Getting crafty with a breakfast nook. Super easy bench covers.

Just like you, I love a happy ending.

And this quick make over makes me so damn happy - I smile every time I walk into the kitchen!

We recently moved to Las Vegas from the Chicago area as many of you know. Since we are new to the area we are renting and we are in the cutest 50's ranch in Old Vegas...

With that said since we are renters we are limited in the amount of changes we can or want to make. 

Our adorable galley kitchen has the cutest breakfast nook and when we looked at the house originally the benches were covered with cute retro fabric. The fabric was worn and dirty, but it was cute. When we moved in they had recovered the benches with white vinyl nastiness. Practical yes, fun - not in the least.

Now I was on a mission and when that happens look out. I get tunnel vision and can only focus on the fact that the white vinyl must go. NOW!!!
Somehow I convinced Mark to go to Joann Fabric with me (he considers this to be one of the circles of hell), he swears he didn't agree, but yet somehow there he was. Here's the thing...the Joann is massive and has the largest selection of fabric I have ever seen in one of their stores. Seriously it was insane.
Of course I am cheap and want to find sale fabric and it is everywhere...I also wanted a fun print and not too light (I am messy and light would show all my oppsies). 

This is what I landed on:

I love love love it!
Not wanting to make permanent changes I decided to go the glue gun route. Using the glue gun will allow the owners to remove the fabric if it gets nasty or if they hate it without too much hassle. Also it is quick and I am such an instant gratification person this satisfies the need to be done FAST!

Let the crafting begin!!!

glue gun - check
fabric -check
extra glue sticks - check
scissors - check

AND GO!

Basically I wrapped the benches like a present (which I am not so good at, but this is a forgiving pattern - stripes would have sucked) and started gluing.

Easy peasy.

The undersides aren't too pretty, but no one will ever see those!

Here is the finished product.

I adore how they came out!

Did I mention that the cabinets in the kitchen are painted a tealish-sea foamy-green-blue?

Also getting a natural light pic in the kitchen is tough...

What quick projects have you done to give a facelift to your home?

All natural wood polish? Yes please!

Having the heart of a hippie & being cheap I often look for home cleaning products that I can make from what I already have around the house.
Plus the less chemical crap we use the happier and healthier we are!
So after scouring the internet for all of about 2 minutes I found a few recipes that caught my eye.

SO EASY!

As per usual with me I generally pick and choose from two or three recipes and then hybridize them to make something new, because that is how I roll.

Since we moved to Las Vegas we have gained a few pieces of furniture from my parents house - most were in need of some serious cleaning and moisturizing (kinda like our skin).

What I made...
There were quite a few recipes for basic dusting, but I wanted something a wee bit more intense especially since they will now be residing is such an arid desert climate.

Super Rich Furniture Cleaner and Polish

• 2T coconut oil (I like a less refined oil that retains some of the yummy coconut smell)
• 2T olive oil
• 1/3C white vinegar
• 1/3C water
• quick squirt of dish soap

That's it. Mix it up a bit and dip a rag in and go to town.

I was really surprised and impressed how well it cleaned and left the wood so much more alive looking.

You can add a few drops of lemon essential oil if you would like, but I was too lazy to go get my oil and it was glorious even without the oil, but either way works.

The ingredients.

The creation.

Here is a picture of the bookcase I was cleaning. I don't know much about it other than it has been at my parent's house for as long as I can remember so at least 35+ years.

The bookcase before.

 Here is the bookcase immediately after I wiped it down with the mixture. What a difference!

The bookcase immediately after.

I took this picture 24 hours later without any additional applications.

I used the same polish on several other pieces and have been just as tickled with how they have all turned out. 

Since this recipe is richer in oils I most likely won't use it to clean every time, but I will use it regularly to keep the wood nourished and healthy.

Thank you to Brittnay Thomas at The Pistacio Project for the initial inspiration! Keep up the amazing work.

Have you made your own furniture cleaner or other cleaning product? What is your favorite?

2,400 miles driven and so many more to go...

We made it to Las Vegas!

Holy hell that was a long trip. 

When planning the days we did not take into consideration the slowness of two fully loaded moving trucks both towing vehicles trying to cross the Rockies. Honestly, I think the downhill might have been worse and I am probably lucky that some of our driving at night I was not able to see what I am sure were sheer drop offs and cliffs off the edge of the road in the construction zones.

With all that said even with the lack of sleep there were some incredibly beautiful scenery along the way. 

Some state by state highlights and observations!

