Starbucks Blended Strawberry Lemonade

June 30, 2017June 29, 2017Leave a comment

Hey guys! I was going through old blog posts and found this one! It is such a great drink for the hot summer and I want to save some lives! Hope you enjoy! By the way, I still love ordering this drink.

Let me start off by saying that this is a very popular drink. So much so, that this is the drink I normally order when it is 150+° in California.

I don’t think the Central Valley has ever reached 150+°, but you get the point.

This is a no coffee drink which is perfect for those who despise the taste of coffee. It is smooth and icy, which helps to cool you off in the summer. You can order just a plain Strawberry Lemonade, but where would be the fun in that? The Strawberry Lemonade, un-blended, is a nice drink if you want it to accompany your lunch or dinner.

But we are talking about the Blended Strawberry Lemonade, so let’s go and review that.

This drink is absolutely delicious. It is cool and icy, so it has a slushie taste to it. The drink will stay cool, unless you leave it for a very long time to warm up. It is also a drink that kids could have since there is no coffee This drink is also a fairly priced, less than $4 for a Venti. And finally, you can add other flavors to this drink, like mocha and white chocolate. My personal favorite is mocha because you then get a chocolate covered strawberry drink.

So when you go to Starbucks, you can go ahead and say you want this drink. No need to bring your own recipe. The baristas know the drink, so go ahead and order away.

I hope that you guys go out and try this drink! If you decide to order this drink, please let me know what you think. I am very curious!

My Vintage Chair Makeover

June 23, 2017June 22, 201714 Comments

This is a re-post from last year. Hope you enjoy!

I’m back today with another makeover! I have so many projects and I am trying to get them done before summer will be over and I will be back in school!! It’s much harder during the school year.

This chair belonged to my Grandpa, my dad’s dad. He was born in 1898 . He sailed here from Holland and met his wife on the ship. They were married after they arrived in the United States. We have even found their names on the registry at Ellis Island. So much history! My dad received this chair after my grandpa passed away many years ago and it was in my parents room for a long time. My mom was ready for something different and asked if I wanted it. Of course! It has sat in Lauren’s room for a couple of years and I finally decided it was time to renew it.

First I had to take off all the old material and batting. Do you see all the little nailhead tacks? Yep, I had to remove all of those, plus staples.

I used a small screwdriver and pliers to help me pull them all out.

This isn’t very pretty :(. I will have to figure out something to cover it up.

Here is what was underneath everything. I pulled out all these nails too. The ‘stuffing’ is just a pillow inserted into the middle.

Here it is, all naked. I tightened up the straps with a few more staples underneath and gave the wood a good cleaning. Then I used some antiquing wax on the brown wood to freshen it up a bit.

I used the material from the old cover as a pattern to cut out a new one. I had some painters cloth and decided to use that for my cover. I laid the old one on top of the cloth and cut around it. I had to do some trimming afterwards.

It didn’t quite come out straight! After trimming, I sewed the two sides together, leaving the back open to insert new padding. Notice, I purposely left the hem on the back so I wouldn’t have to sew it! 🙂 #justLOVEsewing!! #NOT!

The padding that was in it was in pretty good shape, so I used it again.

I found this pretty twisted trim at Hobby Lobby and thought it would look relly good with the chair, plus it would cover up all the ugly holes. I used the tacks again, but no as many this time.

I did freshen up the paint a bit too, but just with the same color. It’s done and ready to live out more days in our home. It’s perfect with the beach theme right now!

I used neutral colors so it would go easily into any room in our home.

Thanks for coming by and hope you have a wonderful week!

Click on a picture below to see more makeovers!

Navy, Red and White Table Setting

June 19, 2017June 10, 20173 Comments

It’s almost July! How did that happen? Here in the states we are getting ready for Independence Day, or 4th of July. One of the best memories I have was, from 1976, the U.S.A.’s bicentennial year. We went to Disneyland that summer, and what a firework show they put on. I remember the amazing parade and all the red, white and blue. If you can believe it, we even camped in a truck and camper in the parking lot! That was a long time ago!!! We have been to Disneyland many times since, but there has never been a firework show quite like the one in 1976.

