Time for a summer bucket list

Are you a list maker? Making a list + checking it off = satisfaction

I am not always a list maker but when it comes to important things I know I've got a mental list going on. It's like that scene in the movie "How does she do it" and Sarah Jessica Parker is laying in bed with a list a mile long. Yup, that's how I feel some nights. Point is sometimes these lists help remind us what it is we wanted to get done.

Since we're already in April here goes my bucket list for Summer 2013

1. Continue working out (getting fit and healthy)
2. Do a canvas and cocktails outing (ALWAYS wanted to do this)
3. Karaoke night (hmm maybe for my birthday??)
4. Go hiking (location TBD)
5. A second 5K Run (Check this off this weekend)
6. Volunteer projects (already done one, will do a second event at the end of June)
7. Take kids to the Cheyenne Mtn Zoo again.
8. Take the kids to a pottery paint class.
9. Go to a concert (preferably a BSB one)
10. Train for a relay half marathon.


Errr that's all I have. I want more things with the kids but that's a given!

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2013 the year of clean and organize

I started this year off a lot like everyone else with goals that I am going to make this year healthy, clean, and all that other good stuff. I am proud to say that I have done a great job keeping this up, uh minus giving up diet soda, mostly because I absolutely failed at that (I will keep trying though!) 

At the beginning of this year instead of worrying about tackling the WHOLE entire house at once I read up on re-organizing and tackled one room at a time. The problem being that since I work full time, have two children, and a life-ish, I could not devote every waking minute to this project. But with my husbands help every weekend since the new year began we went through each room and got things accomplished. 

We got the family room and living room re-done. I now have a better office space located right next to DH's office space. I know I have not done well in the whole "keeping up with my blog" but now with a desktop computer plus office space away from the kids I have no more excuses!

Of course as we moved on to the next room I SWEAR the last room we just cleaned got messed up again. *sigh* it's a never ending battle. Because we live in constant change. The kids are growing, our needs are changing, and of course the house doesn't grow, just the mess inside. I won't dwell on this not so positive side. Instead I will tell you our future plans. 

As it starts to get warmer but snowier (hey we live in Colorado, that's how it works here) we have picked out new light fixtures for the outside of our home, I have picked out the design for the re-do on our stairs, and today we are testing out a closet system for the kids. Last spring we focused on the back yard and got a patio umbrella etc, but somehow we neglected the front of our house. Again you can't change the whole house at once. We're realistic and focus our energy on one part at a time. However as amazing as Pinterest is (thanks to all the thousands of views to my blog because of it) sometimes it makes me think that I can change everything in my house in one day. Ah the first world problem, instant gratification. 

That my friends is for another blog day :) Happy projects everyone. We're tackling lunch, a nap for the kiddos, and then the closet re-do!

Happy Holidays 2012

Happy Holidays, from the Tran Family 2012

 

 

Wishing you and your family the best this holiday season and for the most amazing 2013. We send our love and prayers to the families in Newport, CT. We can't imagine the pain and suffering they are going through. I hugged my family even tighter everyday thankful that I have them.

 

We attempted to visit Santa the other day. Ayden was estactic as normal but that little Chinese girl...forget it she screamed bloody murder. You'd think we were trying to ditch her at the north pole or something. She loves to wave "hi" to people but if you dare say it back she runs and hides. Very diva like if you ask me...I have no idea where she gets it from haha (yeah, yeah it's from me.)

 

Our family portraits came out better then ever and we got cards out in a flash. I say it every year but the year truly did go by in a heartbeat. Our lives are busy every day and I cherish every day I have with my family. Proud of my little sister Stephanie for graduating college and getting into her first choice of pharmacy school. Proud of my brother Jason for surviving his first semster of college. And proud of my kids for every single one of their milestones. They say enjoy this age and I do. Ayden's a chatter monkey and is pretty smart. Aria is picking up more Chinese and it's always fun when and where she chooses to use Chinese or Vietnamese. This is what happens when your kids are tri-lingual.

 

It's supposed to snow a ton tomorrow so here's to safe drive into work tomorrow.

 



One year later

It's truly disgracefull that I have neglected my blog for an entire year. And as cliche as it sounds, my how time flies. Motivated by some new blog followers (you know who you are!) I hope to update my blog more often.

