Here Fishy Fishy....

I caught a trout yesterday. 

Mr. Gold took Rand and I fishing in the stocked trout pond at their house. 

I was casting out my line....

bored...a little chilly...got my hook caught in some brush (twice)... 

and then I caught a fish!! 

YESSSS!!!!

Nothing beats a Wednesday afternoon fishing by the pond :) And then...ironically.... 

We threw this little guy back, but then we went out and got sushi for dinner. YUM!!

Baby Sister

Well actually....she's 22.  But she just moved from Virginia to Utah, and she's living with Kaitlan and I. It feels a little bit like a sleep over everyday because it's been so long since we've lived together.

So far, we have: made lots of yummy dinners, road tripped to St. George, gone thrifting (DI/Savers) for her furniture, danced, karaokeed, watched Greys Anatomy, made brownies, grocery shopped, stayed out of trouble.

She makes me smile a lot. She gets me (maybe too well). She pulls out chicken to thaw for dinner. 

What more could a girl I ask for?

She just started working at the same company as me and right now we ride to work together every day.  Car shopping for her is on the to-do list for this week!

 Now & Then

Sunshine

I haven't updated recently, but we've been too busy having fun and waiting around for spring sunshine!  Since springtime won't come and the snow won't go away...

we went and found our own sunshine. 

... Rand went on a cruise to the Bahamas with his brother

I went to St. George and Zion National Park with some of my favorite ladies....

We're all tan & glowing - my shoulders are still red!

I'll post some pictures from our trip as soon as I get them uploaded!

 Checkerboard Mesa @ Zion National Park in Southern Utah
Chelsea, Kaitlan & Me

P.S..... The House!

Rand stained and sealed the wood floor in the guest bedroom - 

it's BEAUTIFUL!!

He finished plastering & sanding the guest bathroom, 

and (with a little help from his mom) 

it is now painted a beautiful shade of  

Grey Owl!

Next Up: 

Paint Guestroom Baseboards 

& Move In Some Furniture!

Detailed Updates & Pictures Coming Soon!

Never Give Up

This felt right today. Whether it's family, friends, love, work, remodeling an old house...

P.S. Rand & I have started a new effort to "talk nicer" to each other... and it feels like a small miracle. Less sarcasm & teasing....but more laughing and smiles!

Best Plumber Ever

LEFT: Ian Iguana, the plumber (aka 1930's bathroom miracle worker)

RIGHT: Randa Panda, the jewelry salesman (aka bling slinger & amateur handyman)

My Very Own Bob The Builder

Dear Rand, 

this is payback for posting my blog on your facebook....

I love you :) 

Progress Report: 3.25.2011

March 25th, 2011

Guest Bedroom Floor
Rand stained the Guest Bedroom floor Wednesday and it looks amazing! The older wood was very absorbent so it was a little darker than he planned, but we both agreed we still like it (I feel like I got lucky b/c I wanted a darker stain from the beginning) A co-worker of his is going to come and help seal it with apoxy or polyurethane...? I'm not sure about the process/materials here. As you can tell, the floor is Rand's project, not mine!

Guest Bathroom
Rand and his friend Ian finished sheet rocking the guest bathroom Friday morning. Now it's on to tape and mud and sanding.... I can't wait to paint it! (more grey owl...my fav!)

Kitchen Cabinets
We got another cabinet to add to our growing collection (a small upper cabinet for over the fridge). We're about two cabinets away from a full kitchen! I'm trying to convince Rand to delay the kitchen project until he has all of the supplies ready and can knock it out in 48 hours.  The delayed bathroom project has worked out...but I know that he could not survive with his kitchen under construction for a month - he loves to cook & eat!  

P.S. Yesterday for dinner we had lemon herb porkchops (his request), 

asparagus, and steamed sweet potatos (my request).  

Total Cost: Less Than $10. 

Who said eating healthy isn't affordable and DELICIOUSSSS?? 

Plus, there were enough leftovers for both of us to pack lunch for work today!

Probably no more updates this weekend because we both work all weekend!

Shades of Gray

Honestly, I am terrible at choosing colors from those little paper samples they give you at the home improvement stores. I need to see the color in action in a real functioning room. 