I started this tablescape with the traditional white tablecloth and then layered a navy and white table runner across the middle and then a place-mat at the edge of the table.

I layered the plate and bowl, starting with a white and red metal plate at the bottom and then adding a white bowl on top. I placed a blue cloth napkin between them.

I love these little navy bags from Target. It’s fun to put a special little treat in them for visitors. Succulents in little white pots and layered on wooden blocks give the table a summery feel.

I added this fork stamped with U.S.N., United States Navy. Love it! It’s fun to use a little something special on the table.

I’m ready for the fourth or any summer get together! Thanks for stopping by today!

Lauren’s Seattle Trip

June 16, 2017June 15, 20175 Comments

Hello everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while. I’ve been just slightly busy…sorry…

So I was in Seattle for a week! It was so much fun! My roommate and I went for a roadtrip, which was absolutely amazing! Here is recap of our trip!

Day 1: Leaving town and headed to Medford Oregon.

We stopped at a small rest-stop about 2 hours outside of Sacramento and took pictures. It was absolutely gorgeous! And obviously, we had to pull over to see the Oregon sign.

Day 2: Left Medford, drove to Florence Oregon, through Salem and Portland, made our way to Seattle.

Aren’t these pictures gorgeous? Both of these were taken in Oregon and I cannot get over how beautiful the scenery was. It is so green!

Day 3: Seattle! Space Needle, Chihuly Glass Museum and Pikes Place Market

These pictures are by far some of my favorites. The Space Needle is always a beautiful landmark and I love taking pictures of it. The Chihuly Glass Museum was Amber’s favorite thing, and the pieces were just amazing! We also walked the 1.5 miles to Pikes Place Market where we got to look around for the first time. Finally, we were able to go back to the Space Needle to watch the sunset.

Day 4: Zoo, Aquarium, Underground Tour

Lots of animals! We had tons of fun walking around the zoo and the aquarium. I loved the peacock for Haley and flamingos for mom. We then went to the aquarium and I loved the weird feather looking thing and the clown fish. It was fun to walk around and see what they had to offer. We then finished the night going on an underground tour. If you are ever in Seattle, I highly suggest doing the underground tour. It is a lot of fun and perfect for a family!

Day 5: Harbor Cruise and Whidbey Island

The harbor cruise was about an hour long and a perfect time to relax. We got some pictures of the skyline and lots of random pictures as well. We also went to Whidbey Island, which was a bit of a disappointment because everything closed early on a Sunday. Boo Hoo!

Day 6: Canada and Kerry Park

What an amazing day! We decided to try to go to Canada since we were so close anyway. We actually found a park called Peace Park where we could cross the border without a passport. If we wanted to go any further, we had to have a passport. But we did it!!! We also headed to Kerry Park, which is supposed to be the best spot to get a skyline picture of Seattle. Honestly, it was a good view, but not our favorite.

Day 7: Leaving Seattle to Grants Pass Oregon

Before leaving Seattle, we stopped at Gas Works Park. We weren’t sure if it was going to be any good, but it was absolutely awesome! It was probably our favorite place and we wished we would’ve been able to spend more time there. Both Amber and I thought that this was a better view of Seattle than Kerry Park. We then drove home and stopped in Salem Oregon to see the capitol. It was beautiful!

Day 8: Sundial Bridge and home!

If you have never been to Sundial Bridge in Redding California, you should definitely go! It is so pretty and not many people stop there. We took lots of pictures, but I won’t show too much.

Now, I know I showed you a lot, but now it’s time for the best pictures! I took a small stuffed elephant by the name of Tantor. And I took pictures of him all along the trip! So enjoy lot of pictures of Tantor!

Yeah…we took a lot of pictures of him…

And finally, we recorded ourselves in vlog fashion to keep a memory of the trip. If you want to watch the 8 videos of our trip click Seattle Roadtrip YouTube. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for going through our adventure through Washington. It was a lot of fun and we cannot wait to go on another adventure!

