Inauguration?

Nahhh, It's MLK! Inauguration has been such a non factor in my life this weekend, it's not even funny. I'm just glad I got to avoid the crowds. 

Everyone woke up and left early this morning. I was still in bed, lol. We slept in and then headed down to F-burg to Sketchy's parents for the day. We checked out quite a few furniture stores thinking there might be some MLK sales. Fail. We're still on the hunt for a nice dining set and a coffee table. that will conclude our furniture hunt! So excited to be that close to the end. 

We did make a purchase today that I'm unbelievable excited about. We finally got an Area Rug. I loved it as soon as I saw it. So we got it. I love it even more in the living room. It really matches so very well!

Area rugs and curtains. The easiest way to add color and style to a room without much effort. our living room is finally almost complete so here's a peak. We're only missing the fireplace and blinds (blinds to come soon and fireplace to follow soon!)

New couch and rug in dark

A little brighter with Kitchen in background

New couch, Rug and Sofa Table! Need bigger baskets and four NOT three Nalini, four. There are four squares. Will remember next time I'm shopping.

I love our living room. It feels warm, inviting and cozy to me! I just need those damn blinds so I can sit there and enjoy dinner and a movie without feeling like people are staring at us!

Working to get the mancave into decent shape for the Superbowl Party. Lots of wall decor and such should be rolling in this week from Amazon!  

Haven't done Life's Little Things in a while. 

Life's Little Things

Thing 13? I don't even remember which number I'm on but 13 sounds right. Anyways, Mail. I now understand why a lot of people get mail to their offices. Packages are just left on your doorstep! I like our neighborhood and trust it so it's not really an issue but you never know what mother nature is going to throw your way. Especially with our crazy DC weather we've been having lately. One day it's 70, the next 20! OOC. 

Thing 14: Vents that don't close. Interesting. Never seen 'em before til I've seen ours. There are a few in the house that do close, but basically if our bathroom doors are locked, it's like a sauna up in there when we run the heat! I feel this should be an easy thing to change. Will need to add to the list of updates in the house.

Alrighty, work-week here we come. 

It's a Harbaugh Miracle!

First, this is how today started off. Diana brought over breakfast items -- eggs, bagels and of course  two bottles of champagne and two bottles of orange juice -- no breakfast is complete without Mimosas. We also had some random breakfast items around the house. 

This was Sketchy's breakfast plate: southwest eggs, chicken sausage, hash-browns, cantaloupe and not-pictured bagel.

Last night was very successful. Lots of housewarming bottle of wines and other awesome gifts which I will share in individual blog posts to come! 

I didn't get a picture but a friend brought over the best homemade deviled eggs I have ever had. They were Siracha Deviled Eggs? Truly the most perfect after kick ever! I've requested these be made in large batches and brought to our Superbowl Party!

Diana brought over a kick-ass cake. Sorry the pictures aren't better! It's an Oreo frosting chocolate bunt cake! 

I'm not a cake person, but actually really liked it. 

We made it through the majority of the 18 craft beers. Saved the bottles so I remember to check them off of our handy dandy google doc! Maybe will also be able to cut those bottles with the magical pinterest bottle cutting technique at some point. 

We played some taboo which was entertaining, I can't remember who won but that game is always entertaining. We never got to cranium which I was actually super super excited to play. Maybe next time? 

We had been debating playing Edward 40 hands -- you know, that game where you tape up two 40oz beers to your hands and have to drink to regain use of hands? Yeah, I know, it sounds awesome and it really does exist. Google backs me up:

random google-image result

random google-image result

random google-image result

Sadly, we did not have any 40s, but fear not. Where there is a will there is a way. This is how Edward 4-beer-can-hand was born. Yes, it really happened. And here's proof:

Yes, the taping was super ghetto and ooc. Yes, it hurt when we removed tap and basically gave me a wrist wax job. Yes, the beer in my hands got hot before I finished them. One individual playing finished in under 40 minutes which was impressive. Evidently really wanted his hands back! 

Lots of fun was had. Successful night. 

Today we had some folks over to watch the NFC Championship game. Big game for Sketchy and his niners. 

Some pictures: 

These are actually the deviled eggs from last night! They were not only delicious, but also pretty.

We had to tie up lucy because she couldn't handle her life with food and so many people. She was really calm once she got to be downstairs with everyone. 

Then the game got too intense and she couldn't handle it anymore. This is also how Sketchy watched the entire game. 

I had been hoping for and calling a Ravens/Niners superbowl from the beginning of post-season. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of a Harbaugh Superbowl in a couple weeks! Last year, all I wanted in the world was a Harbaugh superbowl. Neither Harbaugh ended up making it and instead it was just a replay of an earlier superbowl. I barely watched the biggest football game of the year because I was so angry and depressed about the match-up. Anyways, extremely happy that the football Gods have given me a happy har-bowl this year! God knows I'll never get to be happy for MY OWN team being there... it's honestly the least they could have done.

