Happy Valentines Day!

J and I had our big meal last night with some home cooked filets and some other goodness! Recipes to come tomorrow.  We ate on Sunday since he's working on some big deals at work and we didn't want to risk him getting caught at the office tonight.  For today I thought I would link up with Kelly and MJ for this cute Valentines Day survey.

1. What is your favorite romantic comedy?  

Sleepless in Seattle, Serendipity, When Harry Met Sally, Somethings Gotta Give and You've got Mail. Anything Meg and Tom do I am on board.

2. What are your favorite flowers?

White hydrangeas

Anemones

3. What is your favorite Valentine's Day treat to eat?

Chocolate covered strawberries!

4. Describe your best Valentine's Day.

Well, one of my favorite Valentines Day's was our first one when we while we were dating. J flew into NYC and we headed straight to diner at The Rainbow Room. It's an iconic NYC place and the views are seriously the best. We were super dressed up and had such an amazing dinner. 

After we went to Campbell Apartment in Grand Central afterwards for some cocktails. It really was the best night. 

5. What has been the most romantic night of your life?

Wedding or the night we got engaged. 

6. What's your go to date night outfit?

Black tights, gray ankle boots and black t-shirt dress or really anything black with my MK boots also.

7. Where is your favorite place to go on a date?

Out to dinner with the hubs. Some of my favs here are Nicks, Mama D's, Crow Bar and Side Door.

8. Store bought Valentine's or homemade?

def handmade

9. What is your favorite love song?

I have lots and lots I'm sure. My recent fav is Making Plans by MIranda Lambert. My MOH used it in a video for my bach party and it's been stuck with me ever since.

10. If you had to pick a date for Valentine's who would it be?
the tall, handsome lawyer man I live with

Happy V-Day to Me!

What a shopping Saturday !

 It was one of those super-productive days that started off a little discouraging. J ended up having to work until about 1 today and then we were off. We started the day hitting up vintage stores, Goodwill, Salvation Army etc. I found a few things that might work for the dining room. They were all huge, heavy solid wood, which was great! The bad thing was they needed some SERIOUS refinishing and work plus we would have had to rent a truck to get either of them home, and I have an SUV. No luck with mirrors also. Insert sad face here.

To brighten the mood we picked up our grill from Home Depot fully assembled. It was a miracle it fit in the back of the car. Point us.

Hubs made the suggestion to just hit IKEA. He wanted a 99 cent ice cream cone and I was jonesin' for a fountain DC. You know the feeling. I was sure I wouldn't find anything since I had my mind set on something antique-y. Well, 2 DCs later I was throwing things in the cart left and right. 

Yahooooo! as my sweet mother-in law says.

First of all, we found a much needed floor lamp to go on J's side of the couch. The man loves to read and my beloved mercury glass lamp is on my side. Yes we have very specific couch sides.  We don't have overhead lights since its a wood beam,very high, sloped ceiling. We debated getting a ladder, drilling holes in the ceiling and stringing a chandelier buuuut quickly remembered that we don't own a ladder, are only renting and would rather not.

We found this beauty.

It's hard to tell from the pic but it's got the clean line simple vibe we wanted, white shade is a given and its easily adjustable for reading comfort. Perfection. 

Next up is the ever present buffet debate. I really needed some extra dining room storage. Anything I bought was going to get stripped and painted white anyways so I took a look at the shelves etc in white. I have a problem people. As much I wanted a huge chest with shelves, drawers, the whole shebang, it just wasn't going to fit. Insert, perfect bookshelf turned on its side.

 I had to flip the pic to show what it looks like when I use, hence the serious slant. There's room for cookbooks, larger platters and the awkward smaller shelves are perfect for wine bottles. Also, it's wide enough to have great serving room up top.  It really is the perfect size and matches our coffee table. It's def more modern than I was looking for but our dining table is a white farm table that looks very rustic so it's actually a great contrast. 

Next up. I snagged two of these cuties. I have a thing for pull cord lamps. They remind me of the ones you see in old libraries. They flank either end of the buffet.  I'm going to do a craft project on the shades later but they will work for now. It looks yellowish below but its totally white. In case you thought I strayed away. Plus I have a  beaded silver mirror that goes between them and works really well.

Lastly, they had a version of my beloved ghost chair.

Swoon. For $100 buckaroos I just wasn't feeling it tonight. I'm still kinda set on having one with arms. 

The best part of this whole story is that a fully assembled grill, 4 long large boxes, 2 smaller ones, a toilet brush  and a laundry hamper ( you gotta pick up the essentials) all fit in the back of the car. I was one happy gal!! Even better, as I sit here and drink some needed vino, hubs is assembling all our purchases. He's the best!

