Breaking News- Election Special

It's very possible that over the past couple of weeks you have heard about Ireland in the news. I don't think they would pick the headlines they have been getting, but "change" is in the air and in fact, yesterday was Election Day in Ireland. This means there have been campaign posters all over the place and we even saw one politician in a horse and buggy caravan. But all that will come in later posts.

Today I give you an inside look to the Nightly News Election Special, performed by the one and only Brownbread Players. If you ever find yourself in Dublin on the last Wednesday of any given month ,you should check  out a really cool gig called The Brownbread Mixtape, put on by my very own brother-in-law (more to come on that later too) but I couldn't resist sharing a video of a sketch that was just perfect for this week in Dublin.

Apologies if you humor is above you due to your lack of knowledge of Irish politics, I didn't get a lot of the jokes either, but the energy was amazing!

Enjoy it and check out more videos here: http://brownbreadmixtape.wordpress.com.  Trust me, its worth it!

One more day in Dublin and then its back to the daily grind. We have had an awesome time and can't wait to share more of trip when we get back!

Doing Dublin

There has been a delay in  house updates and posts in general because the Willis crew has been enjoying a holiday in Dublin. I will make sure to have a few proper posts when we get back, but in the meantime here is a preview of what we have done so far...

We played ball!

Got some cuddles.

And some kisses.

Went for walk.

Took in some sights.

And found some time to hang out a little. (I can't help it I really love the "hanging out" shots. David is not so much of a fan- and yes, I did end up falling-out of that tree. Oops.)

Mushroom

We are blessed that our contractor is a man of patience, and that his painter had a fairly open schedule because otherwise we might never get the house painted.

The Sunday after I got back from New York was probably the busiest Sunday that we have had in a very long time.  In a nutshell it went something like this - Minute for Mission at 9am service, reception for Basketball Program recognition in education hall (yummy donuts and coffee), Girls Softball sign-ups in the Gathering Place, teach Sunday School, stop by Home Depot to pick out more paint colors (together this time), stop at grocery store , make 13 sack lunches for Room in the Inn, cook green beans and mac and cheese (also for Room in the Inn),  to basketball practice and then head over to deliver food and help serve dinner at Room in the Inn, then home and to bed. No we didn't find time to watch the Grammys.

This post is really just about zeroing in on one of those tasks- the trip to Home Depot. David and I walked in and each picked up about two different samples and what do you know, we both had one that were almost the same. Sold. We took it home and held it up and we both were pleased. Well, David was pleased- I was just kind of ready to stop worrying about it, and so I think that has something to do with the fact that I like it so much. Plus its called, "Mushroom" so that helps.

 This is what it has looked like for a few days.   Since we can't decide, we have had the painters put up a few colors every day, then if its not what we like we ask them to put up another or go a bit darker with it till we ended up with lots of random patches of paint on the front of the house.

The top color is called "Silver Ashes" and we decided it was too light, too blue and not going to work at all. The color below it was called "Graceful Gray" it was a step in the right direction, but still not exactly what we were hoping to find. Still too light and too similar to our neighbors house color.

 At one point we joked that we kind of liked the look and maybe we should do the entire house in camouflage! But don't worry,  it was only a joke. When we got home and saw these colors up, we finally decided to go with the third one (on the left in the photos above). It is a color called "Mushroom" and we picked it from the Home Depot Martha Stewart collection. Of course its not actually Martha's paint, but we will credit her for the insipration of the color of our house.

In prepping to paint, they also pressure washed the front porch, which we decided to have painted "Graceful Gray" for a little contrast, but for now all you can see are the remnants of porches past. Apparently it has been a lot of different colors over the years. 

Lucky for David, they also stripped out back deck during the prep process, so it is ready to be re-stained which will make it look like we also got a brand new deck.

Unlucky for David, he is going to have to do it himself not included in deal we got for painting- but that is a project for another day. We are officially in prep mode for our trip to Ireland! We leave on Friday after work and we can't wait! We found out today that the house will be done by the time we leave, but just barely. More pictures to come before we head off!

