About Andrea Summerhays

Over the past 11 years I've been learning how to infuse design in all aspects of my life while sticking to a budget. I've come to appreciate a stylish put- together home, a beautifully crafted piece of art, delicious bites to eat, and of course killer outfits to hit the town in. Four kids and many houses later I'm ready to share what I've learned and continue to learn everyday.

House for Sale

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

This is a fabulous property, the best Emigration Canyon has to offer. It’s just minutes up the canyon and is on a private wooded lot that backs the stream. Lots of privacy. Several decks, hand painted tiled bathrooms, craftsman cabinets, vaulted ceilings and daylight basement. It even has a sauna/steam room to warm up in after a day of skiing or biking. This house has 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 3 fireplaces. It has 3923 square feet and is listed at $799,900. Check out this charming house, you’ll want to move right in!

Living room

Dining room

Main floor family room

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Basement walk-out family room

Basement bathroom with sauna

View from canyon road

Backyard

If you have any questions about real estate or this property, email me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com.

Photos by Pictureline

Summer Fun for Kids

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

I love Summer! Long days, sun, parks, pools and hanging out. These are some of the fun toys for kids that I have loved over the years.

Gymboree Bubbles Ooodles

I buy these at the Gymboree retail store. The package includes the bubble solution, a tray to put the bubble liquid in and a bubble blower. It solves the spilling problem that always accompanies bubbles.

Pogo Stick

My son received this pogo stick for his 5th birthday and it was about 1-1 1/2 years before he could pogo really well so I would recommend it for a 6-10 year old. Once he learned how he had a blast and would pogo everywhere and on everything.

Little Tikes Explorer Wagon

We have gotten so much use out of this wagon. We’ve used it in neighborhood parades, walks around the block and it holds half a dozen baby dolls and lots of toys when my girls want to take them for a walk!

Sidewalk chalk

Sidewalk chalk have always been a favorite, but the one drawback is they break in half. This year I found a package of chalk at Costco where the chalk were in cases which protected them from breaking.

Bouncing Ball

My only tip for this is making sure you get the right size for the child. If the child can’t sit on the ball and have their feet touching the ground to stabilize them then it is too big.

House for Sale

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

This is a gorgeous townhouse up in Suncrest. It has great views with a fenced backyard. The backyard is really private since it backs on a hill. This home is full of upgrades – granite, stainless steel appliances, fireplace and much more. It has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, 2084 square feet and is listed at $207,000. Check it out!

If you have real estate questions or would like to see this home, email me at andrea.summerhays@gmail.com

Photos by CirclePix

Food in San Francisco

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

We were recently in San Francisco and we ate great food! As a couple, we are really lucky because we both love trying new restaurants and neither of us are picky. Thanks to YELP we found some fun and delicious places to eat.

The first day we headed down to the wharf and ate at the Fairy Codmother. It’s a tiny restaurant down a side street owned by some people from England and they fry the fish and chips while you wait. We got the chips with fresh garlic and Baja sauce! Yum!

For lunch one day we stopped in at Cafe de la Presse that is located just outside of China Town. It felt like we just stepped into Paris. Our waiter was even French. We had a delicious shrimp salad and tarte flambee.

Another fun place on Fisherman’s Wharf is Boudin Cafe. This restaurant is all over in San Francisco but the one on the wharf has a cute store and cafe on the main floor and a restaurant upstairs. They make delicious sour dough bread. They also have huge windows looking into the kitchen so you can see how they make the bread.

We met our fabulous friends the Wilcocks at a fantastic Thai restaurant called Thai Basil. Always great conversation and great food!

On our last night we went out searching for Italian food and were lucky enough to stumble upon this delightful alley of restaurants! We ate at Cafe Tiramisu. They had the best gnocchi I have ever had. It was the perfect size, shape and texture- melts in your mouth! I get hungry just writing about it.

One last place I have to mention is Lori’s Diner. They have the most wonderful malts! I visited San Francisco the first time with my mom and sister Rachael for my graduation trip. We stayed at a hotel next to Union Square and just across the street from Lori’s Diner. It seems like we ate there everyday which included a malt, even if it was breakfast. At that time they had little old-fashioned jukeboxes at each table that you could choose songs from to listen to. We loved the song “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”.

Anyways, the first day Greg and I were there we went in search of a dessert. I thought of Lori’s but couldn’t remember the name. We headed up that direction to see if it was still there and sure enough it was still there, the malts were still delicious but no more jukeboxes. It’s a great little diner that’s open 24 hours a day. San Francisco definitely doesn’t disappoint when it comes to great food.

A Trip to San Francisco

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

Greg and I went on a weekend getaway to San Francisco at the beginning of April. It was fabulous! Each year we try to get away just the two of us. Life gets so busy that it’s fun to go away and spend time together. Neither of us have been to San Francisco for about 18 years so it was great to go back and rediscover the foggy city. We ate great food, shopped, visited museums and enjoyed this fantastic city. There’s so much to tell it’s going to take a few posts!

One day we were there we rented bikes at Fisherman’s Warf and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and then took the ferry back to the city. A friend of mine had told me that they had done this a couple of years ago, so I had added it to my “bucket list”. It was so fun! We kept stopping to take pictures of this incredible bridge. The whole time I rode over it I kept trying to figure out how they were ever able to build it. It’s a gorgeous piece of architecture.

So if you are heading to San Francisco anytime soon, add this activity to your itinerary.

Stay tuned for Thursdays post about the delectable restaurants we discovered in San Fran.

Photos by Greg Summerhays

Threshold

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

Every magazine I open these days has a large advertisement for Target’s new line Threshold. The photos are charming, stylish and full of great furniture and accessories.

I decided to look up all the goods on Target’s website. These are some of the many treasures I saw that would be a good addition to our home.

I would love to hear if any of you have purchased any of the new Threshold line at Target. Happy shopping!

Seeing Salt Lake City Through an iPhone

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

My husband Greg is an amateur photographer. He’s taken these pictures of Salt Lake City over the last few months. I love to see what he sees through his pictures. He goes to a lot of meetings downtown for work and notices something interesting each time.

Salt Lake City Capital

Rotunda in the capital

Library Square

The City and County Building and Salt Lake City Library

Salt Lake City Library

Photos by Greg Summerhays

Spring Skiing With the Fam!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

It was the perfect day to start skiing again. I loved skiing all through school and college and then I started to have kids and there never seemed to be time. The boys started skiing a couple of years ago with Greg, but I usually stayed home with the baby. I haven’t been skiing in 10 years and it was so fun to be back on the slopes. Even more fun was having Greg and the kids with me. It was a big year for us – I got back on skis, the boys gave snowboarding a try and Claire took her first ski lesson!

Longest Picture Ever Made!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

I don’t know if you have seen Ramona and Beezus but my kids love it (even the boys!). Anyway on the show Ramona’s dad helps her make a super long mural for her project for school. Well Max was dying to try it. So one day Greg and Max went for it.

First, Greg got a roll of paper from Ikea.
Second, they got all the paint supplies ready.
(Key to doing this with kids is using washable paints!)
Third, let your imagination go crazy.
Fourth, get involved. You aren’t too old to paint something great.

Here are some photos of the project.

It turned out to be lots of fun and now we have to figure out how to hang it in the playroom!

Posted by Andrea

Tablescapes For Your Easter Celebration

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Andrea Summerhays

As I picked these Easter tablescapes to feature on my blog I noticed one commonality, fresh flowers. Whether the flowers are in a glass vase, a painted tin can or a can wrapped in denim or Peeps candy, they scream Spring is here! I hope these table settings inspire you. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!