Fabulous Concrete Floors

So as many of you may know, my house has been in total disarray. We had a water leak in one of our walls and the water ruined four walls, a bathroom floor and our dinning room floor. After pulling up some flooring it was time to decide what I was going to replace the old floor with . Being that I have a love for home interior design I have been looking at and drooling over treated concrete floors for a long time. I love the look of buffed concrete but it wasn't what I wanted for my house. I looked through several websites and fell in love with the overlay process. We spoke with a couple of companies and only found one that was willing and capable to give us what we wanted. I wanted the floor to look fabulous and shiny and similar to marble or tile. 

The floor was very comparable in price to replacing our wood laminate, in fact I think it was a bit less in cost. However, it should be known that treating your concrete floor requires you to leave your house until the process is complete. Each day a new layer is put down and it has to dry, and since we did the entire downstairs we had to move everything out and leave the residence. This is a huge job when five people live in the house.

Our company was Modern Concrete Surfaces. Ryan came to give us the estimate and wrote up the contract. Then we had Robert Cortez come with his guys, Sergio and James. They were all so great to us and they worked so hard to do a good job. The original design wasn't what I wanted or had expected so Robert went out of his way to make me a second color board so I could make sure the floor turned out to be what I hoped for. When the day of laying down the color came, Robert was completing another job and couldn't be there so he left Sergio in charge of basically creating what would be our entire floor. He did such and amazing job, I can't even tell you. I had to be out of the house that morning and couldn't be there to see the work progress, which made me kinda freaked out. I know it worried Sergio too. However, he continued to take pictures the whole time so I could see what was happening. I was so excited about what I was seeing I couldn't stand it. He sent me pictures of each room so I could tell him how great they were. I couldn't be happier with how the floors turned out.

Every morning I texted the guys to find out their arrival times, or when they were leaving, and they never complained about me bothering them. They were all very sweet to me. The job finished on time and cost what we were quoted. Robert has returned at no cost to repair a couple of tiny scrapes that occurred when we moved back it. He's fabulous, did I say that already?

Here's what we ended up with, enjoy the pics

 The floor looks lighter in the sunny

places. Lovely

 This is a close up of what some of the 

floor looks like. It's so organic, no two 

places are the same.

So there you have it. 
It's important to remember a couple of things when deciding to treat your concrete floors. You must keep in mind it's still concrete. It's not a perfect floor and has concrete characteristics. There are little air holes, and rough spots that grab color. It's hard and things that land on it break as though you dropped them outside. In the image above you can see two round spots that behave just like circular spots in concrete outside would.
If that's not your thing than don't get it. I personally love the artistic characteristics of the floor. Sergio painted the whole floor by hand and to me it's a work of art. Amanda and I crawled around looking at the tiny spots of beauty on the first day. The worst thing about the floor was covering it up with rugs and furniture because they hide so much of it. 

Now for the carpet...

Krista

After posting about Alix and her bud Chelsea, it made me, as always, think about the adventures my teen BFF Krista and I shared together through High School.  Then I remembered that April 16th was Krista's birthday! What fun would it be to post some pictures of MY life long friend!

Krista and I met right before the beginning of our ninth grade school year. My first impression of this girl with the long strawberry blond hair wearing a peasant skirt was not the most accurate. I really thought she was some sort of puritan farm girl who was painfully shy. I later found out I was sooo wrong. Krista was full of fun and humor and fashion, and always looked darling and current with the fantastic 80's style. 

We got into so much trouble together, roaming the neighborhood, harassing the neighbors, stealing road signs, and leaving giant stuffed animals in the middle of the street just to see what the car drivers would do. We were grounded together more than once, for ditching school together and for all that other stuff I can't mention here. We were both living by ourselves with our single Mothers who were always out doing something. Our moms realized it was a really good thing that we lived an alley away from each other and when one mom went out of town or away for the weekend the other mom would watch us. We were as good as sisters living together most of the time.

We had times when we were really close and then very far apart in our own lives with different friends but over the years our heart have always been as close as that first year in high school. We don't always talk but time has never changed our love for each other. We're joined by our experiences together no matter who different we are now. Our roots are the same and our memories and appreciation for each other keep us bonded to each other today.

Here we are in front of my condo

in 1982 or 1983.

Krista in my wedding, standing on my left side.

Sorry I made you wear that, it was cute at the

 time, maybe...

 Me in Krista's wedding, we had the same vail

but you wore it so much better, as usual...

So in 1991 I moved to Northern California and left my girl behind in So Cal. But she still came to visit me and my family. She threw my first baby shower, and we stayed in touch, trying to see each other when I came down to visit. By the time I moved back to So Cal. Krista moved to Texas, sorry Austin, so I miss my friend again. Thank goodness she has family here because I get to see her when she visits them. 

 Krista and me in her hotel on a visit in 2008.

Geoff, her brother took this picture which 

was cool because he helped us get away with

many of our illegal activities when we were

  young because he had money and a car...

It was fun for us to all be together again even

though we were no longer the "little Barbies"

we used to be.

In 2009, Krista came and stayed with my family and me. She brought her two sons and we had a blast. We did not sleep very much during that week and ate and drank way more than we should have. And I would have never believed in 1979, that there would be a day we would be staying in my house with five children between us talking about life, marriage, and children. I miss my Krista but I'm also glad that she is a life-long friend that when we are together it's like we're back in high school and we can laugh as hard as we did back then. 

Krista is married to Kevin and they

have two boys,named Logan and Jake. She's a

fabulous Mama and loves those boys so much! 