This time last year new and exciting adventures waited for the Tran family. Our family has been through a lot this last year, so many milestones, lots of fun, and of course lots of things that helped us grow. I've learned a lot about MYSELF this last year as well. I've always been pretty motivated and goal oriented. That's my drive. I simply can't be less than par. Question was this year where is par. I don't do bare minimum, wasn't raised or taught that way. Probably part of the whole immigrant parents and first generation American heritage in me.

That was the boring stuff. Let's get to the good stuff.

I have not been able to be as crafty as I was in 2011 but some crafts still managed to get done.
Maybe a recap of some highlights of 2012....

+ Aria turned 1, learned to walk and talk (currently in her "parrot" phase) plus no more binky!
+ Ayden completly being potty trained, going on his first big boy vacation sans mom and dad
+ 5 year wedding anniversary
+ 10 year high school reunion
+ Another year older but celebrated with Magic Mike (<~yes that's a highlight)
+ Girls trip to Vegas (front row seats to Chippendales holla)
+ First 5k done (Color Me Rad Run)
+ Booking my BSB 2013 cruise
+ Starting personal training workout sessions
+ Made it to the 2 year mark at work
+ Lots of new friends
+ Least amount of family drama ever

Yup that's my year in a nutshell.

Will post pictures next time!

Seasons Greetings

Seasons greetings to all of our friends and family.

It has been awhile since my last family posting. You wouldn't believe all the amazing things that have happened in our lives since my last post. Time flies when you're having fun!!

This was our family photo for the holiday season. Last year we were 3.5 now our family is complete at 4. Four is a good round number and we're stickin with it :) Aria is such a sweet girl and she loves her big brother. He's never been jealous of her and loves her to pieces. Lucky mommy I am!!! 

After we came home from Texas it was like our family schedule went full force. I was busy launching my jewelry business, applying for a promotion at my day job, going to play date events for my kids, crafting, and oh yes couponing too. People think just my awesome sister coupons but the story behind that is our parents are always looking for the good deal. Its in our genes. When I started tweeting about my awesome savings at clothes and such my sister wanted in on the action and she's gone full force with it! I love it when our family saves!

Oh yeah back to updating...so it was the busiest time of year for us. I was offered the promotion I wanted, my Stella & Dot was a success, and the kids were growing fast.

We have been so blessed and I am thankful each and every day. Not by the material things in our lives but the fact that my husband and I have each other and our healthy children. A supportive family that helps us in every way makes that all possible. We couldn't do it all without them. And of course a two full time income household....makes every day life a little bit easier to breathe. 

Some highlights - Aria and Aydens first time at Boo at the Zoo she was a baby giraffe and he was super man again. My first time cooking turkey for thanksgiving (I'll also be making prime rib for Christmas.) A traded car for me. Tons of FREE jewelry for me!!! Aria falling asleep right before she met Santa. And last but not least all the family time with the four of us. 

This isn't a "oh she's bragging" type of post. This is truly what has been going on in our lives. We deserve to be happy so that is what we are. I feel bad for people who let drama ruin and rule their lives. Time to see the sunshine folks, the world will still move on and so should you. So here's to another amazing year!!! We wish the best this holiday season for everyone. 

Our mini vacay to Texas

For my younger sisters birthday instead of a plain ol boring card as a gift we showed up at her doorstep instead! Just kidding it wasn't a surprise but it was "last minute". We rented a mini van, loaded up the kids and dvds, and drove the 11+ hours to Texas, YeeHaw! I will admit this was the very first road trip with 2 kids and the thought was scary. But we drove through the night and they both slept most of the way. When Ayden was awake that dvd player came in handy! He watched Cars on DVD and loved it. He had never really been into movies before this trip but now he's hooked on Cars. That's Ayden and his uncle Tom. He currently is serving his country in the AirForce. We're very proud of him and clearly so is Ayden lol!



Silly boys
We were only there a few days but it went fast and we had a lot of fun! We always love visiting my sisters family and we wish they lived closer. But I am thankful at least they live somewhere we can easily visit and I know it could be worse. Aria was so good the whole time and Ayden loved playing with his cousin Lexi aka the Crab...you'll see why.....you'll see. We went to Chuck e Cheeses for my sisters birthday..not her first choice I'm sure but the kids loved it haha. We ate so much food while we were in town but that's what vacations are for. Before we left we tried to take cute "blogging" pics but alas that crab chick just ruins it all.



