Disneyland Bound

Early in December, Christopher and I flew to Anaheim for a quick trip to Disneyland. We rented a car and drove out to ShopHouse. Have you heard of it? It's Chipotle Asian style.

So I went in with high hopes and left with an okay meal.

I had green curry over white rice noodles with the pork/chicken meatballs. Everything tasted good especially the meatballs, but it was the noodles that weren't up to par.

ShopHouse is located in a very cute and modern shopping complex called The Point.

I know shopping is not Christopher's thing, but he was receptive and I bought this shirt at Prana which i love, love love! Folks if it fits and feels good...go for it :)

We wanted to go to the beach and the closest one near LAX is Manhattan Beach.

Christopher was sporting his Seahawk gear, GO HAWKS!

There are a lot of cute places to shop at Mahattan Beach. I especially loved the Beehive and the Manhattan Beach Bakery. Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a treat. 

 CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON PEOPLE!

 SALTED CARAMEL BACON BROWNIE

THIS LITTLE FREEZER SECTION MADE MY HEART LEAP!

After Manhattan Beach, we drove out to Anaheim (Thank you Google Maps!) to visit the most wonderful place on earth, LOL! I am joking. Disneyland is fun, but hiking the Washington Coast with Christopher will always be my most wonderful place.

Hello Disneyland!

THE LINE TO GET IN.....

The real reason for Disneyland is Space Mountain. Yes, Space Mountain! 

 Above is the first ride and below is the second ride. You see how I prepared myself the second time!

 Christopher and Yoda above. Us on the monorail below.

 Eating a Jumbo Turkey leg below. Nom, Nom

Decided to try single riders to see if it would be faster. Do not use the single rider lane...I repeat..Do not use the single rider lane. You will watch people much farther than you pass you by while you wait!

Disney ended with a pretty fun parade and firework show. 

Goodbye Disneyland!

Week 3

I finished my Christmas cards on Dec. 6th, but have I mailed any! Ack! I love making bulky chunky chipboard loaded cards and I made a lot this year.

I shopped the clearance section after Christmas last year and I found these super cute inexpensive Merry Christmas words that I knew would look good on a card. I also found the word joy, snowflakes and Christmas trees.

Do you like that "merry" word? It's a Heidi Swapp die cut...love love love!
I did warn you I made a lot, eh! Off to the post office.....

Week 2

I love the look of air plants, but I still manage to kill them by forgetting to water them. I found these faux air plants that look pretty real and was super excited to create faux holiday wreaths with them.

Last year at Ravenna Gardens, I saw these fancy & expensive real air plant wreaths and I knew I could make something similiar.

and here is what I made....

The hard part is giving them away!

Make Merry

If you know me then you know how much I love Heidi Swapp product. I was super excited when she started selling at Michaels and Joann's because I also love a 40% off coupon.

 Heidi's latest release is a Christmas line at specific Joann's and I have been stalking my store waiting and waiting for it to come. I thought I would have to buy it online because I could never find it until I turned the corner in the back section of the craft area and lo and behold it was there.

 I was super happy and super annoyed they couldn't put it out with the rest of the Christmas stuff.
and here it is 50% off. My language of love.

and here's Merry Christmas to me

Week 1

As December approaches, I find myself busy making holiday decor and prepping for a small holiday bazaar. I normally make cards and scrapbook stuff, but last year I did really well making faux snow mason jar scenes so I decided to make some more.
I love little scenes with a tree tied to a pickup truck and I even found a tear drop camper too.

Next up holiday wreaths!

And so it begins

the tradition of handmade holiday cards....

Kitchen Remodel

Where to begin? This kitchen remodel felt like it came out of nowhere. 

Fast forward to now, I had an unexpected visitor tell me about this company called KT Building Supply. I googled them and if you do too, you will find a lot of negative reviews. I knew my budget and after I went through the quote process, I decided to take the risk.

And here is what I got......

Here's the before for a refresher. Those black countertops are not granite, but laminate with some of the edges peeling off.

I love design and had a really good idea of what I wanted - Shaker style cabinets with a skinny rod pull, quartz countertop, undermount sink, white subway tile back splash, white appliances and wood flooring.

It doesn't have the bells and whistles of a dream kitchen remodel, but as far as I am concerned it has my stamp of approval.

Now let me take you on a little tour....

I have white subway tile all around the kitchen.

 You can see below that the hanging cabinet was removed. It feels so much bigger now.

 I also got rid of the wall oven and the drop-in stove top and put in a range. It also feels brighter and roomier.

For the countertop, I chose a quartz called Bianco Venato. I knew I wanted something white and this looked similar to marble which I absolutely love, but can't afford. Also marble is high maintenance.

For the flooring, I went with Smartcore Rustic Hickory from Lowes. It looks like wood, but it is a vinyl plank flooring that I chose to float right over the existing checker board vinyl. This has been the biggest transformation because I hated that checker board!

And last but not least, the undermount sink. Huge difference, don't you think?

The kitchen is 99% done. I feel like I have been procrastinating trying to find the right 2 shelves to hang, but it will come soon enough.

Never say Never

After the main bathroom remodel, I had said DIY was off the calendar for the rest of this year. I was so wrong.

Hello Demo to the Kitchen! Pretty nasty, eh!

Here's the BEFORE

and new pics soon to come!

Seth turned 4

Last Friday, little man Seth turned 4. So hard to believe! I love hanging out with him playing legos, reading books and jumping on the trampoline. Right now he loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Linda and Donnie whipped up a TMNT themed party and Seth was perma grin. He was also spoiled rotten thanks to grandma!

I didn't have any TMNT stuff so Grover and frogs had to do!

and here's the birthday boy!