Friday loves

because my affinity for all things (recipes, design, fashion, products, music, etc) changes as quickly as the weather frequently, I've decided to dedicate a post every Friday to some of my favorite things from that week. 

there are a few bloggers out there doing this (like Lauren & Kristal) and although I won't be posting kiddo stuff like them, I still think it's an awesome idea to share what I'm diggin' at this moment. 

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so without further adieu, here's what I've discovered and fallen in love with this week...

Emily Giffin. after reading Something Borrowed and Something Blue, I rushed to Amazon to buy the next in the series (I say "series" loosely, based on the fact that Baby Proof does not include the main characters from the first two novels) and finished it in a matter of days.

Emily has such a casual, yet very intense way with words, and I'm finding myself really getting attached to her characters. also, I really appreciated that little break from the usual young adult books that I've been picking up lately (and incidentally, am reading now, haha).

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this bag:

I actually discovered this a few weeks ago, but I'm reaaaaally tempted to pull the plug on this purchase in the near future. it's the Rose camera bag by Jo Totes in Marigold. yes, it's mustard. and it has houndstooth lining. and it is perfection.

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my new Biofit bra that I talked about purchasing here. it is the perfect combination of comfort and sexy.

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I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I'm going to attempt them in the next few weeks when I have a break from weekend madness.

chocolate chip cookie dough STUFFED INTO CUPCAKES. 

if you tell me your mouth isn't watering right now, I'm calling you a fucking liar. they won't exactly fit into my new "healthy lifestyle" attitude, but I figure I can make a small amount of them and therefore not be forced to eat 98 mini cupcakes in one sitting.

... I'll keep you updated, fo sho.

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Matched by Ally Condie.  

yes, it's another YA, but it's gooooood.

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anything and everything lemon verbena scented by Mrs. Meyers. 

I've been making an effort to buy greener household products and I am SO thankful I tried this brand out.

first of all, the scents are amazing. I was looking to buy products that worked like normal household cleaners, but without the typical cleaner smell. and also? the results? awesome. a little goes a long way when using Mrs. Meyers, and therefore, the product lasts longer. now, I've only tried the hand soap, the dish soap, and the counter spray, but I'm willing to bet the other options work (and smell) just as great.

personally, the lemon verbena scent is my favorite, but I've also tried the lavender, which smells wonderfully. I like the lemon because it's nice and citrusy (yes, that's a word) and summery. uh, and bonus... it's green, so it virtually matches everything in my house.

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this dresser transformation over at Design Sponge.  

I wish I had that kind of talent... and patience. chevron is my go-to pattern these days.

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this swimsuit I came across on Pinterest. 

the linked source claims that the image is from Victoria's Secret. must have been from last year's swimsuit line, because I cannot find it anywhere on the website. super sad face. 

if you know where this suit is from, hit a sister up. I need to own it.

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DISCLAIMER: 

I am not being reimbursed or compensated in any way for the mention and positive reviews of the products listed on this blog. the opinions expressed are solely my own and while I wish I could receive free shit... trust me, I'm not.

HAPPY FRIDAY! 

holly freaking homemaker [late post]

yeah, that's me. at least this week. ;) 

NOTE: Blogger hates me and did not automatically post this on Saturday, even though I had it scheduled to. 

I've decided it's time to be a grown up... meaning that I've got to start pitching in with cooking dinner and keeping up with the house. which means... no more waiting until the weekend, only to spend an entire day cleaning the crap out of my house. no more leaving dishes in the sink until I feel like washing them. no more unhealthy (yet incredibly easy) meals for dinner. no more buying crap food for lunch everyday at work. 

I'm proud to say that I haven't bought lunch at work in two weeks! it's amazing how much money you save when you just bring your own food to work everyday. this whole concept is completely foreign to me, but I think it's been a success so far! 

everyday when I get home, I try to do one or two small things around the house... like scoop the litter boxes or vacuum the hardwood floors. when we're finished with dinner, the dishes get washed and put in the dish drain, and the put away the following day. I'm cooking dinner at least 2-3 times a week, and I'm loving it. 

keeping up with the house work/chores and cooking meals together every night has proved to be awesome for Sean and I. we get that time in the evening to bond with each other instead of going our separate ways and fending for ourselves for dinner. unfortunately, we had been guilty of doing that in the past. teaming up to make sure the house is always in order is an automatic ego boost for both of us and we feel awesome about it. 

we decided we wanted to have our friends Kaycie & Adam over this Sunday. the Caps play at 12:30, and then of course, there's the Superbowl on later in the evening. since they'll be at our house pretty much all day, I decided to go all out and have a feast throughout the day. I've been searching allrecipes.com for good appetizer recipes, and I think I finally have a set list of dishes to make. 

let me just mention that I am not a chef... I typically do not cook and I certainly don't cook appetizers. so this is a first for me, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they turn out well!