See that's my two kids being good and cute....



see that right there was a bad crab trying to escape. Mind you this was right before we left she was already "used" to us.



This is why her name is Crab...NOT miniboss we don't call her that.



Ugh here she is picking her nose! How rude! LMAO!!!



Well the last shot she looks decent in...only cause her mom is holding the both of them. I cut her head off on purpose lol. 
All in all a great trip. We needed to just get away and not think about everyday things. I wish we could have stayed longer.

Throwback bench re-do

Summer times as a kid was always fun. No school, running around with my mom, and being kids. One of my favorite things to do with my mom and aunts were GARAGE SALES! Other peoples old toys were my new toys and it was always a surprise! I needed things to decorate my house with and so I set off one summer for the deals. I figure I have a garage and friends with power tools I can fix it up. I started off with no tools of my own. Lucky for me I have friends so much like my other projects they love to help! That bench I found at a Garage sale across the street from me for $5. I saw it and saw potential. 

I spent a few afternoons removing the pieces of wood and sanding all the ugly red color off. 

When my husband put the bench back together we got some help from a small helper :) Yes he has his own Black and Decker tools, he loves to fix his "car".

The Monogram I ordered from a local gal that had a Vinyl machine. I designed the monogram myself and sent it to her. It was easy to apply and fit perfectly! Look at the great details on the sides of the bench. For five bucks and a bucket of paint and some sand paper. What a great investment!

Ayden - 2 1/2 years old

This is how I know this kid is mines! 
Yes that part of me giving birth to him shoulda tipped me off but from the minute he was born he looked like his Dad exactly! To this day people, by that I mean RANDOM strangers, all say "Wow ayden is Will's mini me!" True, in fact if we were at a store and he got lost if people saw Will they'd know oh it must be that kids dad haha! Back to the picture. We were at Will's friend's wedding and Ayden and I weren't even trying to smile the same it just happened. He's got this bubbly personality like his mom but the shy reserved personality for the first five minutes-like his Dad . He's now two and a half and talking a mile a minute. Asking tons of questions and answering questions even if they aren't directed towards him. What's funny is that even if you try to "trick" him and say it in another language he'll STILL answer hahaha. He's on four languages right now. English being the main, Teochew being second, third Vietnamese, and fourth is Cantonese. He'll answer in the first three languages the most but he hears Cantonese the most when he's out with my in-laws. 
My sister loves talking to him and when he visited her in Texas I think he talked her ear off. She got stuck riding next to him in the car and he kept showing her all the bells and whistles of the rental van as if he were some hot shot or something. He still amazes me every day. He's a great big brother and is very helpful... or at least he tries to be. I'm proud of both my kids. I'm thankful to have two kids, one of each, one "mini-me" of each I really couldn't ask for more. As long as our kids are happy - WE are happy. Our family has grown so much and as our story is being written each chapter gets better and better. 

Aria's first time eating

This is a belated post on Aria's first time eating since she technically started eating a couple of weeks ago. I forget when we started her brother on food but she had recently really been interested in food. Once in a rare time she sits on our laps while we eat food. She started to use her own hands to try to guide our hands with our spoons into her own mouth! We took that as a sign, so we got out the baby food! First up was sweet potatoes.
















She is such a sweet girl and so happy all the time. She rarely gets upset or fussy and we are so blessed at that. When she is upset her crying isn't even that loud...well thats what other people tell us haha. She's now six month old and we cannot believe that much time has passed. I swear some days I its like "wasn't I just pregnant?" Aria is my "mini-me" she loves to talk, looooves jewelry, sings in the car, and pays attention to detail (i.e. she correlates people with glasses to not be nice aka like her Aunt Stephanie -yeah you know its true steph!)