Iowa was hillier than I expected. I didn't get any pictures in Iowa I guess.

IOWA - check!

Nebraska is what I though Iowa would be like, but it did have a few gorgeous sunsets and we most likely drove through more rain than we will see in a year in Nevada.

Nebraska - Check!

OMAHA! OMAHA! OMAHA!

I have never spent time in Colorado before this trip and everything west of Denver (everything east of Denver I didn't see because it was dark) was crazy amazing. Scary as hell to drive a box truck towing a car, but still amazing. Maybe part of the scariness was a cocktail containing: fear, lack of oxygen due to altitude, too much caffeine, no sleep, a cat in a carrier singing to me, and anticipation. 

COLORADO - check!

Driving along just singing some John Denver...

Utah part of it is flat. Part of it is not.

Both are beautiful, but I adored the not flat part! Holy hell. The colors and the rock formations and the sky and the everything. It was like being in an episode of CSI Miami where they used all the funky filters to make everything crazy colorful.

UTAH - check!

The flat part.

And then you get to this... (don't mind all the bugs on the window and just gaze at natures glory!!!)

The NOT flat part!

Seriously stunning. I need to go back and play...

We had a brief sojourn into Arizona that I was not expecting, but now I have spent time in Arizona outside of the airport!!! Our time was limited this time, but you offered some stunning beauty and I will be back!

ARIZONA - check!

Well, hello Arizona!

Our last night we stayed in St. George, Utah (for all you CNY peeps I kept calling it Lake George which is NOT the same thing) so our last drive was just about two (2) hours. Of course we traversed three (3) states in that time frame so that's cool.

Finally...NEVADA!!!

Hello gorgeous!

Thankfully we hired a few strong and able bodied men to unload the truck since it was nine million degrees and it was worth every single penny!

BooBoo was pleased to be out of his tiny plastic prison, but his tail is one for another day!

The sea of boxes gets shallower by the day and progress is being steadily made. In all my moves this one really feels like coming home. Maybe I was a desert dweller in a previous life...who knows, but let's bring on all the adventures the Southwest has to offer and I will do my best to document them for you.

Here are a few fun stats from our journey and some I will elaborate on in future posts I am sure.

Have you ever moved somewhere and felt like you had found your place?

Tell me where that place is for you!

Prague. Is it all that 'they' say it is? Plus a random travel tip!

My quick trip to Europe.

This past October I was able to join Mark in Frankfurt, Germany after he went over for a business meeting for a few days. I know a few days? Yes, I was only in Europe for four (4) days, but what I have come to realize - if someone asks if you want to go to Europe, no matter what the duration, the answer should always be YES!

Anyway, if you have ever read any of my travel blogs before you know we are not the go to one place and hang out there for the entire time kinda people. Mark and I try to see and do as much as possible in whatever time we have pretty much wherever we go. This was no exception. I landed in Frankfort at early in the morning German time I believe it was about 7:15 AM. Mark met me at the airport and we grabbed a rental car (this time we got a Ford Focus wagon a huge step up from the Smart Car we had on our last European adventure) we stopped back at the hotel where he had stayed had some breakfast and got on our way.
I tried my best to stay awake, but with a six hour time change I was no match for sleep (trying to sleep while in a car on the autobahn is interesting).

We drove the 5.5 hours to Prague. This was our first time to the Czech Republic. I had heard stories from people over the years that had studied abroad or traveled to Prague and it only got out of this world reviews which always makes me a little hesitant. Will it live up to the hype? Has it completely changed since these people were here 20+ years ago? How is Czech beer?

Side note...

Now I am realizing my original thoughts on this post are not going to work. This is more than one post. Way more. So we will start in Prague and work our way to our crazy side adventure en route to Berlin.

Prague.

Prague is divided into districts and we stayed in Old Town.
Now as I sit here to write this I think this may be more than one post too (I am sure it is more than one)...even though we only stayed in Prague for a few days.

We talked with the hotel front desk awesome Prague ambassador

and asked a few questions like where it go to try Czech beer and all of the other important questions.

Somehow I was anointed the navigator (I think Mark was punishing me for something) and we wandered out in the lovely Prague evening. We walked from our hotel heading to the Prague Beer Museum. I am not sure why it is called a museum because there was no beer behind glass or history of Czech beers. Maybe something was lost in the translation.

On our way to the Beer Museum we stopped at the iconic 14th century Charles Bridge.
The Charles Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Vltava River and I believe it is crazy busy no matter what time of day you go...

