The Bachelorette - Emily Maynard

It's that time again...Bachelorette Season!

I'm kind of on the fence with this season, even after one episode.  I want to watch - because it was filmed here in Charlotte...but these tool bags ABC picked for her are really making me NOT want to watch!

Seriously ABC, you know you received better audition tapes than some of these clowns.  I understand you have to have a hand-full of weirdos to keep the viewers on their toes, but come on...one dude brought a freaking ostrich egg along with him!

But, I'm going to watch...and hope there's a few dudes out of this mix that aren't completely worthless.

Past seasons, I've blogged every Monday night...that won't happen this time.  Mostly because, well, I actually have a life now a days.  Basically, I'll blog when I feel it necessary...so you should follow me.  Seriously, do it...

Ok, so after night one I decided to give my first impression of these fellas...

 And here's my top 3:

I have to admit, for the last several months, every time I saw a helicopter in the area I assumed it was the Bachelorette...or apparently Kalon.

Good luck to Emily...I hope you sift thru the douche bags and find your prince!

Cheers Y'all!

Design Center Day

I remember being in college and working on residential design projects and LOVING the design library day when all 18 of us fought over Uba Tuba Granite samples and paint chips from God knows where.  It was what every girl wants - to pick samples of imaginary spaces they were designing and NOT paying for!

Well, my dream became a reality when I had the chance to go to the Harbor Homes design center on Friday of last week.

My appointment time was set for 9:00am to 11:00am...I told my rep that this would not take 2 hours...and I was right.  45 minutes.  What can I say, I know what I like and I know what I DON'T like.

We started out with the exterior siding colors - the choice I feared the most.  You can change cabinet colors, flooring, even counter tops - but you can't really change the color of your house once it's up!  I REALLY wanted this slate blue color, but it was not a "standard option" and this white girl wasn't forking out any more cash-money for a freaking vinyl color.  I chose a deep khaki color called "Pebble" and was required to select an accent color for my dormers - and I got a blue color close to the one I wanted called "Midnight Sky"!  With black shutters, white trim and a black door, this house is going to be b-e-a-utiful!

exterior finishes

 

 

With the difficult part out of the way, we moved onto flooring.  I kept the standard carpet and vinyl flooring in the first floor - I'll be installing hardwood down the road.


Then I selected my cabinets and granite - the cabinets are "Sinclair Birch" - a deep chocolate color.  The granite is (I forgot the name) a deep gold color with a lot of black and silver mixed in.

flooring, counters and cabinetry

I also selected my accent colors - Harbor Homes provides the builder with the option to have two walls painted in Sherwin Williams colors.  I chose the kitchen walls to be painted - yea, they may not be the biggest walls in the house, but if you've ever painted a kitchen before you know how much of a pain in the ars it is.  The color is "PoolHouse" and it matches my living room accent colors PERFECTLY!

poolhouse - middle blue color

poolhouse

After going over my appliances and fixtures, we were DONE!  I left with a wonderful feeling and cannot wait to see something happen on my empty lot!


Pre-slab meeting is in two weeks and my mother will go on my behalf to show the builder where my outlets and cable jacks will be.  Close date is August 24th and then it will be time to move...ugh, I hate moving...but this move will be different! :)


Cheers Y'all!

Military May

This year seems to be cruising by - it's already May!  

So far this year, I have had some battles to face and have made it thru some of the lowest points so far in my life.  I have leaned on my faith more than ever and have built my relationship with God, who has been by my side thru all of my struggles.  "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13) has been more true than ever in the past several months.  I know He has always been there for me, but because of my new relationship with Him I feel closer than ever to our Creator.  I am so blessed and I thank Him every day for what He has given me.

We, as Americans, are all blessed to have the freedom we so often forget.  It is because of our brave Military men and women that allow us to have the freedom we have today.   We should all be constantly reminded of the sacrifices these men and women have made - we are all forever in debt to them.

I have a huge spot in my heart for our Military as I have several friends and family who are Veterans.  I have seen what war can do to a person - physically and mentally.  It takes a special person to put their life on the line for Freedom and their country.  Memorial Day is May 30th, and while you may think that it's merely the kick off to summer and a paid day off, it is not.  Memorial Day is a day for honoring those who have lost their lives defending our country.  What a better way to honor the fallen than to have an entire month of Military Appreciation!

When I started thinking about how I wanted to honor our Military this month, I did a good bit of research to find the organization I wanted to support.  I was inspired by a very special person and started looking into the Wounded Warrior Project.  The WWP was founded in 2003 by a group of Veterans in Virginia who were moved by stories of the injured service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.  It started as a program to provide comfort items to wounded service members and has grown into a support system and programs designed to assist warriors as they recover and transition back into civilian life.  These programs are structured around mind, body, economic empowerment and engagement and range from outdoor rehabilitative retreats, peer support, adaptive sports, employment assistance and giving warriors and their families a voice.  It's an amazing non-profit organization and I'm so excited to support them in May and beyond.

I have set up a personal fund raiser page thru WWP and set a goal of $500 to raise by the end of May.  I'm asking all of you to help me in this project and support the ones who give you freedom each and every day.  We will never be able to repay them for the bravery and courage they have, and the sacrifices they make - but we CAN give back to those who give everything for us.

Here's the link to my page:

 https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/individual-fundraising/gratefulgal/

Every dollar counts, every cent is appreciated!  The page will display your name as a contributor, but your donation amount will be kept private. 

Also, please "like" the Wounded Warrior Project on Facebook:

                http://www.facebook.com/wwpinc.fans.  

On their page you can "Thank a Warrior" and send a thank you card:

                http://www.facebook.com/wwpinc.fans?sk=app_200103733347528

God Bless America and the brave men and women who do what they do every day so we have the freedom to do what we do every day. 

Cheers Y'all!

Artistic April = Success.

So far, this whole one resolution a month thing is going really well.  It's a lot easier to set a short term goal and achieve it than it is to drag out one thing all year long.

April was an extremely uplifting month for me - so many good things are happening and I'm so very blessed!

I may have fallen short on some of the Twitter stuff - but the Artistic April paintings were a total success.

First painting was inspired by a painting I did on a girls night out at Painting with a Twist in Charlotte.  As soon as my brush hit the canvas, I was back to my artsy- fartsy self and knew exactly who this one was going to be for.  One of my best friends, was getting married this month (this past Saturday to be exact) and the colors and feeling the painting took on reminded me of her spirit and love for the water.  I even threw in a pelican on the pylon - her favorite.

stacy's sunset

The second painting was inspired by an artist I found online - call it copying, call it inspiration.  While I was painting this one, the colors and whimsical landscape made me think of my aunt - who ironically had a birthday that week! 

spring landscape

The third painting isn't going anywhere - I love this one.  Also inspired by an artichoke painting by an artist on "the interweb", I threw in my own colors and BOOM!

artichoke

The last painting was done on the LAST day of April.  My cousin "hinted" that my God son would love to have a fish for his room - and what that little man wants, Aunt Lindsey does!

will's "bish"

I would have painted a lot more this past month, but this is what I was working with:

need studio space NOW!

Needless to say, the new house WILL have a studio in the garage!

Cheers Yall!