Deja Vu

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Britt

Poor pony finally gets some shoes back on today, because the farrier has dealing with some serious personal challenges that are definitely more important than shoes. Sending prayers his way.

Barefoot pony…

Otherwise, we brave continue to brave the heat and humidity (heat index of 100 yesterday- gross) this week and wait to move to our new barn on Friday.

Preview of the new barn’s jumping arena

And then the last piece of news, that answer to your burning questions about the post’s title… I got ~~another~~ a new job!

You’re probably thinking, didn’t you just start a new job? Didn’t you just move Foster to your barn? Well, yes. And here I am, mere months later, doing it again. I had a job offer from one of the best companies in the country, and there’s no way I would turn it down. If I’m lucky, this job will be my last. More details to come later, when I get started in July 🙂

So once again, life is changing it all up and there will be new routines to get into, new friends to make, and certainly new adventures to go on! Stay tuned!

(sort of) Photography Friday

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Britt

Hi Folks!

As mentioned, I’ve been working hard on some designs, a couple that I have to share with you today. I’m still trying wrap up all of my freelance projects, but was able to knock out a couple this past weekend.

Here’s one super fun invitation, for a sweet friend who also happens to be an equestrian!

This also happens to be the greenest patch in my yard.. and it’s clover. Sad.

And the second is a t-shirt design that I do every year (for the past, I dunno, 13 years?) for a Day Camp back home- this year’s theme – Peter Pan!

I’ve got a few other things in the works, that I can’t yet reveal, but hope to make more headway on this weekend! Y’all have a great one, and keep kicking!

Moving Mountains

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Britt

After putting in some serious overtime this week, I think I am finally making progress on my giant to-do list. And, husband and I had a lovely date night/night off to boot.

I had an excellent mini-lesson with best friend N, who has coached me in the past and has wonderful ways of explaining things that just stick with me. We revisited ‘belly button to pommel’, added ‘underarm to bra’ (to help my arm/elbow position), and worked on getting Foster sharp to my aids with some rather bright simple changes and crazy angled fence exercises. Lots of wisdom to remember moving forward! We also jumped 3’3″ for the first time in a while, and it’s making me wonder if I could do a Training CT in the near future.. probably not, but I’m thinking about it! I have another showjumping lesson tomorrow with Holly tomorrow, and we’ll see how it goes.

Ignoring my crap position, I think Foster could do Training here.. maybe...

Ignoring my crap position, Foster thinks he could do training here.. maybe…

Outside the realm of horses, I have multiple freelance projects I’m working on and hope to dedicate this weekend to wrapping some of them up. Should have some fun designs to share with you next week!

Remember to thank our soldiers, past and present, and have a great Memorial weekend y’all!

Burnout

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Britt

You know you’ve maybe taken on too maybe things when you start googling ways to insert more hours in the day. (not possible, by the way, I checked)

The past couple weeks have been a little hectic, to say the least. Between all the house projects, clinic/lesson/shows, riding in preparation for those clinics/lessons/shows, and being signed up for 70 hours worth of work each week… I’m more than a little fried.

Even this scene was less than therapeudic

Non-caffeinated me has become a frazzled, fast talking, stress ball mess. Caffeinated me is just a faster talking, stress ball mess. It’s not pretty. And for my friends and husband that have to deal with me on a daily basis, I’m sorry.

No, not really

When I was in college, I took on too many projects (21 hrs of classes, 3 jobs, and being Captain of the dressage team), and literally made myself sick. In one semester I must have visited the student health center 10 or more times, with things ranging from Scarlet Fever (their diagnosis, not mine, and it turned out it wasn’t), crazy dizzy spells, and a very debilitating version of tonsillitis. In the end, I took the hint- stop trying to do all the things and be a ~~slightly~~ less crazy person.

So I’m going to ~~try to~~ prove that I am a wiser, more mature individual, and try to take a little break ~~once I finish my to-do list~~. Hell, I may even take a day sometime soon, I hope. Thank goodness for Memorial Day.

Expect a couple days away from the keyboard next week for me, as I try to get a handle on the burnout. Otherwise, happy Tuesday, y’all!

Photography Friday

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Britt

Photography Friday

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Britt

Part of the excitement on our trip last weekend was getting to meet my brother’s new furry companion- Magellan the border collie puppy. Nothing better than puppy breath! He was a tricky little bugger to photograph, but it was special to document the moment!

