DAY 31 - I AM THE LIGHT

St. Michael's Catholic Church Life Teen Mass, Woodstock, Georgia

DAY 30 - BIRTHDAY PARTY

Tonight we celebrated my daughter's 27th birthday. She is such a joy to be around and to watch. I am so excited to see what enfolds for her this year. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

DAY 29 - ARTIST'S STUDIO

I visited my friend, Ann Litrel, at her studio in downtown Woodstock this morning. Looking out her second story studio window you see the old train depot. She was busy at work on a commission and graciously let me take a few photos. She is very involved with the new Elm Street Arts Center being planned in Woodstock. Her studio is always open for Friday Night Live so stop by March 5th when everyone is celebrating Mardi Gras. Also, check out her website for more info and stop by her studio to see her beautiful oils, pastels, watercolors and acrylics.

DAY 28 - TUTUS ON MAIN

For the first time, I stopped by Margot's Closet today. The cute little house on Main Street in Woodstock with the hot pink door always catches my eye with their pink tutus and ballet costumes hanging out front. Inside is complete cuteness for little girls............pink, pink, pink. There are tutus, tiaras, rhinestones, tutus, leotards, tutus, ballet shoes and more tutus. Have a little girl in your house? You need to stop by Margot's Closet!

DAY 27 - HORSING AROUND

I took a little drive today looking for some inspiration for today's photo. I passed several horses grazing in a field off of Stringer Road so I pulled over, grabbed my camera and ran up to the fence. This guy gallops over to me and starts licking my hand and bending down inspecting my camera. This is one of the shots I captured today. Too bad I didn't have an apple with me!

DAY 26 - NEW DO

I got my hair cut today at Kara Christian Styling Salon in downtown Woodstock. They have a great view of the downtown city park Gazebo through their front window. It's a funky, sophisticated little salon with lime green flocked damask wallpaper, black accents and just the perfect combination of hip and chic. Check them out here. Angie was gracious to let me take a few photos of the salon. Look closely and you can see another stylist cutting hair in the background. I used my 50 mm lens and this shot is SOOC (straight out of the camera). I love all of the color, contrast and bokeh!

DAY 25 - TREE OF LEARNING

This is the tinwork entrance to the Children's Library at the Woodstock Library. The library was built about 4 years ago in the craftsman style. I think most people walk through the doors and don't notice the beautiful details. I wanted to show you a close up.

DAY 24 - PURE BOWLS

This is a shot at Pure Taqueria Restaurant in downtown Woodstock, GA. It's a fun and funky mexican restaurant with a twist. The interior is cool and hip and reminiscent of a retro diner. Everything is fresh, try the crab cakes! Bobby, the owner took us on a tour around the restaurant. I left my camera at home so I snapped a few photos with my iPhone.

DAY 23 - LA PARRILLA AND MARGARITAS

Is it a good thing when the servers at a restaurant know you when you walk in the door? And they bring you your favorite drink when you sit down even before you order it? Jenny walks by and shows me a picture of her baby on her cell phone. David tells us how he immigrated into the US. Julio stops by to tell us about his wife's birthday. Yea, La Parrilla is our favorite mexican restaurant.

DAY 22 - RAINBOW BOOKSHELF

January is the month to clean out, rearrange, renew, and that is what I have been doing. I've rearranged my books on my bookshelf by color, throwing out the old and trying to simplify.

DAY 21 - LIBRARY MOUSE

Not the best subject or photo, but this is it for today. I saw this little mouse outside of the Library entrance today. We have seen a mouse or two in the library. This one looked like a baby and had been in this position for a while. Evidently many people walked by it so I decided to at least go outside and move it behind a shrub. Maybe he was rooted out by all of the rain that we had overnight. I'll be on the lookout for more mice!

DAY 20 - THOMAS EYE GROUP

Thomas Eye Group has opened their new offices on Towne Lake Parkway. Here is a shot of their beautiful backlit frames display. I had to pick up my son's contacts today so I thought I would take advantage of a great photo op. I took about 50 shots but decided on this one of a pair of Kate Spade frames. Go check them out for yourself!

DAY 19 - DEAN'S STORE

These bottles were used by Dr. W. L. Dean. He opened Dean's Pharmacy in 1906 (today it is Dean's Store). He was the first doctor in the area and would mix his own medicines in these bottles and visit his patients on horseback.

A vintage fan found in Dean's Store on Main Street, Woodstock, Georgia. Dean's Store is the current location for the local Welcome Center and Historical Society. It is filled with interesting vintage items including Dr. Dean's original patient log dating back to the late 1800's.

DAY 18 - LUCKY NUMBERS

Picked up a few groceries at Kroger and I saved $7.77 on my Plus Card. Lucky numbers?

When we first moved to Woodstock in 1996, the only grocery store around was the old Kroger on Hwy 92. There was no stop light and Towne Lake Parkway was a 2 lane road. There have been a lot of changes in 14 years. I hope to document some of the other changes by showing before and after shots of some of the historical houses of Woodstock.

DAY 17 - FRACTURED

Old broken out windows in a house near Main Street in downtown Woodstock.

