Five on Friday

It's Friday which can only mean one thing....another installment of Five on Friday.

1. Three day weekend. I'm sure this is at the top of everyone's list this weekend. There's nothing better then knowing you don't have to set an alarm clock on Sunday night.

2. Penn State football starts TOMORROW!! We are headed to our favorite Penn State bar tomorrow afternoon to cheer on our Nittany Lions as they face off against Syracuse.

3. This weekend officially brings us into September which is my favorite month. Here's a short list of why I'm loving September this year:

• Football starts
• Family coming to DC for a Nationals/Phillies baseball game
• Work trip to Tampa
• Trip to Penn State
• Fall officially starts
• My birthday!

4. P's fantasty football draft is today. I'm nervous for him. We keep joking that I'm like Jenny from the FX show The League. Jenny is the wife of one of the league members and let's just say she pays a little more attention to the NFL and its players than her husband.

5. Picasa. I just discovered this little gem from Google and I'm obsessed with it. Especially the collage piler. Be on the look out for my first collage coming soon.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Currently Reading

Admittedly I have not been reading as much as I usually do this summer. I blame it on lack of pool/beach time and the stupid Candy Crush app on iphone. I read three books in one week on our honeymoon and I think I've barely read three since May. My goal is to read at least five more books before the end of the year (hopefully more).

Right now I am currently reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. I'm about a third of the way into it and have really enjoyed it so far. It starts off with a teenage Zelda in Montogomery, Alabama and tells the story of how she and F. Scott met and fell in love. The novel relives their glamorous life in NYC, Paris, and the French Riveria with their friends the Hemingways and Gertrude Stein while also exploring their personal demons. Z has the same feel as The Paris Wife (which I loved) but Zelda seems to have had a little more personality and spunk than Hadley Hemingway which makes this a fun read.

 

 

 

This summer I read J. Courtney Sullivan's newest novel The Engagements. I loved this book and devoured it in a few days. I have also read Sullivan's novels Maine and Commencement so I knew she would not disappoint in her third book. The novel follows several couples who are married (or don't marry) for various reasons over a nearly hundred year period. Sullivan's novels are written beautifully and always make me take a second to think about my own life

This summer I finally finished a book that I think I started in January. Admittedly, it was very difficult to get into the model. It wasn't until I was about a third of the way through that it really started to pick up. The Darlings follows a high society New York City family that finds itself in the middle of a financial investigation (think Bernie Madoff) and other scandalous affairs. If you can get through the slow start, I definitely recommend making it through to the end!

Finally Friday!

Hooray for Friday! This week felt exceptionally long to me. Maybe I was still catching up from all the fun I had last weekend. Today I'm doing another installment of "5 on Friday."

 



1. I am very much looking forward to a low-key weekend with my husband. I feel like we have been going non-stop the past four or five weekends so it will be nice to sleep in and relax. We have plans for a dinner and movie date tomorrow and maybe a bike ride to Georgetown on Sunday to watch their 3# men's soccer team.

2. This summer I have been enjoying the Peach Greeen Tea Lemonade at Starbucks. It is so refreshing and a great way for this non-coffee lover to get a caffine boost.

3. About a year ago I discovered the Tide Washing Machine Cleaner packs and they have become my new best friend. Living with a very hairy dog that requires baths and towels to be cleaned regularly also means our washing machine can sometimes be left a little hairy and not looking so clean. After each dog towel wash, I run an empty cycle with one of these cleaners before washing our clothes. They keep the washing machine clean and smelling fresh.

 4. My new favorite album is Modern Vampire's of the City by Vampire Weekend. P and I are obsessed with this album. Whenever I start listening to my Spotify playlists at work I find myself always going straight to this album. If you haven't checked it out list, I highly recommend you do!

5. I have to take a minute to gush about my husband. About a month ago I lost my favorite bracelet that he had given me as a birthday present last year. I probably wore that bracelet everyday since he had gifted it to me. It's a very simple, silver bracelet with the word "love" but everytime I looked down at it I thought of him. We have searched high and low for it at my office, in purse/bags, under dressers, and in the laundry basket. I even pulled out all of the clothes in my dressers this week and went through everything in hopes it had accidentally fallen into an open drawer. Yesterday my super sweet and very generous husband surprised me with a replacement bracelet! It may sound strange but my wrist feels so much better having this bracelet around it again.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Kitchen Love

Since our kitchen has been recently stocked with lots of amazing pots, pans, knives, dishes and more from our very generous friends and family, I have felt more inspired to cook. I usually try to plan out three to four meals each week. Of course there are some things that are in the standard rotation, but I have been trying to add some new dishes and cooking methods to keep the husband's stomach satisfied.

One of my new favorites came from my beloved Real Simple magazine. I love their section on fast week night emails, that's right up my alley! I highly recommend you try the Spicy Chipotle Meatballs. They were very easy to make and add the perfect amount of kick. Of course you can add as much of the chipotle spice as you'd like to turn up the heat.

