ALL THE FURNITURE (DIY)

Dave and I have been refurbishing all kinds of furniture. I don't believe in paying full price for anything (and truthfully, our furniture budget for our house is pretty tight, so we're just making it work). We have created some beautiful furniture, and I'll post before and after pictures just to show ya!!



Dave and I were passing down the street when we saw some big cabinets with a free sign on them. We thought about it for a while, and decided that we did want to expand out entertainment center (that Dave had refinished before we were married) and make it much larger. We grabbed my mother-in-law's truck, and hauled them away to her garage to work on them. They were solid wood!! SCORE! I love high quality things, and solid wood is a great place to start. There was a lot of work that had to be done. Here is the picture story.

This is what the looked like originally. Pretty damn ugly.

We pulled off all the cabinet doors, and pulled out the drawers.

Adding trim to the edges to give it a nice finish

Dave had to carefully cut down the edges of the drawers so the fit flush with the cabinet

Added an additional shelf, and finished the trim

All the components together

Dave custom made the drawer fronts to match our existing entertainment center

All painted. It took two days, and lots and lots of patience.

Finished product. We love it!!!!!

We had another big project to work on. We had purchased a beautiful kitchen table with a lovely dark top at the RC Willey Clearance center. (We got it for a steal. Dave had to fix a few components, but Dave is handy, and it was worth the discount.) However, the table didn't come with chairs. I had seen a lot of kitchen inspirations on pinterest, and I decided that I wanted 4 matching chairs, with 2 captain chairs. (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called.) It took a ridiculously long time to find suitable chairs off of KSL. We didn't want crazy old chairs, or chairs from dining sets in the 90's. Dave found some incredible soft seated chairs, with a modern frame from a woman in SLC. And we got all 4 for about 75$. It was very exciting. We knew we had to stain and reupholsters the chairs to match the captain seats we had purchased at Target. Here is the process.

This is what the chairs looked like originally

Close up of the cushions. They were in good shape, but the wrong fabric.

This is the cushion we were trying to match

It took FOREVER to pull out all the staples from the chair. 2 bruised hands, and 100000 staples later, they were ready to reupholster

Finished cushions. We went to pretty much every fabric store in Utah  Valley to find the same fabric in charcoal. We found it in black instead. We figured it would match just fine.  It took lots of trial and error to get them to fit correctly.

Frames of the chairs



We had the leg from the chair we were trying to mimic matched at Kwal paint to get the right color of stain. We used my dad's stain gun to get an even texture. BIG difference. We love the color!!

Finished product. They look great, but most importantly, they match!!!



 These projects took about a week's time to finish. I'll post more DIY's as we finish them. But overall, I'm very happy with the progress we're making towards being homeowners!!!

Thoughts On Saying Good Bye.

As some of you may or may not know, my dear Grandpa (Don) Friske passed away a few weeks ago. In my final moments with him, I had scattered thoughts that I would like to share.




+ Flying still freaks me out. My dad is a pilot, and I'm still a basket case during take off and landing.

+ Flying with my mom is the absolute best. (Especially in first class...) I adore my mama, and I was so grateful to have her there with me during such difficult moments.

+ Montana is truly a magical place. It doesn't matter the circumstance that I'm there, it's simply magic.

+ Hospitals make me uncomfortable. Even though my husband works at one, I still hate spending time in hospitals. They are freezing, they smell funny, and they provide sandpaper as tissues.

+ Holding hands with Grandpa was an incredible experience. He needed to hold a hand. And I needed to hold his just as bad.

+ I believe people can see the Other Side as they are passing. And I'm pretty sure Grandpa was there long before he passed.

+ Thank you Uncle Ryan for letting me stay with you at the hospital for so long.

+ "You're pretty." Grandpa said to me as he watched me for a few seconds before he fell back asleep.

+ After 10 hours at the hospital with Grandpa, I walked out to flowers illuminated by a hospital light. I felt God's presence with me.

+ I hate good byes. My final good bye to my Grandpa was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. We shared "I Love You's" and he asked me for a kiss. After a soft peck on the lips, I left the room in a flood of tears.

+ Families are Forever.

WELCOME HOME: Rainbow Family Gathering 2014

I went to rainbow gathering when I was 8. It was a strange surreal experience. Rainbow Gathering took place in UT this year for the first time in 11 years, so I went to check it out out of curiosity.

This year the Rainbow Gathering was held in the beautiful Uinta mountains just east of Heber. It was a wonderful ride with my sister Sophie up to Heber, where we met up with my Aunt Maria, and my cousins Ali, Lizzy, and Daniel. We met in the Smith's parking lot, (a half hour late, as usual) and Soph and I ran into Smith's to grab some snack bars to eat while we were at the gathering. . Lara bars were on sale for 10/10$ (which is so crazy cheap for Lara bars, plus they had pretty much every flavor.) So I loaded up on Larabars, and we were on our way.

