Nestie GTG FTW (part 2)

I am a lucky, lucky girl, let me tell you. this month, I've had the pleasure of having TWO encounters with Internet strangers, and it has been awesome. I mentioned in this post of yore that I was planning on having a little get together with good friend and fellow Nestie, Tara, when she came to visit from Florida. fortunately, fellow DC'er Rebecca was able to join in on the fun as well! 

we decided on a girls night... one, because Sean was too busy drinking his life away during the Ravens loss to the Steelers, and two, because girls nights are more fun anyway. we met up at Jaleo on 7th Street in the city (Rebecca's recommendation... SO good) and started the evening off with a pitcher of sangria. 

and let me just inform you that this beverage was, hands down, the best sangria I've ever tasted in my life.

pardon the quality, it was taken on my cell phone.

before we knew it, that pitcher turned into 4 (yes, four) and we were talking over each other in conversation... about books, husbands (and how stupid they are sometimes), pets, our jobs, city living, etc. we tried hard to convince Tara that a move up north would be exceedingly beneficial for her, but something about the 40 degree weather was giving her enough reason to decline. 

ring shot, courtesy of Tara (clockwise from left: Rebecca, myself, and Tara)

we ate a multitude of different foods... from miniature sweet shrimp, to salmon, to roasted potatoes, to asparagus, to scallops with a butternut squash puree, to hazelnut cake for dessert. it was the first time I'd ever eaten at a Tapas style restaurant. 

I was a little nervous at first, being a picky and somewhat non-adventurous eater, but the food was absolutely wonderful and our waitress was amazing as well. she made sure to keep me updated on the Ravens/Steelers score so that I could somehow gauge my husbands' drunk factor in my head. 

photo courtesy of Tara  (clockwise from left: Rebecca, myself, and Tara)

all in all, I'd say my second ever Nestie GTG was a huge success, and I can't wait for more. in fact, I'm even interested in bringing Sean to this restaurant to try out more items on the menu. I'm not sure if he'd agree to it after seeing our bill. 

like I said, that sangria was fucking delicious. 

Happy Thursday!

Nestie GTG FTW

remember back when I posted that blog about all the fun stuff that was coming up during and after the holiday season? and remember how I was mucho excited about my very first Nestie GTG with Krystyna, who was visiting the DC/VA area to be with family during the holidays?

WELL, dear readers, you will be happy to know that my first get together with an internet stranger went amazingly well. it went about as awesome as possible... the only thing that would have made it better is if we could have stayed out longer. unfortunately, because we took the Metro in, we had to be on the train by midnight. 

we met for dinner at Gordon Biersch downtown and enjoyed a delicious meal, tasty beer, and each others' company. we talked about everything from books we've read to TV shows and school and where we've lived. I was a little nervous that it would be awkward, but it was far from it. Sean & Krystyna's husband, Andrew, talked about sports the whole time... mainly college football. I was relieved that they had something in common and had plenty to discuss. 

the obligatory ring shot - Krystyna on the left, mine on the right

dinner @ Gordon Biersch

drinks @ Clyde's

needless to say, I'm awaiting the day that Krystyna & Andrew visit the area again and can't wait for our next chance to hang out! 

also, neither of us brought our cameras, so all these pictures were taken with Sean's cell phone. please excuse the quality and the massive red eye. and if you know Sean in real life, tell him to stop bragging about his stupid 8 megapixel camera on his Droid. he thinks he's cool and frankly, it's getting out of hand.

I'm looking forward to...

CHRISTMAS EVE.

this is the day that we celebrate with my entire family. we start the day off at my dad's house, cooking a big meal all day... it's complete chaos with everyone in the kitchen and kids running around, and I love it. we eat our big dinner there, and then play our steal-a-gift-game. it's always fun because we all have a good sense of humor, and the gifts are usually hilarious. 

from there, we head to my aunt's house on my mom's side and spend time with family there. the crowd is a little older, so it's nice to have some more adult interaction for a few hours. we play another round of the gift game at this location, and there are WAY more people that participate (my mom has 5 siblings, and each aunt/uncle has at least two children) so it's a riot. 

 Christmas Eve 2009

I love being able to catch up and socialize with close family on my mom's side. we always have funny stories to tell about her, and it allows me to remember her during the holidays from a different perspective. 

