Peace Like a River

That hymn has been rolling in and out of my head over the past week.

I'd like to sit in the middle of this foggy field at dusk and meet with Jesus. In the midst of my first, full wedding season, I'm in need of a little peace right now. I drove past it this evening, turned around, and snapped a picture of my peace for this week.

What brings you peace?


"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul."

*I highly recommend downloading Chris Rice's version of this song.*

Three Wise Girls

I was a "Wise" once. I still am, I suppose...but not legally.

Now, there are three Wise girls. You know what the best part is? They're all southern. Bobby and I drove down to NC this weekend for some business and on our way back, we stopped in to meet my newest niece, Charlotte Grace. She is the sweetest, most calm baby I've ever met with the most delicious cheeks you ever did see! She's just learning how to smile and "coo," but she did a lot of practicing with her Aunt Buhlissa. Charlotte marks #10 total on the niece and nephew count for Bobby and me. I can't wait to watch this girl grow up!

The older two: Mary Claire (left) and Ellie (right). I think it's become a tradition that whenever MC, E and I get together, I french braid their hair. Just a little something that Aunt April passed down...

From Mexico with Love: Part 1

I made a full sprint off the plane. I didn't care so much about the 99% humidity, my toes just wanted to see the sand. My plan to make a mad dash to the resort was, of course, thwarted, due to customs and immigration. As soon as we walked through the doors at the Cancun airport, you were greeted by no less than 103893 people wanting to help you with your bags. Promptly after you passed the rush of anxious help, you arrived at the bar: "Welcome to Cancun!" it read above.

Vacation. Priceless.

We arrived at the resort (recommended by one of my dear friends, KT), in Playa Mujeres, Mexico, about 20 minutes North of Cancun. About .45 seconds after stepping out of the car, I was handed a glass of champagne and a COLD washcloth to wipe away the worries and stress we had left at home. After checking in, a man dressed like Steve Irwin on Safari took our luggage and escorted us to our room.

WOW. It was beautiful and nothing less than what we had expected. The resort was the same way...landscaping was flawless and our room was just beautiful.

Since I took tons of pictures during our stay, I'm going to have to blog in stages. The first Part will give you a glimpse of our resort and room...with any luck, you'll be booking your own trip to the Excellence Resort Playa Mujeres!

The breathtaking lobby in the hotel.

The other side of the lobby.



One of the resort buildings and pools (I think most of the resort grounds were pools).



One of the restaurants over the pool and the pool bar below.



I thought these would be amazingly comfortable...until I saw someone try to get in the hammock. I didn't want to embarrass myself too badly, so I never tried one out. Plus, where would I put my drink?!



Another pool... these chairs were packed during the day.



There was lots of charm, too! Many of the rooms had window boxes, which made me wish we had gone to Paris instead. I would have never gotten the tan I have in Paris.



...and our view from one of the restaurants! The water = amazing.



I cannot tell you how many pounds of salsa and guac Bobby and I went through in 5 days. They served it with chips every day before lunch and we definitely put a world of hurt on those puppies.



And now for our room tour... presenting, our room. A few notes: everything was very...open... including the shower and water closet (toilet area). Yes, you can see whoever is showering from the room. Not much privacy here! But it still was beautiful.



The jacuzzi tub. I have a severe distaste for bath tubs...let alone bath tubs that OTHER people have used before. It was left untouched, but would have had a nice view of the pool if we used it!



The bathroom... the shower had a waterfall shower head. I marched Bobby right up to Lowes when we got home to have him install one in our bathroom pronto.



The "living area." Complete with cold champagne when we first got there, and chocolate-covered strawberries at night during turn down service. Bobby and I now fight at night over who has to fetch the champagne and strawberries.



I took one look at this bad boy, drank a glass of the promotional champagne and passed out as soon as we got into our room. Bobby went to the gym. We seem to have our priorities well in check... it was fantastic until the Mexican sun came beating down on me around 4pm.



And lastly...our view from the room. We didn't use the chairs once, but we did frequent the pool. I cut a hibiscus from the plant every morning and wore it in my hair. My flower headband from J. Crew just wasn't cutting it.



Ahh, Mexico. As my tan fades, I wish more and more that we never had to leave. Part 2 coming up next: The Barrick's and Bachmann's do Isla de Mujeres. Watch out!

Seeing Green

My office. I spend more time there than I do the following things:

- Patting Killian

- Feeding Killian

- Swatting at Killian

- Chasing down Killian after he escapes outside

- Scolding Killian

Which is saying something, because I spend a lot of time doing those things.

My office before was bleak to say the least. Plain white, 4 square walls, a modest closet for storage, and a lonely futon. Our first major furniture purchase for the house was my beloved desk from Pottery Barn (don't judge me, I used a coupon AND picked it up from the store to save on shipping). I love that desk for all the storage and ability to hide hideous and confusing wires. It's sturdy and comfortable and works perfectly for what I need to do. Oh, and Bobby likes it too.

