Tuesday, February 24, 2009

On the Road Again

Tomorrow I am traveling home to Alabama...hooray!! For me, the worst part of traveling is packing. Inevitability I put off this task to the last minute and end up throwing everything in a suitcase at the last minute.


This results in wrinkled clothes, leaky shampoo and too many shoes! With as much as I travel, you would think I should have packing down to a science but I don't. For those of you who are also travel challenged, check out this packing how-to-guide by Real Simple. Sweet Home Alabama Here I Come!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Boring Weekend

Yep, just another boring weekend in North Carolina. In fact, the highlight of our weekend was buying a mattress...I know, lame. We had a full size bed for guests, but Brad and I thought it was time to upgrade to a queen. "A work in progress" is a kind way to describe our guest bedroom at the moment. See exhibit A:

The guest bedroom also doubles as my office. Since I work from home, this is a pretty poor excuse for an office. Lets face it, the $5 Goodwill chair and Brad's beat-up, hand-me-down desk from college don't really inspire my best work.

I have ignored this disaster of a room for far too long and it is time for a makeover! Last week, I ordered an office armoire in chestnut from Ballard Designs. I thought it was the perfect solution to conceal and organize my workspace. Unfortunately, some assembly is required...ugh...but it was on sale and the price was right!


Now, I am on the hunt for a chair that not only coordinates with the bedding (pillowcase above) I have already purchased for the room but that is also comfy enough for me to sit in for hours on end. Hopefully, the room will come together in a few weeks! Stay tuned.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Weekend Road Trip

I said that I was going to put forth more effort in making regular posts, but here I am again a week later. So sorry for the laziness! Last Saturday, Brad and I ventured out to the Hickory Furniture Mart in Hickory, NC. With four floors and 100 manufacturers, this place was a designer-wanna-be's dream! We saw plenty of beautiful things with higher than expected price tags. I discovered that many of the showrooms featured high-end furniture pieces that even at "outlet" prices were out of my reach. But we did see plenty of things that I liked and had bargain prices, they were just not things that we needed at the moment. The visit to the HFM was more out of curiosity, but I did keep my eyes peeled for guest bedroom side tables and a computer armoire. Although after a couple of hours, we left empty handed. In May, the HFM will hold its semi-annual After Market Sale. The furniture manufacturing capital of the world (seriously) is located in High Point, NC (20 minutes from Winston-Salem). Each Spring and Fall, the world's largest furniture market is held in High Point. After the market, designer furniture samples are then sent to the HFM. I can't wait to see what I can find on my next trip! On the way home, Brad and I stopped at Dee's Antiques that was located off the interstate. This place was jam packed with dishes, linens and mostly junk, but I had fun scrounging around in the shop's old rooms.
I left with this vintage, red clutch from the fifties. Of course, I really have no need for another purse, but I couldn't pass it up the $8 price!

Monday, February 16, 2009

V-Day Suprise

For weeks, Brad has been talking about buying Guitar Hero for our new Wii. Being the tight wad that I am, I simply told him "No, that is a need not a want." But this response didn't stop Brad's campaign. He gave a very moving speech about how Guitar Hero would "strengthen our marriage" and provide hours of great bonding time since we don't have any friends within a 500 mile radius. Unfazed by his monologue, my reply was still a firm "No."

You can imagine how surprised Brad was when he came home and saw this! His reaction was priceless and I think he was more excited about his new game than he was on our wedding day.

It didn't take long to get things set-up and start playing. As you can see, Brad was still gitty with excitement.

Here is the rock star in action.

And yes, I even got in on the action. Although, I stink at playing the drums!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Why North Carolina?

I feel as if it is my turn to finally add to the blogging world. Where are we now? North Carolina. Why? To build the monster you see in the picture above. In the wide world of construction there is one thing that is inevitable. Unless you are the ONLY show in town you are going to have to travel.

That is why we are here in North Carolina. I had the opportunity to come up here to the steaming metropolis known as Kernersville, North Carolina, to help build an $85 million dollar facility known as Kernersville Medical Center. I am working with some great people, learning a heck of a lot, and enjoying seeing a different part of the country (most notably Duke University’s Cameron Indoor Stadium).

The building is a 230,000 sf hospital that is owned and operated by Novant Health, a power player in Healthcare on the East Coast. The hospital, when complete, will be 5 times that of what you see in the pictures. The pictures include sections of Area A and B.

The difference between working in North Carolina and Alabama

Snow Day
It has been fun so far. The job will end in Spring 2010. That seems a long way away, and my wife will second that. But, things have been flying by out here and before we know it we will be finished. It is still hard to believe we have been here living for nearly 4 months.

Shealy's Shower Extravaganza

A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I hosted a baby shower for Shealy in Auburn. Doesn't the table look cute?

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of the diaper cake. But when I saw it in person, I thought it was so precious! Great job Stacy!

I was in charge of the flowers for the occasion. I stopped by Davis Wholesale in Birmingham on the way to Auburn to select the flowers - pink tulips and astrimirum lilies.

Emily made the most delicious ice cream and coffee punch. Em, you'll have to share your recipe!

And, here is the little mama with her sister Sarah. Shealy's sister was kind enough to hold the shower in her beautiful house. It was decorated so cute!

With about 65 people in attendance, you can imagine all the gifts that baby Kate received. There is no doubt that Kate will be the best dressed kid in Auburn!

These initial paintings were my contribution to Kate's nursery. I painted these without seeing the nursery in person. I hope the colors match ok. Kate is due to arrive on March 27 and we can't wait to meet her!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Snow Day

Yesterday afternoon, I got up from my desk to look out my window and look what I saw...

I was so surprised to see snow on the ground! Only an hour before the snow appeared, it was sunny with blue skies. Too bad adults don't get snow days:(

Sorry for the two week hiatus! I have been out of town and now I am playing catch up. I have plenty to blog about so stay tuned!