Monday, July 29, 2013

Twin Falls

The first place we stopped on our road trip in Idaho was Twin Falls. 

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We drove over the beautiful Snake River Canyon and had to stop to take some pictures!

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The bridge was beautiful. This is the Perrine Bridge – read move about it here.  

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The blue/green Snake River was beautiful. 

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A little oasis in the high desert.  I have no idea what it was, maybe a golf course?

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Mother nature always astonishes me with her beauty – this is the other side of the bridge and the canyon. 

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And then this is just outside the canyon – what a drastic change a few steps can make! 

Twin Falls is “famous” (didn’t know this until we got home) as home to Niagara of the West – Shoshone Falls.  To learn more than you’d ever want to know about Twin Falls read this

Friday, July 26, 2013

Quick and Easy Fireplace Facelift

As I was working out on Tuesday, I decided to paint the gold part of the fireplace.  I can’t stand gold and I thought painting that little part would give the fireplace a little facelift.

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Here it is before. 

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A close up. 

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I took the wood handles off. 

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Cleaned the gold part with degreaser – look how much soot came off!  We’ve never used the fireplace, so don’t know where that came from.

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I let it dry then taped if off and put newspaper up. 

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Since this is a fireplace, and it is supposed to get hot – I used High Heat paint that we found at my dad’s house when we were cleaning it up. 

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Gave it a thin coat, let it dry for 20 minutes which I did other things around the house and gave it another coat.  The paint covers very well, so one coat would have been good, but I decided to give it two. 

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Repeated the process for the bottom.  I could have done them at the same time, but that would have been too easy! 

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Lookin’ good!

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There you have it – I think it looks great!  Makes it look updated and it was a FREE update! 

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I love before and after pictures, so here you have it – side by side. 

What do you think?

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Road Trip – Northern Nevada

Michael and I decided to road trip it to Idaho … we’d never been and one of us (not me) wants to move there.  Michael loves driving and exploring, so it was fun just to sit back and enjoy the ride.  Our first day we headed through Nevada.  We stayed at my mom’s condo in Truckee to get a jump start on our drive – which was a great idea because we got to sleep in! 

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Neither of us have been much farther than Reno, so it was interesting to drive on 80 to Wells. 

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Sagebrush, dirt, sand, rocks and a few mountains were pretty much all we saw. 

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All of these pictures were taken through the window driving down the highway, so they are not the best. 

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I love agriculture and whenever I go anywhere, I like to see the commodities grown there.  Agriculturally speaking, Nevada seems to be a very desolate place.  We saw some hay and cattle, but that was it.  To learn more about agriculture in Nevada check this out.

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This tunnel was pretty cool. 

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Some awesome rock formations too. 

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There is a Humboldt and a Beverly Hills – neither of which look anything like Humboldt or Beverly Hills in California. 

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Beverly Hills

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The clouds were just beautiful along our drive.  They were creating these huge shadows on the ground.  Michael and I were joking about the absence of trees and how they got shade from the clouds instead. 

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Just before we left Nevada and entered Idaho, we saw a little slice of paradise

So, there you have it – our drive through Nevada.  Pretty uneventful and the scenery didn’t change much at all.  But, it was pretty in its own way.   

Friday, July 19, 2013

Lunch Outfit

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Happy Friday!

Today I went to lunch with the amazing ladies that I went to college with.  They are AMAZING and we haven’t all been together in years – way too long!

  My grandpa lost his battle to cancer in the final year of college – it was hard to say the least and there is no way I would have made it through without the support and encouragement of those awesome ladies.

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I got this dress from Charming Charlie – Michael doesn’t like it but I think it is pretty fun!  Pair it with a black belt my SIL gave me and some red flats and it is a super comfy outfit for sitting and talking for hours. 

It was sure fun to catch up!

What is new with you?

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

In the Middle of a Project

We are in the middle of a bathroom remodel … I am excited to get it finished, but I forgot how hot it gets in a room when you are painting!  Why is that?  Painting a small room with tall ceilings in the summer = no fun!

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Look at this mess!  Can you believe that?  I am not a messy person – I swear!  But, our bathroom (and my closet but let’s not go there) is a total mess!

Have you ever gotten in the middle of a project and thought … “Why did I start this?” I am there right now!  But, when it is finished I will be very happy!  At least I hope I will!