Sunday Funday Menu

APPS

• Homemade Meatballs with Kaley's secret meatball sauce ;)
• Dill Veggie Dip, served with baby carrots, sliced cucumbers, broccoli florets, and cherry tomatoes
• Sweet Fruit Dip, served with sliced apples, bananas, strawberries, and cantaloupe
• Bacon Wrapped Shrimp (I'm substituting the BBQ sauce for a pre-packaged McCormick's marinade)

DINNER

• Garden Salad with Italian dressing and garlic croutons
• Baked Ziti, served with cheesy garlic bread

DESSERT

• Chocolate Candy Bar Dessert (using Oreo cookies instead of wafers and Snickers candy bars)

so there it is, my first ever multi-course dinner menu! I'm pretty excited about all of this, to be honest. I actually cooked Sean's chicken Parmesan (his favorite) as a belated birthday meal a few weeks ago, along with the chocolate roll cake. I honestly just kind of winged it for the chicken Parm, so I guess I can't really post a recipe for that, but I do have pictures. if I have the time this weekend, those posts will be up! 

I'm also still working on a book review for The Help, but I'm having a hard time finding the time to put sufficient energy into it. I'm in the middle of reading 3 different books right now, but all is being put on hold for The Hunger Games. I've had multiple people tell me (just this week!) that they couldn't put it down and they read it fairly quickly (we're talking a day here), so I figured I'd go ahead and pick it up. I need a page turner right now to distract me from my English class. 

I think that's all for now... at least all my brain can handle at the moment. I hope you all are doing fantastic - I'm working on catching up on your recent posts! have a happy weekend, everyone!  

UPDATE: I went out with Sean and his friends last night and got completely way too drunk, resulting in the worst hangover known to man. I've spent the majority of the day in the bathroom puking my brains out. the only dish I actually cooked today was the meatballs... Kaycie and Sean cooked everything else. and for the record, my meatballs were delicious. 

Day 24/30

Day 24/30 - whatever tickles your fancy

I have to say that I'm in a good mood today, despite the fact that it's raining here in DC today, and that it's Monday. we had a great weekend in the FoFandee household, so that's what I'm going to share with you all for today's prompt. 

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Friday evening, we decided to go out to dinner for a little date night. my friend Kaycie called me and said that her and her boyfriend, Adam, were free all weekend, so we invited them to dinner with us at The Steakhouse. 

The Steakhouse is one of my favorite restaurants in our area, and it's where Sean and I had our very first date. we chowed down on crab dip and indulged in a few beers and had great conversation, mostly consisting of the three amigos (Sean, Kaycie & Adam) showing off their brand spankin' new Droid X phones. NERDS.

after our meals (I got a house salad with ranch dressing, filet mignon, and a baked potato... nom), we said goodnight and made plans to hang out the next day. 

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unfortunately, my tattoo artist gchatted me on Friday afternoon and asked if we could reschedule my Saturday afternoon appointment, because his kids were sick. I was totally blown... I had been looking forward to getting my sleeve completed for WEEKS. but I totally understand where he's coming from, since I just dealt with having bronchitis a week ago. the new appointment is October 16th. 

since I no longer had plans that took up my entire Saturday, we decided it would be the best time to clean the house. I mean, really clean. not just picking up things here and there, but pulling the couches out and vacuuming the massive amounts of collected cat hair from under. spraying down the oven and scrubbing the bejeesus out of it. mopping the floors on the entire first level of the house. dusting every piece of wood furniture in the living room. clearing out the junk that piles up in the entryway and vacuuming the couch that Lily calls her bed. 

I must say, it feels SO good to have the house be spic and span. it took us HOURS to clean, and we didn't even touch the bedroom. now we just have to follow our cleaning schedule to make sure it doesn't get out of control messy again. and I picked up a nice fresh fall inspired bouquet for $12 at the grocery store... which includes white gerbera daisies, orange gerbera daisies, and black eyed susans. SO pretty.

halfway through the day, I drove down to Calvert County to see my adopted little sister, Savannah. her mom and my dad have been friends for about 20 years, and Savannah was a bridesmaid in my wedding. it was her school's homecoming this weekend, so I lent her a dress of mine and offered to do her hair and makeup for her. 

