FREEZING FAMILY MOMENTS WITH BAYLEY JORDAN PHOTOGRAPHY

I need to share this awesome Arizona Find. We had Bayley Jordan Photography for a family photoshoot at our library. First off, she made us feel super comfortable right from the start. It felt more like a hangout session than a photoshoot! And let me tell you, she's got a knack for bringing out the best in each of us. Our goofy moments turned into pure gold!

The library setting added a unique touch to the whole shoot. With outfits picked from our own closets, roughly ironed, we met before our first cup of coffee for that golden hour; and also before it got too hot for an Arizona July morning.

If you're looking for a photographer who knows how to freeze the moments that define your family, Bayley Jordan is the way to go! She's got that magic touch, and our photo album is now filled with cherished memories.

Go check out the podcast episode we did right after and then book your shoot with Bayley!

XoXo Britt

HOME UPS- QUICK & CHEAP REDESIGNS IN QUARANTINE

Finally, Arizona issued a Stay at Home Order this week. Although, as essential personnel this means the same for us. Jose is now #Workfromhome, but once I return, after I de-clothe and shower we become home bodies. April 1 we celebrated our 3rd year as home owners and wanted to share a few Home Ups we did to protect our budget and our sanity as we Shelter in Place.

Living Room- The first piece of furniture we invested in our living room was a new couch. It took a while to find the right sectional for our space. We love comfy couch sessions and could see us doing that with a normal sofa. Luckily Living Spaces had the right size within our budget! Once that main piece was in we worked on accessories. Between Ikea and Walmart we found these gorgeous gold frames and had our favorite wedding photos printed in black and white to showcase in the entryway. I also was looking for a great full-length mirror that would not break the bank, to balance the other side of the TV and Way Fair had #JustWhatINeed. Lastly, I went around the house to the other rooms to re-purpose trinkets, books, knickknacks, candles and crystals that would fit the theme. I even used a rug from another room to warm the space’s concrete floors. This room proves that you don’t have to go out and buy all NEW items for a room makeover.

MASTER BATH – This was and is my favorite room in our house. So much pink and potential. It was originally added to the home in the 70’s for the owner’s wife, as it’s the only part of the house ADA approved. Three things we did here and for less than $100. First, the original wood vanity mirror we painted black. Second, we switched out the light fixture. Geeze, the things you realize are so expensive when you get older: rugs, lights, nuts, etc, blog post to come? We scored a great LED light on Amazon, I bought, Jose installed. Our latest VLOG will show you the BTS of that. LOL. Lastly, I got a frames at goodwill, painted black and printed free, fun bathroom sayings: I like your butt, and more! You can print your own from my Pinterest page here.

KITCHEN/PANTRY- Our kitchen is next on our home remodel. We recently had to make a major investment into our plumbing as we had the original cast iron pipes from the 1949 build collapse. As we continue to save back up for the kitchen cabinets, counters and hardware we made a few arrangements that make our house a home. The biggest and best change I made was turning our bar cart into a coffee cart! We don’t really drink alcohol, anymore, so this re-purpose was necessary. Instead of dragging out my Keurig to our limited counter space every morning, I rolled our bar cart into our pantry, added our carousel of k cups and ordered a quick Frida print on Amazon. Now my pantry is more than just a walk through, it’s a walk in.

The purpose of this blog is to show you during Q-tine you don’t have to be bored. You don’t have to spend money you don’t have. You don’t have to live in a space that doesn’t bring you joy or spark creativity. Take these tips into the weekend and let me know any room redecorating you’re doing.

We plan on filming a Cribs Vlog next weekend and I can’t wait to show you what we have done and what we plan to do with our forever home space. Stay safe and stay home.

XoXo Britt

ACEVEDO DESIGNED ACEVEDO BUILT

A few weeks ago, Jose posted a photo of our newly finished product, the pergola! Acevedo designed and Acevedo build, the deck and the pergola are the newest additions to the FInding Arizona Home and we are one step closer to the wedding date and the backyard looking fabulous! I wanted to take this time to highlight the amazing team behind Pair of Aces. My amazing father in law and his business partner work so hard to deliver quality results and treat every project like it is apart of their home.

Our deck was the first project the Aces worked on. This gigantic 16x18ft deck was put up in 3 days and elevated the space in so many ways. We went from a 2x4ft plastic deck to a massive idahoan wood dance floor. I came home from work one day and had the pleasure of screwing in the last screw! Speaking of dance floor: it has been brought to my attention by a close friend, and professional that if you are attending the Finding AZ Wedding DO NOT wear skinny heels. Block heels, wedges and flats are preferred, not only for the deck, but the grass ceremony and gravel dinner. I am sure at one point all shoes will be off, but just a side note.

