Who do you think you are? Joanna Gaines?

My husband an I bought a house in the middle of July. We thought the house was turn key but as we were settling in we started noticing little things here and there that we wanted to improve. (Probably doesn’t help that I am completely obsessed with Fixer Upper and Property Brothers.)

The small dark kitchen drove me crazy. It seemed like the walls were closing in around me. Of course I jumped on Pinterest  to see what kinds of projects I could do on a small budget to improve the space.  After 10,000 episodes of Fixer Upper I decided that painting the cabinets white and changing the tan paint color would do the trick. Back to Pinterest it was since we didn’t know the first thing about painting cabinets.

I obviously needed to start with a deep clean since they looked a little grubby. Plus the house was built in the 80’s…that’s a lot of nasty build up let me tell you. As I was scrubbing I realized the house started smelling of bacon. Can I just tell you we have NEVER cooked bacon in our house. Seriously? GAG. Guess I should have deep cleaned those babies before then.

Now to choose a paint. Everything I was reading kept telling me chalk paint was the way to go. “Sanding not needed,” “Easy,” “Quick drying” so of course I had to do chalk paint. I’m easily persuaded. In this case didn’t work to my benefit. I went to Joann and bought white chalk paint and started on the pantry cabinets. After the first coat it was obvious another would be needed and I was okay with that and expecting it. After the second and third coat and still not seeing the results I was so desperately hoping for I was starting to panic. All I could see was the wood grain and paint brush strokes. ICK!!! I can’t go back now though, I already started!

 

I decided I needed  to home depot and talk to the guy at the paint counter. He recommended BEHR Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel. He told me that it wouldn’t need a top coat to seal it. He said it came with it already mixed in. I have a horrible history of half listening and adding my own techniques. I had him mix a little green in the already white paint. It had a tinge of pink that I wasn’t digging so he added the green to offset it. PERFECT! I wanted to add Varathane Floor Finish High Traffic in crystal clear just to be sure the paint would be durable when I was cleaning them later down the road. The coverage was already 10x better! We did 2 coats of the white paint and used roller instead of brushes! It would well. Stay away from the fluffy rollers as they will leave a little fluff behind on your cabinets. Learned that one the hard way. Once they were all dry we did a thin coat of the Varathane. Don’t use too much or it will dry with yell drips.

We bought all new hinges in nickle color on Amazon. It was cheaper than Home Depot and Lowes. The handles were given to us by a family friend so I’m not quite sure where those came from.

Just the cabinets color change alone made a huge difference but I still wanted it brighter in the kitchen. We decided we needed to carry the grey walls of the living room into the kitchen. We used a grey from Lowes in the HGTV brand. We only needed one coat to cover. Loved that paint!

Check out our before and after pictures! Feel Free to ask any questions!

We still have some work to do like the backslash and counter tops but I’m happy with the huge change already. 🙂

XoXo,

Danica

“I do!”

 

OKAY!!! Let me just start with saying… weddings are expensive.Everyone already knows that though. We tried to cut costs by doing alot ourselves instead of using an all inclusive $10,000+ venue. Can I emphasize the + ?!?

I was bound and determined to have a unique wedding. I didn’t want any of the color schemes being thrown at me in the venues we looked at and I sure didn’t want to use their cookie cutter florists.

My dream was to get married in the mountains and pine trees up in northern Arizona. Unfortunately, That couldn’t happen because my grandpa and grandma (not in the best health at 95) wouldn’t be able to make it.

I searched all over the valley for a venue that would fit the style and price I could afford.

We ended up at the Irish Cultural Center. Sounds weird right? I thought so too but picture this: cobble stone ground with a stone cottage and castle. Getting the vibe yet? Good!

 

 

We were able to bring in our own vendors and that was a huge plus to Dustin an I. We weren’t interested in the boring chicken and steamed veggies a wedding reception usually entails. We ended up having Joe’s real BBQ cater. If you are from the Phx area chances are you have tried/heard about it. YUM!

