Fill in the Blank Friday: May 21st

We made it to Friday! Here is the weekly Fill in the Blank Friday from Lauren at the little things we do.  This week's questions are all about fashion.


1.  One fashion trend I really regret is stirrup pants in elementary school. You know, the ones that went under the bottom of your foot? I know it was a long time ago, but there are so many pictures of me wearing the awful things when I was growing up. How did my mother let me out of the house looking like that??

2.  The one thing that always completes any outfit is the right pair of shoes. Shoes easily and effortlessly finish an outfit.   

3.  I would describe my personal style as all over the map. My office doesn't really have a dress code so I shop for and wear whatever I like. If I had to nail it down to one category though it would be preppy.

4.  My fashion muses are all over- blogs, magazines, tv shows, my colleagues, etc.     

5.  If I could own one designer piece of clothing it would be a designer bag. Probably a Hermes Berkin. They are so classic.

6.  I would love to raid the wardrobe of one of the girls I work with. Effortless style is how I would describe her. She puts these outfits together that look so chic no matter what... plus her outfits give me great ideas for things that I can put together with what I own. Hello free personal fashion advice. Love it!

7.  Today I am wearing a casual brown wrap cardigan, navy blue pants, brown Nine West leather slides (best purchase this season, by FAR--see below).

Have a great weekend!

Wishful Wednesday and Hoarders

Working at Pottery Barn in college was a dream. I was surrounded by beautiful furniture, linens, and home accessories and best of all I could purchase all of these things at a MAJOR discount.  I was paid a teeny, tiny salary, but I worked my discount HARD, and bought a few choice items to fill up and teeny, tiny apartment.

With two years under my belt and a real "big-girl" job offer in hand, I bid adieu to by beloved Pottery Barn and tearfully surrendered my discount card. 

Now that I've moved out of my teeny, tiny apartment, and live in a house where I don't have what felt like 30 square feet that needed to serve as my office/bedroom/living room/dining room/laundry room-- you know the drill with college apartments-- I regret that never bought items that would transition well from my college apartment to a real house.

One of these things would be the The Daily System. Which brings me to today's Wishful Wednesday/ Solutions Wednesday.

 
Have you seen or heard about the show Hoarders? If there was a show featuring the total opposite of the people that Hoarders profiles, I would be the star. I can't handle clutter and I really would love a Daily System to help me with my decluttering obsession desire to be tidy.

I'm having a hard time justifying the cost of the full price Daily System considering what I would have been able to purchase it for in the past. Oh well, for today I'll just keep dreaming.

A Major Breakthrough

I had a major breakthrough with MrMarried last weekend. Major. If I could put blinking lights around the word major, I would. Trust me.

My MOH was back home for the weekend and called to see if we could have dinner together on Saturday night. She has never seen our new home, but has heard endless stories about home improvement projects, so I asked if she would want to come over to eat instead of going to a restaurant. She happily agreed, and our dinner date was set.

MrMarried and I aren't slobs, and I keep our home neat enough as to not have a heart attack if a friend called to say, "I'm in the area, can I drop by in 20 minutes?" Nonetheless, if I know in advance when a friend is coming over, there is always straightening to be done.

When MrMarried's friends drop by, we never really "clean". Sure, I fluff couch pillows and make sure the remotes are within reaching distance from the couch, but that's about it. They are guys, and straightening the house for hours would be worthless. However, when I announced that a friend of mine was coming over, MrMarried snapped into this cleaning mode that I've never seen before. Nothing was too neat and orderly for this strange man that had suddenly taken over my husband's body. It was awesome. I was excited because I could really feel a sense of pride in him. His actions were saying, "I'm proud of our home, and I want our home to look it's best when my wife's friend is here."

Melt. My. Heart.

I was SO proud of him.

So the only secret to having MrMarried help me a bit more with keeping the house orderly is inviting more female friends over?!? Doesn't sound too bad to me!

Recent Reading

If you've read my previous book posts, you'll notice I don't stick particular genre when it comes to reading. I'm drawn to fiction, but that's one of my only requirements. 

Eat, Pray, Love and My Sister's Keeper were two of the most recent books I've read, and while not exactly related, those two babies are practically peanut butter and jelly as compared to my two recent reads.

First up... The Associate by John Grisham.
Before MrMarried and I took our little trip to New Orleans, we were having dinner at my parents when I realized I didn't have a book to take with me. Although I've never read Grisham, both of my parents are fans, and my mom gave me The Associate for the trip.

Set it Pittsburgh and NYC, the book follows the story of a recent Law School grad, a sticky situation, and blackmail. The ending leaves quite a bit to the imagination, and there were several loose ends that were never explained in the book, but overall the story is entertaining, definitely a page turner, and perfect for a plane with the short chapters.

I could see the story being turned into a movie, but then again, every movie I've seen where I read the book first turns out to be disappointing. One exception is The Devil Wears Prada. The movie was exceptionally well acted, and was able to hold it's own when compared to the book that inspired the film... but that's another post.

Next on my recent "reads" list was Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life
This audio book was passed on to me from a friend who drives everywhere for work. She always listening to audiobooks to keep her entertained while she is in the car. I'd never say no to a free audiobook, so I thought what the heck?