More recently, the pergola was designed and installed. I loved watched Jose use Sketchup to bring his design to life. I joked that the model in the photo looked just like him! Right?

After printing out measurements to the team, the Pair of Aces were off to work cementing in footings and getting all the wood we need to sand and stain. We wanted to work smarter so we sanded and sealed each piece of lumber prior to it going up. This meant late nights and sore muscles, but now that it is all up we are so glad we took the tame to protect the wood.

Each hour casts a different shadow on the pergola creating the most breathtaking shadows. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in our library gazing out the sliding glass doors in awe of the hand crafted masterpiece. From the block wall, to the deck to the pergola all I want to do is hangout outside in the yard and admire. BUT of course in the pool, because we have officially hit triple digit teens in AZ!

Time to book your travel plans and pack your bathing suit. I fixed up the guest room for some amazing people staying with us in July, and of course, will shared the details on the blog here! No, it’s not a real Air BnB but it feels like paradise to us everyday.

XoXo

Britt

BUILD A WALL

Britt the Builder here! I earned the right to call myself this! I finally finished my wall! What started from a pinterest inspo, like most, turned into an amazing, one of a kind, art wall installation. We are in the thick of Finding AZ Engagement and we are putting some serious work in our backyard for the big day. One of the biggest projects I was excited to take on was a feature wall. Repurposed. Herringbone. DIY. These are all big buzz words I was ready to take head on and now that it’s over I can share, my blood, sweat and tears.

THIS is the exact screen shot I took scrolling through the gram one night! If you’re not following Young House Love you need to. Great book, podcast, page & people!

I had 2 major focuses for this project: The Budget and a Custom Design. First, I wanted to use all 100% repurposed wood! I started breaking apart pallets back in February using ones from work with our weekly shipments, then I would cruise the backside of Lowes for minis I could fit in my car. Towards the end of the March I found a craigslist post for a junkyard giving away pallets, but by the final weekend in April, I was pulling old fence posts from our pool pump station. Crowbarring wood from pallets may look easy. I YouTubed how to do it and the Salvage Sister didn’t even break a sweat. Let me tell you this is where most of the blood, sweat and tears came from. I used over 150 pieces of raw pallet boards.

Next, came the custom cuts. Using a Ryobi Hand Saw for the first time was an experience. Mostly because I am left handed. I mean, if you are right handed try using ANY power tool backwards! It is like relearning muscle memory. I sliced each board 3 inches wide (not knowing about standard / mill sizes) and then 30 inches long. After my first 7 boards my arms were tired. I have never worked out like this before. This process took the longest. From setting up and clamping each board, to measuring twice and cutting once. Once I ran out of boards and thought to purchase some at a local home improvement store. I was taken back because each 1 x 3 measure 1 x 2.5! So back to custom cutting! What felt like years late, I was ready to start nailing.

I watched video after video of installing a herringbone wall and it looked so easy. Some were using peel and stick, others had pre-measured boards, but none using repurposed pallet wood and custom slices. But, they all had one thing in common. Start from the middle. I measured my exact center. T squared it off and then used my protractor to find that 45 degree angle. Once the first board was up, it was just plug, level, and play. I used a powerful nail gun with air compressor. The only type for the job because my electrical one didn’t have nearly enough power! A time lapse and a few jumps in the pool later, the easy part was done.

Thankfully, my father showed up unexpected and unannounced from San Diego that evening and little did he know I was putting him to work on the wall the very next day! Custom sizing and recutting the outer edges came next. We had to place the board in the right puzzle place then measure twice where to make the cut. Using our Ryobi MIter Saw get the perfect 45 degree angle and make the cut. Literally every board is custom cut, some even twice. This overall took 3 days to get all the pieces up!

After the wall was up, I took our Ryobi electric belt sander to the wall to smooth out any splinters and prep the wood for paint. I chose 3 colors based on our home shades, wedding pallet, and inspo from the photo. The cream was from the “Oops” section of Home Depot. If you don’t know about this section anytime a paint color is mixed and rejected or returned unopened it immediately goes on sale and is set in a clearance section right near the pain counter. This gallon was originally was $35 and I got it for $13.98. The perfect color match too! To simplify the paint project I primed the entire wall with this color to start. Two solid coats, then I could begin taping for the next color. “Rockspring Green,” from Glidden was the name of the next color. I taped off every 3rd board, following the design from the photo and began applying. After the green came “Almost Pink,” another Glidden color. I purchased quart amounts for these two colors and paid the same amount for each quart as I did for my gallon. I also trusted my hand and my paint brush to apply the pink free handedly. No tape, no more patience. The pink is not as pink as I would have liked, but too pink would have been too much!