They remind me of her, and her brother Geoff, 

and of course, Kevin.

They're beautiful.

And they have a lot of energy!

But as you can see, Krista can handle it.

Aww, baby Jake, cutie.

Love from Logan

Logan

Sleeping angels. 

 Who would have ever thought our babies

would someday play together?

It was so awesome having Krista here hanging out with my big girls too. We had one night when Alix actually tried to pull a fast one on me and was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. Krista and I caught her but I have to tell you we secretly LOVED it because it just took us both back to our wild times and doing stuff exactly like my teenage daughters. Alix got into trouble but then later Krista and I laughed our heads off in celebration of having been there. The best part was that we were there together, and lived to laugh about it later.

Of course when you stay with a photographer there always has to be a photo shoot. One night we went into the garage pulled down a black back drop and shot away. Too bad we couldn't stop laughing. Krista is so animated it was like trying to shoot a child. Then when she did hold still she would say some hilarious dry remark that set me off laughing again and we were back to square one.  I managed to get some pictures of her though and I'm so glad to have these. Some of them have never been seen so you're in for a treat.

Here are a few images from our laughing, joke telling, ridiculous shoot. I wish I could be doing this again this weekend for so many reasons! 

 Such a sassy little vixen...

This last image pretty much sums up what we did for most of the shoot. We had some fun though and I loved seeing my girl. Krista, I miss you and I hope you have another wonderful year in your life and journey! My BFF!

Blogs!!

Ok, I just stopped by to tell you all I just finished writing a blog entry on my other blog regarding blogs. Blog, blog, blog! I know, I'm obsessed and I love reading blogs. I wrote about them there because none of them are photo related although some of them have photos. 


However, they are my favorite girl writer blogs so if you are interested in that sort of thing go and read all about some fabulous chicks that can write and make you laugh all at the same time.


:-) Go, just go there, really.    Push this to get there!

Alix and Chelsea BFF's

As promised, here is the story of Alix and Chelsea. They met each other in the fourth grade. The two of them have been through thick and thin for almost ten years. That's a long time when it equals half of your life. Through all the fights, boys and other friends, these two girls have stayed together like sisters. They have laughed and cried and I can also tell you first hand they have gotten into plenty of trouble together too! 


There were times in their relationship when they would have died for each other and other times when they wanted to kill each other. They can go weeks without seeing each other but when they're together it's like they were never apart. Watching them run through all their antics over the years has been priceless.


I'm sure their friendship is, has been, and will always be a special blessing for the two of them from Mrs. Rizkhalla's fourth grade class to graduating high school. I can't wait to see where their lives take each of them.

*

Going to Island's for Alix's 10th birthday. Danielle

was the third musketeer for this party. 

*

Grandma's famous pointing pose...she took these

 Alix and Chelsea are in the back of this picture of

the girls at Wild Rivers water park.

One of many Halloweens, from the days they 

still let me to do their hair and make-up. They were

Miss America contestants.  

*

One of many sleep-overs playing outside at night

with the camera.  Several years before they started

 sneaking out... lol 

*

Junior High- It's good to have friends when you go

 through hell.

They spent every sleepover dressing up and taking pictures. There were so many costumes and so much make-up. They have been everything from nerds to rockers. They've even been men they named Jay and Silent Bob. 

Tana joined the girls in Jr. High and just became 

another daughter to me which brought in

more make-up,  hair and costumes...

 Chelsea     Alix     Tana   

And more picture taking! 

This is the Halloween Alix was water and

Chelsea was fire. I did their hair and make-up and

re-used the Miss America dresses. I spent hours hand 

sewing all those scraps onto the bottom of their 

dresses 

*

Alix's 14th birthday with their friend Eric.

More Halloween...

At the pool...

They are always good for a picture...

At the Taste of Ladera with Mandy and Tana

Just hanging out in the backyard and like I said they 

never turn me down when I want to take pictures. 

*

Look!! It's Jay and Silent Bob

Alix's 16th birthday with boys included.

So much to say here but I wont...

They know.

* Beach mix *

(I made this one for them)

 As far as Emma knows Chelsea is just

another sister. Chelsea was part of us before Emma

got here.

Senior Prom:

Bryson

Brian, Alix, Chelsea and Bryson

Graduation:

How cool that they were able to sit next to each other

 Yes, Alix had blue hair. 

There were times I wasn't sure if they were going to make it 

this far in one piece but they did and they did it together. They

shared so many laughs and so many tears. I don't know if either

one could have made it without the other.

I recently had the opportunity to do their hair for a 50's party celebrating Tana's 19th birthday. It brought back so many memories for me of the old days. I remember wondering how I got stuck doing that for so many years and so many events. As I was writing this blog I remembered all the carpooling I did and all the summers I spent driving the girls around to the pool, the beach, the Sawdust festival and to Bible study and Knotts. I drove and drove and it seemed I had a gazillion children. All the boys they invited everywhere and all the other girls who came along seemed to never have an end.  At the time I was annoyed that I was the one that did it all but now I look back and I see that I am the one who was blessed. I was the one who got to hear about their days after school. I has the one who got to have Starbucks with them and hear all about the boys they loved, and hated. I knew many of their secrets and dreams. I saw all the costumes and got to take the pictures. I actually got to watch two little girls become women while all the while clinging to their friendship with everything they had. I'm thankful for this and thankful my daughter has her Chelsea. My prayer is that they will always be there for each other no matter where their lives take them.

The 50's party picture... Not so little anymore.

I love you girls, thank you for letting me be so much a part of your lives.


* Pictures with the * were not taken by me :-) I stole them from Alix...