I've never done another person's makeup or hair before, so I was a little nervous. luckily, it turned out beautifully and she looked amazing. I did a smokey eye on her, using deep burgundy/red colored eyeshadow... it really made her brown eyes pop. her hair is naturally curly, so I just put a little product in it to calm down the frizz, and curled it all over, ringlet style. she looked absolutely beautiful. these pictures do not do justice. stupid cell phone.

by the time I got home, it was almost time for Kaycie & Adam to come over, so I rushed around to finish cleaning up a little bit, taking some empty boxes out to the garage and vacuuming the entryway. Sean was getting dinner ready when our friends showed up. he cooked the chicken recipe that I posted last week, accompanied by a bacon and garlic risotto. it was SO fucking good. I could have eaten the entire pan of risotto by myself. neither of us had ever had risotto, so it's been something we've been meaning to try, and I'm so glad we did. 

after dinner, we continued to drink a little wine (beer for the men folk), and played a few games of Apples to Apples. SO FUN. Sean and I had never played, but we got the hang out things fairly quickly. I won the first game, and Sean the second. I realized that it was more about knowing the judge's personality than picking the right card. it was a blast! 

at about 11, we decided to go to down to a nearby bar to surprise one of Kaycie's friends for her birthday. upon our arrival, we realized she had already left and went to another bar down the street, so we followed suit. by the time we got there, the girl had already left that bar too, so we just decided to stay and have some beers. some beers turned into a lot of beers. we played songs on the juke box, danced and sang at the top of our lungs. it was SO much fun. it's been a long time since Kaycie and I have been out and about like that, and we definitely made up for lost time. 

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Sunday was spent nursing a terrible hangover (surprise surprise) and watching football all day. thank the lord, the Ravens and the Redskins both won their games (sorry Eagles fans!)... which means there was no angry yelling in our house yesterday... always a good thing when you've got a wine headache! Bear was extremely lazy yesterday and spent most of the day curled up next to his daddy on the couch. 

all in all, it was a fantastic weekend. not only was I productive in getting the house cleaned, but I managed to spend lots of time with one of my best friends and make incredible memories with people I love. 

Happy Monday!

checking things off the list.

this is going to seem really wordy at first, but I promise there are pretty pictures too! remember a while back, I posted that awful spring cleaning list? well, with the exception of cleaning out my closet, which I did a few weeks ago, I finally made a pretty big dent in the "kitchen/dining remodel" section of the list. woooo!

here's a little reminder of what the list looks like:

KITCHEN/DINING REMODEL:
- get our contractor to look at the floors and determine an estimate to level them
- if the price isn't too high, hire contractor to level floors
- if the price IS out of budget, we will attempt to get some friends together and do it ourselves (I'm totally hoping my contractor gives me a break) - we hired the contractor.
- purchase and install new flooring for the kitchen - I'm thinking a medium to dark grey vinyl - we ended up going with a laminate wood flooring. more on that below.
- paint kitchen and dining rooms walls Sparrow by Behr (also used in our entry) - bought the paint, but instead of Sparrow, it's Gravity by Valspar.
- paint kitchen cabinets white - bought the paint! Ultra White by Valspar.
- replace all hardware (knobs, hinges, and pulls) on kitchen cabinets - purchased. see below.
- paint base of stainless steel island white - bought the paint! Ultra White by Valspar.
- check out Ikea counter tops (dark grey or black) - if it's in the budget, replace counter tops and sink
- new lighting in kitchen - under cabinet lighting and pendant lighting
- new pendant light for dining area
- purchase and/or DIY art work for kitchen/dining
- refinish and paint dining table and chairs (black)- bought the paint! decided to go with Ultra White by Valspar.
- possibly try my hand at upholstering dining chairs... or buy new ones, depending on budget

the contractor came out and started the flooring last Tuesday, and they should be completely done today. my kitchen was a big gaping hole for a few days, and we haven't been able to eat at home for a week! we wanted to get the same hardwood laminate that we had installed throughout the rest of the house, so we peeked online and made a trip to the wood flooring store to make sure the one we picked online was the same in person, and it was!




