http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/AvaJean/2012-washington-rock-walk/event

http://www.SilverFirsFarm.etsy.com

The Tears Foundation is near and dear to our hearts as my niece, Ava Jean, passed away just six weeks ago. My sister believes that Ava lives on in the good we can do in her name, and I wholeheartedly agree. I can’t imagine not walking in Avas name,and  earning as much money as we can to help families who have not only suffered the worst possible loss but are now faced with funeral costs that might be an unmanageable burden.

This is also near and dear to another good friend who lives here in Ogden, Utah. I met Mikaela this year and we became fast friends. Shes an amazing lady, the momma to a beautiful lil 4 year old gal named Hunter (I just love that lil buddy!), and Paikea who would have been 5 this year. Paikea passed away October of 2006 after 9 brave days.

I brought up the trip to Mikki, and she joyfully agreed to join me on this journey! We will be leaving Utah, stopping through Oregon to visit her family and maybe some friends, and then ending up at the Tears walk in Tacoma to walk in honor of both of these beautiful girls we lost but love. We are making this epic journey towing my little vintage trailer, and our three kids under the age of 7! A challenge? You bet! But we’re so very excited and honored to be able to do it.

The TEARS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to compassionately lift a financial burden from families who have lost a baby by providing funds to assist with the cost of burial or cremation services.
They believe that every baby’s life deserves to be honored and memorialized in accordance with the grieving parents’ wishes and are committed to helping bereaved parents with this experience.

They also believe that every grieving parent deserves access to ongoing bereavement support. Therefore, they also offer parents comprehensive bereavement care in the form of grief support groups and peer companions.

The Rock & Walk is The TEARS Foundation’s signature event where participants register to walk and to “rock” in rocking chairs placed at the event. The rocking chairs signify the reason we are there- to support families through the loss of a baby. This inspiring event brings hope and healing as we walk in honor of the children who have gone too soon and as we walk to support other families who will face this devastating loss in the future. Walk in honor of a child or simply walk in support of others in your community.

We will be walking in the June 16th Rock & Walk in Tacoma, Washington – at Cheney Stadium. The team has not been set up yet, but as soon as it is- information will be provided.

From this point on, my shop, Silver Firs Farm will be for fundraising for this event. Your purchases will help us fund travel to the event (2200 miles total!), help us with our registration fees, and to fundraise and donate as much as possible to the Tears Foundation. The foundations goal is to raise $40,000 from this event- with your help I’d like to see them reach that goal and I’m going to earn every bit I can to get them there!

Soon I will be developing two product lines in honor of Ava and Paikea, I’ll update regularly about our trip and the walk – it is so important to me that we honor these beautiful girls to the best of our ability, and that we make it a fun trip we will cherish forever.

More updates coming soon. Thank you all for your support <3

-Kristin

Santa Claras Annual Swiss Days Celebration is a tribute to the first Mormon pioneers (They were Swiss, you see…) to settle in the area, in 1861.

Swiss days includes a 5k run, pancake breakfast, Swiss days parade, Car show, entertainment, pioneer craft demonstrations, lectures, childrens activities and of course, craft booths!

The Events page is here: http://www.santaclaracityutah.com/cityinfo/swissdays/viewevents.asp

Be sure and stop in and say hello!

I am INSPIRED! Now, I LOVE color but this is a bit much color for my living room- however I’m mulling over some color options.

I just happen to have a few crates left over from my business displays, and I’m happy to have a use for them… but if you dont have any crates (vintage crates are harder and harder to find….) they can be picked up at JoAnns, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby. They run around $10 for the large ones, but if you bring your 40% off coupon you can buy a couple over time guilt free. They are unfinished and ready to decorate.

I have some smaller crates (they call them CD/DVD boxes at the hobby stores) that I’m thinking would make perfect little places for keys, hats, wallets, and gloves. I also need to come up with some cute and creative options for hooks, as there will always be at least a few coats hung in this area- but not a ton. Most coats end up in the closet I’m about to re-do.

So thats it! Perhaps 2-3 more crates (I already have 3) some paint (I’m considering a white wash, maybe a blue tint to it) and some screws into the wall! Easy, affordable, fits my style, and creates an attractive solution to all those ugly piles of shoes and boots, gloves and hats, and other little winter tidbits!

