How to Paint Your Fireplace White

ORIGINAL POST DATE: April 12, 2016

We recently moved into our first home (well, a year ago) and due to unforeseen plumbing nightmares we didn't have extra money to do some of the updates we wanted. Thankfully the house was move in ready. There were just some cosmetic projects we wanted to do, nothing major. One of the first things we wanted to update was the gold and stone fireplace that is front and center in the living room. We would have loved to redo the whole thing but that takes some serious cash so I needed throw some lipstick on that thing.

I've been seeing the trend of white painted brick across pinterest but Josh was hesitant. Once you paint brick or stone, that's pretty much it. There's no going back. But this isn't some nice brick hearth worth preserving. This is old dirty stone slabs that might have been part of a crime scene at some point. I convinced Josh and then enlisted his help picking out paint and supplies.

Originally I thought we would need some sort of heat resistant paint, but it turns out we didn't since we were only painting the front surface and hearth, not the inside of the fireplace. We went with Valspar Reserve White Semi-Gloss Latex Interior Paint and Primer in One (yeesh) for the stone, Rust-Oleum spray paint for the gold accent on the screen and just some run of the mill paint brushes.

The stone was very porous so it needed stabby motions to fill in all the little holes and several coats. We also filled in some of the bigger gaps and holes with caulk (oh yeah!), and we did a quick paint over those patches once dry. Lastly we used 2 coats of the rustoleum on the gold accents and I think the final product is such an improvement. For under $30 we gave our fireplace a nice modern face-lift. What a difference a year makes, but seeing the "after" picture makes me realize that we need to update the realtor tan color of the living room and hang up some décor….one thing at a time.

In Summation: If you build it, he will come.

I Got Swag(bucks) Bitch!

ORIGINAL POST DATE: April 3, 2016

I’ve heard of various websites where you can earn money for taking surveys online and I’ve always wanted to look into it because it sounds great but also extremely sketch at the same time. After some research I chose to test out Swagbucks. How did I have time to do such research you ask? Well, my maternity leave consisted of a lot of breastfeeding and Netflix (Breastfeed and chill anyone?). It was awesome to have 3 months to bond and care for my dude all while bingeing Friday Night Lights but I did start to feel a little like I could be doing more with my time. Hence, signing up for Swagbucks, cause lord knows my goal of figuring out my sewing machine wasn't going to happen. Here is their one line description: “Swagbucks is the fun rewards program that gives you free gift cards and cash for the everyday things you already do online.”Now, keep in mind, you are earning cents by completing different tasks but they start to add up. I started on January 20th and I have earned about $50.46 which you can cash in for gift cards. I’m saving up for an amazon gift card so I can get a garden gnome that's been on my wish list for some time. (This is a 100% true statement). Another good idea is to save up your SB's and then cash them in on Christmas presents come December. LIFE HACK! If you want to give it a try below are my tips. Just so I don't have to keep writing it: 1 Swagbuck = $0.01.

-GOLD SURVEYS: This is one of the best way to earn Swagbucks. I check in periodically under the gold survey section and that's where you can earn anywhere from 50 to 150 Swagbucks per survey. The downside is sometimes you don't qualify if your demographic is full, but if you start a survey and get booted sometimes they will throw 1 Swagbuck your way.... thanks homie.

-SWAGBUCKS SEARCH: I use the search box on the Swagbucks homepage to do my basic googleing. You earn about 5 -10 Swagbucks for about completing 10-15 searches. I'm constantly googling on my phone and laptop so I just make sure to do it through their homepage or app. It's something I already do, so I might as well earn something from googleing “Is my baby a genius” or "is there such thing as using too much coconut oil?".

 -COLLECTOR'S BILLS: Every now and then under the Swagbucks search there will be challenges called "Collector's bills". Most recently there was a Valentine's Day challenge and you had to collect 6 search tiles. You earn the tiles during your normal searches and once you collect all the tiles you earn an additional 20 Swagbucks. During these challenges your searches earn you more Swagbucks per search. If you collect all the tiles and earn the bonus you would have earned 138 Swagbucks at a minimum. The good thing about these time periods is even if you have collected all the tiles your searches will still earn you these higher amounts. Typically you would earn 5-10 Swagbucks per search block, but during these periods you earn way more, up to 39 Swagbucks during the Valentine's challenge.

-THE DAILY POLL: Complete the daily poll every day. It takes 10 seconds and earns you 1 Swagbuck a day, which is one cent which is redinky-donkey, but it's so easy so just do it.