... or so we thought. we were 100% sure and positive (like bet-my-life-on-it positive) that we had chosen the exact match to our current flooring, so we ordered it. wrong. dead wrong. the new floors in the kitchen have a much more cherry tone to them than the rest of the house. we didn't see them for their true color until they were installed, so at that point, there was nothing we could do. I mean sure, we could pay to have them ripped out (and probably trashed) and then find the right stuff and pay to have THAT installed... but that's a lot of money we're talkin' about, and let's face it... we ain't rich folk. so, it is what it is - the flooring is still gorgeous compared to the old 70s linoleum tile that was there before, so I'm happy. :)

we've been putting off all the major housework for the past few months, and this weekend, we decided a giant trip to Lowe's was in order so that we could get the ball rolling again. we spent just about $1,000 and we came home with a rack of goodies! I bet you wanna see what we got, huh? no? don't care? too bad! I'm just going to go down the list here... so bear with me!

I'm also going to list the recent purchases I've made for the entryway, since that is also still a work in progress.

TOOLS
for the sanding:

PAINT

as mentioned above, the kitchen walls will be Gravity by Valspar with a soft gloss finish, and the cabinets will be Anthem White in a semi gloss finish.

www.valspar.com


HARDWARE
I swear everything is brushed nickel, even though they all look like a different finish.

drawer pulls:



cabinet handles:
hinges:
LIGHTING

ceiling fans for kitchen & entry:

under cabinet lighting:


chandelier for dining room:


ART
for the kitchen:


for the entryway:




so, there you have it! obviously, that's not everything we purchased, but it's a lot of it! I'm really happy with our lighting choices, and we were both really surprised by Lowe's choices. it's going to take a lot of hard work, but we're determined to get it done - our weekends are going to be full of sanding, priming, painting, and installing for a while, that's for sure!

I have pictures of the new kitchen floors, but I have to find a good "before" picture before I post them to show what a huge difference it made. and I may or may not have misplaced my camera cord.

Happy Tuesday!

random thoughts Friday? okay!

you know what I really hate? when you feel the rumblings of a good BM, and it turns out just to be a fart. biggest disappointment EVER. I feel like this situation definitely makes my top 10 list of things that piss me off.

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I ordered my previously mentioned Bentley last night. it retails on Amazon for $51.55, but since I had a $25 gift card, it only cost me $26.55 (I qualified for free shipping). I cannot wait to get it. I will be stalking the mailbox religiously and awaiting it's arrival. my first project will be adding some length to our curtains - we originally bought them at a shorter length, due to our baseboard heating... we didn't want it covering the baseboards. but now that spring time is here and I'm really starting to HATE how short they are, it's time to spruce them up a little bit. thanks to some helpful tips from my girl, Melodie (inspired by her curatin revamp post here), I should be able to pull it off without any problems (fingers crossed). for a little reminder, here's the beaut that will be ALL MINE in a few short days:

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tomorrow night, I will be graced in the company of my friend Renee and we will be enjoying the comedic stylings of a Ms. Chelsea Handler in DC. I'm super excited - 1, because I get to spend some one on one girl time with Renee, which doesn't happen very often, and 2, it's Chelsea fucking Handler, and that bitch is hilarious.

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Remember that Spring Cleaning list I made a couple weeks ago? I haven't even started one thing on that list. it's so hard for me to get motivated, and it sucks. there are so many on-going projects I have in my head regarding our house, and I can't seem to find the time to organize them (in my head) and get started. it's completely overwhelming and it leads to me just shutting down and leaving the house as-is. SO frustrating. I've been doing really well at keeping the house decent looking and continuing to do little things every night to keep up with daily mess, but the actual hardcore cleaning just keeps getting pushed back farther on the calendar.

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We should be getting our federal tax refund aaaaany day now, and I'm itching to go shopping. I have a few things on my Amazon wish list, including this L shaped workstation. it got a couple good reviews, and I love the way it looks - it would fit perfectly in our "office" and I love the modern look of it - the sleek lines and metal mesh panels are so attractive! I know I could probably find something cheaper at Ikea, but this one really just calls to me, and for only $200, I don't think it would be a bad investment.

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I recently switched to Nuva Ring. I'd been on the Depo Provera birth control shot for almost 6 years, and since we plan on having kids in the next couple years, I decided it was time to switch to something a little less... harsh, I guess. I love the Ring so far, except for one tiny side effect. my fucking boobs hurt ALL THE TIME. doesn't matter if I am or am not wearing a bra, doesn't matter if I slept on my stomach, doesn't matter if it's close to the time to change the Ring... doesn't matter. they are constantly sore. a friend of mine told me she had this problem as well, and it never went away. I'm a little discouraged knowing that I could possibly have sore tits until I decide to get off birth control... but I really don't want to switch to something else. boo.