Aria still hasn't gotten the whole "using your tongue during food eating" thing down yet. We'll try more food soon and good thing her aunt Sam gave us a ton of free baby food score! I love her reactions she's so funny. We're happy that she's happy, and well you can tell in the pictures :)

My new venture

Jennifer Tran

I can't even begin to tell everyone how excited and thrilled I am to be part of this AMAZING company. From day one the women in this company have opened their arms and welcomed me to an amazing group and in the short time that I've been in this company only good things have happened. I had my doubts thinking "It can't be that great?" Yup I was scared and doubtful and was proved wrong FAST and met my first goal days after launching my business. And boy was I glad to be proven wrong. I currently work a part time corporate job, a webdesign freelance business on the side, and I am now a Stylist for Stella & Dot (plus I'm a mom of two wonderful kids, a wife, a daughter, a sister, blogger, and an aunty I'm friggin busy) When I say I can do it that really means YOU CAN too. Doesn't have to be a stylist!!! I mean this in any and every aspect of a dream, ambition, and goal in your life. It's so easy to say "I'm too busy, I'm too broke, I'm not ready" but when will you ever feel that ready? Take life as it comes, don't back down. Set a goal, DO IT, and success will change you. That misery that loves company, well that company doesn't have to be you so don't let it be. That's my two cents. Thank you to everyone who has helped me in this chapter in my life. My success would be nothing without you! So spread the word :) 

http://www.stelladot.com/jennifertran

Baby shower gifts

First off I love baby showers! This super cute party celebrating a tiny life thats not yet even here yet. A new mom especially needs to be showered with the cutest/usefull things. Me being a mom twice I know this very well and with each kid I was SURPRISED with a shower and the most beautiful gifts. I have been so blessed with amazing friends/coworkers that I want to "pay it forward" and give good gifts. Of course parts of it are so related to how much I know the mom. I try to be considerate and think of what they would need the most and if time permits I try to be as crafty as possible, try being a key word haha. I will also attempt to guide you through good gift giving through the eyes of a mom and crafty girl.

Key things to remember for a good gift

1. Yes it is absolutely the thought that counts not the dollars spent.

2. Gift registries are great to go off of so that the parents dont end up with four baby bath tubs. They only need one lol! 

3. Giant stuffed animals...NOT so great. why? Cute yes, but where am I going to put a 3ft monkey that collects dust for the first year of my childs life? So put the monkey down...just put it down.

4. Diapers are always ALWAYS a safe great gift EVEN if your mom/dad friend is planning on cloth diapering the first month its usually disposables or when they are on the go. Cause folks babies make the gift that keeps on giving...poop!!

5. YouTube will teach you the ways of creating unique gifts.

6. Gifts of babysitting, cooking food, and or cleaning house are the best FREE gifts a mom could get! My sisters give me this gift and I can't tell you how much I love them for it. So even if you are broke and want to give a good gift a card with a note promising one or all of these items and you will be genius!

All pictures seen on this post were MADE from by JennKnowsIt.com

The diaper cake above was made for baby Isabella, I worked with her mom and she was one of my first friends to have a baby and I had always wanted to make a diaper cake. BTW this "cake" was made like 3 years ago and was one of my first attempts at a baby shower cake so not bad for a first try. But I also had help from Trish and Sara on this baby. 

Super cute baby sleeping cupcakes, tutorial found at http://justjennrecipes.com/ she has some awesome recipes so go check her site out! 

 

This beautiful basket was taught to me by the beautiful Trishy, my friend and former coworker. She can work some magic because she used to work at a gift-basket-making place lol. Tons of baby items rolled into little roses and tucked into nooks and crannies were tons of things for Baby London. Items included onesies, mittens, pants, wash clothes, a bib, hats, baby lotion, and many others. It really was like putting together a bouquet of flowers!

And finally the "Welcome Wagon". This one was all my idea. I had already gifted a diaper cake and a beautiful "Flower basket" so I couldn't give something like that again. I thought way in advanced for this gift because Baby Samantha's parents are good friends of my husband and I. We both know the mommy and daddy from back in high school!! So I looked around and saw these "mini" little tikes red wagon and a light went off. A welcome wagon to welcome a little baby how perfect :) So we ordered the wagon from Amazon and bought all the items to go into it. This wagon was made very similar to the way the flower basket was made but less tissue paper. I did a small bouquet of "flowers" made from baby wash clothes. Rolled onesies into a cupcake roll, and randomly placed all the other items including two blankets, bath towels, more wash clothes, mittens, a hat, pants, and baby lotion. The sign in front I made with my vinyl cutter, hehe an excuse to make vinyl awesome! Plus when Baby Samantha gets older and wants to pull her baby dolls around her parents can remove the vinyl if they wish. So you get the size a toddler could very well pull this wagon..I know because my son pulled it lol!

