There will be light!

I'm trying to catch up on my blogging, and wanted to share this great find with everyone.  Last week during my lunch break, Bub and I wandered over to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store.  We like to browse around in there every so often, but this time we went with a project in mind:  My new workshop!

If you didn't know, my mom, sister and I have started a business and Etsy shop called, Point Breeze Cottage where we sell all kinds of ReFabulous items.  Basically we are giving old pieces or furniture and decor a fresh new look or use and voila, it's ReFabulous!

Anyway, we found this sweet chandelier, in working condition, for only $20.  Since my new "workshop" is only about a 1/4 of the garage, this pretty puppy will provide plenty of much needed light.  I can't wait to get a new color of paint on this thing and hang it up.  Oh and it might help to have the walls put up, finish painting the existing cinder blocks, assemble a few shelves and move in all of our projects, supplies and furniture.  Regardless, I am still pretty pumped about this chandelier!

Built for Comfort

If the words of my brother-in-law, "My body is built for comfort, not speed."  Me and you both, Mike.  And it just so happens that we both married into a family that was entirely built for speed.  That and they may have a little bit more motivation than we do. Maybe...

Last weekend we packed up the Volvo and headed over to Ocean City, MD.  Several weeks ago, my sister-in-law Ashley suggested we all sign up for the Hidden Treasures 5K and run it as a family.  A little background for those of you who don't know:  Bubba has been running since he was a boy and went to college on a Cross Country scholarship to a Division 1 NCAA school and won his share of races which even includes 3 Big South Championships.  To simply call him a "runner" is an understatement.  His dad, Adrian, or as he is known to some, "Pop Pop-Pee Wee" was always Bub's personal trainer and running companion. His mom, Sheila, has the determination and build for running.  Ashley ran cross country in high school, and according to Bubba, could have been way better than he was.  His other sister, Sarah and her husband Adam are in great shape and actually enjoy running.

And then there was me.  The closest I'd been to a race was watching them run around the school during field hockey practice in high school, or nearly taking them out in my car during marathons, 5ks, etc. around town. There was a time when I could run up and down a basketball court or field hockey field for hours on end, and even then the thought of running a mile or multiple miles made me cringe.  And now that I'm out of shape, it not only makes me cringe, but sends me into somewhat of a panic.  Needless to say, I never agreed to run in the race, but I did agree to go and support the family.  And that is exactly what I did.  Poor Sarah was/is sick and ended up not being able to run, so she and the kids kept me company and showed me the ropes of a 5K/race.

The runners - and Mike - before the race started.

I think Bub was having second thoughts about running.  Did I mention he didn't even register for the race?  Proof that not EVERY race lets you register the day of...

My pretty little, race day buddy :)

And they are off! Adam and Bub (to the right) ran together the whole race and kept each other going up until the end when Bub had to veer off and come through the front door instead of the finish line since he wasn't registered.

Stretching it out after the race...Jakey wanted to stretch too! Adorable...

Sheila won the silver medal for her age group with a time of  36:56.8

Pee-Wee brought home the gold medal for his age group with a time of 27:02.2

Adam, far right, came in 3rd place for the entire race with a time of  23:28.2!

WINNING!

All the participants in the race!  Good job, guys!  

Wallpaper pt. 2

I was able to get the "South Pacific" top coat of paint on this evening.  Not quite finished, but certainly making improvements.

The Guest Bedroom Escapades

Our quaint little cottage is just that.  Little.  We remind ourselves constantly that it was built in 1929, and let's just say they didn't really do anything big back then.  But that's ok, we LOVE our cottage and wouldn't trade it for the world. When we officially made it ours and purchased it back in February, we knew we wanted to change some things around.  We transformed our bedroom, as you saw HERE, and we were planning on making our "dressing room" into a full-fledged Guest Bedroom.   (Long story short, we slept in one room, and kept our clothes in the other since the closet space in our bedroom was so non-functional)

So here we are, we've moved our old queen bed into the "dressing room" and have been trying to find a few key items that will give it more of a Guest Room feel.  But first things first:  Get rid of the insane asylum white walls.

While shopping at Lowes with my mom, who also happens to be updating her home, she pointed out the section of wall paper that is designed to be painted over.  I feel in love, because I just knew it would bring that extra bit of dimension and texture to the stark white room.  We are only going to do the one, full length wall behind the bed kind of as an accent wall.  Did I mention our bedding in there is white as well, thankfully with a few blue accents.