From these swatches, I don't know that I would have chosen Grey Owl (#2). 

 1. Benjamin Moore Full Moon (2119-70), 2. Benjamin Moore Grey Owl (OC-52), 3. Benjamin Moore Misty Gray (2124 -60), 4. Farrow & Ball Light Gray (17), 5. Benjamin Moore Icicle (OC-56). 6. Benjamin Moore Moonshine

But these Grey Owl Rooms I found online made up my mind!

(Thank goodness for Google image search)

Sample Grey Owl Bedroom

 Sample Grey Owl with White Trim

 

 

Guests Welcome! (almost...)

Isn't it the best feeling to be able to see progress? Well it finally looks like one of our many projects has an end in sight. I can't WAIT to see something finished in this overwhelming construction zone that Rand calls home. 

The guest bedroom was the first room we started working on in the house because Rand planned to make it his bedroom while we finished the bathrooms and master bedroom. Needless to say, we weren't done in time for move in and he ended up making the office his makeshift, tiny bedroom.This worked out well because it allowed us to really get this room exactly how we wanted it.

The guest room was painted a terrible dark green, and walls were a heavy textured plaster that has sharp points and deep valleys. Overall, the room was very dark in spite of the great windows. 

BEFORE 

We had a lot of work to do in this room - but luckily it was mostly aesthetic (unlike other parts of the house!). 

SAND WALLS - First, we sanded down all of the walls with a belt sander. (My arms hurt just thinking about it - and my head hurts knowing that this step will have to be repeated in EVERY room in the house before we can paint) The walls are still textured (about half as much as before), but much smoother and no sharp points. 

STRIP TRIM- I brushed a paint stripper onto all of the wood trim and used a scraper to scrape off the old paint. I did some of the larger flat areas with the belt sander and then finished things up with a higher grit sanding block. (My finger nails suffered) Luckily, Rand's parents stopped by to help with some of the sanding. We stripped through a rainbow of paint trim colors: white, mint green, peach, bright blue, and more green. Wow!

PAINT WALLS - We originally struggled to choose a paint color.  I wanted grey and Rand wanted tan. I went to Home Depot and got a sample of "Grey Owl" and painted a square sample on the wall.  I got lucky and Rand liked it!!! Then here's the best part.... he liked it so much he got 5 gallons of it and we are going to use this same color throughout most of the house with a few brighter/bolder accent colors (which Rand insists on picking since I got my pick with Grey Owl). This paint choice has led to endless owl jokes from Rand. I think the gray paint gives this quaint old house a bright modern flair and Rand likes that it has a granite look over the (less) textured walls. All of the painting was done in one day with Rand rolling and me doing all of the edge work.

AFTER WALL PAINT - BEFORE TRIM & FLOORS

PAINT TRIM & CEILING - Semi-Gloss White paint and lots of painters tape. Stripping the old paint off made the trim look much sharper because a lot of the edges and corners looked like mushy play-doh from so many thick coats of paint. While doing the trim, I also popped off the outlet and light switch covers and gave them a fresh coat of white spray paint. All of the trim is done except for the baseboards because I didn't want them getting beat up while Rand was finishing the floors. 

FLOORS IN PROGRESS (A MESS) 

REFINISH ORIGINAL HARDWOOD FLOORS - This got pretty intense (kind of like the rainbow of colors of past wood trim paint). We pulled up blue carpet, rose/floral lineoleum, green/white patterned linoleum, and wood linoleum.  Rand wants to beat up whoever put down wood linoleum over hardwood floors. The worst part of the whole process was getting up the linoleum adhesive with adhesive stripper and huge scrapers. Rand rented a sander from Home Depot, so we were in a time crunch to get all of the adhesive up and the whole floor sanded twice (rough grit & then fine grit) in one night. I wish I had a picture of me standing on the sander whle he pushed it around the floor - it worked faster with my weight pushing down on it. Definitely a funny experience. 

The floor still needs to be stained and sealed with polyurethane but hopefully that will come this week so I can paint the baseboards, re-hang the (freshly washed) blinds and take final pictures. I just hope I can talk Rand into repeating this flooring process for the master bedroom - right now he's not committed to the idea AT ALL. Hopefully after he sees the finished product it'll feel worth it!