One of my favorite parts of travelling through Europe is how our American version of old is nothing compared to European versions of old. This bridge has been around since the 1300s and it is still completely functional and stunningly beautiful.

Across form the bridge is the Church of Saint Salvator. This Catholic Church was built by the Jesuits between 1578-1601. It is one of the best examples of early Baroque Architecture in the city.

Onward to beer! My only exposure to Czech beer prior to our visit was Pilsen, which conveniently was first brewed in the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic and is where we get Pilsners...the more you know. Anyway, the Beer Museum was only a few blocks away and we were ready to see what these brews were all about.

We made it!!!

I had no idea just how many Czech beers there are and I love beer!

Travel tip #958 - Instead of going to a currency exchange just withdraw money from whatever country you are in from an ATM! Just be sure to let your bank know you are traveling so they don't put a hold on your cards! Also good to at least have an idea of the exchange rate...smarty pants here withdrew a wee bit more than he intended.

Please note flight #7...
You get to try ALL 30 BEERS AT ONCE!!!! I wanted to sooooo bad, but decided I needed to be able to walk back to the hotel and this would not be wise. The cost of a flight of 30 beers? About $45 USD depending on the exchange rate at the time of purchase. I WILL try this next time.

Sorry for the dark pictures...but I am not sorry for my dark beers.

Mark had a wheat beer I am sure (he does this to ensure I will not drink his beer because I abhor wheat beer). Every one of my beers was more delicious than the one prior.

Yep, I did two flights because I could not get enough of these amazing beers. Honestly these were some of the best beers I have ever had. EVAHHHH!

After beer we navigated our way to the Old Town Square where the gorgeous Astronomical Clock is located.

Ummmm WOW!

The oldest part of this clock dates back to around 1410. 

1410!!! 

As you can see the tower is under renovation and should be complete by October 2018 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia. 

After Old Town Square there was another local beer...

Then back to the hotel and the more common Pilsner and off to bed...

So much walking and so much delicious beer!

Now I am realizing this needs to be several posts so I can touch on how we ended up walking about 2 million steps a day and saw so many amazing things in just a few days.

To answer my own question I posed in the title of this post: Is it all 'they' say it is? My simple answer is yes!

Stay tuned for more Prague in the near future.

BOOKS! Some of my recent favorites...

Summer is here - what is on your reading list?

Whether you read a physical book or prefer to listen here are a few of my recent favorites.

Audio books have been my go to recently. I listen in the car. I listen on walks. I listen while mowing the lawn. I listen while making hippie goodies. I find I am a more voracious 'reader' when I can listen to my books. Most of my recent listens have been 'self help' kinda books with a few memoirs and fiction books just for good measure. 

Right now I am listening to Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis and Daring Greatly by Brené Brown. Both are SOOOO GOOOOOOD!
I actually have the hardcover version of Girl, Wash Your Face as well and it is one of the few book books that I have actively read recently. It is well written and engaging and while I skipped a chapter or two that do not directly relate to who I am, I find it engaging and so full of truths it almost hurts. My highlighter is going dry with all of nuggets I am pulling out for later.

My last fiction was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
OMG. OOOOOHHHHEEEEMMMMMGGGGGEEEEE! How have I not read this one before? What a story. I was sucked in from the beginning and I couldn't get enough of it. I hear it is being made into a movie. I will need tissues. All of the tissues. If you haven't yet - you need to now!

Random things I have learned about audio books:

• Self help books need to be read by the author and I have stopped listening to several because they weren't. I feel the author can give these books a life that another reader cannot.
• Fiction books should NOT be read by the author. LOL. The Nightingale and the Harry Potter series are both so exquisitely read that you can see the characters in  your mind.
• I will stop listening if I don't like the person reading the book - it could be the voice or the diction or the cadence I am sure I have missed out on some good ones just because of this. The one exception...The Princess Diarist written and read by Carrie Fisher. I love Carrie Fisher, but I didn't care for her voice later in life. She sounded like her dentures were loose and she had just smoked three packs of cigarettes.
• When I find books that I love I then ask for physical copies so I can mark them all up for the awesomeness they provide.

My top picks in no particular order:

• The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
• You are a Badass - Jen SIncero
• You are a Badass at Making Money - Jen Sincero
• Braving the Wilderness - Brené Brown
• Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis
• Rising Strong - Brené Brown
• The Art of Asking - Amanda Palmer
• American Gods - Neil Gaiman
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
• All of the Harry Potter books - J.K. Rowling
• Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

What should I add to my list?