-SWAG BUTTON: There is an option to install a Swag Button on your browser, but to download it you have to read one of those long terms and conditions agreements and check a scary box and I just have a feeling they are peeking at all your internet usage not just what you type into their search bar so I did not opt into this feature. If you are ok with them accessing all your internet activity, then you my friend are a brave soul. (This whole statement might be false, I'm not sure because I didn't read the terms and conditions.)

-SWAGBUCKS TV: I find this feature easier to do through the phone app. For every 5 videos you watch you get 2 Swagbucks. The daily limit is 10 Swagbucks. The good thing about this is you can play the videos while multi-tasking, or you can walk away, or you can fast forward.

-GAMES: Under the Play tab there are options to play games to earn credits. Make sure you're playing one of the free ones under the Swagbucks game section. I play Swag Jump because it's easy and every other round you earn 2 Swagbucks and again there is a daily limit of 10. I have no idea why they reward you by playing these weird games, but if you play it every day for a year you could earn $36. Now that I did that math it sounds exhausting and annoying.

-DAILY GOAL: Everyday there is a "Daily Goal" set that if you earn X amount of Swagbucks you get a bonus. For example, today if I earn 70 Swagbucks, I get an extra 7. There are 2 new goals every day. At the end of the month you get to redeem your daily goal earnings. During the month of February I earned 151 extra SB’s.

-SWAG CODES: About once a day they will release Swag Codes that you can redeem. They release them via their social media accounts. But I'm too lazy to chase them down so I visit a site like this: http://sc-s.com/ and redeem them when I can. They are usually only worth 3-5 Swagbucks though. *Sigh*, come on Swagbucks.

 There are many other ways to earn but they all seem like a pain in the ass or a little sketch to me. The key is to actually qualify for the surveys because that's the best way to earn quick. If you'd like to give it a try use my link so I can get one step closer to buying my garden gnome. http://www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=18196041

In Summation: You will be mine!

Baby Jack - 5 Months Old

ORIGINAL POST DATE: MARCH 29, 2016

Baby Jack turned 5 months on March 26th. How is that possible? All those cliches are so true; time is flying, they pee, poo and yarf all day, I have the cutest baby in the world, I'd like more sleep please, and I'm savoring every moment. Even when those "moments" occur at 3:30 am. Here is the update on my dude.

-Getting a hang of grasping items and reaching for things.

-Blows raspberries, especially when he wants attention. Sometimes he even throws in a little fake cough.

-Has officially been sleeping in his crib. He seems to like stretching out and rolling around. I often find him facing in the opposite direction he started in.

-In a 24 hour period he is breastfeeding about 7 times. He takes a morning, afternoon, and evening nap (living the dream), although the doctor said he should be taking 2 naps a day. He gets super agro in the evening if he misses that 20-30 minute snooze, so we aren't giving it up just yet.

-Guys, 4 month sleep regression is a real thing, for Jack it's a 5 month sleep regression. He has been waking up a lot at night. It's like he's getting worse at sleeping. Don't you understand how awesome sleep is??? Anyway, we are dipping our toes into sleep training. Last night was the first time and it worked really well. I still fed him at 2:00, but that was it. He did some little whimpering for a few minutes but went back to sleep on his own. I just have to control myself and let him try to go back to sleep before I swoop in to soothe him. He's just so cute, it's hard to stop myself.

-There's so much information about when to start food. My doctor said he looked ready and I agreed so we've tried sweet potatoes and carrots. He LOVED the carrots and he always wants to help.

-He's getting better at taking a bottle. Josh has figured it out, he has to be sitting up in a swing. If you hold him like I do while breastfeeding and try and give him the bottle, he's not having it.

-He can roll from his tummy to his back and as of recently from his back to his tummy. He likes to use leverage, like the crib slats, to roll onto his tummy. What a genius.

Coming up:

-Fully committing to sleep training, for his sleep patterns, and my sanity.

-Trying some new foods. Mostly veggies. Gotta make sure he takes those before introducing him to the wonderful world of fruits.

-Attempting a sippy cup.

-Continuously consulting Lucie's List.

-Mama Murph is coming into town! Since we have few friends and no family around this is very exciting.

-Trying not to eat Jack's face off because he's so freaking cute.

In Summation: We are loving life!

