Travel aid Memphis

See this pie? This, and many others just like it, is why I arrived home from the U.S. to find myself 11 pounds heavier than I should have been. Well, pie and breakfast are probably equally to blame. If you're confused how something as simple as breakfast could aid in my 'can't-even-get-the-fat-jeans-on' problem, you've probably never been treated to a proper southern breakfast. Bless your heart. {I really mean that.} Here's part of what you're missing out on...

'But wait - that doesn't look too unhealthy', you say. 'Why, you're right', I'd reply, and then I'd direct your attention to what's not pictured on stage right: a big bowl of thick country gravy, jars of sorghum and molasses for drizzling over the melted butter on your biscuits, peaches swimming in a sugary syrup, and loads and loads of bacon. Oh, and I almost forgot - the chocolate gravy for drizzling over that last biscuit, the one you're pretty sure you won't be able to eat until you realize there's chocolate you can pour over it. From start to finish, breakfast is usually at least a 2-hour affair. When we're all there together, we stay at the table until all the food is gone, which normally takes a while since my grandmother always makes enough food for double the amount of people she's expecting. {No complaints here, Mawmaw!} I suppose none of you are confused now why the southern states are always the fattest states.

Every time we're together at my grandmother's, I take a new 'four generations' photo. I began consciously doing this in 2010, although I'm sure I took similar photos prior to that, and it's turned into a pretty fun project for me. This last time I tried to do something a little more creative, using our hands as the subject instead of our faces, and I'm really pleased with how the photo itself turned out. My editing of it, not so much. I don't have much experience with editing, even though my dad was nice enough to buy me a copy of Lightroom 5 last year, but maybe once I am more adept at post-processing, I'll give this photo another try. Besides the age progression of our hands which was just as striking as I had hoped, my favorite thing about the shot is how bits of our personality come through - my bracelets, Lexie's chipped nail polish. It really adds something to the photo since my hands and Lexie's hands aren't old enough yet to have much personality.