11.15.2013

five on friday 11.15.13

 whew!  with another week down, it's time for that good 'ol friday linkup!  here are five of my favorite things this week:

1.  shreddin':  i made the very adult decision to finally move towards paying off all my debts.  as someone who regularly has online shopping sprees (buyer's remorse? what's that?), i decided to shred these puppies up and throw them in the trash.  it felt pretty good.

2.  washi storage:  i had a slight obsession with washi tape several months back, and developed a bit of a surplus.  every time i saw some with a cool or pretty design... into the shopping cart it would go!  it was a bit out of control.  well, instead of keeping these pretty little rolls hidden away in a desk drawer, i decided to display them in a glass apothecary jar on my desk!

3.  sweet invitations:  my lovely friend, katie, gave me the cutest and most creative southern-inspired bridesmaid invite this week.  isn't it the cutest?  i of course said yes, and i can't wait to be a part of her big day!

4.  sweet dreams:  so i had this dream wednesday night that i stumbled upon a cronut stand in some obscure city of my dreams, and i ate cronut after cronut.  it was so real... the surgary crunch with every bite and the way every cronut layer melted in my mouth.  oh, why could this dream not be real???  well, it doesn't look like i'll be making it to dominique ansel's bakery in new york city anytime soon, so i may have to try this authentic cronut recipe from the boy who bakes if i keep having cronut dreams like i did wednesday night!

5.  cafeteria classics:  i almost forgot how delicious (and easy to make) sloppy joes were, until i made them last night!  i try not to alter such childhood classics too much, but i made it with ground turkey and served it with an arugula salad... to be healthy and stuff :)  

hah!  have a good weekend!


11.11.2013

i've got that summertime sadness

with several long months of cold weather looming upon us, cory and i decided to pack up last weekend and head to the beach just one last time until next summer.  




we had a lovely time. although it was a bit too chilly to go swimming, the weather was still nice enough to enjoy most of our favorite local spots, including:
chops deli.  three words, people: broccoli. cheese. soup.

 and the oceanic.  i could live on that pier.

we also went for an unforgettable walk down the beach and saw the most beautiful sunset.  here are a few shots i captured (#nofilter, lol):








please hurry, summer 2014.  please.

11.08.2013

five on friday 11.8.13


friday = linkup time!

1.  one thing i really love about north carolina, is the fact that we get to experience all four seasons (as opposed to florida where the four seasons are: summer, hot summer, really hot summer and sweat your buns off really hot summer).  i can't get over these beautiful fall colors lately, i'm especially partial to the yellows!

2.  i've been pretty under the weather this week... say hello to my little friends^^^  those puffs plus vicks are the greatest things since sliced bread!

3.  i have to admit that when i saw the title of this article (marriage isn't for you) and opened it, i was not expecting to read such a profound stance on marriage.  honestly, i've never thought of marriage in this light, but now i wouldn't see it any other way.  to quote the article, "marriage is not about you.  marriage is about the person you married."



4. this may be due to my slight obsession with my new favorite tv show, american horror story: coven, but i am really into the cape trend for this fall/winter.  i think they look so stylish and glamorous.  they have the ability to transform your average boots and jeans into a completely stylish ensemble!

5.  finally, how amazing are these guys?^^^  i love this!

hooray for the weekend!  i hope it's a great one :)

11.06.2013

hey, guess what... i can sew!

when i received an invite to a friends baby shower a few weekends ago, i got an itch to get all domestic and make her something, rather than buying something off her baby registry.  while i'm sure she probably could have used the items on her registry more, i really love the idea of giving someone something that you put a little time and thought into... it seems more meaningful.  so after a quick trip to the fabric store, i fired up the sewing machine and made this baby blanket:





 i used this tutorial from a pretty cool life blog.  in my opinion, it was a really easy tutorial for a beginning sewer (as long as you are somewhat familiar with your sewing machine).  i hope baby newman will enjoy his new blanket for many years to come.  i had so much fun making this, and can't wait for my next sewing project... luckily, i have a lot of coworkers who keep having adorable babies, so this shouldn't be a problem ;)

11.01.2013

five on friday 11.1.14


it's november.  it's friday.  let's linkup!

