06.22.2014: Not Good Lake Mead, Not Good

 

Coming up on our annual houseboat trip, and found this little bit of info in the paper today.  Not looking good for us...or for Lake Mead.  Never thought I would see the day that we would be worried about there actually being water in one of the biggest reservoirs in the country!  Lake Mead is gigantic.  And is becoming quickly empty.  Someday, our kids will be telling their kids about this amazing place we used to go on vacation to...that is now just a barren desert.  Sad times....

 

06.15.2014: Quick Visit with Gramma & Papa

 

Drove by the cemetery today to put some flowers by Gramma & Papa's gravesite. Today was the 1 year anniversary of the day Papa passed away.  Never forget this day and can relive every moment of it still.  Miss them both everyday!

 

06.12.2014: Dinner with Old Friends

Taking a break in between coats of paint and glued together mirrors and cutting countertops, we took a break to go have dinner with Lyn and her husband Eric.  Lyn and I have been friends since high school and have kept in touch over the years, but haven't been able to spend a ton of time together.  Lately we have been catching back up and been trying to hang out more when we are in each other's town. Her husband Eric is super cool as well and it has been great getting to know him too. 

 

We met them out at The Catch over in Dos Lagos.  Vince and I had gone to eat a few times out in the area, but never really walked around it. And never knew there were actually 2 lakes there.  Ummm, hello..."dos lagos"?!?!  I guess that is why they call it that...never thought about it though, mainly because I never had seen them.  Gorgeous though...who knew!!??  (Supposedly everyone but me.)

 

Had a great night with them though...lots of laughs as always!

 

06.12.2014: One More Durbin Remodel

While Mom & Dad were out of town, we decided to do some housework for them while they were gone!  We've been craving a little remodel project lately and it always seems easier to do other people's houses than our own.  I can never decide on what I want...or maybe its too big of a commitment for me doing our own place...who knows?  Maybe I just have a thing with change (sounds more like it).  Whatever the reason, I like & prefer working on other people's houses!! 

 

So, we decided to do some bathroom remodels while we were there for the week.  Thinking ambitiously, the plan was to do them BOTH.  However, since we couldn't preplan or buy anything ahead of time, we were pretty limited on time.  So, we decided to focus on the guest/hallway bathroom.  They already had the floors done, so that was a huge timesaver and a great starting point.  We knew we were for sure going to paint, new counters, faucets, sinks, medicine cabinets, mirrors, lights, décor, etc.  So....off we went to scope out Home Depot and Lowes. 

 

Day 1 was all about taking inventory, comparing prices, deciding on options, etc.  We drove back & forth all over town looking for the best products at the best deals.  Day 2 was commitment to buy.  Once we did that, we knew we could start demolishing the place. THE BEST PART!  After the demolishing started, a little plumbing work needed to be done, which we knew was going to have to happen anyways, as the pipes are pretty old.  So Vince put on his plumber pants and got in the sinks.  He LOVES plumbing.  Haha...not.  Once we got the not pretty parts taken care of, we could move on to the fun stuff.  We installed the countertop, sinks and faucets.  Next, instead of buying a new mirror, we decided to re-purpose the one we took down.  It was a big mirror, and no reason to throw it out.  (Besides, I have a thing about throwing mirrors away...and the fear of them breaking.  The whole bad luck thing.  We get enough bad luck here & there with no broken mirrors!) So, I found a great tutorial on dressing up a mirror.  And it came out AMAZING.  Makes me want to do ours in our guest bath too (oh wait, there is that commitment thing...maybe not just yet! Haha!)   

 

The metal trim on the shower was all gold, and Vince decided to take on that project of taking the shower doors apart and painting those in a metallic silver.  They came out GREAT...and gave us a good reason to clean under the frames and recaulk everything.  Very clean feeling!!  Again, something we need to do at home, just cuz.

 

I REALLY wish I would have taken some before pics...but I totally forgot! :( So, we finished just in time!!  The timing of everything was perfect and we didn't even have to pull any all-nighters. We actually got to enjoy our week in CA and take some time to relax in between everything. 

 

Before we left, we wrapped the door in a bow and left a note on it.  It was their 38th anniversary present from us. They were coming back home on their anniversary, so we left some flowers on the table, some pre-cooked meals in the fridge since we knew they wouldn't feel like cooking just coming home from vacay, and a nice wrapped up and remodeled bathroom.  And then we left, praying all the way home that they would like it...and wouldn't be mad at us! :)

 

 

 

Old mirror is down & medicine cabinets are gone

Starting to demolish the old countertop

New counters in & lighting is upgraded...and the walls are painted too!

 

Vince painting the showers

Re-purposed mirror coming together

Finished!!

06.07.2014: James Taylor at the Hollywood Bowl

Last night Vince and I were driving out to Riverside to housesit for a week while Mom & Dad were on their Alaskan cruise together.  So, we decided to head out late Fri night instead of waiting until Sat, like we had originally planned.  On the drive out, we were listening to James Taylor and thinking about the concert we saw him at in San Francisco many years ago.  I decided to check out his current tour and see if he was coming to our side of the world anytime soon.  NO WAY.  He was playing at the Hollywood Bowl TOMORROW night.  Seriously?  Sooo without saying anything to Vince I went on about my business and checked on tickets.  There were some decent tickets at decent prices still avail.  Soooo, I mentioned it to Vince as we were cruising thru the desert...and we decided to go for it.  Unfortunately, I could not get a steady WiFi signal and was freaking out!  Eventually I got a signal and got the tickets!  Whoohoo!

 

We had never been to the Hollywood Bowl before (kinda ridiculous that I lived in Cali my whole life and never been there!), and knew little of what to expect.  It is so hard to gauge from the website, and you really just need to experience it to "get" it.  So we went early, as newbies and decided to try to wing it.  We didn't do the picnic thing, since we weren't sure of all the rules, and just decided to try one of the restaurants there.  The Wine Bar looked cool....so we picked that one!  Let me back up though.....since we got there soooo early, we walked down the street to a hotel and pre-gamed at the bar there.  It was actually a super chill place and we enjoyed ourselves just hanging there.  So, by the time we got to the Bowl, we were primed and ready for whatever came at us!

 

The Wine Bar ended up being super cool.  They had all their own labeled wines, but the menu specified ones we knew (ABC - being one of our favorites).  So we got a bottle and some tapas.  So much fun and the show hadn't even started yet.  We sat up in the bar that overlooked the grounds and spent the next hour people watching and figuring this whole experience out!

 

Once we got up to our seats and took in the full vibe of the place, we were in awe.  It was magicalness.  I cannot believe that I have never been here before!  What is wrong with me!? As I am sitting here, I am already trying to figure out how to get back again. Loved it.

 

Oh and James Taylor...the original JT...are you kidding me right now?!  He puts on such a great show anyways, we could have been watching it in a barn and it would have been magic.  But here....wow.  Such an amazing night.