Padre Games

We really hit the jackpot this season! Our first game I bought tickets for the nosebleeds on Mormon Night for $10 each. On our way in (an hour and a half late) a couple asked us if we'd like tickets in the premier club seating. Heck yes! The seats were behind home plate and there were waiters available to take your orders. We didn't take advantage of that service since we were trying to have a frugal night out. At the end of the game there were fireworks put to the music from classic baseball movies. I have never seen a more amazing fireworks show! They shut off all of the major stadium lights and the fireworks were being shot off from just the other side of the field. Such an awesome night!

The next game was provided by my wonderful father. He was particularly excited about this game because it was against the San Francisco Giants. Jason is a fan and my dad frequents their games when he visits San Francisco for business. He sprung for some nice seats for Jason, myself, himself, Derek, David, and two friends of my brothers'. My dad's the best!

Our third game was thanks to a coworker who had several free tickets for the nosebleeds and I snagged the last two! 

Our last game of the season was back in the nice seats with my dad and some clients. He had purchased the tickets well in advance and had two to spare. So at 4pm he texted me to ask if we wanted them. Of course! Man, I love my family and being back in San Diego. Hopefully next season we'll be just as lucky!

Disneyland!

Jason's first time at Disneyland! 31 years old and he finally made it! We decided to go in October since that's supposed to be off season. We headed up there on a Saturday so I didn't have to take work off and got there a few minutes after the park opened. It was pretty dang crowded! Halloween is a popular time so if we had gone earlier in the month we may have had better luck. So we had to get strategic with our fast passes to be sure we hit all the classic rides. Indiana Jones was shut down (typical) and while waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean it broke down too. Luckily we stayed close by at Tom Sawyer's Island (or whatever its called now) and once we got back to land Pirates was just opening up! We got to walk right in! It was a Disney Miracle! We got to go in the Haunted Mansion, went on Splash Mountain, Star Tours, Winnie the Pooh, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and went in Mickey's House.

Jason thinks Disneyland is Fabulous!

Disneyland is a culinary experience as well. We got the Dole Whips of course, corndogs, and a treat from Pooh Corner. 

Jason had a great time and I did as well seeing his reactions to this new "world". We'll be back in May!

He was excited, I swear.

The Ultimate LA Weekend

Jason's younger brother, Chad, and his wife, Katelyn, were in California for a cruise. After their cruise they had some time to meet us in LA. It was a great excuse to go to LA and do all of the touristy sight seeing. We spent the first few hours with them visiting the Griffiths Observatory, eating lunch at Pinks Hotdogs, and seeing the handprints at the Chinese Theatre. 

Hollywood sign in the distance.

These stairs not only look like a piano, they are a piano! As you walked up them they played music!

Chinese Theatre selfie. It was so hot out.

 Chad and Katelyn had to head to the airport to return their rental car and catch their flight so we were on our own to make the most of our trip up there. First stop, Bottega Louie. My dad would bring us home cupcakes once every few trips he'd make to LA. Unfortunately they stopped making the cupcakes but they have a variety of other treats to make up for it.

 Next was Venice Beach. It was fun showing Jason around there because he's played video games based off this area and I had fun pointing out the similarities. 

Next was the Santa Monica Pier for dinner at Bubba Gumps. Jason's video games also used many features from the pier so pointing out the similarities continued. And of course we ran into a break dance group! They were a group that had been on America's Got Talent. They were really incredible and fun to watch. By this point we were exhausted. The heat and all of the walking had drained us. We sat in silence at our table at Bubba Gumps. Our poor waiter probably thought we were fighting, he kept trying to break the silence.

Jason with his Bubba Gump leftovers in the shrimp boat box.

We wandered around Santa Monica for just a few more minutes after dinner and then headed home. We crammed a lot into one day. I'm glad Jase had a chance to spend time with his brother and see another piece of California.

2nd of August

I turned 22.

Jason is always excited about my birthday and he always does AMAZING. This year he wasn't able to be here. Even though he had just been gone for 2 weeks for military duties, he had to leave again for his usual monthly drill. So Thursday we celebrated. When I got home from work he blind folded me and lead me to the gray room (a name my grandma had given it because, well...it's gray.) and he brought me presents one by one. I had to close my eyes between each present and hold out my hands for the small ones. 

He got me:*

an iPhone charger (No idea where mine went!)

The most adorable apron

Four six packs of mini San Pellegrino

a Kate Spade "Mrs." necklace

Jo Malone-Wild Bluebell perfume

an Ivanka Trump handbag
a Kate Spade tote

Bottega Louie Macarons 

(which he had shipped to me from LA in a really nice insulated bag we will most definitely be using for our next picnic)

Put a couple hundred dollars in our savings

&

Paid off a credit card that was a few hundred dollars!!!!

He did all of this with the money he earned while he was away. Now he's glad he went. He feels like it was worth the heat and boredom.

(There's another 2 rows of Macarons but we ate those pretty quick..)

I know I have to be away but you still deserve the best

-J

After opening presents we watched The Grand Budapest Hotel and had a Papa Johns pizza delivered.  It was perfect.

Of course I was sad to not have him here on my birthday but having my family and Krista near by made it much more bearable.

