Sunday, July 3, 2011

Updated Patio!

 We Finally bit the bullet and added a small patio to our front yard. I have been hating this awkward rock bed in the front of my door since I moved in. It ends up being a huge dumping ground for snow in the winter and weed infested in the summer. Here is a Before picture from when I painted the bistro set last year.

We pulled out most of the rocks a few weeks back and have been living with this mess in our yard and garage due to rain and overall too darn lazy to get started....
 The process was pretty straight forward, just terrible work to dig down in an old rock bed 4 inches and rip out the old weed mat.
Once we had a good pattern planned out, we kept one off to the side so we could refer to it easily.
 Next step is to lay out and stamp down Paver Leveling Sand, we angled this down a small slope from the house so water would run toward the driveway and away from the house. This keeps any water away from the foundation.
Once we got the sand pretty level next is just to lay out all the pavers 
 The last steps are to lay out a fine sand called Paver sand over the top using a broom to brush it across the pavers to fill the cracks between the so they don’t shift,  then lightly mist water over the pavers.
We had to do this step a few times so sand would fill all the cracks.

So here is the final with our temporary furniture, we want to build a bench with a little table to enjoy the summers with our neighbors.

It took us about six hours and cost less than $300 to complete!
We promptly showered and enjoyed a beer just in time to watch the sunset :)
Happy weekend all!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Confess Today

I Confess I hate eating breakfast even though it makes me feel ten times better if I do.

I Confess I haven’t done a real load of laundry in 2 weeks, I just keep running mini washes so I don’t have to put anything away.

I Confess that I have had a coffee cooler at least once a week for the past month (I never do this because I hate the price of them).

I Confess that I am ADDICTED to my gym! I even got a Badge on Foursquare from it.  I went twice today... nuts I know.

I Confess that I am a social network FIEND. I even have a special internet browser (RockMelt) that helps me see all my feeds!

I Confess that while work is stressing me out, I love being everyone’s go-to gal and their goofy grins when I tell them I can fix it.

I Confess that I love all these rainy days.

I Confess that I can sit and watch whole series of shows if it didn’t drive my husband nuts (Dr Who season 4, X-Files again, Star Trek TNG again...etc.)

I Confess that last night I was supposed to do homework and laundry (see above) but spent most of the night playing StarCraft. Nerd.


What are you confessing today?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Happy Summer Solstice!

I hope you all enjoy your longest day of the year :D Did you all get your $2 off Caribou Coolers? I was all over it, and dragged poor co-workers along with hehe.

Fun fact for all: My husband does most of the grocery shopping, this is why:

I was supposed to get ODouls and Crystal Light.... which you dont see coz I had to go back and get it... 

Here is what happened, I went into the grocery store and saw my crazy messed up hair in the window and thought 
1. oh I should get some black hair dye to put stripes in my RED roots!


2 and 3. Then I see the deep conditioning oil next to my fav hair spray which is on sale. Sweet! Dull hair no more for me! PS like the shirt? Says "I fight like a girl" World of Warcraft style <3
4. I see Tonic water on sale, love. My thought process "Yay! I'll have lemon tonic water while I do homework"
5. Back on track, I am perusing the rest of the beverage aisle and my eye catches I scream internally "is that an AQUA can over there?!?!?" And see this lovely set of energy drinks in Pomegranate, Mango, Berry, etc. My thought process: "OMG how CUTE I'll buy 3!!"
6. Darn Cub Foods puts the dumbest things on clips between shelves Me: "What is that thing sparkling... OMG Skulls... OMG They are tattoos!!!, buying those" And yes I talk like a screaming Bieber- loving 14 year old in my head. And Yes, I have already put 4 tats on before starting this post.... and before I started my homework.
7. I am done for with a zero calorie water thats lavender mint flavored. It didn't even make it home. Its seriously incredible delish. Go get some.

ANYways, happy Tuesday all. Happy Summer Solstice :)




Friday, June 10, 2011

Digging today

Long time no see! I've been a whirl-wind of projects, activities, and travel! So I thought I'd post a few of my fav things I have been digging lately.

I adore little reading nooks like this one
I am officially on a mission for cute silky scarfs and am wearing my hair like this all summer!!! 
And aviators!!! I bought a pair and am in looove with them, my face shape isn't quite right for 'em but "I do what I want"

 I'm not usually a fan of stacked books and frames wallpapering the walls, but this one I adore

 COLOR! I want more of it like this pic, plus look at that settee. Tis Christy-bliss





Products I am lovin'
(These are all items I just happen to adore and am not getting anything to mention these)
Bronzers! Flash Bronzer Anti-Age by Lancome is by far my favorite! It smells great, dries a little quicker than most and lasts for a long time without having to re-apply several times a week.

Lancome Flash Bronzer Anti-Age Face Lotion/1.7 oz.

My second favorite bronzer is a bit more wallet friendly: Tantowel there aren't any dyes or staining and looks incredible even the first day you use it, over the week you will notice an incredible difference. Cons: I really do not like the smell, I spritz a bit of my homemade body spray over it (make sure its alcohol free if you do this), also it takes a really long time to dry and if its muggy out, I will skip it. I cant even get my makeup on evenly with this product. In the winter though its perfect! Keeps my face moisturized all day.
Tantowel On The Glow, Self Tanning Moisturizer 8 fl oz (200 ml)

Next, Génifique Youth Activating Cream Serum Lancome again: This stuff is incredible, the smell is gentle, its a cream but it goes on like silk. I used a sample from Sephora for about a month and it dramatically changed lines under my eyes and the bright red of my cheeks was gone.
Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Cream Serum 1 oz / 30 ml
 
Fat Girl Slim I hate the name too, but I have been a gym fanatic these last 3 months and wanted something to help with some old marks. This is sooo delish smelling and works so well, I noticed a difference in about 2 weeks!

Bliss FatGirlSlim Skin Firming Cream 6 oz (170.1 g)

LUSH! They have the best products  I <3 everything. But quickly here are some top summer favs: Silky Underwear Dusting Powder Leaves your skin silky soft all day and has an incredible soft jasmine scent.
I am big into solid perfumes for the summer, I think it helps keep the bitter alcohol smell off during those more humid hot days. I just got Lust the other day, another jasmine scent but with a little bite to it. Its fantastic and lasts all day even after my lunch BodyPump classes!

Mwah! I hope you are all having a lovely spring, and I will work on posting my projects for real this time around ;)