A funfetti valentine

Since we really like all the neighbors that we know and since we thought it was time to introduce ourselves to the ones we don't know, we decided that we would make and deliver cupcakes to our neighbors this year. And not just any cupcake- you guessed it- funfetti valentine cupcakes.

I really hope that they don't think we are those weird people on the block that deliver baked goods and knock randomly on their doorstep on a Sunday night, you know what I mean...like in a bad way. But who doesn't love cupcakes? And its the gesture, right? I am happy to report that no one refused to take the cupcakes despite the fact that I am pretty sure we stumbled upon a couple on a date cooking dinner and a little girl in tears (don't worry- they weren't all at the same house or anything).

As for me and Mr. Willis- we will be celebrating Valentine's day cuddled up on the couch with our friends Hungry Jack and Mrs. Butterworth- heart shaped pancakes are on the menu.

We will also be pulling a special bottle of wine out of the closet (because isn't that where everyone stores special bottles of wine?)  to share together. It's one of the bottles we brought back from Spain (Priorat) in April and we have been saving for a special occasion.

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with special occasion wine, funfetti treats and your favorite person too!

New York, New York

I spent the majority of my time in New York working here.

But it was a very productive trip as far as work was concerned, so I didn't feel so bad extending my stay till Saturday so I could get in some quality time with my friend Lindsey who is an attorney who works here:

The photos are a bit blurry (thanks iPhone) because I was trying to take them as a walked in a crowd of impatient New Yorkers and wandering tourists. Her building is located in Times Square, so you can imagine the crowd.

Her building is the one with the blue top- the one next to it is actually a Bank of America building that conveniently blocks Lindsey's office view of the Empire State building. Grr. I decided to spare myself from one more line item on an expense report, and stayed with Lindsey. In order to get to her apartment, I had to walk through Times Square.

OK- well technically I choose to walk through Times Square, I could have walked up any number of streets, but who can resist all the flashing lights and tacky tourists?

There was a significant amount of madness happening at work for Lindsey so I got to do a fair bit of wandering in the city and chilling out in her apartment, which was actually incredibly delightful- but she was able to sneak away for a fabulous dinner at a place in the Meatpacking district called, Fig & Olive. 

They were nice enough to extend NYC restaurant week so that we could enjoy a special prefix 3-course menu which included:

MEDITERRANEAN CHEESE SAMOSA & FIG CHUTNEY

Fontina, parmesan, dolce gorgonzola cheese, thyme, scallion 

Fig, red onion, Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar Chutney

(sorry- no photo for this one, but I can tell you that they were just like little fried pillows of yummy-ness that were complemented by a delicious fig chutney and overall I was very pleased with my decision)

SHRIMP & SCALLOP PAELLA

Grilled shrimp and scallop marinated with pimenton 

Served on saffron rice, eggplant tapenade, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, oregano olive oil

DESSERT “CROSTINI”

Amarena cherry, mascarpone, pistachio

On shortbread with micro-basil

(for anyone who loves cherries and loves mascarpone, these are a perfect little palate pleaser)

After dinner we grabbed a few drinks at some places nearby before we caught a taxi home and got some much needed rest. I had booked a late flight on Saturday so we spent the afternoon walking through a snow covered central park, getting a mani pedi and grabbing a quick Thai lunch. Flight home was uneventful and I was even back in time to go to dinner with my hubby that night. 

It wasn't so hard to leave Lindsey standing on the curb as I pulled away in a taxi headed to LaGuardia because David and I are headed back up for a proper visit with her in March. This was like a little preview for me and I can't wait to go back!

One more step closer to done.

We are crossing our fingers that we get to see the final product before we cross the big pond to Ireland at the end of the month (actually the end of next week!!! So excited!), but I guess its still up in the air. However, we have gotten one step closer to done this week.

All the trim work is up, but not yet painted,

all the cedar shake shingles are up, but not yet stained and

the columns have been built- but you guessed it, not yet painted.

So this is where we are:

 The angle is a little weird, because I am downhill and off to the right, and the light is less than fabulous, because the sun was actually just starting to come up and I was in a hurry, but I think you get the picture! We certainly think its coming together very nicely.