Christmas Eve is also when Sean & I open our gifts to each other. we are horrible when it comes to waiting... we can never stand to wait until the appropriate day to give gifts, so we cheat and open them a day early. this is what happens when you become an adult... you can do whatever the hell you want to do. :)

___________________________________

CHRISTMAS DAY. 

another day of running around, but a good one, none the less. we drive over to my dad's again in the morning to open gifts and give our gifts to family (which includes a dad, three brothers, a dad's girlfriend and her two kids). we usually eat breakfast over there and hang out for a little bit while the kids play with their new toys. now that my little brother is old enough to enjoy the holidays, it's fun to witness him opening gifts and getting excited. 

 Christmas 2009

this year, we're spending Christmas evening with Sean's family. we'll head over there in afternoon and exchange gifts and have dinner with his family. his aunt, uncle, and cousins are coming in from out of town, so it'll be great to see them. we haven't seen some of them since the wedding! 

___________________________________

CANDY CANE BARK. 

I grocery shopped last night and bought all the ingredients to make some peppermint bark... but instead of little mints, I'm going to use candy canes! I'm really excited, since I don't normally make anything special for the holidays... or any other occasion for that matter. the good thing is that it's a no-bake treat, so it should be easy peasy. I bought ingredients to make it with milk chocolate AND white chocolate, so we'll see how it goes!

if you'd like to make some yourself, check out the recipe right here.  

 NOM.

___________________________________

NEW YEAR. 

we don't have plans for New Year's Eve yet, but I know that we'll have fun either way. I'm excited that we'll actually be spending NYE together this year, because Sean was working the night shift last year. I'm looking forward to a new year and setting new goals for myself and for us. 

 New Year's Eve 2007

___________________________________

SECRET SANTA/UGLY SWEATER PARTY. 

it's our fourth annual Secret Santa party, and this year, we're adding the ugly sweater twist to it as well. all of our friends gather together for one whole day. the ladies usually spend the afternoon cooking a big holiday meal while the guys sit around and bullshit all day. we make a HUGE meal, consisting of turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc - basically, your typical Thanksgiving meal.

source

after we eat, we participate in a gift exchange and then spend the evening drinking and enjoying each others' company. the gift exchange usually includes several bottles of alcohol, so it's interesting to see what'll be passed around through people. it's always a LOT of fun to get everyone together, and I think the ugly Christmas sweaters will be a huge hit this year.

___________________________________

NESTIE GTGS. 

super duper excited for this one. I've been a frequent poster on my wedding month message board on The Knot/The Nest since August of 2008. needless to say, I've become friends with quite a few of the ladies on our board. we've shared a lot of good (and bad) times together and we've become family. unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to meet any of them... until now. 

two of my faves, Krystyna and Tara, are coming to the DC area to visit with family and friends during the month of January (not at the same time, boo). I'm really looking forward to meeting up with them (and some other local ladies from DC/NoVA) and getting to know them in person, as opposed to over a message board. I'll get to meet Krystyna on the 1st, and Tara on the 15th. I'm SO excited! SQUEE!

___________________________________

BLOGIVERSARY. 

can you believe it? on January 19th, I will have been a blogger for exactly ONE YEAR. amazing. I've loved being involved in the blogging community and I'm proud to say that I've met some wonderful people in doing so. it's such a joy to be part of such an elite group of people, and I look forward to meeting many more in the future. I'm thinking of hosting another giveaway, so make sure you check in around the middle of next month! 

 source

___________________________________

tidbits.

- this website has seriously allowed me to get through work this week without physically harming any of my coworkers. the only bad part is that I find myself laughing REALLY loudly at work, which totally gives it away. it's not a new site or anything, but I just started reading the newest posts, and therefore nearly peeing myself with laughter.

- I need a pair of brown boots to survive through the winter add to my ever growing boot collection, preferably leather ones, that are almost knee high. maybe even with a buckle or a cuff or some other cute detail. Sean says we're not allowed to do any shopping for ourselves until Christmas, which I find extremely difficult. if you'd like to donate to my boot fetish, I wear a size 9. in fact, these are perfect.

via 6pm

- speaking of Christmas, who has two thumbs and has just about completed her Christmas shopping? THIS GIRL. I only have two gifts left to get, and I will be finished! I really wanted to get a head start this year, so I asked around for suggestions early on and got that shit under control. I'm crazy when it comes to Christmas shopping, and I make myself an Excel spreadsheet to track everything. nerd up. 

