Coffee Table turned Bench

I know I have a lot of posts to still catch up on, but I was so excited to show you my little DIY project that I finished this weekend! I just couldn't wait to post the before and after pictures! I did take pictures along the whole time so that I can post a tutorial, but that will have to be another time...I've got too much homework and not enough time!

Before


I saw this coffee table at DI (thrift store) in all it's palm tree glory for $5! I looked past the mosaic palm trees made out of crushed up orange and green tile and saw this wonderful thing I call "potential." I wanted it so bad but didn't think that it would fit in my car. I knew that I would have to talk Devin into letting me take on another project. Not only that, but I would also have to talk him into going to DI with me because I needed his car (to fit the table into) and I can't drive stick-shift. Somehow I convinced him to come with me to take another look at it and when we got there I think he thought I was crazy. It looked pretty white trash! I promised him that I could make it awesome and I told him worse case scenario, we wasted $5...no biggie either way! We loaded it up and I dismissed all homeowrk assignments and other productive activities that I had planned for this weekend in order to start and finish it! Start to finish it ended up taking about 2 hours (if you don't include the time it took to dry). I'm slightly obsessed with it and it turned out better than I imagined!

Take a look:
After



Total cost: $35
Level of happiness this bench brings me: priceless


So, What do you think!?

August Happenings

My brother Alex married the sweetest girl on August 5, 2011. I came home early from Dallas to attend the wedding and make their wedding cake. Originally, I didn't think that I'd be returning to Dallas after the wedding, so I drove my car home from Dallas for my brother's wedding and planned on going to Colorado right after the wedding to hang out with my sister and nieces. Since my parents were going too, the plan was to drive out with my sister in her car, stay for a week and a half or so, and return to Utah with my parents. Devin would finish up the month of August in Dallas and drive back (he flew in for the day of the wedding and returned to Dallas super early the next day). Well, the plans changed slightly and Devin was strongly considering staying in Dallas until the end of September and take block classes for the Fall Semester. The night before I left Dallas, I had a meltdown because I realized I may not see Devin for close to two months. That was not okay! We found a pretty cheap one way ticket from Colorado to Dallas so that became the new plan. I would drive home for Alex's wedding, drive out to Colorado and hang out for about a week, and then return to Dallas to be with Devin. If Devin stayed the month of September then we would have just bought a one way ticket for me back to Utah so that I could start school, but if he left at the end of August I would be able to drive back with him. Luckily, Devin and I ultimately decided to leave Dallas together at the end of August so that he could take a full semester of classes and we wouldn't have to spend September apart.
So, August for me meant a lot of time in transition! One of the other girls out in Dallas for the summer also had to be back early and she drove her own car to Dallas as well, so at least we were able to caravan. I drove the 20 hour drive back to Utah alone. Then, after my brother's wedding, I drove the 8 (which turned out to be a 10 hours with traffic) drive to Colorado with my sister, flew out to Dallas, and drove the 20 hour drive back to Utah with Devin. Devin was all hopped up on Rockstars the entire time so we were able to make that 20 hour drive in one looooonnng day. He's the trooper though because he did all of the driving! We planned on staying somewhere overnight, but every time we stopped, he had TONS of energy and was ready to push on! He never once felt tired!
Well, we made it back to Utah a few days before school started and now our lives are devoted to studying and doing homework!

Posts to look forward to:

Alex's wedding
The Incline
2 Year Anniversary

Dear Haitham,

We miss you! We can't wait for you and Mizi to come visit! When you come, you guys are required to bring Oscar so he can be reunited with his lover Rush! He also needs to meet his future best friends Tucker and Cricket (my parent's cavaliers)! Also, you need to go down to the pool (at any given time past 10pm) and say hi to Kes for us and give her a big hug! We miss Dallas and we miss you guys!


In case you couldn't tell, they're saying "Please Bring Oscar!"


Rush says "Hi!"


You know you miss seeing that orange shirt everyday!

JFK Museum

This museum was one of the best museums I have ever been to. There are no cameras allowed inside so I guess you'll just have to visit Dallas to get the full effect of what I'm talking about. The museum consisted of an audio tour which made for a pleasant visit. It was very well organized, quiet, and you could stop and start the tour at your own pace. There were videos throughout the tour that had actual footage from JFK's life as wells as footage from the day of his death, funeral procession and also Lee Harvey Oswald's murder. I learned so much about JFK, America, and Dallas from that museum! My dad bought us a book about JFK that's amazing!


The Sixth Floor Museum

This building used to be the Textbook Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK out of the sixth floor window.