Project #1:

Bathroom:
When we bought the house, we renovated the bathroom and put in a cute but budget vanity. Its been in for 3 years and while I still enjoy the look of it, its reached the end of its life. I faux finished the walls with a yellow sponge tecnique, and I liked it then but I’m sick of it now. I’m looking for a light smokey blue grey for the walls, a new vanity, and the most exciting part for me: a pretty fabulous new shower curtain.

We only have 24″ x 18″ space for a vanity in this bathroom, so our choices can be very limited but I’m a fan of this vanity I found at Home Depot.

The color works, It has a mirror with it, and we can re-use the faucet to save even more money. For under $100 for the whole combo of vanity, top, and mirror I think its worth the investment. I will find a paint color that looks nice with the wood color, and we’re in business!

The next design element thats exciting to me is the shower curtain. I am in LOVE with the IKEA “OFELIA” blankets and throws. The throw just happens to be the right size for a shower curtain, and mimics a beautiful (but completely unaffordable) shower curtain I saw a few years ago from Bed Bath and Beyond. The white ruffles are just so creamy and dreamy, fluffy and pretty… its perfect for the clean white but relaxing romantic look I am going for.

Because Ofelia blankets are kinda stretchy, I’m going to purchase a plain white fabric shower curtain and pin and sew Ofelia all around the outside, to keep it stretched and even, and to further waterproof it so the Ofelia blanket is protected. That also makes it so I dont have to worry about adding ties to the top or putting in grommets so it fits on the curtain rod.

White towels simply dont do well with two toddlers, hair dye, husbands, and dogs… so I’m thinking grey! I think the grey will not weigh the design down too much since I’ve updated the lighting and its much brighter, the walls will be lighter, the vanity will be lighter, and we actually get quite alot of beautiful natural light through our windows here in Utah in the winter. (One of the perks of living here!)

So thats about it! A simple update, I’m estimating about $200 all in all for the supplies, but I bet I can keep it under that. The biggest expenses will be the Ofelia Blanket ($19.99-29.99 depending on the size I purchase) Paint ($25.00 a gallon for Valspar) and the Vanity, Mirror combo ($99.00)

Smaller updates coming up:

The front door entry (heres my inspiration!) I’m going to use a bit less color, but I’m totally inspired by the idea!

and the coat closet by the side door entry.

Here is Mikki standing in the house, look at the wallpaper.. someone loved this home.

As broken up as it is on the inside, the structure is totally intact. The roof looks like its brand new, the trusses are sound, the walls are well built and insulated. It could be ripped to the studs and redone on the inside- it could be lovely and loved again.

It has shade trees planted all around the home, a spring (and a giant well filled with water!)

The barn even has fencing around it, with a gate that still swings as if it were the first day it was built. Its a dream.

This truly is my dream future… a cozy farmhouse, a barn and chicken coop, a garden… this house was hand built, with love, with sweat and likely many tears- its not like there are alot of trees around here, never have been- so imagine the struggle to find enough lumber and piece it together lovingly to create this beautiful home. It was someones pride, and the walls almost radiated with joy. You’d think an abandoned home in this desolate place would feel sad or even scary but it didnt, it felt warm and happy, it put a smile on all of our faces.

I dont even know how you go about finding who owns this property, considering its location (either on, or bordering the BLM) and the fact that it doesnt have an address, or neighbors… but I’m in love.

Here are some more photos from our adventures today!

I grew up in the pacific northwest, which weather wise is pretty protected. We would get hit with north easters that could chill you to your bones, and there are some big squalls/thunderstorms from time to time but the biggest threat comes from the giant (did I say giant? I mean gigantic) fault line the NW sits on. As far as I know, we were not very prepared for this as a family. We had quite a bit of camping gear and the kitchen was never empty of food, but what do you do if the power is knocked out for 3, 5, 7, 11 days? Thats not hard to imagine. A simple winter storm could knock your power out. With single digit temps and no heat, how long could your family remain comfortable in your home?

Now that we live in Utah, the threats pretty much remain the same. Earthquakes are a real possibility, and although rare- Tornadoes have caused incredible damage in the state as well. Winters are harsh, and long term power outages are’nt impossible.

