Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Yep, I'm a Guest Blogger Today!!



Hopefully, you're already reading Shannon's blog over at Life After I Dew. If not? Get on it, stat. When Shannon asked if anyone would be interested in guest blogging for her "So What Wednesdays?" I jumped at the chance because I love a weekly tradition, and it feels good to get some stuff off our my chest.

So, head on over and check out my guest post where I say "so what?" to paint covered nail polish, runaway puppies and 11:30 PM dinners. Yep, you read that right!

Happy Wednesday!!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

We Bought A House!!

Well, it's official: we closed on our first home on Friday, and are now the proud owners of a four bedroom townhouse!!

We spent the majority of the weekend doing demo work, read: ripping out flooring and bathrooms, so we've got a long road ahead of us, but we are thrilled that all went well with settlement and that we're on our way to making our first real "home," truly ours!

If you're looking for me, chances are that you'll find me at Lowe's, or sneaking into HomeGoods for some fun, new decor!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Simple Fall Decorating. I'm No Martha

A few weekends ago, I happened to have a few free hours on a Sunday afternoon, and was home by myself, which basically never happens. Normally, I would take full advantage of this opportunity to park it on the couch and catch up on my DVR, but then it hit me. I hadn't pulled any of my fall decorations out yet!

Even though I find it a bit silly that I am decorating for fall when we will only be in our place for a few more weeks, I just couldn't help myself. You may remember from back when I decorated for spring, that we don't have many places to decorate in our little one bedroom apartment. But, I do my best with what I have.







We changed the layout of the room around some since the spring picture. The table now butts up again the wall, rather than sitting in the center of the room like it previously did. 

I just love how rich the fall colors are! I use the same vase (it was a wedding shower gift) and refill it each season with different themed fruit fillers from Target. The apples truly are my favorite. I think they stand out the best, and look great with the finish on the table!


Other items:


Painted leaf-shaped bowl and plates - WalMart 2010
Small, painted cream and green leaf plates - WalMart 2010
Dish Rack - Pottery Barn (not sure which year, my Mom passed it down to me)
Apple Filler - Target 2009
Pumpkin Spice Candle - Michael's, Fall 2011



So, there you have it. Fall has graced our quaint little apartment in small doses this year! I am sure that I'll be collecting many more fall themed accessories this year, since I 'll have so much more space to decorate! 


Who am I kidding, the Christmas decor comes out November 15th!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Wednesday Wish List: Sequins & Furrrr

Yes, it's true - I turned the big 2-8 last week. And no, B has not given my my birthday gift yet. More on that later. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know that I (somehow) won an iPad, and it just so happened to be delivered on my birthday - how 'bout them apples?! So, one would think that my wish list is kinda empty at the moment, right? Wrong.

Now that my birthday has come and gone, and settlement is just around the corner somaybeIcanspendatinybitofmoney, I have found myself envisioning the perfect pieces for my upcoming holiday looks.  And, can I just say, I LOVE all of the sequins and fur that are everywhere this year!

I received an Express coupon email this morning, and decided to peruse around their online shop to see what caught my attention. And, whoa. My shopping cart was over $300 in no time!

Here are some of the time that I am currently pining over ...

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The fur vest with the shimmery sweater underneath? Swoon. And, I definitely want to get a few of these sequin tops to pair with jeans or leggings, cardis and boots!!

I'm going to be struggling not to press "submit my order" over here today at lunch! 

What are you loving this fall?!



*All of these opinions are my own. I was in no way compensated for this post.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Fresh, Fun Dip Recipe & Link Up!!

We are closing in on our settlement date, so we have been getting by on meals that consist of pasta, peanut butter sandwiches, and frozen pizza lately. Yes, total #wifefail if you ask me. But, over the weekend, we joined some friends at their home for some football, and the hostess made this yummy dip as an appetizer!! I just had to share!

