castles and coffee.

Today is my first day off this week, and it was much needed--and is currently being much appreciated. I have found myself imbibing more often than tea now, coffee, which is rather strange because I used to hate coffee, and at the same time not strange at all, considering what Jeremy does. I thought I'd confess that to my readers since those who have been following for a while are aware of a previous dedication to hot tea. Don't get me wrong, I still love tea, and come autumn and winter I will be found quite more often with teacup in hand, rather than coffee--but I felt compelled to confess my brief fling with vanilla lattes.
I am now finished with on-the-job training at Biltmore and had my first day on the line in the Welcome Center by myself on Saturday. It's going well, and I get more comfortable everytime I'm there --though I'm still insanely nervous until I'm at my station and the sheer number of people in my line make me forget about how nervous I am and force me to conquer the masses. So that's going well. And yes, I work at a castle. In fact, this is where I work (see amazing photo, and prepare to be insanely jealous at the beauty of my castle *eye twitch*).
Jeremy and I went to the flower carpet evening for the employees last Thursday, and it was a romantic rainy twilight for us. First of all, Jeremy's never been to the house before, so that was fun in itself--but seeing the castle in waning gloaming, and meandering around the grounds hand in hand imagining the estate to be our own is making me look out the window in fond remembrance as I type. A light rain fell all evening, though not enough to extinguish the torches lighting the garden, nor our own flame of exuberance for each other and the marvelous sites we were sharing. The rain pulled in low clouds and fog that settled fantastically in the mountain valleys at which we gazed from the south terrace of the house. The light rain eventually soaked us through as we wandered the water garden admiring giant lily pads and excellence of stone masonry. As we passed last pond of the water garden there was a small stone archway beneath the stairs leading up to the front of the house, I pulled Jeremy in with me, out of the rain, and stole a kiss in the midst of the dim blue gloaming. A tryst, only seconds, but reveled in.

Autumn is beginning to stretch his crisp tendrils into my mountain valley, in the evenings the air cools and crisps and that excites me. Just two nights ago I walked outside with my pup and took in a full deep breath of autumn air--I could smell it, it's faint but I know it is there. Come autumn, and we shall sway once more in poetic inspiration. I wait in patience for the coming of vivid hues and the sweet smells of the season.

Anticipatingly,

Caitlin

beauty.

I did some portraits of my nieces and nephews the other day, and I thought I'd share some of them with you. They're pretty much ridiculously beautiful, and I love them. I'll write some more in a couple days and update about my job at Biltmore, but for now let me say that I think I'm going to love it, and I'm already getting into the groove of the program I'll be working with. I can't help but drive onto the Estate everyday and wonder at the beauty, and revel in the fact that I get to work there--I frequently take the scenic route to exit the estate, it's quite lovely.



Eve


Dimitri


Eden


Ariel


My boys and me.

happenings lately.

I figured since I had the time (Sundays are wonderful), and I had plenty to talk about I'd grace you all with two posts in one day, gasp! Numerous things have happened within the last couple weeks, one of the most exciting being that Jeremy and I are now moved into our new apartment. It's only about a mile from our other place, but has so much more room and it has been great fun decorating and putting the place together. It'll be easier to have company over now, so those of you who are close to me are welcome anytime. I will be posting photos of the new place as soon as I am finished putting everything in its place, and I snap some photos.
Another very exciting thing that has happened is that I was offered the job at the Biltmore Estate, hurrah! I will be working at the Welcome Center, selling tickets and telling people about the estate--pretty much the first face people see on the Estate, so it's pretty important. I'm super excited about starting, I begin training this Thursday, the 13th. I'll update again later on how it's going.
A week before Jeremy and I moved, we had a mini-vacation with a good friend, Chelsea. We went down to Seabrook Island in South Carolina, and spent a couple days there. We were able to stop by Charleston on the way home, which was exciting since I'd never been there before. I enjoyed Charleston, but I think I had such lofty expectations of the city that I was let down a bit. It was a great trip though. It was so nice to lie out on the beach and enjoy the sounds of the surf and relax--it was a much needed get away from our everyday lives.
One more a little bit embarassing thing to mention, I watched the trailer for New Moon again the other day and I actually began to get a little bit excited about the movie coming out. When I first saw the trailer on the MTV Movie Awards, I was completely appalled at the graphics and acting in the trailer--but I suppose I've gotten more excited about it since then, and when I rewatched it the other day those things weren't as bothersome. Now, let me just qualify these statements: The Twilight series, though grossly hyped by love-sick teenage girls, is actually a fascinating story. The writing could use a LOT of work, but the story in itself is very engaging and interesting, and I will admit to owning all four books.
I'll update again in the coming days. My brother and sister-in-law are coming to visit from Germany this week, and I am so excited to see and spend some time with them.
Oh, and by the way, click on any of the really cool links on my page and help me make money. Yeah, thanks.

Caitlin

hannah rae.

Now that my beautiful friend, Hannah, has been married for about a week, and I have finally found the time to update--here are some of my favorites from her Bridal Portrait session that we did a couple weeks ago. Hannah was a gorgeous bride, and I feel so honored to have been part of her day. Enjoy.