My Baby Shower Gift Ideas

ORIGINAL POST DATE: MARCH 24, 2016

Guys, now that I have a baby I’m a freaking expert. HA. But seriously, when I was 6 months pregnant and beginning to register I was so lost. Building my baby registry for my son was a daunting task. I worked on the list constantly right up until the baby shower. The baby industry is flooded with products and as a first time mom I was overwhelmed, especially after reading countless articles on all the “must haves” and “don’t needs”. After consulting my two best friends I think I came up with a pretty solid registry of things we needed, with just a few unnecessary fun things. (Hello bacon teethers) I really did not want to over register, I’ve been streamlining my life ever since we moved and I realized how much crap we've accumulated. My mom keeps telling me the story of how when my uncle was born and brought home from the hospital he slept in my Me’mere’s dresser drawer. See? We don't need all that extra stuff! This is also the generation that played it fast and loose with car seats and other safety items, so do with that info what you will. I digress…

Now that my baby is 5 months old I have a better idea of what worked and didn’t work for us. In fact, I love a lot of the items that I found on the “unnecessary baby items” lists; like my changing station, diaper genie, and my boppy pillow. I’m just waiting for my next friend to get preggs, because I think I‘m really going to nail this shower thing. Here are my suggestions:

1.)   Burp clothes and bibs – When we had Jack we had a pack of 3 burp clothes, what an under estimation. I’d say we go through about 10 a day. We buy more every few weeks to add to the collection even though we do laundry for him every other day. Babies are just so juicy. These Spasilk ones are by far my favorite.

2.)   Diapers and Wipes – I didn’t have to buy a diaper until my dude turned 4 months. How awesome is that? I think Pampers Swaddlers are a safe bet, you can also see if the mom has a preference. I wasn’t fussy, because nothing is better than FREE. Also, I think I’m going to start buying friends size 2 since most people buy size 1 for gifts. Guys, I’m getting really good at this.

3.)   Aden + Anais Blankets – These were suggested to me by a bunch of people and I love them. They are soft and light and they have the cutest modern designs. They have so many uses; swaddle, a light blanket, car seat cover, nursing cover, or you can lay it down on the ground to play on or to change them. I’m all about things with multiple uses. I’d skip receiving blankets all together next time. This could be because I had a 9.5 lb dude that had super baby strength and could break out of any swaddle. They are a bit smaller than normal swaddle blankets and Jack grew out of them really fast. A & A blankets are bigger and you’ll get more use out of them.

4.)   Velcro Swaddlers – Like I just mentioned, Jack could bust out of even the tightest swaddle. When we put him into this baby straight jacket he would turn all zen. BABY BURITTO FTW!

5.)   Zipper Pjs (NO SNAPS!) I have a bunch of Carter’s pjs that are just so cute, some designs in multiple sizes, but I SO prefer the zipper sets. It’s just so much easier to get on and off, especially at 3:00 am when your changing the baby in the dark with one eye open. I can’t tell you how many times I’m off by one snap and just say screw it, he won’t notice.

6.)   Nipple butter – I received this as a gift and liked it so much better than the lanolin that the hospital provided. Bonus is organic and shit.

 7.)   Dreft – This really isn’t necessary, but it smells sooooo good, like a fresh baby sleeping on a cloud. Someone bought me some for my shower and I’m glad they did because after seeing the price, I wouldn’t have ever bought it myself.

8.)   Nose Frida – In my opinion this works better than the bulb syringe the hospital provides. Bonus: it’s hilarious. The first time we used it, my husband and I looked at each with the realization of how much our lives have changed in mere months.

In Summation: With all this being said, you can always just stick to the damn registry.

How To Make Jujube Tea

Have you heard of Jujube tea? No? Me either. I went to the farmer’s market last  weekend and an adorable man asked me if I wanted to try a Chinese plum that had been dried for 4 months. I tried one and it was strange. He asked me if I wanted a bag for $5, which doesn’t sound like a good deal, and I said “of course”! He mentioned that people make a tea out of them and I decided that’s what I’d do with it, because as soon as I said yes to the purchase I had slight buyer’s remorse at the thought of eating a whole bag of these chewy plummish things. I also did not want Josh to call me out on my plastic baggy full of sad shriveled fruits. Here is the official recipe he had listed in his booth. 

Very official, right? I respond well to measurements such as “adult index finger size”, I’m not really into precise measurements. I bought some ginger, cinnamon sticks, and a regular pear because I couldn’t find an asian pear. I asked the guy at Von’s and he had no idea what I was talking about. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS??? A WHOLE FOODS! I chopped the jujube’s in half, hacked up the finger sized piece of ginger, and cored the pear. I put it in a big pot with about a gallon or so of water and then I boiled the shit out of it for 2 ½ hours, and hot damn my whole house smelled amazing. I drank the tea while it was still hot and it was so good. Sweet, a little fruity and really cinnamon-y! Probably because I tripled the amount of cinnamon the recipe called for. I also drank it over ice after it cooled and it’s delish both ways. I did a light google on the health benefits of the tea and apparently it’s rich in antioxidants and may alleviate constipation. BONUS!

