Let There Be Light!

We finally did it!  We updated our kitchen lights from the old paneled lighting to recessed.  We also have a pendant over our dining room table!  As much as we love the blue glow from the fish tank, we really needed more lighting.

Here are the before photos:

We taped out the dining room table on the floor 

so we knew where the center would be.

Here are the "during" photos:

And the final product:

The updated lighting has made all the difference to our condo.  I've actually been dreaming of that pendant for about 9 months now.  We purchased it at IKEA (of course) and we used THIS COMPANY to do our lighting.  The process is dustless and they did everything in about 4 hours.  

Oh Happy Day!...

Since moving into our condo over a year ago, we knew our kitchen faucet had water pressure issues.  We weren't sure what the source of the problem was, but I finally had enough, AND, the faucet was downright ugly.

Luckily, over Christmas we won a $25 gift card to The Home Depot in the family White Elephant gift exchange!  We decided to put it towards a shiny, new faucet.  Before I get to the details, here's a look at the original freaking ugly kitchen faucet.

I was on an online mission to find the perfect faucet on The Home Depot website and we opted for the Glacier Bay Series 400.  The faucet is tall and dramatic and I love every inch of it!  Thanks to my lovely husband for installing it in record time and to our delight, our water pressure issues are gone.  We laughed and asked ourselves why we didn't change it a year ago!  Here it is!

1 Year Anniversary Camping Trip...

For our 1 year anniversary we decided to go camping in Big Bear, California.  For the past month we've been preparing for our trip and we were so excited it was finally here!  Here are a few pictures of our adventure...  PS - Morgan stayed home with his grandparents.

Bike ride to Big Bear Lake

 Our Campsite

 Our AMAZING Honda Element!

 Campfire

 On our way home

Crafty Cake Stands...

After reading how easy it is to make cake stands on a few other crafty blogs, I had to try making them for myself.  I recruited my mom who is an avid antique shopper and she found great deals on gorgeous antique plates!    I also made a trip to Pier 1 to find cheap candleholders.

What you'll need:  plates (any plates will work with a flat bottom), candle holders, liquid nail (clear drying and can be used on glass or ceramic), Q-tips and a damp cloth.

The process below took about 5 minutes per plate.

First - Clean your plates and candleholders...

Find the center and place a small beaded line of liquid nail on candleholder...  stick to plate!
Wipe the excess glue that squeezes out with a damp Q-tip.

 Place upside down with a small amount of weight for added pressure (I used small dessert plates)

 Done!

Meet our other pets...

Did I mention we had a few other pets?  My husband Michael has a beautiful saltwater aquarium in our living/dining room.  Below are a few of our beloved fish...  some were a little camera shy and YES, they all have names =)

Banana

El Camino

Blueberry

Corals

Holiday & Hobby...

A few months ago we purchased Trek mountain bikes.  There are dozens of great biking trails all over Rancho Santa Margarita so we couldn't resist.  While we ride our bikes 3 to 4 times per week on the trails, we decided it was time to take them to the real mountains =)  Big Bear, California is only 2 hours away so over the Labor Day Holiday weekend we went.  Did I mention my parents are in on the sport too?

Blog Updates...

I've uploaded photos to the "Our Condo" and "Our Dog" tabs above...  Morgan welcomes you to check 'em out!

Birthday Decor [Part II]

Finally....

got the z-gallerie clamshell!

Michael remembered how much I loved it and hunted it down for my birthday.  I LOVE it.

Birthday Decor [Part I]

Since we purchased our new camera, the Canon Rebel T1i, Michael has become quite the photographer.  For months I've been wanting to display his photos on shelves in our entryway.  About a month ago we found the perfect shelves at IKEA for his photos...

The day before my birthday he walked into our living room with the shelves!  I was super excited.  He gave them to me a day early because I was going to IKEA that night to buy frames and he didn't want me to buy the shelves myself.

The big bare wall finally has some style!

The Orange County Fair...

Last night we made our annual trip to the Orange County Fair.  We love the animals, the vendors and of course the food!  The big hit this year was the fried butter...  yep, fried butter and no we didn't try it.  I'll stick to my chicken kabob and onion rings :)  We also watch the hypnotist show each year, which is pretty hysterical.

A view of the ski lift 

I was convinced I needed this truck to drive on the crazy California freeways!

The Animals!

Gigantic Ferris Wheel! 

Hopefully a problem solved...

Thanks for the tips on a recent post "It Happened Again..." featuring the damage my crocodile puppy did to my couch.

First we put foil on the sofa...  he immediately jumped up and walked all over it.  He wasn't scared one bit!

Then we decided to build a custom gate wall for our kitchen entrance.  Did I mention he chewed through the standard baby gate we had for the kitchen?  The kitchen is truly the best spot for him during hot summer days [he prefers the balcony which stays shady all day, but it's still warm].  The kitchen is a good size and has cool tile floors.

We called for backup [thanks dad!] and Mike and my dad built a wall.  Pressed fiberboard, 1x2 wood reinforcements, metal plated edging and screws!  They also built a custom latching system so the gate would stay in place.  $30 buckaroos later and here it is!

Our View from the Dining Area

Morgan's View from the Kitchen

The Metal Edges & Latching Loops

Let the countdown begin...

The 2011 IKEA Catalog will be online this August.  Doesn't get much better :)

Happened Again...

M

I came home early from work yesterday because I was feeling sick.  To my horror, I found the arm of our sofa destroyed [for a second time] by Morgan.  I'm pretty upset, but I love my dog more than my sofa.  It can be fixed, but not anytime soon.

We've tried everything...  he's interested in everything other than his own toys and chewys.

Any suggestions?

"Homemade" Cupcakes

This past Saturday we celebrated the 4th of July early with a few friends from college.  I decided to make "Homemade" red, white & blue cupcakes for the occasion.  I was super excited to use several items from our wedding registry that I hadn't put to use yet.

Thank you Pillsbury...

Finally used my Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer...  LOVE it.

Hand Mixer in Action...

Slowly but Surely...

Morgan bought me this owl oven 

mitt for Mother's Day...

Red, White & Blue Sprinkles...

The Double Decker Cupcake Carrier!

Ready to go...

The cupcakes were super yummy!  I must say the cupcake carrier is awesome!  I actually forgot that I had it and I made several attempts to fit the cupcakes into a tray.  Mike reminded me of the carrier LOL.  The 4th of July weekend was great.  We saw family and friends and had wonderful food.  Happy Birthday America.