry, I couldn't resist!) effort to use it! So for the next bit of time, I'm going to devote my Friday posts to sharing the best image(s) I have from the week.

Tuesday afternoon, I took Charlie to the park near his house. and I brought my camera along. two firsts in one afternoon! I took about 75 photos - 25+ with my phone and the rest with the camera. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the one phone photo I saved.

at the top of the slide

Here are the other seven I saved from the camera. I used a 50mm f/1.4 prime lens (no zoom). Yes, I got a bit of exercise myself climbing up to be at eye-level and running around just as much as Charlie to stay close!

The movement shots are really tricky. I used the "sports" mode for this one.

Charlie loves to find sticks. He asked if he could bring them home with him and I'm glad he forgot about that by the time we left. This is the farthest away shot I have.

Clearly, I'm a lot more comfortable up close.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased. These images are all straight off the camera. I guess it's a testament to the power of natural sunshine that the colors look true (at least on my laptop screen). ...and to dumb luck that they're pretty straight and don't look like they need much cropping.

If you've read this far thank you! I'd welcome any and all feedback, criticism and suggestions.

Happy Weekend!