I'll try to get some pics up when it's all done. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

To Do List

Happy Friday! It's officially the weekend around these parts and I couldn't be more excited! I have A. LOT on tap for Saturday and yes, the hubs has agreed to an errand type of day. Plus, he has to work all day Sunday giving me the house to myself to craft 'till my hearts content!

 First up, a stop to Home Depot so I can get...

All the materials to make this bad boy, or a version of it. The staple gun, drill and I are going to have a rockin' time. Don't worry, I got a tutorial from Martha. 

Then we are hitting up the fabric store to get...

Burlap for the table runner I'm dying for and some linen and batting for the headboard.

Theeeeeen, the Goodwill store to hopefully find ( fingers crossed) some fabulous things to re-do. I've got an itch for re-painting and re-purposing these days.

What are the odds that they will have a ghost chair? Not a chance but, I'm dying for one to put with our office desk

A vintage-y looking mirror to hang in the dining room over....

Something that resembles a buffet. We need more storage and there is so much extra space in the room!

Hope you guys are having a great Friday!

5

"Ok, we are women of the 90's what is it that we really really need?"

 "You know Brenda, you're never going to change."

  "And  I hope not. I hope none of us ever change and that we all always stay the same, tired and happy...and maybe a little bit brave"


..................................................................................

Ever since a T2T last week I've been thinking a lot about friendship lately. The ones that last, the ones that don't and everything in between. I think friendships largely form who you are at a certain point in your life and to an extent affect you forever. These days I'm missing the other four members of the "fab 5". Yes we were young, thought we were cool and coined a very clever name. There was Liz, Maria, Anne Stewart ( Stew), Megs and Me. Five peas in a very large pod.

Prom senior year. 

New Years 2003/4 in DC

The same NYE

The last 10+ years haven't been perfect. We all haven't been best friends at all times. Heck, sometimes we haven't even pretended to like each other. Megan and I got in a horrid fight over a boy and a seat on our volleyball bench?, Maria and I had an infamous river house throw down that we still laugh about. Stew and I lost touch in college for a while and Liz, well Liz and I can't play any sport together where we directly compete. It's still too emotional to talk about that fateful walk home from tennis in 6th grade.  Now we are all at different points in our life. I live 3000 miles away and am the wife of another of our good high school friends, Maria and Stew are taking DC by storm changing the lives of tons of cute kids, Liz is going to be an amazing lawyer and will be my first choice should I need representation and Megan is a Naval Academy graduate and high level officer serving our country on a ship in the middle of the Pacific. Who knows where the next 10 will take us.

Let me tell you what I do know. 

Maria is so incredibly put together. She has the best clothes and accessories and we just won't mention that phase she went through planning her wardrobes on a white board in middle school. She was robbed of best dressed in high school. She's scary domestic sometimes and could give Martha a run for her money in the kitchen. When I live in my forever house I'm flying her out to decorate. She's my go to white wine gal. She can pull off a peacock feathered new years outfit and still fit into it however many years later. She was the mastermind behind my family's Hanson answering machine message in 6th grade and she single handily taught me how to do a backbend. She grew Paper Whites for the party they threw me last December.  She made my parents a gorgeous angel key holder that still hangs in their hallway with five hooks on it so we all have somewhere to put our keys when the gals come over.

Stew has the BEST laugh you will ever hear. It is seriously contagious. She also wraps you up in the best hugs. We started year round swimming together in elementary school and braved the North Side YMCA for practice. She represented at my "It Takes Two" movie birthday in 5th grade. She's the only one who could rival Maria's closet for shoes and accessories.  She has such a big heart and she can always make me laugh. She loves a good time. She is one heck of a hostess. Her house growing up was the scene for one toooo many parties, deck talks and it's even where they hosted J and I's engagement party. We even did a mother daughter gift exchange when we graduated college. Monogrammed wine glasses for all so we could be classy adults. If your parents ever move Stew, we need to go back and give it one last hurrah. 