The "X" marks the spot where JFK was fatally shot



Downtown Dallas

Heart Attack Grill-Dallas

Devin and I saw this place on one of those shows on the Food Network and since we were in Dallas, we thought we'd check it out! This all happened back in July...that's how far behind I am!
Okay, so when you walk in the door, two "nurses" are waiting to dress you in your patient smock. Then you are seated and all of the waiters and cooks were "doctors" and the waitresses were "nurses." It was such a fun atmosphere, but definitely a one time thing because of how bad everything is for you there! There were four choices of burgers; single, double, triple and quadruple bypass burger. If you weigh over 350 lbs, you eat anything on the menu for free. We were lucky enough to be there and witness a 427 lb. man step on the scale and receive a free meal. I wonder how often people are willing enough to step on a scale in front of an entire restaurant. Devin and I split the single bypass burger and an order of fries. Two months later and I am still running off that half of a meal!







Here's the menu's picture of the quadruple bypass burger! Gross!


We recognized the owner from the show on Food Network so we waved him over and he offered to take Devin's vitals...We talked to him about the restaurant and he said that he is talking about opening one down in Vegas.

Paximus Maximus

STEPHANIE! This is for you to steal pictures!






Devin teaching Pax to fly helicopters

Keeping Pax entertained with cameras








I just adore this kid!

Catch-up

I've got A LOT to update so here's the first string of the new, old blog posts!

Do It Myself Bookshelf

BEFORE

I've gone garage sale-ing almost every weekend since I've been back from Dallas. Most of the time I don't find anything too grand and I usually end up buying more things for nieces and nephews and other relatives than I do for myself! Last week, I got this bookshelf at a garage sale that I didn't even plan on stopping at. It was $20 but I talked that lady down to $10. It's solid wood (so $10 is a GREAT deal) and a good size. I have a bookshelf that was my grandmother's bookshelf before she passed and I've wanted to re-do it for a long time but I've been terrified of ruining it. I decided that this little bookshelf was a good practice. If I messed it up, I would either learn from any mistakes or I would know to leave my grandmother's bookshelf alone! Well, I think it turned out awesome and I can't wait to refinishing my grandma's shelf!

AFTER




Well, I went to Lowes and got some spray paint (antique white) and some sand paper. If you notice in the "before" picture, the back of the bookshelf has two pieces of wood. The backing, although solid wood, was warped and made in two pieces. Lame design and I couldn't handle it so I also got a sheet of wood and had it cut to fit the back instead. I also looked at the wallpaper because I had seen many cute furniture refurbishes that used wallpaper or contact paper on the back. It was all super pricey and I would have ended up with WAY more than I needed for my small project! So, I decided to use FABRIC! Anyone that knows me knows that I have TONS of fabric so it was perfect. I had never heard of that done before (I know it probably has been done) so I was kind of nervous not having any tutorials but it worked GREAT! I used some Mod Podge to make sure the fabric was in place before I staple gunned the heck out of it!

I miss my pool time

Belated Birthdays

Trey, one of the technicians out in Dallas, had a birthday over the summer. No one told me about it until after the fact and I think he felt a little bummed that no one knew. So, I made his favorite cake (better than "anything" cake) and surprised him one Sunday! We planned on all marching down there and singing to him, but he had run back to his apartment for something so we ended up beating him down there. Luckily I got a picture because by the time he had come back, the whipped cream icing was melted (thank you Dallas heat wave). It still tasted great though!



(The writing on the cake looks like a third grader did it because all I had was whipped cream to decorate with! For those of you that have written with whipped cream before-you share my frustration)

Cheesecake Factory

Notice that we all go out to dinner to spend some quality time with...our phones! Every guy at the table was on their phones! It was pretty funny (especially Dane's face). To give them a little credit, I think they were talking about their phones and they all whipped them out to compare...it still makes a funny picture :)

Oh yeah, and thank you Vivint for paying for our food!
It's always one of the highlights of our weeks!

Twisted Root

Twisted Root is a YUMMY burger place just minutes from our apartments in Dallas. We went there for lunch before I left Dallas at the end of July (yes, I am behind). Mizi, one of our dear Dallas friends, came with us but refused to take pictures. When you order, instead of a number they call when your food is ready, they give you a celebrity name. You are then referred to as that celebrity the rest of the time there. The burgers were SO good! Whenever someone famous comes into their restaurant, they paint the wall above their booth marking "their booth." We ended up sitting at the bench that Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavs) sat at after the Mavs won the championship! George W. Bush had also visited the Twisted Root and had a booth painted for him and his secret service men! It was a fun atmosphere and really good!