- I need a weekend of nothingness. we I have had plans at least one day out of the weekend since fucking JULY. seriously, I could name what I did, and every single weekend included some kind of plans OTHER than me being a lazy bitch and not leaving my house for at least 24 hours. I need a weekend like that, but unfortunately, it looks as though we currently have plans for every weekend until around December. (Halloween, Daniel Tosh, Zoo Walk, tattoo appointment, Penn State game, Thanksgiving, etc). not that I'm not excited about every one of those events, because I am, but I just want a break. 

- I have a post that I started writing back in July about friendship. I need to add to it, without going into too much personal detail. I need to really vent and get some serious feelings out, even though I don't really consider myself to be a serious type blogger. even when I finish it, I'm not sure if I'll post it or not. I'd like to say I'm afraid I'll offend someone, but at this point, I really don't give two shits. not just one shit, TWO shits. 

- I'm halfway through Pillars of the Earth, and I'm loving it. I can't wait to pick up World Without End. I also can't wait to get all the books I put on my Christmas wish list, which includes the Hunger Games Trilogy. 

- it has now been 16 days since I became a non-smoker. while I was with friends on Saturday evening (and drinking), I bummed a few to smoke, but that's been my only slip up. the good thing though, is that they tasted disgusting to me, and I really only craved them because I was drinking alcohol. 

it's the year of the cicadas!

Last Friday evening, we had a little girls night, and it was one of the best nights I've had in a while. We all met at Kaley's house and started cooking. I made my homemade macaroni & cheese (I'll post the recipe at the end of this post), Aubrey made her famous nuggets (which are amazingly similar to Chick Fil A nuggets), and Jen brought brownies. We all brought our own wine (except Steph... slacker!), and our party pants. ;)

We started off the night cooking and drinking wine, and catching up as more girls arrived. It was a ruckus in the Poag house - all talking over each other and having our own conversations in equally loud voices. Drinking wine and smoking about a billion cigarettes in the mosquito infested heat outside. Laughing about things babies do, and breaking Kullen's water table. Spraying enough bug spray to coat an elephant. Celebrating the year of the cicadas. Venting about life, and raving about life. 

After we all ate, (and refilled our wine glasses for the 3rd time), we decided to break out Kaley's Secret Santa gift - Partini. I'm still a little confused as to how this is meant to be a drinking game, but we made it work. We molded things out of clay, bounced balls, hummed songs we didn't even know, and did a little charades. The game was a hell of a time, and we were laughing SO hard at the different games we had to play, and how bad we all sucked at it. Well, I guess I should say how bad mine and Kaley's team sucked, haha. 

We spent the rest of the evening talking and gossiping (only a little ;)), drinking more wine, comparing cameras, and laughing at each others' funny stories.  It was just so nice to be in the company of amazing women and have both deep and shallow conversations all night long. To forget our troubles for only a couple hours to enjoy either others' company and laughter. To indulge in good food and drink and not count calories or worry about getting too much sodium.

And of course, there are pictures to prove our good time.

And as promised, the recipe for MandeeFoFandee's homemade macaroni & cheese:

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 large block of Velveeta cheese

1lb of elbow pasta

Bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)

Milk

Steps:

1. get a pot of water on the stove, since it takes a while to start boiling. unless you have one of those fancy pants stoves that boils water in 90 seconds. if that's the case, I hate you.

2. preheat oven to 350.

3. once you have your water on the stove, melt the stick of butter in a medium sized pot on low/medium heat. when the butter is melted, add 3/4 of the Velveeta cheese. 

hint: I usually chop it in 4 equal sized pieces, and then take 3 of those pieces and cube them so that they melt faster. make sure you put the rest of the 1/4 back in the fridge so it doesn't get soft... you'll thank me later.

4. add a few dashes of milk when it starts melting to get a creamy consistency... if it's too thick, it won't cover all the pasta. 

5. make sure you keep stirring so it doesn't get all thick on the top. do this until it's all completely melted.

6. cook pasta al dente. pour the pasta in a strainer and cool it with cold water. 

hint: I run the cold water over the pasta and stick my hands in there and move it around so that ALL the pasta cools off.

7. when the cheese is melted, pour 1/2 of it into a non stick or glass pan (usually 9x13 pan works fine). 

8. add the pasta. pour the rest of the cheese in and mix it with a spatula until it's all covered. 

9. then take the rest (1/4) of your Velveeta and slice it thin, placing slices on top of the pasta. 

10. sprinkle with bread crumbs and stick it in the oven (uncovered) for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

PS - if you are trying to watch what you eat and keep healthy, I would not recommend making this dish. It is extremely delicious, and you will want to eat the entire pan in one sitting. You've been warned. 