Megan is the bravest person I know. I respect her, am so amazed by what she does on a daily basis and am so humbled by what she does for our country. Oh and I miss her terribly. It's super hard to stay in touch now but she's always on my mind. She's stationed in Norfolk but has done quite a few deployments since her graduation. She's in charge of engineering how things run on the ship and fixing things that aren't working. A pretty big job.  I told my kindergarten class last year that she was a hero who ran a huge navy battle ship. To me, thats true. It broke my heart when she was deployed for our wedding but 20 minute vows don't hold a candle to national security apparently. She's really the link that brought J and I together. She introduced us at 15. We played so much volleyball together at school and on our national team I can't even count the games. She's who introduced me to Va Tech. She's strong, hilarious, incredibly thoughtful, loves hard and has such amazing faith. She's always been there no matter what I needed. We also have a standing pact to do a Disney Cruise with our spouses and kids. Date TBD.

blue icing cupcakes after volleyball

Liz. Oh Liz. She's been my partner in crime ever since we hated each other in 6th grade. We obviously got over it quickly and were attached at the hip. We even got a joint track award in high school because our coach had never seen us apart. I love that story. "You better get well or I'll kill you" was my favorite quote from a card she gave me sophomore year. She drew white blood cells all over the front. I still have it. We spent hours on her trampoline and made up a song about her dog. In fact, we made up a lot of songs. We have a signature pose we re-create for any special event picture. We went camping and set our shoes on fire. She taught me anxiety breathing when I was having a "moment" before I walked down the aisle. All my weekend days and nights were spent with her.  She made my dad "ugly cream" every year for his birthday. She's ridiculously smart, super driven and is the best mommy to Millie. She's always a voice of reason and she will tell me how it is.

We all have been there for each other through the best times imaginable and the darkest, longest of days. Obvious laughter and tears, but countless memories. We celebrated drivers licenses, birthdays, dances and dates. We hugged in one big circle going off to college, had many a sleepover and even formed the infamous AGC. Also known as the AGSC. Our friendships have changed over the years. Our lives have changed and the 5 of us rarely can swing it so we are in the same state. We've traded in our stirrup pants and puffy paint sweatshirts from the Limited Too for cocktail attire and wedding dresses. Who'd have thought we'd be here? 

No matter what I say, have said, do or wear these girls stay part of who I am. They know everything about me. We've had our ups and downs but when it boils down to it, these gals are some of the best parts of my heart. My babies will call them aunts and we will still be friends in our 50's. Liz can let us know how they are since she will be there way before the rest of us :)  

So girls, put on your white pantsuits and trench coats, grab the wine and meet me in my parent's basement. You remember the moves. Love you all so much. 
PS. I still get to be Goldie.  

WILW

It's time for What I'm Loving Wednesday! It's such a good reminder of all the good things in your life and to let everyone know what you're loving! Head on over to Jaime's blog and link up! 

WARNING: lots of love ahead.

I'm LOVING Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Less caffeine in my system is SO much better for my daily function level. I have coffee in the mornings but other than that I'm drinking DC for the taste not the energy boost. I'm addicted. It runs in the family. To me it's normal to drink 4+ cans a day and pick one up if I'm running errands. 

I'm LOVING the savory sausage rolls I made for Brinner last night. Sometimes you just need breakfast for dinner and these rolls were amazing! Sage sausage, thyme, butter, gruyere cheese...yes please. Plus, it came from Cooking Light? I'm not sure how light it is but that didn't stop me from eating them last night and this morning. I found the recipe over at Kendall's blog {here}

First of all, let me preface by saying that it is yearrrrs before J and I have kids. My husband, mom and mother in law read this blog so I just feel the need to clarify :) BUT, It doesn't mean I'm not LOVING this sweet, neutral of course, nursery. Yes friends, my love of all white and neutral extends to baby rooms. I'm going to have to buy stock in bleach but I'm ok with that. 

I'm LOVING our rain shower in our new house. It's really really tall, like 7 feet, so it makes showering dangerous. As in, I can stay in there alllll day. 

I'm LOVING drinking Tempranillos these days. Especially this little gem our friends brought us for the Super Bowl. It was so amazing.

'

I'm LOVING this song.  I have no idea why. I can't relate to the situation but it's the twang and catchy melody. Please tell me I'm not the only California girl driving down PCH jamming to country songs? 

I'm LOVING my new sweet friends in the JL. We had the BEST time on Saturday on our bus tour to see  the JL's volunteer sites. There were four of us that literally laughed all day. Plus, one is from Alabama! A southern gal! Too much fun. We are going to start doing weekly cocktails in the neighborhood and I couldn't be more excited.

And lastly, as always ALWAYS, I'm LOVING my husband who is the absolute best. 

Happy Wednesday y'all!

T2T

Happy Tuesday! It's time for another top 2 tuesday over with Taylor..head on over and link up!