Now we get to admire it, and when I step back and look at my work of art I cannot help but smile. I created it! From vision to conception. I feel like I can take on any project now. Would I create another custom herringbone wall? Yes! So if you’re in the market, hire me!

XoXo

Britt the Builder

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Time for an episode of This Old House with Brose. If you have been watching my weekend insta stories then you know we have been tackling a project every Saturday and Sunday. February, being a wet month, helped and hurt us in the home renno section. It helped because we were able to actually dig and get through the tough soil, but hurt because the rain soaked everything. But, overall, the month of February was dedicated to our front yard curb appeal Phase I: Winter Grass.

I'll be breaking down our step by step guide from hot mess to no stress when it comes to sprinklers, tilling, and seeding. All you need is an afternoon, a couple tools, and grit.

We purchased a tiller on Offer Up, which we highly recommend as homeowners on a budget. Why buy new when you can negotiate from someone who maybe only used what you need only one time? Grass seed, lawn food and a hand held spreader are reasonably priced and sprinkler heads are just a few bucks. We purchased one bag of rock and two bags of manure, but you can easily find for free on Craigslist and used our compost dirt from our own backyard to top top it all off!

After the materials were laid out we began the work. First, we removed all the weeds and pulled any current shrubs we wanted to move or remove.

PRO TIP: Any plants you don’t have a space for, replant in a large pot and save for later. It’s also great to have to mobility and flexibility of beautiful foliage.

Next, we mapped out the sprinkler system. We were fortunate to have purchased a home that already had it installed, but we had to replace the heads and make sure the pipes were level and had proper drainage. After hand digging around each head I added rocks and replaced with new heads. Jose began tilling the entire yard while I replanted our rose bushes for a more welcoming entryway.

PRO TIP: If you have a plant overgrown, like a succulent, dig out smaller plants and roots and replant indoor or outdoors. We turned one large agave into 6 smaller curb appeal plants lining the house.

Honestly, tools like the hand help spreader made seeding the grass effortless. We also did the research to get the proper seed that didn’t need to be aerated and also won’t just be bird feed. We purchased the Scotts Heat Tolerant Blue Mix Grass Seed. After spreading it we added grass food and manure. Then, we took our compost mixture from our backyard and spread all the throughout the mix.

Now we wait. Watering every 3 days in the winter and making sure the frost doesn’t kill us is our biggest struggle now, but we are literally just watching grass grow. Less than $100 and a weekend later we have the seeds planted for a beautiful front yard. Our next phase includes adding planters and pavers to really create that curb appeal. Stay tuned.

XoXo

Britt

INDEPENDENCE DAY

America's Birthday was celebrated at our new house this year! We think it might be a new tradition. It started off with swimming in the pool and finished with a perfect view of the fireworks from the rooftop.  By the end of the night we were full to our eye balls and feeling more confident about our next home projects. 

This post we want to share a few receipts: one for food / drinks and the other for love. 

1) American Burger with Watermelon Margarita!

- Costco pre made 1/3lb burgers are the best go to BBQ food! Will some extra sharp cheddar melted on top and all the fixins Jose's BBQ skills were on point grilling up some perfect burgers for the holiday!

-Costco (this is not a paid advertisement we just live there) pre made margarita mix is heaven sent as well. Add an extra shot of 1800 with some fresh squeezed lime and finally blend with ice and fresh watermelon and you will have the most refreshing summer beverage! Cheers! 

2) Love 

If you haven't heard already we bought a house and are planning a wedding. HAHA I know we are crazy! To add to it only some of our close friends and family know we are also breaking a lease on our apartment with some fiery hoops the property management wants us to jump through! Every day the stress wears on us. From trying to put on a brave face for the 9-5 or the podcast sometimes we just want to look at eachother and say "AHHHHH!"  

But yesterday on America's Day we received some great advice: "Put money into what's yours and what you love."

Couldn't be more simply said yet so hard to want to swallow! On America's Independence Day I realized how independent we are! We are about to turn 30 years old we have careers we have studied for we have a beautiful home we bought we have an amazing podcast community and all the love and support from friends and family. We have each-other and thats love! That is the recipe that matters the most!

Love is the best receipe! If you love what you are doing it doesnt feel like work. You dont regret to blood sweat or tears  once you see what your love created. And you appreciate the value of your dollar when it is something you love!  

So we are using our love to build a wall! A block wall! So tweet @realDonaldTrump and tell him #lovetrumpshate #letsbuildawall!