1.  butternut squash is my new obsession, and this recipe for squash and spinach lasagna is amazing!  other than the prep, it's not too complicated.  also, i learned that soaking those no-bake lasagna noodles in warm water before assembling your lasagna makes a world of difference!

2.  i read this very touching article earlier this week, about a dying man whose son found a creative way to make his father feel surrounded with love throughout his last few months of life.  coincidentally, i woke up this morning to #skybluepink 

 3.  i tried the silk egg nog for the first time, and it's really good (plus dairy-free and less calories)!  i also saw a pumpkin spice version in the store i will be picking up soon, since the nog is almost gone :-/


4.  this buzzfeed article about 55 things only '90s teenage girls can understand really tugged at my nostalgic heartstrings (especially numbers 4, 17, 18, 25, 37, 52 and 54).

5.  while most women currently have scarves and boots on their shopping wish lists...  i've been busy searching for  clothes and bikinis for our upcoming honeymoon in july.  it's so much fun, plus there are some really good deals right now on summer stuff.  my lastest find is this retro style high-waisted bikini from victorias secret... 
i can envision myself in this now, laying on the beach with oversized sunglasses and a redstripe in hand. Ahhh.

happy friday, y'all!

10.30.2013

life, lately.

things have been pretty quiet on this blog of mine lately, indulge me while i catch you up on my life as of late...

in early september (yes, forever ago) cory and i attended a gator football game in my lovely hometown of gainesville, florida.  we had an especially great time tailgating (but seriously, who could have a bad time tailgating??).  i even ran into some amazing old college friends i hadn't seen in years (never met a kimmel i didn't like) and had a great time catching up/reminiscing about the good ol' days!  the gators won (yay!), even though the rest of their football season has been less than stellar :(  oh well, maybe next year.

late september, we went to the bluegrass festival in downtown raleigh and had a rootin' tootin' good time!

been enjoying lots of fall fruits...

and fro yo dates.

someone turned thirty two on october 4, (hint: the person wearing a sparkly headband)...

and we celebrated with a redwings victory against the hurricanes!!
my bff dealt some devastating news (for me, anyways) when she told me she and her family were moving to the much too far away state of wisconsin at the end of october.  we had a very nice girls-only farewell dinner, and alice and i even traded socks and shoes!  

while i'm happy for my bff and the new opportunities coming her way... i myself have gone through the full cycle of the kübler-ross model for the five stages of grief:
1.  denial that this was acutally happening
2.  anger (not really, but i didn't really have time to wallow in this stage with such short notice)
3.  bargaining.  begging her not to go (or, at least leave alice with me. c'mon, at least?!?!)
4.  depression.  we are talking deep and dark.
5.  and finally, acceptance.

okay, maybe i'm being a bit dramatic...but seriously, i will definitely miss my dear friend and my sweet adorable alice.  on the upside, this means lots of face time and vacations to wisconsin (in the summer, of course).  good luck, raphael family!  i love you guys.

and finally, we visited the north carolina state fair last week for date night last week!  we rode a few of our favorite rides and stuffed our faces with fried cheese, corn dogs and pretzels.  we left in one piece and never contracted e. coli... which, in my opinion, makes for a pretty successful evening at the fair!

thanks for catching up with me... i'll try to not let several months to pass before my next post (again). ;)

10.28.2013

monster mash

halloween will soon be upon us, and cory and i have definitely been getting in the spirit around here with a little decorating and pumpkin carving.  we are ready and all stocked up with a bowl full of candy for the little trick-or-treaters (unless i eat it all before thursday, not kidding).
our pumpkins turned out pretty well this year if i do say so myself... cory went with a scary evil pumpkin, while i went with a more goofy, lighthearted approach (inspired by some people i saw at the state fair last week, except my pumpkin has more teeth, haha)!  all carved free handed, of course... we don't need no stinking stencils!
and one of the best things about pumpkin carving... roasted pumpkin seeds!  my secret ingredient is a pinch of chili powder in addition to the salt and pepper (it gives them a little extra kick)!

happy halloween!