And of course whenever my camera is out, I can’t help but snap one of Drake. Here he is, watching Magellan from a distance.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

Happy Monday

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Britt

What a beautiful weekend it was! The husband and I went down to Charlotte to see my parents, grandmother, and an aunt I haven’t seen in 10 years. It was a happy reunion, and we had a lovely time at a formal charity event called the Red Cross Ball.

Not much else to update on- I was able to get back yesterday to ride Foster and he felt fantastic. I finally feel like he’s back to where we left off in the winter, he is super supple and really responding to my seat. We even had a couple nice canter transitions, sans underneck! Now to try and fit in that jump school before the show this weekend!

Photography Friday

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Britt

As many designers and artists do, I love texture. Maybe a little more unusual, when I see texture, sometimes I want to photograph it, and use it as desktop wallpaper. Am I weird? Nevermind, let’s not get into that.

Anyways, that is what I was thinking when I saw the beautiful wysteria at the Dresser Palmer House in Savannah.

I’ve uploaded these bad boys at a rather large size, in case any of you guys have the same idea… just click on the image, zoom in and right click to Save Image.

Meanwhile, this weekend we will be doing some serious landscaping of our own- but that’s a future post! Have a great weekend y’all, and happy Easter!

Savannah

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Britt

Last weekend we celebrated our anniversary by taking a trip to Savannah, Georgia. Savannah’s somewhere I have always wanted to go, and was the perfect place for two history buffs to relax for a few days.

We stayed in the most beautiful historic inn called the Dresser Palmer House. This inn was originally two houses from 1876 that were joined to create a 16 room establishment that prides itself on having the longest porch in Savannah. We particularly enjoyed the gourmet breakfasts each morning, complimentary cocktail evenings, and lazying it up and watching the world go by from the front porch. Added bonus that it is just one block away from Forsyth Park- the prettiest park in town! Highly, highly recommend to anyone and everyone wishing to recline in style in this beautiful southern city!

How cute is our room!

We had absolutely ideal weather Friday and Saturday, which I swear I could not stop remarking on- when you have a desk job, having nice weather on days off means that much more! We made sure to stop by some of the town’s historic landmarks…

Enjoying a house tour

One of the gardens on a house tour

Girl Scouts!

Chrystal Beer Parlour

And not so historic landmarks…

Wet Willy’s!

Hanging out at Six Pence Pub, where apparently Something to Talk About was filmed (we were there for the pub grub!)

Sitting on the bench where Forest Gump was filmed!

Of course, horses had to be incorporated somehow into the mix, so we took a tour around on a carriage ride. It was interesting to talk to the driver and hear about Rose’s history, and while we learned that maybe no one tells the history of Savannah the same way, we enjoyed our ride around town. We also took a ghost tour for fun, and our guide was also a horsewoman, and I have a very interesting lead on an Azteca horse to follow up on!

Overall, the trip was the perfect time for us to get away from the worries of our normal life, and take the time to just be with one another. We’ll be back one day, and I can’t wait!

All dressed up for our date on the river!

Anniversary Weekend

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Britt

Warning: Gushy stuff ahead. Reader beware.

I would be remiss in having this blog if I never gave credit to my wonderful husband for all the dedication and support he gives, every day, to building a life with me in our house on a hill.

Today marks 5 years of us being together, and I am thankful every day for having such a wonderful partner by my side. I realize that I am probably not the easiest person to be with, and my over enthusiasm for tackling new projects and filling every minute with activity would exhaust most men and send them running to the hills. But not Tyler, he has embraced the crazy with open arms, and put up with countless hours of talking horses, riding horses, and competing horses with super human patience and understanding.

My videographer, photographer, hay net tie-er, horse handy husband!

Tyler and I met in the most unexpected place- on a cruise ship in the Bahamas. It just so happened that he was attending law school in Buies Creek, NC at the time – 30 minutes from NC State. We had a blast getting to know each other in the Bahamas, and started dating when we got back to North Carolina. Meant to be? I think so!

Hanging out at Atlantis on that fateful cruise!

Anyways, that was 5 years ago today that we started dating. And this Sunday will mark 1 yr of being married! It’s amazing to me that even after being together so long, we still make each other laugh on a daily basis, and each and every day feels like a fresh adventure. Even though we have definitely rubbed off on each other (for example, I now pay attention to whether or not my socks are inside out, and he quotes random Disney lines for laughs), we are still capable of surprising each other.

I am so excited to celebrate our wedding anniversary this weekend, and reminisce about that beautiful evening when we danced the night away with family and friends! Here’s to more adventures with my love! You’re the best, honey!