The drive up to the gathering was beautiful and bumpy! But my Caliber took it like a champ, and we arrived to the huge parking area. 

We hiked about 3 miles in to get to the gathering. Mostly uphill. There were people saying "Welcome Home" the entire way up. It was such a beautiful hike. The mountains and fields of flowers were incredible. 

The trail up to the gathering

The welcome sign when we arrived to the gathering

Rap 151
It is tradition in our family to discourage alcohol use at the gathering. Everyone who attends the gathering needs a safe and healthy environment to celebrate in, especially the children. We respect peoples' desire to drink, as well as those who choose not to. RESPECT GETS RESPECT. The gathering is a prayer and peace sanctuary. This is NOT a festival. Be Whole, Be Healthy, Be True to yourself, and Be Yourself and Rainbow. Too much of anything from ONE affects ALL of us at the gathering. LOVE and Respect your family and they will LOVE and Respect you too.

These little blankets were set up along the trail. Take something, leave something.

Once at the gathering, we explored around. We heard some drums, and my cousins abandoned Sophie and I, so we went looking for them. We figured if  followed the sound of the drums we would find our cousins. I had to go to the bathroom on the way there, and successfully peed in the woods. (I feel this is important to mention because A) I didn't get any pee on myself, and B) I don't typically pee in the woods.) 

When we arrived to the camp, there were several people playing big tribal drums.  There was this blonde woman with a baby strapped to her chest singing about being comfortable in your own skin, and that society doesn't need to define who you were. She was dirty. But then again, so was everyone else. 

We continued through the camp, and found one of the cooking camps. They create this large ovens with mud, rocks, and metal barrels(?). They bake fresh rolls for everyone at the gathering. They smelled pretty good, actually. I would have loved to try one. (Stupid gluten.) 

Camp oven (Front)

Camp oven (back)

When the beans are burning, High Holies are sniveling. There will come a tribe of pirates,who care....sometimes. They will be known as the Ogres of the Ovens.

Fresh baked rolls

Lovin Ovens (and other signs)

Love-O-Meter 

We continued through the camps, and came across a tepee where a man named BalanceToe could give you a rock reading. He was a super tall native american man. (He was seriously 6'9" or something.) The rocks all had different meanings, and the way that they fell had different messages that BalanceToe could explain to you. My reading with BalanceToe was probably my favorite part of the gathering. I wish I would have taken a picture with him....

As we wandered through, we saw a few naked men. That's not an unusual occurrence. But more than men, there were SO many topless woman. Girl, how do you go along without a bra? (I was yelled at for wearing a bra, BTW. Thought I should mention that...) Do you WANT saggy boobs? And more than that, 70% of the rainbow family has dreadlocks, and there are so many wanderers. (Most commonly known as homeless.). Everything there was so freaking dusty and dirty. Everyone had this earthy smell (B.O) and everyone's dreads just looked awful. I'm not saying that all dreads are nasty, but the dreads I saw, looked more like caterpillar cocoons than hairs. I would not want to be naked there. There are some crevices that dirt should never be....just saying.

The other highlight was the trade circle. I had my face painted, and traded a ring for an upper arm
bracelet, and some old earrings for a pretty anklet. Everything was covered in dust. Including the people. Sophie and I were offered weed by probably 10 different people, and I was offered acid. Everything reeked of pot. And everyone was SOOOO freaking high. Hahahaha. Sophie was really uncomfortable, and totally out of her element. Then again, so was I.

Rainbow Gathering is an experience to be had. It's good for people watching, if you're into that kind of thing. Maybe I'll go again in 11 years when they come back to Utah....until then.

Peace and Love,

Alex

XOXO

Sophie and me

Rainbow Selfie

Beautiful greenery.

Beautiful sunset on the hike back

That's a dirt line. Not a tan line.

Do's and Don'ts: Buying a House

As some of you may or may not know, Dave and I are getting ready to buy a house. We have been skimming through every MLS in utah valley, and walking through house after house. After about a month of doing this, and experiencing the full range of emotion, I thought I would give some tips and tricks in buying a house.

DO:

-Set your budget and stick to it. Your budget is everything when buying a house.

-Set your bottom lines. Set your minimum bed and bath. Is a garage a must? How much acreage must it have? How much money are you willing to put into a property?

-Be objective. How many repairs does the property need? How old is the carpet? Does the yard need work? If so, How much? Does it have a fence?