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See that foot stool?  I fell off it yesterday which is why I stopped painting – ok, it was part of the reason I stopped it was also HOT in that room.  Pretty funny now that I think about it – one of the legs fell down the drain while I was painting.  I guess I moved the stool just a little and then I was on the ground.  I once said painting was fun … I take that back for the moment. 

I need to get my butt in gear and finish up this bathroom this week! 

I hope to show it to you next week … or maybe the week after! 

Maybe you could leave me some encouragement?  I would love that! :)

Monday, July 15, 2013

A Little Slice of Paradise in Nevada

Michael and I just got back from a road trip!  We drove through Nevada and found this little slice of paradise in the desert right before the Idaho border (if I remember correctly). 

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Pretty clouds!

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The rocks, the vegetation, the stream, the beautiful blue sky – it was just beautiful!

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At the rest area this was written among the other crap … sorry but it really was a bunch or random junk!

Made my day!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Master Bathroom Floors!

Before, we had some carpet and some blue stick on tile in the master bathroom.  Served the purpose, but lacked in aesthetic appeal big time. 

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Our new floors!  They are the same as our entry way and we will be doing the other bathroom and the laundry room someday too, but for now I am super excited our master bathroom floor is complete! 

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I was going to wait until our master bathroom is complete, but decided against that since who knows when that will be. 

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What do you think? 

Do you like them?  Or do you LOVE them like I do?

Monday, July 8, 2013

My Workouts

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I am proud to say that I work out almost every morning!  I am starting a collection of workout videos – my goal is to buy one every month until I have enough I can rotate through and not get bored. 

My favorites so far:

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred – LOVE this video, it is quick, intense, and most importantly it works!  I’ve done it many times (didn’t loose 20 pounds like the cover says but I didn’t expect to) and it always kicks my butt.

  The Biggest Loser: Boot Camp or Max Cardio – I have one and borrowed the other and both are great workouts.  Not as intense as the 30 day shred but good if you have an injury or are just starting.  You will still get a good workout and I like that it doesn’t require getting up and down all the time. 

Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 – My new favorite!  LOVE it!!  Similar to the 30 day shred, but different moves and I think it is a little more intense.  This video is also a little longer than the 30 day shred. 

Fit to Strip by Carmen Electra – I can’t find my copy but this is a great workout!  Good stretching at the end too!

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Other videos I have:

Yoga Meltdown – not a huge fan of this video, it is a little too hip hop for me and I felt incredibly lost the entire time.  I will try it again since I love Jillian but I’m thinking it might not be for me.

Jillian Michael Kickbox FastFix – This was also a little too hip hop for me, but it was a decent workout.  I use this with the 30 day shred if I want more of a workout but it doesn’t feel like it is enough on its own. 

I only have 5 pound weights right now and a set of ankle weights, but I would like a more complete set of hand weights and a kettlebell. 

What are your workout goals? 

I’d love recommendations for workout videos you love too! 

Friday, July 5, 2013

It’s the Little Things …

It is always the little things that make me happy.  I am a simple girl to please!! 

Today I am extra happy!  1 – It is not over 105 degrees today!  After 7 days of that, I am ready for a cool summer day!  2 – I got out of the shower today and had a place to hang up my towels!!  Michael got this towel rack hung up yesterday – we have not had one in our house (either bathroom) since we moved in!  I am happy, happy, happy to have a place to hang my towels! 

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I LOVE the hooks instead of the bar!  It was only $20 at Home Depot too! 

Did you notice the lack of baseboards?  We got the new tile in, grouted, and sealed! It looks great and I can’t wait to show you it!   Just a few more steps – paint, molding, and shower doors are a few things on the list.

What little thing makes you happy?

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Salmon!!

Michael went fishing this past weekend.  I was gone all last week at a conference and I was a little upset that he was going to be gone for my birthday weekend.  Not that we were going to do anything, but still! 

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He brought home a 20 pounder. 

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Michael also brought home 2 smaller fish. 

Do you have a hard time getting your lover or kids to smile in pictures?  Michael never smiles – I had to practically beg him to smile in these pictures!  What do you do to get smiles? 

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The 3 salmon!  He also got some cod which were already filleted when he brought them home so I didn’t take a picture.  This made up for not being home this past weekend! 

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Our freezer is now full of fresh fish!  Salmon steaks, filets, and cod filets (not pictured).  Gosh I love being married to a hunter and fisherman! 

How should I cook the salmon?  I have never cooked salmon before, so I NEED your help!!