I priced out the wallpaper and paint, got the "ok" from my accountant aka Bubba and got to work.  The goal was that this would be my project, that I would do myself so Bub could work on other big projects out in the garage (more on that later...).  Needless to say, it quickly turned into a two man job.  It might have been easier if I had ever put up wallpaper, or at least seen it being done before.  So much for winging it.

Three and a half hours and many many many F-bombs later (from my, mind you, not Bub) we had a lovely wall of fresh wallpaper ready to be painted.  I'm pretty embarrassed to say this but we made one crucial mistake when we were in the prep stages.  If this hadn't of happened, it probably would have been a much more enjoyable experience.  But it happened, and we paid for it.  Considering that the odds against us however, we were able to match the pattern up pretty perfectly except for this one square....yes, one odd ball square.  Don't ask, because I couldn't even being to tell you how it happened...

Next step: Applying the "South Pacific" blue paint. :) And hopefully redeeming ourselves from the square incident...

Mobile Round-Up

I'm trying to be better about posting to this here blog, so I'm making an attempt to catch up now via my Mobile Round-Up.  Here is a collection of cell phone snaps that summarize the last week or two.

Here we go:

New hair and a new dress, at the risk of sounding like a McDonalds commercial, I'm loving it.  Everyone should treat themselves to a 'mini makeover' every once in a while.  I've been highlighting and coloring my hair since 10th grade (dear god, that's 10 years ago) and one day I was thinking, hmm...I'm not even sure what my natural hair color is anymore.  Then I found a picture of my style icon, Zooey Dechanel, and told my wonderful hairdresser, Crystal, to make it happen!  My mother claims that she doesn't think my hair is naturally this dark, but I've YET to see any roots growing out so I think we were pretty spot-on with the color choice...

My "Bee-F-F".  This is Amanda B, better known to most as Bee.  I like to think that I played a part in her infamous nick-name, but it was so long ago I can't really remember.  No, we didn't take a time machine back to 1975, the wood paneling, awful lighting and fluffy hair (to the right) are all part of the atmosphere known as Anderson's Bar.  There isn't much better than a fun bar that's only about 15 minutes away from your house.  I used to frequent it a lot more when I was still playing softball, so it felt good to be back and do some stop light shots.  Anyway, I love this picture because Bee and I have been friends for so long and now we're cousin's-in-law (if that's even a term).  It's funny how the best people you know always end up staying in your life. <3

I love my new travel mug.  My lovely friend, Erin, gave this to me as a gift for reading in her wedding a couple of weekends ago, and I can't stop using it.  This nifty mug keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold.  AND it has an M and a pink lid.  Ahhh, she knows me so well :)  I may be a little too excited about a mug, especially when I am mainly using it at that dreaded place called work, but it brightens my mornings!

If you follow me on Twitter(@mindlehill), you may have already seen this, but I can't help showing it off again.  I took this picture last Friday as I was pulling out of my driveway and heading to work.  It was one of the first days that truly felt like fall.  A cool breeze was blowing and the sun was shining down on the Potomac River with clear skies.  It was absolutely heavenly, I couldn't help myself from stopping and staring and taking it all in. Bubba and I are so blessed to live in such a beautiful and breathtaking location.

Double Trouble.  Ok, so they aren't really THAT much trouble, but the are a handful.  Meet Samson (top) and Evelyn (bottom).  Better known as Sammy and Eve.  We had a yard sale this weekend at my sisters house and these two were there to keep us company.  Thankfully no one tried to bargain for a pit bull.   I'm not a big fan of dogs, but these two really melt my cold heart. Look at those eyes...how can you not love them?!

Sweet Septemeber

I've determined that September is a pretty popular month for weddings.  And why not?  The weather is starting to cool off but the beautiful days of summer are still trying to hang on.  I already shared with you my friend Erin's wedding that we attended on our own anniversary weekend.  And here are a few shots of our dear friend Adam's wedding the following weekend.  

Bubba and Adam have been friends ever since high school and I am so glad they have stayed close.  No matter what we're doing, we seem to have a good time if Adam is around.  He has become almost like a brother to us and we've recently learned, through ancestry.com that Adam is related to my dad about 5 different ways.  

Congratulations to Adam and his new wife, Becky.  You both looked wonderful and we wish you a life full of happiness!

Happy Anniversary!

I feel like it was just yesterday that Bubba and I got engaged, but time has proven me wrong once again.  On September 4th, we celebrated our one year anniversary by going to dinner, a Blake Shelton concert, and just being with each other.  We happen to have a "couples crush" on Blake and his new wife, Miranda Lambert, so when we heard he was coming to town on our anniversary our plans were set.