-Ask your parents opinion. Chances are your parents have been around the block a few times, and know how to look for good and bad qualities while house hunting. Ask their opinion. Take them in walk-throughs. They will have your best interest in mind.

-GET AN AGENT. I can not emphasize the importance of this enough. Get an agent. Get an agent. Get an agent. They make the process go so much smoother, and less stressful. They are your biggest advocate. And they know the business. They understand the market. AND-buyer doesn't pay the agent. The seller pays agent commissions and fees, so it's really in your best interest to have an agent. On a related note, I ADORE our agent. He has been incredible to work with. He is nice, funny, realistic, punctual, and professional. His name is Aaron Oldham. You can visit his website HERE.


Let's go over the don'ts.


DON'T

-Become overly attached to a property. I have been guilty of this with 2 homes, and both times I have been pretty disappointed when it didn't work out like I thought it would. A lot can happen when buying a house, and you need to go in emotionally prepared.

-Overlook repairs that need to happen. "Well it's not that bad..." is seriously the worst thing you can say. Repairs mean more money that you invest into the property. Water damage is no joke. Neither is electrical problems. Or smoke damage.

-Touch anything that isn't yours in a walk-through. No one wants to get sued.

-Overlook a great property because of nasty carpet or paint. Carpet is easy to replace, and a couple gallons of paint can give a property a face lift.



I wouldn't call house hunting fun, but it is a really unique and crazy adventure. Hope this helps someone!






All my love,

Alex


XOXO

Because I love a giveaway as much as the next person. Also, Tacos.

So I recently stumbled across this darling human's instagram account. I about died when I was looking through her pictures. We could be twinsies (except she would be the cool one). She runs marathons, her husband is going to med school in the carribean, she went to college, and did I mention she's a kick-ass florist? (I've always wanted to go into floral design....cough....) Anyway. I saw she had posted a link to her blog. So I read. And read. And read. And now I feel like I know her personally....(I don't. Blogs are deceiving.) Well, this wonderful person is doing a giveaway, and I waaaaaaant to wiiiiiiiiiin. Mostly cause I never ever win anything. But also because I could MEET HER. (I'm not a creep.)

She's giving away simple pleasures such as:
Brownies (that aren't GF, but Dave likes brownies. Everyone wins.)
Necklace and earrings (That are so stinking cute.)
Ivy hair clips
A delightful candle
Cocoa butter lotion

I want all of the things!

Dave and I were starving and about to see How To Train Your Dragon 2. So we looked around the little restaurants by the university cinemark. We stumbled across this little mexican place called Taco Burrito. I've seen it a few times, but I always rolled my eyes. There's this cheesy smiling taco and burrito next to the name, and I guess I judged the food by the stupid pictures. Hahaha. Anyway. Its a lot of food. It's delicious food, gluten free friendly, and pretty cheap! We were pleasantly surprised. You can build your own burrito or tacos with anything you can think of to put on them. All for about 8 bucks a person!

Yumyumyumyumyum.


All my love,

Alex

XOXO

Gluten-Free Chick Recipe: Spaghetti Squash with Red Sauce (And Chicken)

Dave and I had a wonderful afternoon. We had some time to play with our cute nephew, and ran a few errands. I was STARVING when we got home, and I'm pretty sick of eating out, getting take out, or getting fast food. We had a spaghetti squash sitting on the counter, and I thought to myself "Why not?" 

This recipe is gluten free, and if you make it without chicken, it can be vegetarian or vegan. (And it's only 344 calories a serving!) It was super easy to prepare (which I love) but had a long baking time (boo!). Overall, I was very content with dinner. And it was delicious. 

Here is the recipe, enjoy!!

SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH RED SAUCE (AND CHICKEN)

1 spaghetti squash 

2 TBSP Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

1 jar of red sauce of your choosing (I used Classico Creamy Spinach and Parmesan)

2 diced chicken breasts (or shredded rotisserie chicken)

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Wash the squash, and cut off the stem. Cut the squash in half, and scoop out the seeds. (Don't overscoop, as you will be digging into the fruit of the squash at that point.) Coat each side of the squash in 1 TBSP of olive oil. Salt and pepper each side of the squash. (I probably used about a TSP of salt and pepper on each side of the squash. Throw the squash in the oven for 45 minutes. 

-Simmer the red sauce until warm. Add chicken to red sauce (if desired).

-Scrape the squash. Use a fork and scrape the sides. It will flake away in long strands. It should look a lot like spaghetti. 

-Put the squash in the sauce and mix together.

-Serve warm. ENJOY!

All my love,

Alex

XOXO

Brett Dennen: Ain't No Reason

I know I'm probably the last person to hear this song. But I love it.

Enjoy!

All my love,

Alex

XOXO