The basics:

Food: Above you can see I suggest packing DRY soup mixes and dry food rations. There are a few reasons for that. #1, they are LIGHT. #2, they are AFFORDABLE, and #3 they taste great and dont take up as much space. Here in Utah we can buy the cans of freeze dried foods at many grocery stores, but it can easily be ordered online as well. We are NOT the people who have a years worth of food stored away, however I could sustain the house for 2 weeks at any given time, and I feel like thats really important.

Before an event: If you have time to prepare, fill your tanks with gas!

Establish an out of state contact: Have someone out of the area who wont be affected by the same event that everyone in the family can call and update on their status. What if something happens while your children are at school, you are at work, and your husband at a meeting? You can all call this number, and tell this person you are OK. Use this person to keep in touch when local phone lines are down, or cell phones arent working.

BATTERIES, FLASHLIGHTS, CANDLES, and a RADIO! Do not underestimate the power of light. When your whole city is out of power, the light from a flashlight can mean alot. Candles also can produce some heat- just use safely. Make sure you have extra batteries for your flashlights and your radio. A radio can be the most useful tool when your TV, internet, or cell phone are not working. Local radio can update you on safe evacuation routes, updates on the emergency, and so on.

Home inventory: walk your home and take a photo of each room. Document your valuables. In case of damage, flooding, looting, earthquake, tornado.. whatever the disaster, this will help you not only locate items but account for them. Take photos of the exterior of your home as well. Keep these with your insurance forms, this can help with your claims if need be when the time comes.

This of course isnt a complete list but its a start. With just $20 a month you could start building your kit and best yet, with good planning it can all fit in a tupperware (aside from the water) something you can literally just grab and go with.  It takes some effort but its well worth it to know your family is well cared for in case of an emergency.

I’m always looking for fun lunch ideas for my kids that aren’t COMPLETELY unhealthy but still tasty and attractive to them so I can convince them to actually refuel before returning to their summer fun. I’m also always on the search for things that travel well so my son has other options for his lunch box, and things I can quickly reheat for those of us at home during the day. With these, I’ve found something that fills both of those spots! They can be baked ahead of time and re-warmed in the oven in 3-5 minutes, or in the microwave if you so prefer! They can even be frozen and baked at a later date.

Pizza Roll ups only take me 5 minutes to throw together and 15-20 minutes to bake., if my dough is pre-prepared.

Tip: Dough freezes well! You can make a large batch (I make a double batch of pizza dough and cut into 4 equal pieces. Each piece is frozen individually in a zip top bag and defrosted as needed. Each piece makes one batch of pizza roll ups or two medium thin crust pizzas on the grill.

Instructions:

Roll your dough out into a big rectangle. You want to get it about 1/4″ but don’t stress about the thickness, if it’s too thin it will rip, if it’s too thick it just means its a ”breadier” (is that a word? I’m going to say it is now) roll up.
Spread a thin layer of sauce (I just use crushed tomatoes) over the whole thing
Sprinkle a thin topping of mozzarella cheese (you could use any cheese you like, really) don’t use too much, however, or the roll ups bake kinda soggy. We’re talking less than 1/2 cup for the WHOLE thing.
Heres where you can get creative. My kids like simple basil ribbons and pepperoni, so I spread a layer of basil ribbons and one line of pepperoni at the bottom of the rectangle. Then I roll once, add another line, roll again, and sometimes add a third line- it depends on how big the roll is. You could use any fillings you like, these are really forgiving. I’m going to try a pesto spread with chevre cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, really as long as you roll it well and cut carefully it doesn’t matter!

You will want a very sharp NON seraded knife for cutting. Think cinnamon rolls here, you need something that can cut through the filling, so floss wont work unless you only used soft fillings, but as long as your knife is sharp enough you shouldnt have any trouble.

Lay your roll ups flat on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (we have done this on well oiled foil and while it worked, the bottoms were a bit more crispy and hard to remove) and sprinkle on some additional cheese, bake at 425* for 10-20 minutes.  Why the large range in baking time? Well, it depends on your oven and your baking surface. On our pizza stone they take more like 25 minutes, on a thin aluminum baking sheet it can take as little as 12- but you need to watch them for signs of burning on the bottom.

Perfect! Happy kids, full tummies, and I can control the portions. Because it uses so little cheese and you control the fillings you can make these to satisfy any picky eater.