I've somehow earned a reputation for good baby gifts, in fact some people have told me they want to specifically invite me to their baby showers hahaha while I'm flattered I really want everyone to know that a good gift is really the thought. I really wanted to give Baby London and Samantha very special gifts because their mommies were amazing to me when I was first pregnant with Ayden. I had to wait a year and two years to be able to show them how much I care. I think they loved it and thats all that matters. Have questions on a baby gift just ask me!

iPad2 case makeover

Oh my electronic gadgets its my weakness...well among other things in life haha. I did not get the original iPad i actually somehow gathered strength and waited for the iPad2! Right I know the 3 is probably around the corner. Doesn't matter I wanted it and I made it happen. If you want it, it will come. Its my motto. Goals people goals!!! So here I am with this super cool new toy but I needed to protect it. I went online looked at several cases, some of them over priced and ugly...some just plain ugly. What's a girl to do? Whala be CRAFTY! I actually found an online site that would custom color the case I want and they quoted me 2-4weeks. That seemed reasonable *sigh* fast forward 7weeks and countless emails to the production people and at 8weeks I FINALLY got my case.

First things first its a beautiful color but I had to add the vinyl....heck yes gotta put my initials on it!

But the interior lining was a complete grease attracting lining. When you have two kiddos with grubby hands yeah its not a good thing. I had to do something to the inside. Hello Martha Stewart and Michaels craft store with the 40% off coupons! Never buy something full price there, NEVER you hear me?? I bought the stencils, paint, brushes all with coupons and will reuse them again and again :) 

Stencils!!! love love love it. Took literally less than five minutes to finish it and than voila! 

Completely customized just for ME! And now you can't tell if there would be hand prints plus my handy hubby installed the protecting film cover over the actual screen as well. Super easy and you can do this to practically anything.

light organizing

One of the big that changes in your life after kids is your stuff. Now its your stuff + their stuff + plus stuff ya didn't even know you had. So you now have to find a new place for allllll this STUFF! Easy answer would be "just get rid of it" hmmmm easier said than done. I tackle crazy unorganized areas one corner at a time. Don't try to kill yourself and clean your house or reorganize an entire floor at once cause with two little monkies jumping around it just doesn't get done. Plus if you're like me at all you get easily distracted by some awesome forgotten treasures (which BTW best part of cleaning). So here are some areas that I recently hit up and changed around. Thank you Ikea for being a part of my life hahaha! So some tips to follow:
1. Pick a section to focus on. Don't over do it and pick the whole kitchen on your first attempt...cause that's kind of scary. Pick a section of cabinets instead of ALL of the kitchen or just the pantry.
2. Don't spend a ton of money buying containers (i.e. container store cause its a rip off) to make things pretty. Chances are you have these materials on hand or hello dollar store!!!
3. DRAG everything out of the space. The goal is to put back into the space the actual items you are going to need and use. If you haven't used it in a couple of years please do everyone a favor and toss it or donate it depending on the item.
4. Trash bags are your friend, keep one close by to help you be encouraged not to hoard. Remember no hoarding!!
5. And finally a picture helps you remember where everything went!

My makeup station at the top. I know its horrendous but it had been awhile since I touched it. I have two small children its hard to look mac-tastic everyday hahaha. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! It so badly needed to be reorganized so those hanging "jars" are displayed at ikea for like kitchen space. Hmm I look at it and say no thanks but its great for my makeup brushes! Voila it looks beautiful and off the table and away from grubby little hands!!






Girls with straight hair want curly hair and girls with curly hair want straight hair. Silly but its true. Alas it takes a lot of tools sometimes to make these things happen. My sink cabinet looks like it vomitted hair supplies everywhere. Graphic but true. It desperately needed some organization. I used all my extra tubs for other projects so I did purchase a tub from Ikea but all the little boxes I had on hand from previous *cough*ikea*cough* trips in texas.






In the end it looks a million times cleaner. While I may not whip out a curling Iron at the drop of a dime I also don't need it so often where that skill set would benefit me. The last picture that is one of the clear organizers for holding TEA packets but not any more. I used this baby for every day hair accessories aka hair ties and clippies. These short organizing tips have just helped me not feel so overwhelmed about disorganization. I love a clean house but I know that I can't kill myself over it. One day at a time, or section at a time. I hopefully can encourage someone else to better organize the small areas in their lives :)

Regular Couponing...Extreme savings!