The concert was a blast and definitely one I won't forget.  Blake Shelton truly puts on a great show and sounds spectacular live.  Bubba brought me home this beautiful bouquet Friday afternoon so I could enjoy them all weekend, while I got him something a little different.  I've heard about this "list" that couple sometimes follow when buying each other anniversary gifts, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Year 1 = Paper.  It didn't take me long to figure out exactly what I wanted to get him.  I called High Point University and made it happen.  I ordered a copy of his diploma and framed it for him.  I noticed he didn't have one, and since he worked so hard to achieve it, I figured why not?

Is it really September already?

I am still writing August on everything that requires a date, there is just no way it is September already.  I guess the Autumn season is on its way whether I'm ready or not, so I might as well just embrace it.  This is actually my most favorite time of year, the weather starts changing, your wardrobe starts changing, some of us even change our hair:

Yes, folks, I have done the unthinkable.  I have gotten rid of the blond highlights I have had since about 10th grade and am going back to my natural color.  I have to assume that this is somewhere close to natural since I haven't seen it in so long, but I think it will be a lot less maintenance and something totally different than what I'm used to.  I'm pretty excited to start living as a brunette again!

ANYWAY, back to this talk about September...To me it is the month for weddings.  Probably because our anniversary is September 4, making this past Sunday our very first anniversary!  BUT, before I get into that, I wanted to share a few pictures with your from the Sell/Brown wedding on Saturday.

Erin, as I always describe her, is my best friend from college.  She and I met by chance my sophomore year at Towson University when she was placed in our group for our Principles of Advertising class with professor Jung Sook-Lee.  Erin had been out of class the day we picked groups and in all honesty was a wreck the first day we met her.  She had broken up with her then boyfriend, who randomly was from the same high school as me.  Small world to say the least.  But the more we worked together and then more classes we ended up having, Erin became my rock in the Mass Communication world of TU.

And what makes this story even more ironic?  Erin new husband, Matt, is ALSO from my high school and distantly related to me as well.  And it's not like it's the same county just different high schools, Erin is from Bel Air, MD and I am from St. Mary's County, MD - at least 2.5 hours apart. Anyway, my great-grandmother was a Brown before she married her husband, Buster Morris.  And her brother, I believe, was Matt's great-grandfather.  Small world indeed.  So, without further ado, here are same pictures of my gorgeous friend Erin and her very lucky husband, Matt and their perfect wedding day:

Mary's Hope, St. Inigoes, MD - The perfect back drop for Erin and Matt's special day.

Erin's lovely mom, Mary.  Without a doubt, Mary's Hope was the perfect place for this wedding!

The stunning bride being escorted down the aisle by her father.

I couldn't resist a veil shot, so pretty.

Mr. & Mrs. Brown!!!

The reception was flawless!  ps- recognize those table runners? You might have seen them HERE.

Hope (bridesmaid): "Erin, do you want a towel?"
Erin: "Oh no, we aren't doing that."
So much for that... :)

Congratulations, Erin and Matt, I wish you both the best of luck in the future and love you both!

Love Her

Passed out <3

Irene Invades the Point Part 2

Oh, Irene.  You put a hurtin' on the East Coast indeed.  Vermont is still suffering from your wrath as I type.  You gave Colton's Point quite a scare too.  Luckily though, there wasn't too much damage to material things such as homes, piers or people.  What took the brunt of your power were the old trees in the neighborhood.

We were out of power from Saturday night until Tuesday afternoon due to downed trees and power-lines. Looking back at the strength of this storm however, we are very fortunate that was the only real problem we had.  We did happen to lose one tree in our backyard, but to be completely honest, I didn't even realize it was there!  Excuse my language, but we have something I like to call the "Shit Shed" because it's an eyesore to the entire neighborhood and is filled with vines, old paint cans, groundhogs, bottles, and who knows what else that the previous owners never got rid of.  I understand the theory behind keeping the shed there...if we ever wanted to add on, we could use the square footage from that shed and add it to our house.  Mother nature has a funny way of working though.  

You see this shed was wedged between our garage and a huge old tree.  Apparently there was another tree between the garage and shed too.  Well, this unknown tree uprooted during the storm and just so happened to fall over on the "shit shed".  Take a look:

Yes, believe it or not ^THAT^ is a shed under all those vines and branches...

A view from the other side/back of our house.

So that was truly the extent of our damage from hurricane Irene.  Unless you count having to throw away pretty much everything in our refrigerator.  Here are a few pictures of what the water looked like and some damage around the neighborhood.  Irene didn't actually arrive until it was already dark, so I was only able to document the river during the "pre-hurricane" and "post-hurricane".