DAY 16 - I NEED COFFEE

I woke up early to go to work today. I hate working on Saturdays and really didn't sleep well and would rather have stayed in bed all day.

DAY 15 - WALK ALONG LITTLE RIVER

This afternoon I took a walk along Little River in Old Rope Mill Park. The sun was setting highlighting the trees in the background. There was still a little snow on the ground and icicles hanging from the cliffs next to the bike trail. The mudline on the birch trees revealed how high the river was during the flood a few months ago. All of the grass has been replaced by sand and silt and one of the decks has been washed away. Just by looking at the river one would never know all of the changes that have taken place.

DAY 14 - FLYIN' PIZZA

We ate at Johnny's Pizza in Towne Lake tonight and I caught Mark throwing our pizza dough. They have the best New York pizza in the city. It's nice to go to a place where the waiter already knows what you are going to order and brings your favorite drink before you even get your coat off. Thanks, Levi!

DAY 13 - HELLEBORUS, PIKE NURSERIES

This is a Helleborus plant, or Lenten Rose at Pike Nurseries in Towne Lake. I love them because they bloom during the winter. I stopped by this afternoon and took this photograph. The light background is actually the plastic sheeting they put over the roof to protect the outdoor plants. This flower looks like it is floating but the stem is so dark that it blends in to the background.

DAY - 12 BULLOCK'S BLUE BOTTLES

I stopped by Bullock's Liquors this afternoon and they graciously allowed me to snap a few photos. I like the reflections of the overhead lights on the blue bottles. Visit Bullock's on Towne Lake Parkway and tell them I said "thanks".

DAY 11 - FOWLER-HUBBARD HOME circa 1894

This heart shape is a detail on the railings around the Fowler-Hubbard home (circa 1894) on Main Street in Woodstock. This house with it's bright red door, is one of the oldest houses still standing in Woodstock. It sits next to the new Pure restaurant, empty, and people pass by it everyday on their way to work, school or lunch. I would like to think that the young husband who built this house for his new bride wanted to show her how much he loved her with the heart shapes on the railing. If you look closely you can tell it is not easy to cut a heart shape out of 1 1/2" wood, but there are hundreds around the house.

DAy 10 - COVERED, SMOTHERED AND SCATTERED

What could be better than hash browns at the Waffle House? Since starting this project where I take a photograph a day, I have been taking my camera around with me everywhere I go. It was a good thing I had it at the Waffle House today because Governor Sonny Perdue was there! I snapped a photo of him with my husband at the Waffle House on Hwy 92 and I-575.

DAY 9 - OPEN

This is the entrance to the oldest commercial building in Woodstock...........recently the old Neon Zone, a neon sign maker. It originally was a cotton mill. The Neon Zone has relocated but I wanted to document this sign before it was removed.

DAY 8 - ICY FOOTPRINTS

My husband arrived home from Denver last night and these are his footprints on our driveway. Look closely and you can see the footprints are solid ice. It was 15 degrees outside with a minus 2 degree wind chill factor when I took this photo this morning. We only had about 1/2 inch of snow/slush but it froze overnight into a solid sheet of ice all over Atlanta. We heard there was a 29 car pile up on I-285 near the airport today. Good day to stay inside!

DAY 7 - SYMBOL OF WOODSTOCK

The big red caboose..........the symbol of Woodstock. It sits between the old train depot and the main stop light in town at the intersection of Main Street and Arnold Mill. In fact, I think there are only two stoplights in town. Ace Hardware is behind and Deans Store is on the west side. I read where it was donated to the city of Woodstock in 1992, but it looks like it's been there forever, like it belongs. It's one of those iconic symbols that you pass by every day and don't think much about, but it is the best place to watch the 4th of July Parade! I took this photo this afternoon before the snow started to fall.

DAY 6 - YARN ENVY

With snow approaching the Atlanta area, schools closing and record setting low temperatures, I decided to drop into my local yarn shop, The Whole Nine Yarns in downtown Woodstock for a little inspiration. The colors and textures of their yarns are amazing. Check them out here!

DAY 5 - SNOW IN WOODSTOCK?

The photo above is a little deceiving. We don't get much snow here in Woodstock but one of my neighbors has a snow making machine. When I passed their house this morning I noticed a fresh front yard of snow...........but only in their yard! What a surprise the kids will have this afternoon when they arrive home from school. The sleds will be out!

DAY 4 - THE STACKS

BOOKSHELVES AT THE WOODSTOCK PUBLIC LIBRARY. I WORK PART TIME AT THE LIBRARY AND THIS WAS MY FIRST DAY BACK AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.

DAY 3 - NATIONAL CEMETERY WREATHS

We visited my brother in law's grave today at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton to see the Christmas wreaths. Volunteers raised money and placed wreaths at each grave. It was a good day to thank and remember those who served our country.

Day 2 - A SMALL TOWN HOLIDAY

Red bows, pine garland and twinkle lights still up at Christine's Creations on Main Street. The only thing missing is the snow. Woodstock is a charming little town during the holidays with vintage decorations, festivals and parades.

DAY 1 - JELLYFISH

Jellyfish at the Georgia Aquarium. Today we took Bryan for his 29th birthday.