Holy moly, Chelsea is one strange (and funny) bird.

Her stories are NOT, I repeat NOT, appropriate to listen to when you have children in the car, and if my mother was listening along with me, Chelsea's stories would make me blush in front of her. Regardless, they are still hilarious. I can't recommend that you run out and buy this immediately, but if  friend offers you the book or the audiobook, you are in for a few laughs....if.... you aren't disgusted first.

Have a great weekend!

The Kentucky Derby

I know very little about horse racing. My experience with the sport consists of nothing more than watching the big three races (Belmont, Kentucky, and Preakness-- aren't you impressed that I can name all three?) from the comfort of my living room each year, and one episode of Undercover Boss when the featured organization happened to be Churchill Downs. Basically, my experience is limited.

But, that doesn't put a damper on my desire to host a Kentucky Derby party.

Every.Single Year.

For the record, we have never hosted a Kentucky Derby party. But mark my words, someday I will start the planning process more than one hour before the race earlier, and it will be a grand old time. Someday.

But for now, I will have a virtual party on my blog filled with all of the flashiness of the day.

Mint Julep, anyone? I've never had one. Are they even good?

Huge hats in the grandstands. Hats would be required at the party of course.

Fun whimsical stationery. Again, the bigger the hat, the better!

Love it all. Have a great weekend! And cheers to fast horses!

Fill in the Blank Friday: April 23rd

Thanks as always to Lauren over at the little things we do and her creative genius for another great Fill in the Blank Friday!

Here are this week's answers:

1.  If I could medal in an Olympic event it would be swimming. I was a swimmer in high school and would have swam in college if I hadn't torn my rotator cuff during my senior year. I love watching the sport in the Olympics.

2.  If I was stranded on a deserted island I'd take a laptop with my wifi card and running shoes.      

3.  Getting stuck in an elevator with wayyy too many people in it is my most irrational fear. It there were only one or two people, I would probably be fine.

4.  I'd rather be deaf, than blind. I'd miss sight more than sound.

5.  I am thankful that winter is behind us. I would live in an world that only had summer and autumn and be a happy camper.  

6.  I should really be working right now, but its 4PM on a Friday and my brain is pretty much shot for the week. 

7.  One of my favorite things in all the world is the extra five minutes I get each morning after my alarm goes off. MrMarried (without fail) will says to me everyone morning, "Wanna snuggle?" It's some of the best five minutes all day.

Have a great weekend!


PS. Immediately after I posted this, I realized that it was an old Fill in the Blank Friday that Lauren had posted on February 19, 2010. I have no idea why I thought that it was this week's questions, but I like my answers, so I'm going to stick with 'em. Enjoy and sorry for the mix up. 

Delicious Dinners: Fusilli Pizza

I've written about it before, and I'll write about it again... After working a full day, I'm continuously challenged with getting a meal on the table on week nights before 8PM. Fear not, my friends, there is good news. I'm up for the challenge, and this recipe kicks butt in the following departments:

1. Doesn't have a million ingredients that I've never heard of and therefore usually skip... oops
2. Fast, and super easy to make
3. Something MrMarried can help with-- huge bonus if I'm running late and can call to ask him to get things moving

All pluses in my book!

This recipe comes from TheNest.com, who I must say, has some tasty dishes in their archives! So, what am I waiting for? Let's get to the recipe.

 

Makes: 4 Servings... Finally (!) a recipe that I don't have to do math and halve everything
Prep time: 20 Minutes... Finally (!) a dinner that I can whip together after just walking in the door!

Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing
14 oz tomatoes, peeled and chopped-- I used canned tomatoes, and it was delicious
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Pinch of dried oregano-- I love oregano, so I interpreted a pinch as a generous pinch and used 2 or 3 pinches
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
12 ounces Fusilli or other short pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese- eyeball it
3 1/2 ounces mozzarella cheese- eyeball it
Salt
Optional- 1 pound Ground Turkey or Ground Beef-- The original recipe doesn't call for the meat, but MrMarried tends to get too hungry later in the evening if he only eats pasta for dinner without an additional protein. I like my pasta with meat in it, so we both win. 

Directions:
**Optional 1st Step if you are using ground beef/turkey: Brown the meat, drain any fat, and set aside.** 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an ovenproof dish with butter.

2.Process the tomatoes to a purée in a food processor or blender.

3. Heat the olive oil in a low skillet pan. Add the puréed tomatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Stir in the oregano and basil and remove from the heat.

4. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, return to the pan, and pour the tomato sauce over. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and toss well to mix.

5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish, top with the diced mozzarella, and drizzle with oil.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the mozzarella starts to melt. Serve immediately straight from the dish.

Enjoy! We really loved this dish and there was plenty left over for me to take to work the next day.

The Gorgeous South

My gosh, the south is so gorgeous. During our recent trip to New Orleans-- details to follow-- MrMarried and I took a swamp boat tour in bayou country of southern Louisiana. What a beautiful part of the country.

There is just nothing that I've seen in the north that looks anything like this. It was so peaceful to ride around in our boat and explore. And our boat guide was HILARIOUS. So that always helps...!

More to come from the New Orleans trip!