Then there was paint. You all remember my infamous and loathsome "sample wall?" I knew I wanted a green room to kind of "go" with my business colors, but what shade? A full room of chartreuse would have been too much. I absolutely loved the "Paris Mint" shade, if only because it had the word "Paris" in it, but it wasn't right. I tried "Vegas Green," but thought the name would offend my dear mother, and really, I did sort of feel like I was at the Copa Cabana. I hated the quality of Lowes paint, so I had to branch out. Plus, their colors weren't right. Did you know Green is the hardest color in which to find the right shade?

Near impossible, I tell ya!

Then I went to Benjamin Moore. For those of you suspecting, no, I didn't choose a Pottery Barn color. Instead, I reached into my purse and pulled out...my wallet. It was the exact green I had been looking for and thanks to the Smarty Pants Paint Girl at Ace Hardware, she was able to match the color - to. the. tee. I took my gallons home along with some painters tape and had visions of horizontal stripes dancing in my head.

Opening those cans of flat and semi-gloss paint was like opening a can of whoop-a** (pardon moi, the effect would not be the same) on my plain white walls. They just had to go.

Thanks to the tutorial I found on Young House Love, one of my new favorite home how-to blogs, I was able to paint my horizontal stripes with ease, alternating strpies with flat finish and semi-gloss finish. It took me about 2 hours in one evening to paint the entire wall (just an accent wall, don't worry) with two coats.

The next evening, I did some math, marked out where my stripes were going to go, used a level to tape the areas, and went to town with the semi-gloss! If you don't include the 45 minute break to eat a Cadbury Egg and watch E! News Weekly during a bout of frustration, it took me only an hour to tape, level and paint the stripes. Difficult? I think not!

I'd also like to note that Bobby had no help in fixing my office. When I asked him to help me use the level, he said "nope, you're a big girl, you can figure it out." Just to spite his last words, I DID do it myself and it looks fabulous!

Ok, so for those of you who skipped my story just looking for pictures, here's the before, during and after...taken with my iPhone, so please excuse the lackluster quality. I know I've promised pictures of a lot of finished projects, so after Mexico, my goal is to give you a tour of pictures if you missed our housewarming party last weekend!

Enjoy!

It's hard to tell, but the stripes are just 2 different finishes: Flat and Semi-Gloss.

Bad to the Bone

That's right...I can't repeat it enough. I've been seriously neglecting The Barrick Times for the sake of my business blog, Melissa Barrick Photography.

Here are a few live updates from our humble abode:

1) Killian is sitting on my desk, knocking off thumb drives, pens, CD cases...and is now proceeding to chew on some of my torn out magazine pages I had planned on using as photography inspiration. He's now made himself a nice bed on the keyboard of Bobby's laptop. He's such a slug.

2) I turned 24 last Monday, April 12th. I was reminded that I only have 6 years until I turn 30.

3) Things have been flying off our plate like hotcakes...and more things keep coming onto our plate at the same speed. We've been able to finish several things around the house, but it seems to never make a dent in our to-do list. Why IS that? Of course, I have no pictures of all our wonderful projects.

4) Invitations are out for our Housewarming Party on Saturday, May 1st! All are welcome and if you'd like more information, please visit my Event Page on Facebook (or just e-mail me).

5) I have 23 weddings on the books for THIS YEAR alone...and counting. I'm buried in photographs, which I love, but am learning quickly how to be a good steward of my time. Pottery Barn's Daily System has helped me stay organized.

6) My love for Etsy is growing. I've decided to buy most of my home decorations from there: it's cheaper (most of the time) AND everything is 100% unique.

7) I've done absolutely nothing about the 194035 paint swatches on the wall in my office.

8) The woman who has taught me almost everything I know about photography, ranch life and Basset Hounds is coming to DC on May 4th!!! That's right... My favorite Pioneer Woman is coming to DC for her cook book tour and I will be first in line to get my cook book signed!

9) Killian just swatted my hand. I think he thought it was a twist-tie.

10) I have a new niece and a new nephew!!! Andrew Joseph Barrick arrived on March 29th and Charlotte Grace Wise arrived on March 31st!

And because my blog wouldn't be a blog without some pictures, here are some from the Orioles Game we went to last Sunday for my birthday!! We had some awesome seats which gave me a great view of Nick Markakis' behind... I mean, Luke Scott swinging one for a homer.

Happy New Week!

Oh, Nick.

It is amazing how these guys pitch. I'm pretty sure I tried the Speed Pitch once and my arm almost fell off throwing at 12 miles per hour. These guys throw at 90mph.

Oh, Miguel Tejada. Why did you have to come back to Baltimore?



"Breathe through your eyelids, Meat." Please name that baseball movie.



I miss this.