Friday night I spent the night at my parents'. Saturday, my actual birthday, I went school shopping for my little brother with him, one of my older brothers, and my mom. (This gave me a great opportunity to browse clearance sections.) We got a cupcake from The CupCake Store in Santee. My mom and I got pedicures. Then I met up with Krista and Trevor for dinner at BJ's! I was so happy to be able to actually spend time with them. The past two birthdays had to be crammed into a flat rate box. I could do without the presents, just having the people you love around you on your birthday is what makes it awesome. But I also didn't mind the gifts (:

My parents got me a cute maxi dress and a generous gift card to Ikea. (We're saving up for a few pieces of furniture we've had our eye of for awhile!)

Krista & Trevor bought me dinner, got me a cute cosmetics bag, makeup, nail polish, and a Kate Spade compact mirror!

The compact has "hey gorgeous" engraved on the front. HA! So adorable.

I was SO spoiled this year! I have never had a birthday involving so many luxury/designer names! 

It feels weird to be 22 but glad I got here!

*(He also got me a Coach tote bag but we decided if we are going to spend that much money on one item I have to absolutely LOVE it. It was hard to tell him but he appreciated me telling him instead of 2 months later when he would bring up that I've only used it twice and then I'd finally admit I wasn't crazy about it and we'd be SOL. The Kate Spade bag replaced it and I'm so glad I spoke up! I LOVE IT!!)

Chair Makeover

While Jase was away I had to keep myself busy to make the days go by fast. I decided to pick up the project of redoing this chair. It was my grandma's office chair. She bought it for a desk that is a awkward height and it fits perfectly so I didn't even want to bother finding another one this height. I wasn't too thrilled about the look and I knew it wasn't antique so I decided to take it on!

I wanted a soft/padded seat and darker wood so the demolition began! Got rid of the woven stuff and started sanding.

Once I got to sanding I knew I was in way over my head. The round dowels were a pain and getting the edges where the pieces met were impossible to sand. Fortunately I have a father who has redone several pieces of furniture in our home and has even built some himself.

 He had just gotten back from he and my mom's 30th wedding anniversary weekend and I was excited to show him my project. I knew he'd have lots of advice to offer. He definitely did. He told me that Liquid Sandpaper, stain stripper, and finish stripper all existed. He also filled me in on the struggles he had with his most recent project. This was all so disheartening! My dad, the genius craftsman, had made mistakes? I could only imagine how bad I'd screw this up. He also taught me so many things that I thought were simple tasks but apparently are not if you do them right. Like sanding. You use a coarse sand paper (obviously) but once you're done, you have to sand the piece again with a less coarse paper then again with even less until you're ready for 220 grit.

I used the stain stripper and some paint remover to finish off where the pieces join. The stain wasn't completely gone but my dad said as long is the finish is gone and the stain you're going to use is much darker then I'll be fine. Finally, I caught a break!

I would love to brag about how I redid this chair for under $10 but these would be my tips for success that I had used....

HOW TO REDO A CHAIR FOR UNDER $10 DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!

-Have a generous grandfather who allows you to live in his home and gives you free range at anything that is not antique, sentimental, or expensive
-Have a dad that has materials leftover from reupholstering your dining room chairs in the past 5 years
-Have same dad have experience in building & refurnishing furniture
-Be sure dad has plenty of stain, finish, sand paper, tools, etc. available for your use

Ready GO!

Needless to say I am very blessed with the family I have. When I first moved out of my parents house I moved out of state. I hated when I would run out of or need things I knew my parents had a year supply of. So frustrating! But now that I live 10 minutes away I am taking full advantage of it! Like when Jason got sick on a Sunday, I didn't want to go to the store on the Sabbath and I didn't want to pay for it no matter what day of the week. So I went to my parents and stocked up on cold medicine that they had doubles/travel sizes of. Saved at least $20 that day!

My dad and brother helped me cut out the seat, using the frame that was wrapped in wicker as the stencil. They cut it using a jigsaw and ply wood he had on hand.

UPDATE 6 MONTHS LATER...

Sooooo Jason came home from his military duties a day early (the day I was stripping the chair and my dad was cutting the seat) and surprised me at my parents. That punk.

So of course I ditched the chair to hang out with my husband! I didn't revisit the project until he went out of town again. I came back to it and not all of the finish was gone so I said screw it and spray painted it black. DONE. Never refinishing anything I can't completely take apart. Lesson learned.

Jason's First Beach Day

Jason had his first beach day! I took him to La Jolla Shores since I figured we'd start with the basics. He was surprised by the strength of the waves and loved standing at the edge of the water and feeling his feet sink into the sand while the water rushed back to sea. And I loved watching him take it all in! 

He was also introduced to the harsh reality and inevitability of forever sandy toes. He didn't own any flip flops so he wore Vans. He thought he could outsmart the sand by washing his feet off in the water then immediately putting his shoes on. He didn't realize the water and sand are "One" at that shallow depth and that you will naturally, no matter how hard you try, kick up sand behind you as you walk. There is no getting around it. I usually just bear it, take the long way to the car by walking through the grass, brush my feet off with a towel at the car, then get over it. Welcome to beach life, darling.

We finished off our day with In and Out to keep the day Southern California themed. It's been great being able to show him where I grew up and missed so much while living in Utah. I look forward to showing him the local beaches this summer.