I promise to post pictures of the finished paint job & beautiful hardwood floors soon. I have to remember to take the pictures during the day (hopefully this weekend) so they aren't so dark and you can get a better look at the famous

"Grey Owl"

P.S. If you know Rand, text or call him and tell him that staining & sealing the floor sounds like a perfect way to spend his Wednesday day off!

COMING SOON:  
Bathroom Magic-How One Became Two

Flashback: Before Pictures

These are the pictures that were posted of the house when he bought it. 

You can see that the house definitely needs a little 

style help and a few modern updates. 

Warning: Long & Image-Heavy Post Ahead. 

2 Bedroom/1Bath Bungalow

1300 sq/ft

House Front

Front of the house is adorable, but this green porch carpet has to go.... my favorite thing about this house has to be all of the great windows and light!

Backyard 

Awesome backyard, but it needs some cleaning up. The house is on a 1/4 acre lot. I'm crossing my fingers for a back deck or nice concrete patio in the future. Come bbq with us!

Living Room

I love the huge windows in the living room. This room will be getting a new finish on the walls (more like less-finish...they're currently super textured and would cut your arm if you bumped into them!), fresh wall & trim paint, and eventually the floor will have to be leveled (it's like a fun house with the slanted floor) and get new carpet. 

Kitchen

 This kitchen could explain my lack of cooking posts for the blog... the floor plan and appliance placement is terrible. That stove completely blocks use of one of the (crooked and terrible) cabinets. (What were they thinking???) This room will be getting new cabinets, a new floor plan (with the stove and fridge both situated on the left wall), and eventually much larger (cross your fingers for 18") new tile. These walls also have the crazy texturing, so they will be sanded down and painted as well. As for the positive aspects of the room, I love the two big windows over the sink and how bright they make the room. 

Laundry Room

The laundry room is part of an addition to the original house and the back wall is covered in windows. This room needs a new back exterior door, some additional cabinetry/storage space, fresh paint, and will get the same new tile as the kitchen. This room also has a very narrow staircase down to the basement storage area. 

 

Guest Room

The guest room is located off of the living room at the front of the house. Sorry this picture is so dark, it does not do justice to the TERRIBLE green paint on the textured green walls. The walls have a terrible plaster mud swirl texture with extreme peaks and valleys that would be dangerous to bump into. This room also has a makeshift built in closet that looked a little "ghetto" for lack of a better description that will be ripped out. This room is currently carpeted, but the plan is to rip that out and finish the original hard wood floor - wish us luck. With hardwood, and fresh paint for the trim & walls, this room will be a brighter happier space!

 Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is located in the middle of the house and has an addition off of it (same addition as the laundry room) that will be an office space. It currently has a closet, entrance to the bathroom, and entrance to the office. The closet will be demolished to make room for that master bath (I'll explain later).  A new/larger closet (YAY!) will be built into the mystery wall (not pictured - Rand likes to imagine it was part of the underground railroad...hmmm) that has about 8-10 sq/ft of unused space closed into the wall between the master bedroom and the kitchen. Strange right? No wasted space in this little house for us please... This room needs some sheet rock work from removing/inserting new doors for bathrooms & closets, re-finishing on the wall texture, fresh wall & trim paint, and eventually new carpet. 

Office

This room is located at the back of the house and completely surrounded with windows on the exterior walls. It has a closet and some great shelf space. This is currently Rand's tiny make-shift bedroom while the rest of the house is a CONSTRUCTION ZONE!  He likes to joke that he feels like he's camping.... it fits his queen size bed with about a foot of space on each side. This room will eventually be painted...not sure whether we'll paint over the wood paneling (we kind of like the lined texture with paint - imagine beadboard) or remove it. 

Bathroom

This was the one bathroom in the house and even though it was pretty big, it felt small because of the cluttered layout and huge tub (a really cool claw-foot 1930's vintage cast iron tub is hidden under that framing). Sadly, these beautiful plaster mint green walls, wood paneling and chair rail will be the first to go. This bathroom is being completely demolished to create a small guest bath and a nice size private master bath with a big corner shower. The journey from ugly bathroom to two beautiful bathrooms is project #1 and progress will be posted soon.