1. Need new curtains/blinds in kitchen, must be attractive but functional. Lined curtains would be fine but maybe not necessary. Must be able to open them in the morning though, as I love full natural light coming through them in the morning, just need to be able to close them by the afternoon. It also must not stop the swinging windows from functioning.

Our only “pop” color in the kitchen is my yellow depression glass collection which I dont *love* but wouldnt mind using as inspiration since its all over the place. The counter tops are sage/green laminate (not our choice, came with the house!) and the cabinets are a light brown/beige tan

Dining Room:

2. Our Table SUCKS! We bought this Pottery Barn table on clearance 4 years ago. I ADORE the base/legs, they are lovely… but the top has been a pain in my butt since day one. At first I loved the ridges in the top, it looked so barnwood/rustic and I adored it. I thought it was wood. Turns out, it wasnt.. and only a few weeks into owning it the top was peeling off exposing the particle board underneath. Yay. So the short term solution was to paint the top, which did make a difference for awhile but didnt solve the issue of food/glue/glitter/and everything else under the sun getting stuck in the ridges in the table (see above? ew. Thats AFTER scrubbing it with a toothbrush and even vacuuming out the ridges!) It just looks CONSTANTLY dirty. So I’ve decided we’re going to build a faux top for it, of plywood and a lip so it sets firmly over the top, but can be removed when we want to extend the table with the leaf and use a tablecloth. Now, what to paint the top?

Windows: I’d love to have light coming in through the dining room windows on the East side of the house, so we could enjoy the natural light. Currently I have lined light blue curtains on the dining room windows and they serve their purpose but they are pretty boring, so I’ve been pondering ways to re-use them.

3. Need new curtains for the dining room, or to upcycle the curtains I currently have, maybe by painting stripes on them with a pop color? I’m also considering the option of using them just on the side of the windows for looks only, and using sheers to block the view (our neighbors house is not cute, with its peeling paint and weeds!) and filter the light while still letting most of it in.

4. Considering a rug again. I had a grey rug under the table and it was just too boring and plain. It was nice to be able to vacuum under the table to catch any kid crumbs, instead of having to mop every time- but I dont know what direction to go with a rug until I’ve chosen a color to lighten the room up.

5. Paint the back of the shelves? Move my depression glass into the cases instead of my white serveware collection?

6. Paint the chairs. I always intended to, but got a bit busy and never did it…

So, opinions?
Paint colors for: Table top, Chairs
Curtains for the kitchen
Curtains for the dining room
Rug for dining room
Rug for kitchen?
Paint the back of the shelves? Cover with paper?

Of course “the men” insisted on bringing the fishing poles, bait, worms, football, frisbee, floaties for the kids, all our folding chairs, the kayak, several life vests… seeming to forget there are more important things to pack (you know, tents, sleeping bags, pillows, food, drinks…) we were packed to the brim, for an OVERNIGHT TRIP. They had quite a good time with the kayak but not a single fish was caught and frankly I find packing it all a huge waste of space… then again I had them pack my folding hammock, so… in the end it all fit.

We got to Cottonwood (aptly named.. little white fluffies everywhere) campround around 10:30 and reserved our spot. Site 16, on the lake. We ran into town to give the people still there plenty of time to pack up (they were on their way out already) and picked up lunch at one of the cute little take out burger places in Garden City (there are a few, they all claim to make “the best raspberry shake” or “the original”) And we also drove the 7 miles to the Idaho border, rather, across it.. to pick up some “adult beverages”. Can you blame me?

By noon we were on the beach, camp was set up (after quite a bit of struggling with our “bargain tent” from walmart [more on that later, never again.]) and we were feeling pretty good! We spent a good 6 hours out on the beach before dinner, and the whole rest of the evening. The boys kayaked, the kids hopped in with them, I soaked up some sun and kicked myself for forgetting a few good books.. all around a really nice evening.

The lake was really nice. Warmish, clear, crystal blue water. The only issue was the bugs.. lots of biting bugs, so bring lots of bug spray if you intend on staying there. Brian, Chris, and Sidda all got dinged a few times but didnt really care all that much, but Micah takes after me- we get huge half dollar sized welts from each bite, so I’m head to toe a giant itchy red spot. It was hell. I forgot the bug spray at home so we used our OFF coils but they didnt little if anything to help.