Picture courtesy of Real Simple

One of my favorite wedding gifts we received is the Calphalon Non-Stick Grill Pan. Besides the knives, this has been used the most in the past few months. It helps to satisfy the hubsand's cravings for grilled food. I have used it to make all kinds of burgers (beef, salmon, turkey), BBQ chicken, Jerk chicken, etc. If you live in a small apartment or simply don't have space for grill, I highly recommend investing in one of these pans.

You can buy it at Bed, Bath & Beyond and save 20% with one of their coupons

Another Change

You may have noticed the blog design changed a little again. I was having some issues with the design I chose last week and had to go a different route but I think I'm liking this one better! Hope you do too!

Monkeying Around

I had the BEST weekend with my best friend Aubrey and goddaughter Taylor. I have so much respect for all my mommy friends because Auntie Em was exhausted and needed multiple naps yesterday afternoon. While chasing an almost two year old around was exhausting, it was also so rewarding to hear her call us Auntie Em & Uncle P and love on our puppy dog, "Calamari."  P and I look forward to starting our own family some day, but this weekend showed us that we're okay waiting a little while longer.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.....

On Friday afternoon, we went to a park a few blocks from our aparatment. Taylor had fun going down the slide, swinging, and playing on the see saw.

 

 We played at our apartment and watche Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while waiting for pizza.

On Saturday we went to the zoo. Taylor loved her first ride on the metro. She watched monkeys with her new friend Evelyn and loved the lunchbox she got with her lunch!

 

The little ones rode on the carousel. Auntie Em played photographer!

 

Sunday was very rainy and overcast. Even though Taylor fell asleep on the walk we thought we should document her first visit to the White House.

 

 

I can't wait to get together with Aubrey and Taylor again soon! All three of our birthdays fall within the same 10 days so we are planning to get together soon to celebrate.

 

5 on Friday

 

I'm linking up with some of my favorite blogs today for 5 on Friday. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 



1. I am LOVING the weather we have had this week. The coolness in the morning has been perfect and has me excited for fall weather and more importantly, fall clothes!

2. Two weeks from tomorrow my beloved Penn State Nittany Lions kick off their 2013 season against Syracuse. I cannot wait for Saturdays filled with college football. Let's Go State!

3. I haven't really publicized it much but since this is my blog I figure I can do it here (and know it's pretty safe to do so since the readership isn't very high). But almost three weeks ago, P & I became the proud new owners of the Lexus RX450h. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I drive it. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not much of a car person. When my older sister would ask me what kind of car a friend drove in high school I said "purple." But I can truly appreciate the awesomeness of this car. It is also nice to be a two-car family again after only having the Jetta the past 3.5 years.

4.  I made this yummy dish on Monday. It was so easy and will definitely be added to our normal meal rotations.

5. This weekend I get to spend lots of quality time with two of my favorite people: Aubrey (my maid of honor) and my adorable goddaughter, Taylor. They are coming to DC for the weekend to play! We have big plans to hit up the zoo with more friends, eat mexican food, and check out museums.

Ribbon Wreath

With college football kicking off in less than three weeks this ribbon wreath is perfect for representing your favorite team.

I was inspired to make this wreath when I saw a fellow Facebooker (guilty of Facebook stalking) post her completed version last week. She made one that half represented Penn State and half represented the University of Michigan which I thought was a fun idea for a divided Big Ten home. Lucky for me our house is all Penn State so my ribbon wreath could be filled with blue and white.

There are a couple of variations of how to make this wreath. The tutorial I used is here. Other tutorials can be found here and here.

The total cost for the styrofoam wreath, ribbon, and push pins was about $35 but I had plenty of ribbon leftover. The fun part was picking out the ribbons. I love the touch of the football ribbon. It would have been fun to find a Penn State printed ribbon (I may add some if I can find Penn State ribbon during our upcoming trip to State College). Michaels did carry ribbon for local colleges and NFL teams. It took me less than two hours to completed, including cutting the ribbon.

Here is my finished wreath:

You can really do a lot of variations of this project. I think holiday themed ones for Halloween, Christmas, or 4th of July would be really cute. You could also add some embellishments (as seen in the tutorials) to really personalize your wreath. I definitely encourage you to try this easy craft!

A Makeover

 

You might have noticed I gave my blog a bit of a makeover. A new template (which took entirely too long for me to figure out how to upload) and a new, more appropriate title. Obviously the URL is not going to change...unless I can figure that out. Given how long it took me to do the current changes it most likely will not change. I thought as we are about to enter month five of newlywed life it was time to get back into the swing of things with this little blog.

 

I'm planning/hoping/sure-as-hell-going-to-try, to blog on a more regular basis. I've been trying out some new recipes and doing a little crafting so I at least have a handful of things to share over the next few weeks. That coupled with visits from friends and family and an upcoming road trip to Penn State, will at least get me through October.

 

In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the beautiful summer night we enjoyed walking around the Tidal Basin.