Yes that TV show Extreme Couponing has caused everyone to attempt to do the same. I say more power to you cause guess what SAVING MONEY is AWESOME!! I don't know about you but I don't have a money tree. I'm a mom and a wife and money can't be thrown away (hmmm much like I threw it away in my early 20's). So for awhile I've been saving money. I seldom buy things full price unless necessary...for example my iPad2 heehee. So since I need extra dough for stuff like that I save money in everyday items by using coupons. Let me CLARIFY I use ONE NEWSPAPER a weekend. Not 12, not dumpster diving....ONE! In one month on just everyday household items I kept a log on what I spent just to see how it is. People are quick to generalize "oh coupons are for junk food." So here it is couponing on NON FOOD ITEMS!! Everything above was bought at either Walgreens or Target.

HERES the breakdown...

Dove men care bodywash retail $3.99 clearance $2.78 after BOGO coupon $1.34. (x2)
Dove men deodorant retail $2.99 sale $2.39 coupon $1off = 1.39
Dove women's deodorant retail $3.99 clearance $2.78 BOGO coupon $1.34
Pert plus retail $4.99 sale $3.99 RR -3 =99cents -1$ coupon = free
Revlon nail retail $4.99 sale $3.99 RR -3 =99cents -1$ coupon free (bought 2)
floss and tooth brush retail $2.99 each sale 2/5 RR -3 =2/2 -1.50 = 50cent for both
9month size Jeans retail $8.00 clearance $2.00 -$2 coupon = Free
Herbal essences shampoo retail $2.99 clearance $2.24 - 1$ = $1.24
Keri lotion retail $4.29 sale 3.99 RR -3 =99 - 2$ coupon + 1$$$ (MADE A DOLLAR)
Colgate toothpaste $2.74 sale 2.32 coupon -$1 =$1.32
Colgate toothpaste $2.50 each sale 2/4 RR $2 2/2 minus two $1 off = free (2 items)
Paper mate pens retail $1.49 sale 99 - target coupon $1 =free (2items)
Gain dish washing soap retail $1.78 sale 88 coupon -50cents = $0.38cents
Lysol touchless soap dispenser retail $11.99 RR 5$ -3coupon = $3 for entire system (a reg just refill costs 3.99)
3d crest white stripes retail $23 -$10 manufacture -$7 walgreen coupon =$6
Oral b toothbrush retail $1.99 2/2 sale coupon -2$ off 2 = Free. (2 items)
Venus razor retail $7.99 sale 6$ -RR 3 - 3 coupon = $1
Expo markers retail $4.39 sale $3.99 RR 3 =$1
Tictac retail $1.19 coupon -1$ = 19cents
Mentos retail $0.88cents - 1.00 =+12cents profit

Total retail = $117.11 Cost $19.92
Savings $97.19 PERCENTAGE SAVED %83.0

Entertainment Center turned Play Kitchen

Summertime is coming to an end and every summer I always finish some DIY/re purpose project. Last summer I did a run down bench turned brand new and a run down picnic table turned perfect table for Ayden. This summer was finishing our daughters nursery and Ayden's play kitchen.

Ayden loves to play chef. Last year during a visit to my sister in Texas we went to Ikea and bought him all the pots and pans and felt foodies. He plays with those toys more than anything. Originally I thought oh I'll just get one of those used fisher price/little tikes play kitchen on craigslist or something. Um have you seen how much one of those things cost brand new and or used? Upwards of 50$ and more. That and they all look the same :/ not knocking anyone that has one but I had more in mind. Especially after seeing a couple of blogs with FANTASTIC entertainment stands turned into play kitchen. Remember back in the 90's when everyone had one. Well folks now its not good interior design so now it needs a new purpose a new life. I am not one to waste so hey I started checking craigslist every now and than in the FREE section. One day I saw a FREE one in the exact size/style I wanted and BEST of all it was disassembled meaning we could pack it into our small car whoohoo! It was meant to be! Below is the actual photo from the craigslist ad.



If you've read my blog before you know that I work at a pretty awesome place. Maybe not awesome to you but to me it is. I have some of the most awesome co-workers EVER. So I started telling them my ideas for this DIY play kitchen. Immediately they all wanted to pitch in and help. I had my friends husband cut the perfect hole for the sink. He also cut the hole for the oven see through door. The sink itself was a silver mixing bowl given to us by our good friend Jenn. See where I am going with this? Ask and it shall come!! The before....



