i shelter in thy honour'd shade.

Well, the time has most certainly been whiled away, and we leave in just about two weeks for Edinburgh. (How crazy is that?!) It is time for me to shift to the new phase of my blog, since it will be used primarily to keep up with friends and family no longer near us, and to chronicle our adventures in Scotland. I found the above silhouette of the skyline of Edinburgh which included Edinburgh Castle and St. Giles Cathedral and thought it appropriate to welcome all my readers and crown my writings from now on. The title of my blog and also that of this post is the last line of the stanza that opens and closes the address Robert Burns wrote about Edinburgh. I've created a page that explains this as well, called 'name.' at the top of my blog, but I will also post the original poem here. It's beautiful, and made me love Robbie Burns all the more. The poem in it's entirety is as follows.

Address to Edinburgh
Robert Burns, 1786

Edina! Scotia's darling seat!
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs,
Where once, beneath a Monarch's feet,
Sat Legislation's sov'reign pow'rs:
From marking wildly scatt'red flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the lingering hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.

Here Wealth still swells the golden tide,
As busy Trade his labours plies;
There Architecture's noble pride
Bids elegance and splendour rise:
Here Justice, from her native skies,
High wields her balance and her rod;
There Learning, with his eagle eyes,
Seeks Science in her coy abode.

Thy sons, Edina, social, kind,
With open arms the stranger hail;
Their views enlarg'd, their liberal mind,
Above the narrow, rural vale:
Attentive still to Sorrow's wail,
Or modest Merit's silent claim;
And never may their sources fail!
And never Envy blot their name!

Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn,
Gay as the gilded summer sky,
Sweet as the dewy, milk-white thorn,
Dear as the raptur'd thrill of joy!
Fair Burnet strikes th' adoring eye,
Heaven's beauties on my fancy shine;
I see the Sire of Love on high,
And own His work indeed divine!

There, watching high the least alarms,
Thy rough, rude fortress gleams afar;
Like some bold veteran, grey in arms,
And mark'd with many a seamy scar:
The pond'rous wall and massy bar,
Grim-rising o'er the rugged rock,
Have oft withstood assailing war,
And oft repell'd th' invader's shock.

With awe-struck thought, and pitying tears,
I view that noble, stately Dome,
Where Scotia's kings of other years,
Fam'd heroes! had their royal home:
Alas, how chang'd the times to come!
Their royal name low in the dust!
Their hapless race wild-wand'ring roam!
Tho' rigid Law cries out 'twas just!

Wild beats my heart to trace your steps,
Whose ancestors, in days of yore,
Thro' hostile ranks and ruin'd gaps
Old Scotia's bloody lion bore:
Ev'n I who sing in rustic lore,
Haply my sires have left their shed,
And fac'd grim Danger's loudest roar,
Bold-following where your fathers led!

Edina! Scotia's darling seat!
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs;
Where once, beneath a Monarch's feet,
Sat Legislation's sovereign pow'rs:
From marking wildly-scatt'red flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the ling'ring hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.

holy homemade coat, batman!

Well, it's finished, and as I sit back and stare at its beauty I cannot believe that I was the one who made it. This has been by far my biggest and most daunting sewing project to date. And look, I conquered, and it's gorgeous. With that said, I could not have done this without the wisdom and patience of Mama Bober. For without her watchful eye, and instruction deciphering I could not have done it. Chelsea also played a role in moral support and mutual frustration with her own sewing project. Needless to say, I appreciate and love them both dearly for their help. Without further ado, this is the winter coat that shall be my primary in Scotland this winter.

my best friend's wedding- chelsea & andrew

Chelsea Rose, my dear heart, married an equally amazing and wonderful man yesterday, Andrew Cook. Both of these are so dear to mine and Jeremy's heart, and we were honored to be apart of their day. It was gorgeous, and their love was so tangible that everyone there was covered with it. Here are some images I captured from their day, look and you'll see just as strongly the passion they have for one another. A true testament to what real love looks like.

visas, and appendices, and supporting documents. oh my!

This is pretty much how I've felt for the past week and a half while I've been attempting to decipher and correctly navigate the Visa application process through the UK Border Agency. After numerous hours of wading through websites and checklists, countless e-mails and one phone call with an International Officer at the University, a couple different printings, a few screamed obscenities, several tears, two sets of passport photos, a two-hour trip to Charlotte for a five-minute appointment, doublecheck, triplecheck, about $600 and one bottle of white-out, I have finally (hopefully) gotten everything I need and will be sending out our rather large packet of applications and supporting documents tomorrow morning. Hurrah. Pray that all is in order and we get processed and approved with plenty of time to spare.

scotland the brave.

As heart-rending rifts of deep piping play through my mind I realize that it is now less than a month before Jeremy and I set off to something completely new and different. Less than one month until we leave all familiarity and begin anew together in a place about which we're both passionate. Less than one month before we get on a plane with one-way tickets and spirit away to something completely ours together. I'm excited. I'm anxious. I'm still a bit stressed. But I'm so blessed to be embarking upon something so grand and unique. Jeremy and I are both ecstatic to be so close to attaining the goal we've been striving so long now to realize, but we know we can't celebrate yet, there is still much to do and much to finish.
Today was my last day at Biltmore, and while that saddens my heart, it also means that we are that much closer to being in Scotland. I have that much more time to finish packing and culling all of our stuff we've acquired. I have that much more time to prepare my mind for the scholarly feats I shall be attempting in the next year. And while I may be done working at Biltmore, that place and those people will always have a special place in my heart and thoughts, and I will never forget my time there.
Our visas are nearly finished, and should be completely submitted by the end of this week, and, Lord willing, all will be in order and we'll be approved quite soon thereafter. Cael is our only loose end and we hope that his situation will be remedied soon. I'll update soon with more milestones crossed. For now I leave you with a view of our future home.

kelly and jon.

Had the chance to shoot Jeremy's cousin Jon's wedding this past weekend to Kelly in Decatur, Georgia. It was hot, it was muggy, but love was in the air, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to capture it. Here are some photos from the day.

where's july gone?

July has long begun and is passing quickly. Jeremy and I are now about a month and a half from picking up and moving across the world to follow our dreams and passions. Things are coming together, and even though they're stressful, they're a lot less stressful than they could be. Jeremy and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary last week on the seventh, and had the unique experience of staying at the four-star/four-diamond Inn on Biltmore Estate--for free. As a reward for selling more than $5,000 in revenue for the Inn I earned a stay at the Inn for two, which included dinner and breakfast as well as a Grand King room. It was delightful. We had dinner in the Dining Room, a fine dining experience, on our anniversary, and then the next day did a Rooftop on top of Biltmore House. I love Jeremy so much more than I did three years ago when I said I'd love him forever, and I never thought it possible to love him more than I did on that day. I can't wait to see how our love grows and changes in the many coming years. Here are some shots from our anniversary.

From top: Our room; us before dinner; our dinner bill that we didn't have to pay (only alcohol and gratuity; us after dinner, walking out on the grounds; the gargoyle that guards the stable area of Biltmore House; the gargoyle that guards the garden-side.











Oh, and I'm learning to play the violin.