Cowboy Caviar (or Fresh Salsa Dip) Recipe


Ingredients
1 avocado
1 red onion
2 tomatoes
1 can black beans
2 cups cooked corn
Cilantro
2 jalapenos (can omit)
2 Tbsp red vine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Prepare corn per package instructions (I use frozen). Chop avocado, red onion, tomatoes and jalapeno into small pieces. Rinse black beans and strain. Strain corn and add corn and black beans to large bowl. Add avocado mixture to bowl. Then add vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper and mix together well. Finely chop cilantro and add to mixture

Refrigerate mixture before serving. Serves well with corn chips.

There was a bunch of dip leftover, so I got to take some home! We grilled tilapia last night and I used it to garnish the fish! It was divine.



Wanna link up and share your recipe?

1. Blog your recipe.
2. Share a picture of it (if you have one!)
3. Grab my button and add it to your post.
4. Add your (direct) link to the linky at the bottom.
5. Start collecting new inspirations for your kitchen! 



Our Love Nest


Ready, set, link up!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

One of My Favorite Parts of Fall

I've already mentioned that fall is my favorite season for many reasons (other than Christmas time, of course!) If you've spent much time here over the last year or so, you probably already know that I'm a pretty big TV fan. Now that the regular fall lineup is back, all is right in the world. Well, for the most part. 

I'm not a huge fan of change, so when one of my favorite TV shows ends or gets canceled (ahem, Brothers & Sisters), it's safe to say that I'm pretty bummed. Lucky for me, the big networks have hired some pretty clever people who quickly help me forget the loss of my old shows by adding the distraction of some new ones. 

I have always been a huge supporter of ABC.Over the years, I have watched pretty much all of their shows, and of course, I'm a huge fan of the Bachelor series, Grey's Anatomy and those good old Desperate Housewives (yes, I still watch them). But, as much as I love one hour dramas, I was thrilled to see the return of some more 30-minute sitcoms. 

So, because it's Wednesday, and they deserve a shout out, you can consider this post your PSA: if you're not already watching Modern Family, start immediately. 

Modern Family was suggested to us by friends of ours right before Season 2 was getting ready to start. So, I decided to get Season 1 from Netflix so B and I could catch up. It didn't take more than two episodes to get us hooked! And, a show that we both love and can make us both laugh is a winner in my book! 

The family is funny and quirky, and trust me, you don't want to miss Phil Dunphy in action.

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So, yea, not much substance to today's post, but trust me, if you haven't seen Modern Family yet, try to catch it tonight at 9; you'll thank me :o)

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Crockpot Beef Stew Recipe and Link Up!

Confession: I may have been hiding out yesterday after the total embarrassment of Sunday night's game. I had every intention of posting a recap of our game day festivities, but I decided it was unnecessary.

Moving on.

It's that time again! I know I mentioned it last week, but fall came in like a lion around here this year. We went from humid, 85 degree days straight to 50 degrees, chilly and rainy. The upside of this weather shift is that it brought me the motivation to get out some fall decorations (more on that later this week), and inspired me to start getting all of my favorite soup and stew recipes back out. 

This week's recipe is straight from my Mom's kitchen, and was definitely a family favorite in my house while growing up.

Crockpot Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients
1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 flour
1/2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 beef stew packet (I only use half because I don't like my stew too spicy)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 white onion, chopped
2 cups beef broth
3-4 potatoes, diced (red, sweet or white - I often use both sweet and white in mine)
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped 
Mushrooms, chopped (if desired)

Begin by cutting meant into cubes and placing in crockpot. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper and pour over meat. Stir to coat the meat. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, broth, potatoes, carrots, celery and beef stew packet.

Cover and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours, or on high setting for 4-6 hours. You can also add mushrooms about halfway through the cooking time, if desired.

Do you have a hearty, family favorite that you'd like to share? Please link it up below, I'd love to see your family recipes and try them out in my own kitchen this season!

Wanna link up and share your recipe?

1. Blog your recipe.
2. Share a picture of it (if you have one!)
3. Grab my button and add it to your post.
4. Add your (direct) link to the linky at the bottom.
5. Start collecting new inspirations for your kitchen! 





Our Love Nest


Ready, set, link up!!