Great Grandma’s Vintage Trunk with Havenly

June 12, 2017June 21, 20172 Comments

A few weeks ago I was inspired with an idea from Havenly, an online site with interior designers and decorators to serve you. It’s a convenient, personal and affordable way to redecorate your home room by room. You can collaborate with professional interior designers on an online platform and they will work with you to decorate your home. I checked it out and it looks really cool! You can read a profile on each designer and pick one that fits your style and needs the best. If you are looking for someone to help you with your home, this is the perfect place to go.

I was asked to write a post about a piece of family history that I have and how I use it in my home. I showed you this vintage trunk before and now I thought I would tell you the story behind it. Here goes a little history lesson.

Mary Amelia Thomas Goodrich traveled with her family from Wisconsin to Leadville, Co., where she met her husband Elliot Goodrich. From Leadville, they traveled to Aspen, Co., where they crossed Independence Pass. They eventually moved to an area of Aspen called Oklahoma Flats. I received this map of Aspen, Co. from my mom for my birthday. It was given to her by Aunt Hazel, the same aunt who had the trunk. The map is dated 1893. The arrow on the second picture points to where we believe Oklahoma Flats was located.

Elliot was a miner, who would go up into the mountains and work. Mary Amelia, washed clothing for the Chinese railroad workers that worked in the area. There are stories about her crossing the river on the railroad trestle to deliver clothing, once even crossing while a train was barreling down the tracks! They also lived on a dairy, but we aren’t sure if that meant 4 cows, or many cows, or if they even owned the dairy. They had 5 children, the oldest was Anna. She married Peter Kelsey in 1901 and my grandmother, Amelia was born here in 1903.

When Amelia was just a year old, the family moved to Grand Valley, Co., which is now called Parachute. My great-grandparents would take any kind of job to earn money for their little family. While living here, a second daughter, Velma, was born, in 1905.

The family moved again, looking for a better life and headed further west. The stopped in Yarington, NV., where a third daughter, Hazel, was born in 1910. Less than a year later, in 1911, they traveled on, crossing over Donner Pass in their horse and open wagon. I can’t even imagine traveling with three small children, including an infant. While traveling through this area, a silver spoon was found. It reads Reno, NV. and Scenes of the Truckee is printed on the cup of the spoon.

Another story passed on by grandma-it was pouring down rain and her father stopped at a cabin to ask if they had a place where they could stay and get out of the rain. The man who answered the door was an Indian! He told them they could sleep right inside the cabin. My grandma remembered small chunks of mud falling down on them from the roof because the rain was coming down so hard. I wonder if her parents slept with one eye open that night!

They stopped again in Placerville where they worked until they could get enough money to move on. Anna worked at a motel and Velma remembered there were dishes of candy all around the motel for the guests. Velma did this in her own home later because of her memories of this time. Finally, the family traveled through Sacramento and ended up here in the Central Valley, near Grangeville. They camped in an apricot orchard and worked there too.

They eventually moved to a place called The Island and lived in a small shack. My great-grandfather was trying to get a job as a ditch-tender, but had heard nothing. He finally told my great-grandmother that when he returned home that day from his work, they would get ready to leave and move on. When he came home from work, there was a note on the table, saying he got the job as the ditch-tender! The family was able to move into a nicer house right near the river. My great-grandfather would go to each weir, where water is controlled, and he would change the levers depending on how much water is let out and which way it should go.

My Aunt Hazel, the youngest, ended up with the trunk and then gave it to my mom. She finally passed it on to me. I now have my wedding dishes stored in it. I keep it in my living room. I love having a piece of history in my home and sharing the story with the visitors to my home. It’s fun to imagine what kind of things were carried in here and how far the trunk traveled. I’m sure there were some special family mementos, plus clothing and other household items. It’s an honor to have such a piece. Thank you Havenly for giving me the opportunity to write about my family history!