Saturday, September 24, 2011

Nathan and Sarah's Wedding

Mom, Dad, Kyle, and I rented a Chrysler Town and Country and drove over to Watervliet, Michigan for Nathan and Sarah's wedding. Our hotel was right on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, and it was beautiful!

We were pretty amused about the sparkle floor in the elevator at the hotel.

Every time we got into the elevator we had to do a little disco dancing.

Friday night we went to the Pump House Grille for dinner and drinks with the family.
On Saturday morning we took a walk on the beach. I chased seagulls.

We walked down the pier to the lighthouse and watched the sailboats come in to the marina.

And of course we stuck our feet in, even though it was a little cold.

I didn't get too many pictures, but we explored the downtown St. Joseph area. It was really charming, and had lots of interesting street art pieces. They had mosaic mirror cows, painted pigs, and this cute little lamb.

Saturday evening we headed over to Millcreek Barn where the wedding took place. It was a gorgeous spot that had a rustic feel. I thought that it was very unique to the couple. The tables were decorated with mason jars of white flowers, antique books tied together with twine, lanterns, and antique skeleton keys.

Instead of having a cake, they had a dessert table. All of the cookies, cupcakes, and treats were made by my aunt, Sarah, and Nathan.

Mom and Dad got all dressed up.

Here is my Grandma, Grandpa, my dad, and his sisters.


The best part....
Nathan's vows started with "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.....

You make me happy, when skies are gray."
Congratulations you two!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Deck Fence

Along one side of our deck we used to have a panel of lattice, with a huge honeysuckle bush. It smelled great, and I loved the flowers, but it was growing up onto the roof and taking over the place. Kyle has trimmed it back every fall since 2007, but he finally ripped the lattice out and hacked up the bush. I was at work, so I didn't get a chance to take before pics on this one. Here's what it looked like when I got home.

Dustin helped Kyle in the planning stages of putting fence panels in.

By dark they had this much finished.

We'll see how it turns out.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Roots n Blues '11

I volunteered to work for artist relations at Roots and Blues this year. On Friday I worked at the hospital all day, but was able to make it downtown in time to see some of Railroad Earth and all of Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Kyle was volunteering and go to see music all day from backstage at the Locust Street Stage.

Saturday night we volunteered for artist relations. We got to "work" backstage, which was super cool. I got to listen and watch Dale Watson, Sam Bush (who is one of my bluegrass favorites), Los Lobos, and Taj Mahal from backstage. I got to meet and hang out with Los Lobos, and they were super nice guys. I even danced with Conrad Lozano, the bass player, during Sam Bush's set.

The highlight of the night, without a doubt, was Sam Bush and Los Lobos together playing Dear Mr. Fantasy which wasn't on their set-list. Legendary!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Home Improvement

My super sweet husband replaced our faucet in the kitchen.

Before:


After:

The new one is really nice, and he claims that it was a simple fix. And we only had to go to the hardware store ONE TIME. Really.

We have been working on our shed off and on all summer. The concrete block foundation went down, and I placed a time capsule in it. It was essentially a Rubbermaid container with one page of the newspaper, a picture of us from our wedding, a stamp, a 2011 penny, a dollar, a twinkie, and a Baconalien sticker. I also double wrapped it in ziplock bags.

Then Kyle laid the floor.

Then the walls went up.

It rained a day or two before the roof went on, but the tarp kept it dry. Darn the luck.

We primed it with oil based primer.

Then painted it to match the house.
Inside
and out.


Look for after pics in the near future!