I contacted so many florists that quoted me 1,000-3,000 minimums. HOLY MOLY. I wasn’t expecting that blow so I kept shopping around. I finally went to Aj’s Fine Foods and looked around. They had the most unique and beautiful displays so for giggles my mom and I decided to ask if they designed for weddings. Fortunately, for us, they did!! They allowed me to pick the exact flowers in the exact colors I wanted. I seriously could not have been happier with the customer service, pricing, and final outcome. (I used AJ’s on Ray in Chandler)

 

 

My husband’s sister offered to buy our cake since she had a friend in the business. That was a huge blessing. The cake designer allowed us to show her a picture of a naked cake and the fresh flower decor I wanted and she recreated it perfectly. (Flavors: banana cream, pumpkin spice, and chocolate)

 

 

My mom, aunt, cousin all helped me create the center pieces. We bought lanterns from Kirklands and bought wood pedestals from Bed Bath and Beyond. We created a garland wreath with greenery from Arizona Flower Market and added fresh flowers tucked in from the grocery store. I really wanted the antique brass candle sticks that I had been seeing on Pinterest. What better place to find them then Goodwill baby? LOL. We bought mass amounts of candlesticks from Yummy who had a great selection to choose from.

 

 

The actual table clothes were purchased from Amazon.

Tables and chairs were part of the venue rental.

The altar was made from wood from my future father in law and mother in laws property up north. We stacked the wood on top of each other and added a few pillar candles and fresh flowers.

 

The ceremony table was a nightstand from Kirklands. I bought some artificial garland and flowers from Hobby Lobby to add some life to the table. The table runner was purchased off E-bay. The candelabra was from TJ-Maxx and the hydrangea were purchased from Arizona Flower Market. We wanted to do a salt ceremony. You can find the meaning here: http://www.weddingsandrites.com/salt-covenant.html . For the salt we used ice cream salt since it was bigger and easier to see from far away. We bought the decorative salt containers from Hobby Lobby. The ring bearers used glass geometric shaped containers from Urban Outfitters. There was a really old bible on the table that had special meaning to me. It was my grandpa’s old bible. It is absolutely beautiful!

 

Sorry if this is a lot of information. I just want to make sure you get the details incase there is something you would like to buy for your own wedding.

Through all the stress and the occasional tear we ended up planning our perfect wedding. It couldn’t have been done without the help of our amazing families. It was truly a beautiful day with beautiful meaning. I married the man of my dreams all the rest was just extra. To God be the glory!

 

Video cred: David M. Nelson

Wedding picture cred:  Shannon Gilpin

 

 

 

Shhh.. 2 of My Biggest Hair Secrets Revealed

 

I’m one of those weirdos where if my hair isn’t looking good that day it can send me into a funk for the REST of the day. I have to make sure at the very least my hair looks good. (it really can make up for a lack of makeup)

#1 Secret:

DIRTY HAIR!

Seriously, It makes all the difference. I can go days without washing my hair. If you aren’t used to that it can sound absolutely disgusting. For real though. My hair will be flat the first day I wash it. Even if I put awesome product and loads of hairspray 3 hours in and the curl is completely gone. I don’t have any tips to prevent that. If you know any please share! My 2nd and 3rd day are the best hair days. (3rd by far the best) Anything past that and I’m stretching it. It needs a braid or starts to get itchy. I think it’s a mental thing haha.

If you are used to washing your hair everyday because you tend to get greasy don’t fret you can still do it.  Your hair can be trained. Test it out. Day 1. Start by washing your hair. Style it for the day business as usual. Wake up day 2… Probably noticing a little grease… ?DRY SHAMPOO! It’s your secret weapon. Even if it is greasy at the end of the day don’t worry. Training your hair is not a quick process. It takes a little feeling gross at the beginning. You WILL be greasy but fight through it. Time to start the process again. Day 1. Wash your hair. Day 2. Dry shampoo. This time there is a Day 3. Dry shampoo. You hair will get used to this but you really have to be dedicated. Like I said, I don’t usually go longer then 3 days because I start to feel icky. Keep doing this process and each time going a day longer. Your scalp will stop producing the amount of oil that it did when you first started.

