diff --git a/src/basic_memory/config.py b/src/basic_memory/config.py
index 8e67eb1e..4f723134 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/config.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/config.py
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ def setup_basic_memory_logging():  # pragma: no cover
     setup_logging(
         env=config_manager.config.env,
         home_dir=user_home,  # Use user home for logs
-        log_level=config_manager.load_config().log_level,
+        log_level=config_manager.config.log_level,
         log_file=f"{DATA_DIR_NAME}/basic-memory-{process_name}.log",
         console=console_logging,
     )
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/models/project.py b/src/basic_memory/models/project.py
index 2bcf188b..dd804790 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/models/project.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/models/project.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Project model for Basic Memory."""
 
-from datetime import datetime
+from datetime import datetime, UTC
 from typing import Optional
 
 from sqlalchemy import (
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ class Project(Base):
     is_default: Mapped[Optional[bool]] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=None, nullable=True)
 
     # Timestamps
-    created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, default=datetime.utcnow)
+    created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, default=lambda: datetime.now(UTC))
     updated_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(
-        DateTime, default=datetime.utcnow, onupdate=datetime.utcnow
+        DateTime, default=lambda: datetime.now(UTC), onupdate=lambda: datetime.now(UTC)
     )
 
     # Define relationships to entities, observations, and relations