On our recent vacation to Florida, we stayed with a great friend of ours, Chris. Chris owns Grand Bay Construction and with his team, designs and builds amazing homes throughout the Florida area.

Given my heart beats double-time for home decor and design, and I found myself loving every second of his tours around homes he is building in the area. While I feel most at home and comfortable in small spaces, I fell head over heels in love with the tall ceiling, large space homes fit for the southern heat and relaxing outdoor lifestyle. I also discovered porches. A whole new love for huge, open, airy, over-the-top outdoor lounges and porches. Oh I could go on, but those design dreams and porches are for another story, another day and another blog. A very wordy one.

Back at Chris’ home, both Tim and I fell in love with Chris’ new mate, Gary. Oh, long-legged, fence-vaulting Gary. When he wasn’t taking himself out and about the town, Gary could be found relaxing in style on his chair. Gary’s dignified, handsome face was a joy to photograph. Naturally, while we took a few headshots for Chris, we had to include Mr. Gary as GBC lovable sidekick + mascot.