Please join us on our journey from 

Out-Dated 2BR/1BA 

to 

Fabulous & Fresh 2BR/2BA 

....crazy me working on someone else's house, but maybe I'll live there one day ;) 

For now, I'm just making the commute to Sandy a few times a week to help with remodeling when I have time away from work. Pray that I don't get a speeding ticket & that gas prices will stop going up and things should be just fine!

So if we seem like we've disappeared or aren't as much fun anymore or you notice that I have paint in my hair...it's because we've traded laser tag and double dates for sanding walls and painting trim. 

Oh the fun we'll have...

Less Cooking & More Remodeling

Rand bought this adorable 1930's house on 8000 S in Sandy in February 2011 - just in time for his 29th birthday...talk about giving himself a great present right? We'll see if he still agrees now that we've been spending so much time working on it. 

It needs a lot of work to update it and make it a little more stylish but I love it. I want to document the remodeling that we do so that we can see the progress and keep track of how far we've come. It's a lot of work but it's a labor of love.

This house is in Sandy, about 40 miles from where I live in Layton. So it's been an adjustment living further apart and commuting down to help him work on the house, but it's a lot of fun too. I'm starting to get used to the drive.... i guess... lol!

 

Thank goodness for great friends and family to help. Lots of helps from his parents, brothers, and friend Ian (our favorite plumber) has helped this house come a long way in the short 2 months that he's had it.

Be Ye Thanksful

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Okay, seriously.... 

I have a lot to be grateful for this year. 

A few of those things:

• Family (specifically a mother & sister that I could talk to for hours & hours...)
• Boyfriend (he's pretty cuddly)
• Boyfriend's Family (yay i think they like me!)
• Direction In Life (finally feel like I'm headed somewhere..)
• Good Health & Lots of Energy (for my endless lists)
• Job I Enjoy & Reliable Paycheck. (okay- two jobs & two paychecks)
• Nice Home & Great Roommates (with a big kitchen & tons of cabinet space!)
• Bachelors Degree in Communication (finally!)
• Daily Happiness (smile!)

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts...

and be ye thankful. 

-Colossians 3:15

Pass The Salad...

What will I be taking to the 

boyfriend's family Thanksgiving?

My final answer is:

drum roll please...

via iStock

• Brocolli & Cauliflower Salad w/ Bacon Bits (Mom's Recipe)

That is all.

P.S. This year I am the most grateful for the opportunity to share great food & good company with a family that I treats me like one of their own. I'm so glad that they've taken me in since Thanksgiving plane tickets are simply too outrageously expensive for me to justify. And his mom's cooking really does compare to my mom & grandma back home - and I can't credit many people with that sort of culinary success.   

Updates

So the blog got a little makeover... 

so delightful- the print reminds me of my mom's sun room theme. It was way too dark before. 

and sadly, Grandma was busy with a brand new grandbaby (who can blame her?!) and there was no time for peanut butter balls or sweet potato casserole. So the Thanksgiving dishes I will be preparing have been changed. More details soon... :)

I should probably start sharing this if I'm going to keep writing...

psfk.com

...but instead I just stealthily posted the link to my facebook with out really telling anyone. I think I wanted to make sure I was going to keep going for more than two or three posts before I shared.  So far I'm pretty sure only my sister reads this :) Glad to have such an easy-to-please readership that already love me even if my blog is slightly mediocre.

I'm learning! And I'm glad that there are so many other blogs out there that provide inspiration and ideas.

Cooking Lessons from Grandma

My grandparents flew in yesterdayj-

just in time for my grandmother to teach me how to make:

CHOCOLATE COVERED PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

&
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE!!

And of course I'll have to taste test them :) 
Just to make sure they taste good enough to take 
to the boyfriend's family for thanksgiving... 
Hopefully they'll be as good when I make them  
by myself next week after grandma is GONE. 

(Luckily I can just freeze the peanut butter balls and save them for Thanksgiving and even Christmas - they will keep for up to two months! Which means that she & are are going to make a gazillion and I can blame my fat jeans on the PB Balls)

Isn't she the cutest little grandma you ever saw?? 

Don't let her fool you- she's a cooking MACHINE!!  

