Greenville Photographer | 10 things… December

I’m sitting here not really in belief that I have this 10 things post and one in January to do and I will have finished my 12 months of 10 things about me posts.  They’ve been fun to write but they definitely sneak up on me which is why they are always towards the end of the month.  I hope they’ve been fun to read and follow along with!!  Here are my 10 things for December :)!!

1. We don’t have tons and tons of Christmas traditions but we do have a few.  On Christmas Eve we always go out for breakfast.  That’s a tradition that started with my Nana and I years ago and then turned into my family and now has passed on to my little immediate family.  We love it!!  Hopeful that our favorite breakfast place is open this year.  With Christmas eve being in two days I should probably call and see about that!!!  Another tradition is to do breakfast casserole on Christmas day (I’ve gone and added either cinnamon rolls or something else sweet to that 🙂 ).  We always open our stockings first, followed by the reading of the Christmas story from Luke, with a Christmas hymn.. then eating our yummy breakfast and then opening gifts.  Our Christmas mornings can last a few hours and I LOVE it!!!  We also tend to stay in pjs all days and in the days before netflix or redbox when we actually got lots of movies for Christmas we’d watch movies all day!!!  We are bums but I wouldn’t have it any other way!!!  Those are just a few of our Christmas traditions!!

2. We totally celebrate and love Thanksgiving but with November/Thanksgiving week being a crazy photography week for me most of the time we put our decorations up towards the beginning of November.  I love being able to enjoy them for more than a few weeks 🙂 and if we do happen to have family over for Thanksgiving my house is nice and decorated!!  So decorations go up in November and it’s usually mid January before we pull them down :)!!! The luxury of having a fake tree!!!!! PS I’m a huge ornament fan so that’s another reason I leave our stuff up for a while.  I really want to be able to enjoy all the fun ornaments we’ve collected over the years!!!

My friend Aubrey took these photos for us the fall of 2011!! Still love these images just as much today as we did back then!! I think of this sweet friend often due to all the images that are all over my house that she’s taken!!!  Adore this friend a whole whole bunch and soo thankful that 5.5 years ago we became friends!!!

3. When I was a baby my Nana made me a beautiful stocking.  Well since then she’s made Kenzie & Gary to match.  I love them soo soo much and know how much love went behind them!! Nana are you up for making one more ;)!!! She’s going to probably kill me for asking her that via the world wide web!!!!

4. I know I’ve said it in a previous 10 things post but I grew up playing instruments and I wish I hadn’t given them up… one that I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to learn to play is the guitar!!  I have one of my dads older guitars and have many times sat down to try my hand at it but I’m such a wuss and once my fingers start hurting I give up… I just need to suck it up and learn because I love the guitar!!!

5. I love graphic design.  One of my first “real” jobs out of college was designing marketing material for the company I worked for.  Granted I don’t do things from scratch like logos and graphics and all that jazz but I do love making things with already made things :)… I would love to learn how to really do graphic design one day because I feel like it could be ohh so helpful at times!!!

This is one of my favorite photos of Kenzie & I!!  This was April 2013… should have been a warm morning but NOPE me and my bad luck brought in like 30 degree weather the morning of this session… it was insane and I am so thankful Kenzie was a trooper because it was cold!!! Janine, thank you for this photo!! You have captured so many our special moments over the years & I can’t thank you enough… for not only the images but most of all your friendship!!! <3

6. One of my favorite things about the holidays is all the snail mail that I receive.  I LOVE getting Christmas cards… from family, friends, clients!! My favorites are probably the ones that have my images on them 🙂 :)!!  If you send me yours know that it totally gets displayed bc I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!  Due to the fall being so crazy for me I am a total slacker when it comes to getting a Christmas card ready and sent out.  We have the photos to use I just don’t have the time if I’m being honest to sit down and do them.  Soooo I totally send a digital card :)!!!!!!!  I actually love sending it because sooo many people write me back to say hello and then it becomes a catching up session and I love it… soooo I may just send out the digital “card” forever!!

7.  We do family photos every fall.  Usually we do them in October because I love fall and it’s right around our anniversary.  I actually try to get us in front of the camera 1-2 times a year just so I know what my clients feel like when in front of mine.  Family photos are tough especially when you have littles… you’re stressed with what to wear, how the kids will act, how they will turn out… I totally get all of that because I experience it on purpose a few times a year :)!! But no matter how they make me feel I’m always so glad to have done them and to have those memories to cherish forever and ever!!

8.  Wilmington, NC is one of my favorite places ever!! I was lucky enough to live there for 4 years and a few months while in college & could totally see us living there again one day (probably retirement) but still one day we’d love to call Wilmington home again!!

This is from our latest family session back in October!! Love that Olivia captured a few of just Gary & I!! Kenzie was sick that week with Strep throat and was totally a pain and not very much fun during this session so in one of those moments we were like “Olivia can we just have some of the two of us” and we love the ones she took!! Can’t wait to get these new images all over my house!!! Thank you Olivia!!!

9.  I LOVE cardigans and have way too many jcrew cardigans in multiple colors!!!  I am a huge fan of classic & simple & timeless and I believe cardigans are every one of those!! More than likely if you see me out and about… I’ll be rocking a cardigan… ESPECIALLY right now!!!!  All my pregnancy clothes with Kenzie are summerish so I’ve found that my staple this pregnancy is gap tank tops with a cardigan and scarf!!! 🙂 🙂

10.  In college I totally loved to rock high heels when I had the chance… and even when I worked outside the home you’d find me in heels… these days it’s flats all the way!!!  If anyone has any great options for selling gently used high heels let me know because I have a whole bunch that I may never wear again and I’d much rather someone else get use out of them then have them sit in my closet.  They are all size 7 if anyone wants to shop my closet ;)!!!

Alright that wraps it up for December!! See y’all again in January for the final 10 things post.  If you’ve missed any of my 10 things post and want to catch up you can head here…

Kendra Martin Photography is a Greenville Photographer & Spartanburg Photographer specializing in Wedding Photography, Senior Photography, and Lifestyle Photography.