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I play Scramble on Facebook. am I a nerd? yes. Mr. MandeeFoFandee is extemely competitive - he saw that I was playing this game a while back and decided he wanted to give a try as well... if only to beat the shit out of my high score. since then, we've gone back and forth beating each others' scores and having bragging rights in the FoFandee household. his last high score was 220 (which only beat my previous score by 6 points, I might add). well the other day, I wiped the floor with his ass, scoring 252. two hundred fifty-two points... beating his top score by... oh... let's say 32 points!

I promise, I'm not as competitive as it seems. ;)

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I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and I hope the weather is nice wherever you are! it's only supposed to be in the 50s this week here in DC, so I gotta make sure to bundle up! if you're in the DC area and happen to see our gorgeous cherry blossoms, be sure to take some pictures and share them!

spring a ling a ling time

so, spring hath sprung, and with the arrival of warmer weather comes the desire to work on our home (well... my desire... I'm not sure how enthused the Mister is about all this). the kitchen, as mentioned many times, is going to be a huge project for us, since it's the only room in our house that hasn't been touched by professionals. the kitchen is just not a very good looking space, and that's mostly due to the old style... or lack thereof... and trust me, there are plans a workin' in my head to make big changes on a tight budget.

along with the kitchen remodel comes the cravings to declutter and put things in their proper places - purging my closet of clothes I don't wear, getting all the CRAP out of the garage and putting it away in the house, taking multiple trips to the dump to dispose of/recycle boxes after boxes after boxes. I want to replace the ceiling fans in our entry way, and finally install a light in our hallway next to the bedroom. let's just say it's going to be a long (and productive) spring.

so. I figured... what better way to keep organized and motivated than to make myself a little list right here for everyone to see... and for me to see... so that maybe some of this shit actually gets accomplished. I'd like to give myself a deadline, but there's just no telling when the kitchen will be done, as I'm sure problems will arise. so I'm basically just gunna wing it and hope it all works out.

KITCHEN/DINING REMODEL:
- get our contractor to look at the floors and determine an estimate to level them
- if the price isn't too high, hire contractor to level floors
- if the price IS out of budget, we will attempt to get some friends together and do it ourselves (I'm totally hoping my contractor gives me a break)
- purchase and install new flooring for the kitchen - I'm thinking a medium to dark grey vinyl
- paint kitchen and dining rooms walls Sparrow by Behr (also used in our entry)
- paint kitchen cabinets white
- replace all hardware (knobs, hinges, and pulls) on kitchen cabinets
- paint base of stainless steel island white
- check out Ikea counter tops (dark grey or black) - if it's in the budget, replace counter tops and sink
- new lighting in kitchen - under cabinet lighting and pendant lighting
- new pendant light for dining area
- purchase and/or DIY art work for kitchen/dining
- refinish and paint dining table and chairs (black)
- possibly try my hand at upholstering dining chairs... or buy new ones, depending on budget

aaaand... I think that's about it for the renovation plan for the kitchen... for now.

CLEANING/ORGANIZING:
GARAGE:
- sort through items in garage and find them a proper home (whether it be in our house or at Goodwill)
- get rid of all 985 bags of insulation in garage
- get rid of all 34 boxes ALL OVER THE HOUSE (including garage)
- invest in some sort of shelving or cabinetry to house all painting supplies and other tools
- install shelves near washer & dryer for laundry supplies

HOUSE:
- get rid of clothes that no longer fit, and let go of the dream that it will someday fit again, cause it ain't happenin'
- purchase/install some sort of closet organization system - I basically just need drawers for my pants and old tee shirts
- clean/wipe down/replace fans and light fixtures in hallway and entryway
- wash all windows
- sweep and steam mop all floors
- steam clean carpet upstairs
- purge junk that has accumulated in the guest bedroom
- touch up painting mishaps... from November
- purchase blinds/shades for kitchen and dining windows
- install shelves in living room and bedroom
- hang any artwork/picture frames that we already own
- paint bathroom vanity black and buy new hardware


like I said, it's gunna be a BUSY spring season here in the FoFandee household! I'm almost positive I'll be updating this on a daily basis as I think of more shit to add to my never ending laundry list. and don't worry... I'm not going to push myself too hard or anything... I'm sure most of this stuff won't be done until this time next year. HAHA!