Then, 8:30pm rolls around. We were just getting the kids in their jammies, it was starting to get dark.. and this family roars into our campsite, just literally stomp right through. tripped over our tent tie downs, just tromped right in. They showed up at 8:30 looking for a site. They looked at a few that were really nice, and finally settled on the one RIGHT. NEXT. TO. US. They loudly set up their site while their SIX kids ran around, through our site, again and again tripping over our tent MULTIPLE times (it didnt move… hello!) and at 10:30 when we finally were able to get our kids into their sleeping bags, theirs were still running around like monsters. STILL tripping over our tent. They had no reason to, since there was 20 feet of space all around it, they just felt like it.

Its about this point I went to zip the tent closed and saw the zipper was broken. Broken. Broken. The door zipper, on the tent, the only thing keeping me from thousands of mosquitoes, was broken. FML. We worked for about an hour to fix it, to no avail.. finally snipping a zipper off one of the other panels, not caring if it let light in as long as there was netting.. and it was a different size. We had to cut the zipper off the bottom of the door, to fit the top part. So whatever we did, there was still an opening and I got bit all night long, but it was better than nothing. That piece of shit tent was literally right out of the box, and the zipper fell apart like it was made of plastic. Thanks, Walmart! Our Coleman tent (that Chris was sleeping in) is 10 years old and working fine. Proof that you get what you pay for.

When we finally were situated to the best of our ability, we tried to go to sleep.. with plans of waking up and enjoying the day. We didnt have to leave until 2… so we thought, hey- why not get some swimming done? Enjoy the kayak a bit more…. oh no. Sleep wasnt happening…

The campsite that came in at 8:30pm? It was noon to them. Their teenage son laughed, screamed, argued with the younger kids, and made gay jokes until about 2am, by that point I’d had it. Brian got up to pee and made sure to point the flashlight right at their tent “Oh DUDE, someones out there. SHH pretend to be asleep!” Yeah, that works. Idiots. They finally quieted down, a bit, after that. At least enough that I could sleep. I dont know what about 10 feet away and nothing but nylon between me and you they didnt understand, but I heard everything that kid said like it was being whispered in my ear, and not one bit of it was nice. Hes lucky I didnt dump 5 gallons of lake water into his tent.

the assholes…. thats only a few of them, all in all there were 3 adults and at least 6 kids.

I’m sorry, but they were idiots. The next morning the kid bragged to his dad about how nobody told them to be quiet, as they tripped over our tent a few more times. There was a perfectly good path 10 feet away, but no.. our tent looked like much more fun.

I was so done, we just packed up and left. Oh, and we chucked the walmart tent in the garbage. Say what you want, you didnt go through our night. That tent deserved what it got, and believe me- the zipper was not salvageable. We had to cut through several of them just to get one that would fit on the door zipper, it was a mess. We saved the poles, the stakes, and the fly though. It would work as a temp shelter or shade shelter if needed some time.

So we checked out some tents and Target as a Coleman tent on sale, a very nice COLEMAN TENT….. Just like SOMEONE (me) suggested in the first place. But SOMEONE (husband.) insisted it doesnt matter and just bought the cheapest piece of walmart “ozark brand” crap he could find. Guess who admitted he was wrong today? Yeah. Thats right, big boy. We’ll get it before the big Yellowstone trip in Aug.

Other things broken on this trip: My solar shower, A Solar lantern, my Propane Lantern (might be able to fix that one), My sanity. Overall its a nice place to camp in theory, but the spots are SO CLOSE TOGETHER… you can hear your neighbors fart. Thats how close it is. Its not fun, when you go up on a Wednesday night expecting a bit of privacy… you cant really beat the location right on the beach though.

our campsite, empty now…

Lesson learned… next time, we might just move. I’m serious, we could have just pulled up our stakes and shifted to the other campsite further away… or, confronted the family about shutting the hell up. We were trying to be nice, but all that got us was a terrible night sleep. A sidenote: They never went to the beach, only to look at the stars once. Left right after we did… wtf? They spent a total of maybe 14 hours at the campsite, all night/breakfast. ::confused::

We’re home now, Brians tailbone hurts from spending 6+ hours in the kayak (hes blaming it on sleeping on the ground, ha!) The kids are grumpy, I’m grumpy…. but, it was lovely.

PS… the drive in and out (through Logan Canyon) is lovely, and we passed quite a few campgrounds/hiking trails/trailheads/river spots through there…