I worked on it slowly. I decided to prime with Kilz Primer Spray took a couple of cans but it needed it.



Not bad. Time for paint. Lucky for me I had a half gallon of SwanWhite primer/paint in one left over from our daughters nursery so I decided that would be the base. I know didn't I just say I primed the unit well better to be safe than sorry! I had to put like 3 coats on that sucker though. Hmmm maybe next time I'll just spend the time to sand it down...hahaha next time (dont think so!) I also was smart in that since I used the white as primer and white I only had to buy a sample container of blue paint for the backsplash!! its like less than 3bucks!!! And the backing on the original unit was that cardboard. I needed some plywood. Enter in another coworker Colette who donated two big pieces of plywood!!! See all done with the main paint!



Just as I was getting all the paint done Ikea Centennial was OPENING! Whoohoo that means all the handles I needed and knobs I needed would be cheap and easily available. So I bought 2 sets of handles two for the bottom cabinets ($4.99) and oven and a set for the fridge ($7.99) Than finally the knobs for the stove top ($1.99) and lastly the "faucet" I dragged my friend Stephanie and she helped me look all over ikea for something that resembled a faucet and at the very end we found a Garage hook that upside down was the perfect sized faucet. Whopping price $0.99!
Total of $16 at ikea for the kitchen!

Hardware was coming together nicely now for the decorating. I needed curtains. But I was not going to get big curtains and cutting them down. Instead another talented and crafty coworker of mine (Jeanne) sews a lot and offered her sewing skills to me. All I had to do was buy fabric. I ended up only needed one yard of fabric at JoAnnes for $4.00! The fabric was perfect it had lots of little "kitchen" items on it. I found the pattern and directions on a fellow blog The Crafting Chicks. Perfection to cover the space underneath the sink to cover the metal mixing bowl. All I needed was a tension rod to fit the space (Lowe's for $2.99) She also used the leftover fabric to make two small tieback curtains for the faux window. The other pieces of fabric used she already had and it matched perfectly. I'd like to also add this was my first time in a fabric store looking at fabric and it was like a kid in a candy store. Ayden was with me and picked his own fabric for his apron and hat (coming soon). Also the oven door I needed plexi glass for, pshhh i found an old frame i didnt want any more and used the plexi glass from that and had my husband score it down to size!

I needed "burners" and found at the dollar store these red cup coasters perfect for burners!! I also found food shaped sponges for the sink there too! Yay $2 I decided to paint on a faux flat top stove and just glued on the burners. Paint again left over from another project of mine. Helps to be crafty folks.








Whala Ayden loves it! Why wouldn't he. I wish my kitchen could look that awesome ;)



Lets run down the costs....

Entertainment center = Free
Sink = Free
Backing to unit = Free
Primer = $15.00
Paint = $3.00
Curtains = $4.00
Faucet = $1.00
Handles/knobs = $15.00
Burners/sponges = $2.00
Tension rod = $3.00
Sealant = $10.00

$53.00!!!!

Yes lots of man hours were put into this but it was a complete labor of love. I mean is it picture perfect maybe not but is it perfect for my kids heck yes! My neighbors all were like wow this crazy lady is dedicated to this white thing in her garage. Little did they know it would be this cool. Pretty sure my husband was hoping I'd give up half way through since it took up my garage for a month! It was all worth it. Anytime anyone comes over that hasn't seen his kitchen he drags into his play area and shows them ALL his goodies. All thats left is a play dinning set since Grandma gave him a dinning table/homework table. The fact of the matter is this. If I can do it you can do it too!

Notes if you do it:

Don't rush it. Rushing it costs you more money! I took my sweet time with this finding the right parts and you know what so many people were excited to help me. They were more than willing to come over and help and let me borrow tools etc. All i did was provide the food. Ask around for stuff and you'll be surprised how many people want to give you stuff that doesnt. The labor parts like cutting the hole I left to someone more experienced with a jigsaw and that worked out well. I let my husband bash out the glass after taping with ductape (to hold all the tiny pieces. Posted it on facebook and got fabulous comments.

I'm featured!

Did you know I'm featured on Bridget Marquardt's website? Look Here

See!


love my watch :) Gift from my hubby for my 26th birthday! I also got to meet Bridget in person at an event at the Palms in Las Vegas, super sweet :)