So what is still on the agenda before we are finished, you ask? Well, today our house is getting a bath. Technically, I think the term is pressure washing, but either way you say it, the olde bungalow is going to get cleaned-up. Then painters are headed our way to freshen up the trim, columns and the wood siding on either side of the house.

As you can imagine when doing a project like this, there are decisions that one must make along the way. Sure, you get help and advice, but ultimately you have to decide what you want your house to look like when its all done. And just imagine having all the options in the world. If you are anything like us Willis', you don't like that too much. Too much pressure.

This brings me to the latest decision that we have to make- what color to paint the house. Oh, backing up a little bit...we love our brick house, something about it is so charming and historic looking- but upon closer evaluation, we realized that our particular brick is   less "charming and historic" and more just "really old and falling apart." So when the painter coming out to do the trim, columns, siding etc. gave us a killer deal on painting the entire house, we decided to take him up on it.

So now we are back to that darn decision we have to make- the house color. Not sure why it has been so difficult to decide,  I assume its because there is no going back after you paint brick, but its just really driving me crazy. I have been driving around Charlotte, snagging pictures with my iPhone of random houses to try and figure out what we really want, all it did was make me more confused.

If only this was my full time job, but no, we have to squeeze in all the decision making in between all the activities of our busy lives..so this is where we are- we taped up some sample colors, stepped back and decided that we didn't like any of them. Heavy sigh. Although we were supposed to decide today, alas, we have pushed the decision till Sunday.

Despite feeling a tad overwhelmed, we are confident we will get there...eventually. Until then, I am off to the airport- I have a quick work trip to NYC that I am turning into a play trip with my favorite big city attorney. Putting paint colors out of my mind for a few nights....

A Manly Day vs. A Womanly Day

This past weekend David and I went our separate ways. Well, at least for Saturday (Friday night we went and saw the movie, The King's Speech together, which was excellent by the way- but then again, since the Pride and Prejudice BBC miniseies, Colin Firth can do no wrong as far as I am concerned.)

So Saturday morning rolled around and I headed off to Raleigh to spend it with some lovely ladies and to celebrate at a baby shower for my friend who is expecting twins in April (if she makes it that long). It was a mini reunion of sorts, getting to see my some of my favorites from college and of course getting to see the belly and even snag a pic or two for the happy couple.

It was delightfully girly with lots of talk about babies and decorating (the expecting couple just bought a new house up there in Raleigh and moved about 3 weeks ago).

While I was munching down on cucumber sandwiches and sipping champagne punch down the road a bit...a smoke-fest was underway at my house. David has some of the guys over to smoke some meat...and some cigars apparently. There was pork shoulder, ribs, chicken wings and even some pizza that I am told was smoked. All I heard about the next day was that it was an perfect "guy day" and that everyone involved had a great time being "manly"  (the only lady allowed was Lila Pearl). The general consensus was that they all really needed it and should do it more often. I am all for male bonding, but I am not sure how often I want my entire house smelling like a smoke pit.

Thanks to some wet weather, there has been no update on our house, although when I left for work this morning there were about 8 men in my yard with ladders and wood so I imagine that by the time I come home tonight I might have more to share!

Raise the Roof

We have a new roof! I never really thought of myself as the type of person who would be very excited by something like a new roof, but you never know when you will surprise yourself. The transformation of the house was almost instant when the new roof went on. Ta-da!

 I know you probably can't tell much from the photo, but if you look at the before and after, it really is quite dramatic. Here is the 'before' shot (taken in Spring 2010):

And the 'after' shot:

Let's try to ignore the fact that it is winter and we have no grass and that due to this construction we will have to completely re-landscape the front yard (mom-hope you are available to help). Just imagine how it will look in spring when everything is green again! And yes, we are "those people" in the neighborhood with not only the dumpster in the drive way but also the contractor sign out front.

We are happy to help spread the word, and honestly this has been such a long time coming, that we kind of see it as a badge of honor to finally be making some moves on curb appeal.

Next up? City inspector, painters and gutters- oh my!