Happy Tuesday! 

well that is just ridiculous.

it's official. I have a new favorite comedian. If Chelsea Handler ever comes to do stand-up comedy near your town and you don't take the opportunity to see her (and consequently laugh your fucking ass off), you're a fucking idiot.

seriously. I've seen a handful of comedians perform live (including Louis CK, Bob Saget, and Todd Barry), and I've honestly never had such horrible slash amazing stomach pains from laughing so hard. I love Chelsea for many reasons. she's not afraid to make sexual jokes, especially those that make her seem a little slutty, which I think is WONDERFUL. she also cusses... a LOT... I'm pretty sure she said "hey, why don't you go fuck yourself" at least 7 times during her show on Saturday night. she's not afraid to joke about controversial issues, such as race and abortion.

I wish I could have taped her show, if only to be able to repeat some of her stand-up to prove to everyone that she really IS hilarious. I didn't even take any pictures - they said no cameras allowed (even though I had mine), and people still took tons of pictures. I was too busy wiping laugh tears from my eyes to even worry about a camera. I've got her most recent book on my Amazon wish list as we speak - they were selling copies at the show, but I didn't realize it until AFTER the show, when we were being shoved through the halls and doors like cattle.


the rest of the night panned out excellent as well - after the show, Renee & I met back up with the men folk at Buffalo Billiards in Dupont Circle to watch the UFC fight. what a CROCK that fight was. it didn't matter though - I was still in my Chelsea high and happy to be spending time with good friends, while enjoying some cold beer. the only thing that could have made the night better would be if the guys had stolen us some chairs to place our asses in. our poor feet were on FIRE!

_______________________________________________

I made a trip to Target on Saturday afternoon to pick up a last minute gift for a birthday party, and I happened to stumble into the home section. "whoaaaa, how did I get HERE? this isn't the baby toy section! oh well... might as well browse..."

I've been telling Mr. MandeeFoFandee that I wanted to add a little more color to our living room. right now, we've got green walls, a light tan couch (ah, the joys of being childless), and throw pillows in brown, green, tan... all with hints of red and gold. it's just very "fall-ish" to me, and I wanted to brighten it up for spring and summer. I wanted some pops of yellow, some glassy textures (all our furniture is dark wood, which is really heavy in this room), and a fake flower or two so the cats wouldn't be poisoned. oh yeah, they eat plants. they're fucking assholes.

for reference, here's a picture of our living room a few months ago... we had just hung our curtains and had yet to unpack all our pillows we'd purchased from Pier One (we have two of these, which are not shown on the couch). please note that this was taken with my cell phone, and it was night time. but I still need fuckin' lamps in here anyway.

that centerpiece is what I consider to be a "fall" centerpiece - smells of amber and contains either red or green candles...

and so that was my goal while perusing through Target's home section. I didn't want to spend much money, and wanted to make sure to pick up items that would be versatile through different rooms in our home. so. I thought I'd share my findings here with you, since I know so many of you are home decor bloggers!

disclaimer: I haven't taken a picture of everything in the space yet, but I promise, it's looking much brighter in here already!

I picked up the following little beauties:

this sweet little faux hydrangea to be placed atop our entertainment center - $5.99

it's a good thing I took a picture of this lovely, cause I can't find it on Target's site...

two of these gorgeous yellow & white damask pillars - one for each end table - $6.99 each

they sit on two candle plates, which were $2.50 each


this gorgeous little burst of sunshine was only about $15.00!



and now... my new coffee table centerpiece!
fruit fillers ($6.99)



small-ish glass vase

pretty summer centerpiece!



I got a gift card to Pier 1 from my best friend for my birthday, so we'll be making a little trip there this weekend to see if I can find anything to add to the living room or bedroom. we're also venturing out to Ikea to look for desks and bookshelves for our soon-to-be office! can't wait!

___________________________________

I hope everyone else had a great weekend! My legs are still recovering from what seemed like a 5 mile walk around chilly/breezy DC on Saturday... and my Mister refuses to give foot rubs. BAH HUMBUG to him, I say.

_________________________________________


"I'd call you Fuckhead Fuckface all day long, but I refuse to call you DESIREE just because you decided to up and change your name. that is just ridiculous."
- Chelsea Handler

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.

________________________________________________

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:

_________________________________________________

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.

_________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________

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.

______________________________________________

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.

_____________________________________________

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. ;)

_______________________________________________


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!