Top Two Things I've Learned About Blogging

{It's not a competition}

It's not about who can post the most, has the most followers, does the most giveaways or comments the most.  Do I love posting? yes. Do I love all my followers? yes. Do I love all the giveaways? yes. Do I love comments and commenting? yes. But, it's not a competition. You should never feel pressure from other bloggers to do more, post more etc. It's your blog and its about what your comfortable with. You'll be so much happier if you write about things you love and things that interest you,  not  what you think people think you should be writing about just to "keep up".

{ Use your own original voice}

I saw this lesson on the Pioneer Woman and I really agree. I write like I talk and what I would talk about goes on the blog. It's more of a brain dump sometimes but that's ok. I use things that I like and I love. There are so many blogs that inspire me but I try to provide original stuff for you gals to read and look at.   It's as simple as that.

Hope you guys are having fabulous weeks!

Super Bowl Cake

Last night we had a few friends over for the Super Bowl and it was a blast! I wanted to share one of my fav recipes that I made last night because everyone and I mean EVERYONE should try this cake. I just had some for breakfast!

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup chopped pecans ( optional)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 (3 oz) box vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 cup white wine;  I use Pinot Grigio but whatevs you want to drink once your done  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube or bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts in bottom of pan if using. Mix remaining ingredients with electric mixer until well blended, about 3 minutes. Pour into pan and bake for about an hour or until the cake pulls away slightly from the side of the pan. About 10 minutes before cake is done, prepare glaze.

Glaze:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup granulates white sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup white wine

Boil butter, sugar and water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the white wine. Pour half the glaze over the hot cake. Let stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto serving platter. Using a wooden skewer gently poke holes from top to bottom. Pour other half of glaze slowly onto the cake. 

It is the BEST!!

And in case you missed the Super Bowl or the commercials here's my fav.

The joys of moving

The movers have come and gone.The furniture is in and 3/4 of the bins are unpacked. I can't feel half my body I'm so sore. BUT, We are moved in! I am obsessed with our new place and everything fits perfectly. We are having people over tomorrow for the Super Bowl ( crazy I know) and I wanted to have everything at least look put together. I have some very inappropriate and not blog friendly words for the woman who moved into our place but thats another story. Bottom line, she was scheduled to move in Sunday, showed up on Friday at 1:45 with a truck, had a couch delivered at 3 on Friday ( keep in mind we weren't moved out yet ) and then complained about having the cleaning crew we hired to deep clean it before she moved in working while she was trying to move in.....2 days early! Got all that? haha it was redic. 

Anyways, I just missed blogging so I thought Id do a quick post. I've got an all day volunteer bus tour with my gals from the JL today so Im leaving hubs to unpack the rest!

On a side note, I have a very exciting job interview on Monday! I had applied with a company in November for a marketing position and forgot about it and they called yesterday! They had decided not to hire in Nov but had saved my resume and wanted me to come in now that they are hiring people. Kind of crazy but I'm so excited. Best part of the company is that they are based in Newport but operate in Paris. There is a chance I'll need to learn French and fast but Im up for the challenge. Please don't laugh if your reading this and you took French with me in college. I've loved my almost year break of working but I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.  Say a little prayer!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the Super Bowl!

WILW

It's Wednesday again and that means I get to tell all of you wonderful gals the things I'm loving...Go link up with Jamie {here} and play along!

I'm LOVING avocados. I.can't.get.enough. To say I'm obsessed is an understatement. If we are out to dinner and something on the menu has avocado on it I will be ordering it. At least it's healthy right?

On that note, I'm LOVING this recipe for avocado pasta! It sounds perfect! It's of course from Oh She Glows which is my go to for really healthy, different recipes. You can find the recipe {here}.

pic via {here}

I'm LOVING that our first night in our new house will be Friday! So exciting!

I'm LOVING long black leggings. I have been wearing them constantly with all sorts of stuff. My fav is with flats and an oversized shirt/light sweater. So comfortable even if my husband doesn't believe they are pants.

I'm LOVING (well, love hating) that hubs and I are starting p90x on Monday. Siiiiiiiigh, I guess it's about time I got my butt back in gear.

I'm LOVING Reduced Guilt Trader Joe's Brownie Mix. Seriously, try this. No fat. Big chocolate taste. You can make them in individual servings with non-fat vanilla yogurt then popped in the microwave. I have a problem with eating a whole pan if I make the entire batch. Heaven.

I'm LOVING all of YOU fabulous blog readers! It has been so fun "meeting" you guys and getting glimpses into your lives via blog-world. It's crazy that I'll get to put faces with names at the SoCal blogger meet-up. What a fun idea!

And as always always, I'm LOVING my husband. He's just fantastic. 

Happy Wednesday!