Amy's Edited Jujube Tea Recipe

Ingredients

At Least 2 Cinnamon sticks (3 or 4 if you really want to party)

1 Pear cored and sliced  (preferably an asian pear, but any pear is fine) 

A piece of Ginger cut into 1 inch pieces (Enough for about four 1 inch chunks)

25-30 Dried Jujubes a.k.a Chinese dates chopped in half (check your local asian market or farmer's market) 

In Summation: Drinking out of a mug with your husband's face on it makes it taste even BETTER!

The Lazy Ladies Guide to Knitting

Last year, I decided I needed a creative project I could do while vegging out at night in front of the TV, so I didn’t feel like I was completely wasting my time while watching 2 hours of The Bachelor. So I decided to start knitting again. I’ve enjoyed casually knitting over the years but I’ve really only been able to knit things in square or rectangular shapes. That’s the extent of my skills. If I wanted to further my abilities I’d have to read up on it and learn new techniques, but you can take those elaborate stitches and patterns and shove them up your crafty ass. I don’t have the time or patience for that. With that being said I don’t need one more knitted scarf to add to my collection, so I needed a new project.

My best friend getting pregnant lit a fire under my ass, because I was determined to knit her future spawn a baby blanket and now there was a deadline, or a due date…whatever. I bought needles and yarn in her theme colors and re-taught myself the basics. (My Me’Mere taught me when I was little, but what 8 year old has the attention span to keep up with it). I also went a little beyond my basic knowledge and taught myself how to pearl, but fuck that stitch. It’s awkward and annoying so I came up with a way to only use the knit stitch to make cool looking blankets. The “pattern” you see below will not read like any knitting pattern you’ve seen, because I don’t know the terminology and frankly I don’t care. So if you can do a basic knit stitch then you can make this blanket.

The “Malcolm” Dino Blanket

-Buy some yarn. Wait for Michaels yarn event to get some good deals, just don’t shop at hobby lobby because they hate women. Did you know Vanna White has a yarn brand? She does and it’s reasonable priced. Pick out 3 colors.

-Cast on 150 stitches with size 10 needles. (The only legit sounding instruction you will see here. Oh and here’s a quick article on how to cast on if you need it: Basic Knitting Cast On )

-Knit 7 rows in your first color. I call it 7 rows because that how it looks, but technically it’s 14. Knitting two rows looks like one complete row to me. (Here’s an article on how to do a basic knit stitch: Basic Knit Stitch. Do I have to do all the work for you?)

-Change your yarn color. I do some janky knot at the end and it still comes out looking pretty good. But if you want to do it right you can find info here: Changing Yarns 

-My “pattern” is 9 rows of gray 5 rows of orange, and 6 rows of green. I just go until I think the length looks right or until I can’t take it anymore. Just be sure to end on your starting color.

-Cast off.

-Add tassels. The tassels really make the big square look like a completed blanket and bonus they are super easy. Adding Tassels.

And that’s it. Look how awesome this blanket looks and I barely know anything about knitting. I even cut a few corners and did it all while watching episodes of Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder! The finished blanket is 42” wide by 44” long. Booya! I’ll show you more half-assed patterns I did later. Spoiler alert: I only change the colors and the needle sizes.

In Summation: Buying yarn is fun, using it is more time consuming.

Hello 30’s!!!

Sorry for the late birthday post. I recently (is September recent?) said goodbye to my twenties and hello to the dirty thirties! Although the milestone of turning 30 was hard to swallow, I am happy to say goodbye to the cringeworthy dating scene, late nights, and cheap cocktails of my 20‘s. I’m an old married woman now, and I’d rather stay home and have a nice glass of bourbon with Josh rather than go out to loud noisy clubs. All I want for my birthday is to be surrounded by good friends, eat good food, and have a stiff drink rather than get crazy(And boy did I used to get CRAZY!). I suppose it’s the the circle of life.

For my birthday this year Josh took me to a delicious sushi dinner with Ashley, Kyle and Danny. This awesome birthday card/pirate hat card is from my brother. He gets me. Ashley bought me a make your own lipgloss kit. She gets me. 

For the actual day, Josh and I drove to Santa Barbara for the day to eat good food, drink good wine, and walk around the beach. The original plan was to go on a hot air ballon ride, but they were booked up. So lucky me, I get to do both. We have a busy spring planned so I’m not sure exactly when the ballon ride will happen, but it is paid for so its going down, figuratively. I’m a little scared, but I’m excited nonetheless. Hello 30’s!!!

 We made it to Santa Barbara!

Let the drinking begin!

 OK....no more drinking!