Alaska!...

I got back from Alaska yesterday and it was an amazing trip, I have to say.  I left on Tuesday and I think 5 days was the perfect amount of time.  We did a lot of amazing things (and I have some amazing hosts to thank for that):

• 5-hour boat tour from Whittier, Alaska to see glaciers and we also saw otter families, seals, and salmon
• While on the boat tour we drank "Glacier Margaritas" where the ice was actual glacial ice that we knocked off the glacier.  Very cool!
• Nature conservatory where we saw a porcupine that whines, moose, reindeer, buffalo, foxes and bears
• Went through a mountain-side tunnel that takes 8 minutes to get through at 30 MPH (I didn't love that, but it was pretty cool anyways)
• Bike riding in Anchorage around numerous lakes and parks
• Dinner at a restaurant that sits right next to a lake where sea planes land every few minutes
• Also went to dinner at "Crow's Nest" which is on the highest floor of the Captain Cook Hotel and the room we were in was surrounded by windows so that you get an amazing view of downtown Anchorage and the ocean
• We played some tennis which seems boring, but its not when you are surrounded by mountains on all sides!

So glad to be home and it was a wonderful trip!

Junebug wedding photos...

I just LOVE a good engagement, family, or wedding picture so I couldn't help but share the new June Bug Weddings 2015 best Engagement pictures.  I love them all but these are some of my favorites:

The last photograph here is from the talented Karen O'brist who did our renewal pictures.  So proud of her!  Check out the link for the photographer information. :)

Giani Granite substitute...

A few weeks ago we got a quote on our kitchen counter tops.  Now keep in mind we have a pretty small kitchen and the quote came back at $6000!  Holy snikies!  My mouth about fell to our ugly laminate kitchen floor, but I digress.  In frustration, I took to the web and got some ideas on how to pretty up your kitchen on a major budget.  Now, we were going to do our kitchen moderately anyways including a coat of paint for the cabinets, some reasonable hardware, new counter tops, subway tile back splash and then down the road, re-doing all the main level flooring including the kitchen floors.  

I will be honest that I don't care too much about finishes and kitchen just aren't my thang.  Yeah, a nice kitchen can stop you in your tracks but one of those kitchens a.)  isn't in our budget b.)  doesn't really fit our house style and c.) we don't want to go crazy on a remodel that puts our house out of the re-sell budget in our neighborhood.  Thus meaning $6k counter tops are out of the question.

While pa-rousing the web, I found the product Giana Granite which seemed like a great short-term fix to our problem.  We currently have laminate counter tops and they are U-G-L-Y.  So I ordered 2 cases of the Sicilian Sand color and are aiming to try and get it done by end of the week.  Cross your fingers for us!!!  You can also use their products in bathrooms which could be awesome for a bathroom reno on a major budget.

Here are some other great pictures of their products (they also have cabinet paint and appliance paint):

We will share our results with you fine people :)  Have a great weekend!!!

stella & dot...

Sorry for the radio-silence lately!  It's been a chaotic few weeks at work, school activities, and we celebrated Jeremiah's birthday on Friday.  Jeremiah has officially been cancer-free for 2 years now (which is a big mile-stone) and we had a fun day celebrating him.  We have also been super busy adding some much-needed curb appeal to the house (pictures soon).  

On top of that, I hosted a small Stella & Dot party on Saturday night.  My dear friend is trying to jump-start a career as a Stella & Dot stylist so I agreed to host a party.  It was a lot of fun (and all the gals who came are a hoot and truly great friends to have).  If you haven't heard of Stella & Dot, they are very similar to Anthropologie and J.Crew in style on a Target budget.  We had wine and desserts, gabbed, and did a little shopping.  Everyone ended up buying something (there is so much to love)! Here are some of the favorite items we saw:

Here is a link if you are interested in checking them out for the first time or if you have several pieces and want to add to your collection!