LOVE HER :)

QUOTATION: Messy Kitchen

“I may still not know what I want to be when I grow up, but I do know that someday I want to live in a house filled with my books and travel souvenirs. And the walls that aren’t covered in bookshelves will be covered with photos of my family and friends. When I leave the house I will be going to a job I love, and I’ll return to a person I love. So, that’s the dream I’m working on.” - Amber Morely.

 I feel like this sums up exactly what this blog is about - I just need to add one more line:

 "a messy kitchen from cooking & baking good food far too often for far too many amazing people that I love." 

I really need this quote to be on the side bar of my blog, 

but that will have to be figured out another day. 

Oh Brother

Lucas will be done with his mission in exactly one month.
On December 15th we go pick him up in Salt Lake City.
I hope he's ready to come back to real life...

Pre-Mission vs. Mission

I can't wait to see what comes next....

Hosting Overnight Guests

Hosting overnight visitors??   
YIPES!!  
This feels like a very grown-up thing to do.  
It's only for one night of their week-long visit, but still!

They will be here December 9-16 for my graduation from Weber State University and to pick my younger brother Lucas (not pictured below) up from his 2-year mission in the Salt Lake City Mission for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Yep, We're Mormon :) and Yep, I finally finished my Bachelors Degree.

The idea of a huge sleepover with my momma, stepdaddy Greg, sister chelsea and baby brother Elijah sounds like SO SO SO much fun- 

but OH the pressure!

Mom, Greg, ME, Chelsea, and Elijah in front

 PROS  

• Unlimited family time...because I miss that living far away
• Driving places together (i know this is silly, but it reminds me of my childhood)
• Snacking & Watching Movies
• Playing Board Games - CAN'T WAIT!

CONS

• Figuring out where people will sleep
• Cleaning the house from top to bottom and inside and out (because that's how my momma raised me)
• Having a fridge full of snacks and food. (I'm thinking a breakfast casserole & a chicken casserole pre-made)
• Having a bowl of yummy baked goods on the counter. 

Ok...honestly these aren't CONS.  (except the cleaning- always a CON) I love cooking and baking and entertaining.  I just want to make sure it's perfect because my family never comes out to visit!!! The last time they visited was March of 2007 I believe.

P.S. I'm so excited to have this little bugger 

snuggling with me every night while they visit!!

The Ugly Truth

The Ugly Truth (Sweat Pants & All) -VS- What I Want You To Believe (Happy Homemaker)

This vintage apron was an 2008 Easter present from my thoughtful mother :) 

Apparently you can find these cute aprons on eBay super cheap
(she only paid a few dollars for this one)

Sunday Afternoon Delight

This was probably the last weekend of reasonable weather - so I made the most of it! Sunday was beautiful. I went to church, ran a few errands, watched Gossip Girl (don't judge me) & Private Practice, and addressed graduation announcements that need to be sent out. 


I had marinated some chicken in a delicious marinade (think Teryaki Sauce, Rosemary, Sugar, Worcestershire & Olive Oil) for 48 hours and 
I grilled it to PERFECTION- 
it seriously melted in my mouth.  I don't mean to toot my own horn...but my new grill (or me using the new grill) has ruined some perfectly good chicken.  This success followed a lot of completely gross and dried out grill failures. (Thanks to Rand for the grilling tips I followed) I cooked up a squash casserole and warmed up some peas and dinner was complete.  

What a delightful solitary Sunday evening... 

Sometimes I forget to make time for me and I have to do better.  I got a lot done (announcements, laundry, dinner, fresh sheets on the bed!) & still had a relaxing evening. 

(maybe me & the grill can be friends after all)

Love my grill. 
Love my big back deck. 

Love the cool crisp fall weather. 

So now....BRING ON THE SNOW. (I guess...)

Side Note: 

My Grandpa got me my grill when he came out to visit in August. We went and picked it out at Lowe's together and he got me a really nice one (and a cute brown color instead of silver or black!).  I love my "Master Forge  4-Burner Brown Gas Grill" and it was so fun watching him bargain with the sales guy - if you think you can't bargain for a better deal at Lowe's my grandpa will definitely show you otherwise! Never pay sticker price!

 Love my cute grandpa!