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Dear Winter,

You might not remember me, but you and I go waaay back because I grew up in Pennsylvania. We got along so well back then. Being young, all I ever wanted was for you to come and rescue me from the monotony of school with those two glorious words: “snow day.” You’d grace us with more than a foot of snow and school would be canceled so we could go tubing, build forts and have snowball fights all day. After hours of playing in the snow, we’d go inside and try to drink hot chocolate even though our hands were still numb from the cold.

You were with me during the years I lived in New York City too. Again, dumping foot after foot of snow on the ground, but I didn’t like it as much those years. It almost became kind of a nuisance because when you drop that much snow in that dense of an area, there’s nowhere for it to go except to be piled up on the sidewalks. So I walked in it, climbed over huge mountainous piles of it and inevitably slipped and fell in it.

And now I live in North Carolina. I know it’s called North Carolina, but it’s still in the southern region of the United States… where it’s supposed to be much warmer and less-snowy than Pennsylvania or New York. For the past few years, that’s held true. But not this year. No, it’s been so cold and dreary and we’ve gotten more snow than the state has seen in I don’t know how long.

Don’t get me wrong. There are things I love about you, Winter. I love how beautiful it is after a fresh snowfall. I love the crisp, cold air that bites at my nose as I’m doing my holiday shopping. I love the warmth of coffee in the morning and homemade soup on the weekends. And I love winter oranges. I look forward to them every year!

I love, appreciate and look forward to all of those things…. between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe through mid-January. But now, being that it’s almost February, I can safely say that, in my opinion, you have over-stayed your welcome.

I’m ready for Spring to move in. I’m ready to see my daffodils pop up and fresh green grass in my front yard again. I want to open my windows and breathe in fresh air (not dry, winter furnace air). And I really, really, really just want to be able to wear flip-flops again.

So please. It’s time for you to go. I won’t miss you while you’re gone, but will long for you in October and November. Until then. It’s been (mostly) fun.

This past week has been pretty hellacious for us. The sickness took over our household and is still lingering. First it hit Nolan on Sunday evening. Then it hit me early Monday morning and Higs mid-day Monday. It hits fast and furious and makes you miserable. We did a lot of lying around, sleeping and watching TV. There were a few days where we didn’t get out of our PJs.

Luckily for all of us, Nolan came out of it with officially just an ear infection (which I’d love to attribute to his first tooth finally starting to show), so he was back to his normal self after a day or so. It took Higs a few days, but he’s finally back to normal. I, on the other hand, am still going round for round with the sickness. But no worries, I will NOT let it defeat me! I can say that with such enthusiasm because I’m in the middle of a dose of Tylenol.

So, one of the initiatives that Higs & I are very excited about for 2010 is a series of blog posts we’re calling “Meet the Vendor.” Creative title, I know.

We’ll be meeting with local vendors (such as hair stylists, bakeries, venues, dress shops, etc.) to get to know them personally and learn about their services and specialties. We’ll do a blog post on everyone we meet with the hope that we’ll provide our couples planning their wedding and potential clients with a bank of vendors that we know and trust.

So, without further ado, meet our first vendor!

Name: Ashley Hurst

Services Provided: Hair and Make-up for Weddings, Proms and Special Occasions 

Specialty: Loose, romantic, natural, chic, classic and up-styles

Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Areas Serviced: “Anywhere clients want me to go!”

How long have you been in business? 6 years 

What is one thing that makes you unique from other vendors in your field?

“I travel on-site with a stylist team so we can bring the salon experience to brides on their wedding day. I’ll come to wherever the bride and her girls are getting ready so they can relax and feel pampered, rather than spending the whole day traveling to and from the salon.”

What excites you about meeting a new client for the first time?

“I love meeting all types of women with different personalities and all different types of hair. The new challenge of working with different personalities and styles is what makes it fun!”

If you weren’t doing hair and make-up, what business would you be in?

“I can’t imagine doing anything else because I love what I do and it’s my passion!”

Feel free to contact Ashley directly at the information below if you have any additional questions or inquiries about her services and availability.

Email: ashleybrookehair@yahoo.com

Phone: 336.686.5939

Address: Hair Raizers Salon, 401 Townley Sreet

PS: To any of our readers, if there are any additional questions you’d like us to ask vendors in the future, please leave us a comment!

Nolan is so close to being able to balance himself! We’ve even caught him testing out his stability by letting go for a second, but then he grabs onto something. He wants to do it so badly! The thing is, once he gets his balance, we think he’s going to be walking immediately, because he does laps around the coffee table by holding on to the edge. And because he can already walk behind something, such as his push-car-walker or chairs. Yes, he liks to push chairs back and forth across our kitchen. Crazy kid.

Ryder has no idea how lucky he is, but he’ll definitely know the minute his parents hold him for the first time. Brooke & Joey have been together since they were teenagers, married for six years and Ryder has been a dream of theirs for quite some time. Their love and thankfulness for this baby, and for one another, exudes in every smile and touch of the hand. Their anticipation of his arrival (which is still 2 months away) excites them in a way that words cannot describe.

We shot their maternity images in downtown Winston-Salem. The afternoon was crisp and invigorating, yet a breath of fresh air after the (literally) freezing temperatures we’ve had in the North Carolina Triad recently.

PS – Brooke is hands-down one of the most beautiful pregnant women I’ve ever seen. She’s just gorgeous and absolutely glowing!

There are times when Higs & I shoot at locations we’ve already shot at, but we try (and have succeeded thus far) to make the images different each time. But I just had to recreate this image in the same alleyway as Jessica & Michael’s Winston-Salem engagement photos last summer so I could get the silhouette of her beautiful baby bump!

We took a few photographs inside The Nissen Building in downtown Winston-Salem. For all the years we’ve lived here, neither of us have ever been in The Nissen, but it’s a beautifully redone building with so much history. Not to mention, their lobby is really cool! 

The staff at The Nissen was kind enough to let us borrow one of their rooms for a few minutes!

Congratulations Brooke & Joey! We’re so happy for you and can’t wait to meet Ryder James in March!