 

 

#2 Secret:

EXTENSIONS

Please don’t tune out. I used to have the same bad connotation when I heard the word. The only reason why you feel that way is because you have seen REALLY BAD ones. If you get cheap extensions you will look cheap. Remember, this is solely my opinion.  I’m not saying you need to spend $300+ but with my experience $100+ is going to get you a good set. As much as I’d love to try Foxy Locks, Bellami Hair, Laced Hair Extensions I simply do not have the money. I think my husband would kill me but I hear nothing but good things about them and I really want the length they offer so maybe someday. Instead I go to Sally’s Beauty and get the EuroNext Premium Remy hair in 18′ clip ins. I cannot stress enough that I do not use these for length as much as I use them for volume. They really truly make a difference. They add the depth to my hair that I like and get complemented on. There’s so many people that do not know that I wear them and that is exactly how you know that I’m doing it right. EuroNext makes the color I need that matches my hair completely. That is the biggest most important tip I can give. Make sure they are the right color.

 

Now you have 2 of my BIGGEST hair secrets.  Side note: I am a firm believer that when you do wash your hair you need to be using a quality product. I haven’t had any luck buying a shampoo/conditioner from Target or any other store like that. I find that they dry my hair out, strip the color, or leave it dull and flat. If you have questions about product or tools don’t be afraid to reach out. I look forward to any questions you might have.

 

XoXo,

Danica

 

 

 

To have and to hold

I always knew my prince would come.  I just used to think he would be on a motorcycle covered  in tattoos with the height of an NBA player.  Silly me.  Little did I know that God’s ways are much bigger than mine. He showed me that is was so much more than the appearance (although, my husband is a TOTAL babe!)

I was truly looking for my future husband in all the wrong places wondering why my heart got broken time and time again.  I had all these prerequisites and  eliminated anyone who didn’t  fit the mold. I got cheated on and lied to more times than I could count.

I knew I needed to break away and decided to give up and wait on the Lord.  He knew what I needed and that I wanted a man who loved Jesus more than he could ever love me.  So I waited.  I waited years! I wondered if he would ever come.  If he was on his way he wasn’t on a horse he was riding a turtle.

If you haven’t noticed I’m obsessed with Instagram.  I feel like you can learn so much about someone by the pictures they capture and share with the world.  I was scrolling through when I was stopped in my tracks.  My friend posted a picture with a group of her college friends and I saw a cutie that I HAD to know more about.  So of course, I texted my friend and grilled her on this new guy.  She told me he was interested in someone else.  Darn.  Haha… you guys are silly…  If you thought that stopped me from creeping his page you are wrong. What’s that saying? If you want it you gotta go get it!  I liked a picture here and liked a picture there.  Score! I caught his attention. He added me on Instagram and then of Facebook.  Believe it or not we talked regularly for a year before I made him meet me.  I knew from that first date that I wanted to get to know him all I could.  I remember saying, “if he isn’t the one I’m to marry then he suuuure has set the bar high.”

He taught me to trust after all those horrible relationships I had been in.  He taught me to talk when all I wanted to do was shut down. He taught me patience when things didn’t go my way. He is so patient with me even when I’m so crabby in the morning. He is my support system when I just want give up on something.

I waited in every sense of the word for this man.  Even though I didn’t know what God had for me I waited.  It has been so worth it.  Even though since I was a little girl I imagined I would be married at 18 with kids at 21 I couldn’t be happier with the way my life turned out.  I met him later in life.  I waited.

I urge you to wait in the Lord.  Trust Him and know that His timing is perfect.  HE WILL BRING YOU YOUR PRINCE.  I promise.

XoXo,

Danica

It’s the little things

 

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry or fashion statement that is you?

This little necklace can almost always be found around my neck.

It’s a bumble bee! Cute right?! Usually Fossil can tend to be a smidge over priced but I got

a deal for it at  Macy’s! Hip-Hip-Hooray! It’s simple and clean. Usually how my jewelry

goes.

 

XoXo,

Danica