Bonfire for most Vanities



Except for mine!

I am currently in the midst of a bathroom remodel. And the budget is low. Which means, I want a nice floor, but that means my vanity isn't the fanciest.

My mom and I found one vanity (why are bathroom vanities either $100 or $700? I know that one was in the middle, but, really they are either cheap or expensive. Nothing middle of the road unless you repaint it. Aaaand exhale), within our budget that was made of wood, not mdf. And it was that awful red colored wood that makes me cringe.
I liked the curved front and the white top, so we bought it. And I started planning which of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colors it would be.

I decided on French Linen. It's a gray that leans a little more brown. I also looked at Coco, which was lovely, but started off too dark. And I wanted to use some of the dark wax to add character. Here it is in full light. I worked under a green pavilion style tent, to keep out the bugs and debris which cast the piece in a green light.

Here it is under the green tent with the handles:
I found the little handles at Anthropologie! Only $6! And they matched without looking too matchy-matchy. The faucet is going to be polished chrome and I purposely chose a brass handle. That way it looks more like I found it rather than a refinished piece from Lowe's.
I can't wait to show off my bathroom! I have been interneting for weeks picking everything out! Cameron and my mother getting most of the texts and emails, "Do I really like this?" I like too many things. Sometimes that is not good. When designing a 35 sqft room...

Next task: finding the perfect greige paint...more gray than beige...let me know if you have any good ones!









Mexico!

When I got back from spending a few days in Mexico, I learned that I was crazy for having gone. People rarely said anything ahead of time, but there was an audible sigh of relief when I talked to my mother after crossing the border. I also got a lot of, "You drove['s]?!"

So, yes, we drove. And it was amazing and beautiful and full other country satisfaction. My family, we are adventurers. We like to drive off the beaten path and find that little place that is interesting and experience something new. Especially when no one in Mexico will sell us a map. A lot of the road less traveled was because we were a little lost...

Also, I should mention that my children speak Spanish. If you talk to me for five seconds, I will tell you that my kids are in a dual language immersion program. Their day at school is 80% in Spanish with a little English thrown in for good measure. So this trip was a little bit like homework for the boys. Except that they don't teach Mexican military checkpoint in first grade.

After we got into Mexico, we passed through the border town and headed for farm country. That quickly gave way to desert, which was pretty much all we saw on our drive to Puerto Penasco.

For our first bathroom stop, we found this little place. We only had dollars at this point, so it was about $2 for five of us to use the rest room. When we walked in that building, there was a small shop with Mexcian coke in bottles and chips and candy. And a woman cooking potatoes behind the counter. In her kitchen. It wasn't like a restaurant. She was cooking breakfast for her son. In her kitchen.
We finally made it to Cholla Bay, at the top of the Sea of Cortez. The bay has one of the most extreme tides in the world. So in the morning, it's sand and shells and in the evening, it fills in with gorgeous turquoise waters. Here's our view. The structure on the left is a pop up cement yard used in the building of the house right behind it.
Here is Beckett's foot with a sponge he found that morning:
It was pretty amazing to see all the sea life up close.

A few days in, we visited a friend who lived across the bay from where we were staying. Very resort-ie over there with an infinity pool. A kind of hilarious infinity pool because of the extreme tides. It's only an infinity pool for a few hours a day. In the photo below, the tide was out, so it looks like a pool with a large beach nearby.
A few hours later, the tide came in and the blue water looked a little bit more infinite. And then it went right back out...

If you asked the boys about their favorite part of their vacation, you might think it was the candy cart or the pool or getting to drink soda. But, it was none of those things. It was this:
Riding through Cholla Bay in the back of a pick up truck. Hands down, the favorite.

Also, playing on the playground. Why even leave the country?!
Because mom and dad like the food and the culture and the beach, that's why!
We are already planning another trip back to Mexico. And planning on getting a trailer to make the trip even easier.