Breakfast in Denver

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. On my road trip, I had the time to get a nice breakfast in Denver. I asked a friend who lives in Denver where I should go. She said I had to check out Toast and try their pancakes. She did not steer me wrong. It was a very tough decision on which flavor to choose, so I decided to go big and get the pancake flight. It is 2 smaller pancakes of 4 different kinds. I chose Lemon Blueberry, Bananas Foster, Carrot Cake and Gravy cakes. I am not a food critique so I will show you what they look like instead of trying to describe how amazing they were.

In-N-Out

Before leaving California, I had to have one last trip to In-N-Out. If you have never been to California then you might not be aware of how amazing In-N-Out is. I am normally not a fan of fast food hamburgers, but In-N-Out is a very different story. The only items on the menu are a hamburger, cheeseburger, a double burger, french fries and milkshakes. That is it. They keep to just a few items that they do very well. I usually get the #1. A double double with cheese and grilled onions. There is a secret menu where you can get your fries animal style. Why it is called this I do not know, but order this and your fries will arrive covered in thousand island, grilled onions and melted cheese. Not easy on the arteries, but o so good. I will miss you In-N-Out, but my waistline will not.

The return to North Carolina

2,8oo miles and 5,000 pictures later I have finished my cross country trip to Charlotte. My old college roommate, Dan, and I took 6 days to do this trip. Dan currently lives in Seattle and flew down to LAX. I picked him up and we headed to Zion National Park in Utah. On the second day we drove from Zion to Denver, Colorado. On our way we stopped in Arches National Park for a few hours. The third day we used to explore Denver and a tour of the Coors plant. After a day of relaxing in Denver we drove to Kansas City. The next day took us through 5 states ending in Knoxville, Tennessee. The final and shortest leg brought us home to Charlotte.

Here is the Final Video

Yogurtland!

One of the things that I will miss most about California is a place called Yogurtland. I have a weakness for desserts, especially ice cream or frozen yogurt. Yogurtland came to Santa Barbara several months ago and I was hooked. First of all, it is frozen Yogurt so there is the feeling that I am eating something healthy and not ice cream. This is just an illusion of healthiness. After adding brownie bits, cheesecake bites and chocolate chips any healthy benefits are non existent.
Second, it is completely self serve and you pay by the ounce. There is one size cup and one large to go container. You can choose form a combination of 8 or so yogurts and around 25 different toppings. Given this layout, each person's Yogurtland experience is unique. WARNING having this many choices can lead to catastrophe. It is possible to end up with flavors that really should not have been mixed. It is best to avoid the rookie mistake of putting every option in your cup and stick to a recipe. I tend to stick t0 fruit flavored yogurt, granola, strawberries, raspberries, brownie bites, cheesecake bites, and sometimes mango.
Tonight's trip was extra special. There are only two sizes at Yogurt land. The standard white cup and the enormous to go container. Ever since I made my first trip I have wanted to try the large to go pink container. Tonight was the night. I thought about my game plan all day. The layer system was necessary to survive this challenge. First, Strawberry cheesecake swirled yogurt as the base. On top of that strawberries and cheesecake bites. Next came a layer of wild berry and strawberry banana yogurt. To top it off brownies, chocolate chips, granola, raspberries, and chocolate chips. The final product weighed in at 24.32 oz. It was so good. Here is before and after.


That was quite a lot of yogurt, and definitely worth the $7.30.

My roommate is getting married!

This past weekend, I made a trip up to the bay area to visit my old college roommate and his fiance. Tommy and I swam together, and were roommates at Wisconsin. It is hard to believe that 5 years ago we were sharing the same 90 square feet of living space. Now, he is getting married to a wonderful girl named Sarah. Tommy and Sarah are perfect for each other. I am so happy for them, and can not wait for their wedding next June. I am one of Tommy's groomsmen, so unfortunately I can not shoot their wedding. Luckily, I was able to make it up to visit them and shoot some engagement pictures. Here is the result of our afternoon by the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Adventures with Sam

This past weekend I drove down to San Diego to see my friend Hannah. Hannah and I swam together at Wisconsin and I have known her and her family for several years. She has a 3 year old nephew named Sam. Sam is one amazing kid. He LOVES trains! When I walked into the house he was at the computer watching train videos on You Tube. I thought it would be fun to go to a park where they have a train and train tracks and take some pictures of Sam.

Welcome!

 Thanks for checking out my Blog. This being the first post, I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Taylor Mathis. I am a Wedding and Lifestyle photographer currently living in Santa Barbara, CA, but will be moving to Charlotte, NC. Why move to Charlotte? Well that is a question that I have been asking myself a lot over the past several months. I spent 18 years living and growing up in Charlotte. After graduating high school I attended and swam for the University of Wisconsin (go Badgers!). After graduating from Wisconsin I moved to Santa Barbara, CA to follow my passion for photography. I guess this five year journey across the country has allowed me to realize where I want to end up, and funny enough it is right where I started. North Carolina and the South is home to me. I am doing what I love and it only makes sense to be around the people and family that I love as well. On this blog I will be posting my latest shoots and anything else that I find interesting. Thanks for stopping by and hopefully see you again soon! 

 - Taylor