No fear of Monday -- gotta love long weekends. 

Game Night!

First, just some quick photos from last night's pinterest night! 

I shared with you pictures of my finished flatbread yesterday but here are some more pics. Sketchy's Flatbread (very simple -- tomato sauce, jalapenos, turkey pepperoni and chicken sausage with mexican cheese)

before

after

my before and after 

(goat cheese, spinach, chicken sausage, eggplant spread, mozz cheese and mushrooms)

before (baked parmesan, EVOO, salt and black pepper green beens) 

after. They were actually really crispy and delicious!

For projects, I had planned (as always) many things to do. I was all excited about bottle cutting but really needed Sketchy to do the whole light on fire part since I'm a little hesitant about that. He was too busy getting his tv hung and other manly things with Umesh so that never happened. Instead I just doodled like a 12 year old and tried to do some herb garden labels.

Herb Garden Labels: I have a good amount of wine corks donated to crafting cause by Stephanie. I've been looking for things to do with them and thought this looked fun. 

pinterest.

mine. 

Think I need prettier or shorter forks. I may be reworking these somehow. Also the wine corks i have, have writing all over as opposed to those in the pinterest picture. Then I doodled like a 12 year old. Made three mugs. Only one mug pictured. 

Sketchy's niners mug

sam mindlessly folded these paper cranes...

and these ones... and some more that are not pictured.

Nimisha took on a project that I've seen on pinterest and have wanted to do. She modgepodged photos to a canvas. She wasn't completely done with it by the time they left. I'll try to get her to send a picture of the finished product! 

Today we're having just a couple folks over to have a game night of sorts and spend the weekend at our house. House still a mess so still a little weird about anyone seeing it in its current status. Really, we're trying to all get away from the city and the madness that is inauguration. I'm not sure what possessed me to go sit out on the National Mall from 5am 4 years ago, but I'm glad I did it once and never want to do it again! I'll spend the rest of my lifetime's inaugurations right here in Springfield or wherever else I may be living at the time. 

Me four years ago on the mall in mittens and 1000 layers:

Tonight I just want to be sitting in front of a TV, playing some games and attempting to cross one more thing off my bucketlist -- Finish the RFD beer list. Went to Total Wine for the first time today. OOC dangerous place. I could spend an entire day there.

This is whole aisle of craft beers. So.many.craft.beers. Heaven. 

Got about 18 on the list to try tonight! Exciticus for tonight! Hope everyone has a happy Saturday night.

Four Day Weekend Starts NOW.

Today, I took the day off of work and was very much in GSD mode. It was a sneakers kind of day. Everyone who knows me knows that I wear flip flops through the winter. Sneakers mean I'm serious. It means I'm ready for a long day of being productive and efficient. 

We made a lot of stops, unpacked lots of boxes and built many things today. Very successful. We took a lunch break where I discovered, hands down, the BEST chicken salad sandwich EVER. There are a few items I try everywhere (any chance I get): 

1. Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches

2. Turkey Burger

3. Sangria

4. Chicken Salad Sandwich 

Best Chicken Parm I've ever had was at a random place on the Jersey Shore.

Best Turkey Burger is actually Ale House. 

Best Sangria is still Vapianos but that's not real because it taste like juice, so actual best is probably El Centro. 

Best Chicken Salad Sandwich -- Used to be some random Deli in NYC closely followed by Potbelly's chicken salad sandwich, but now it's some pizza place in Springfield Plaza. I swear to you it's the best. There's some hint of vinegar or lime or something that has this PERFECT taste. They also put red onions and hot peppers as well as lettuce on the sub. It's the chicken salad that has larger chunks of chicken and is simple with just mayo, celery, salt and black pepper. 

I seriously almost ate all of it before I thought about taking a picture but here's what was left of it after only a few minutes:

So also today, I gave into my crazy goat cheese craving again. Here's what I did at Trader Joe's (TJ's)

mmmm. such happiness.

This reminds me that I'm starting to mentally compare prices and such at a couple of the grocery stores but will do a full report to compare the stores. I will say, I'm shocked that I was a little wrong about TJ's. Their produce is actually much cheaper than the cheapest grocery store! I still stand by the fact that where they're more expensive, they're ridiculously more expensive! Anyways, more detailed grocery talk to come later. 

Pinterest night was a success. Lots of pictures, but they're on Sam's camera so I'll have to share later. I did get one picture on my phone of the flat bread I made (everyone made their own):

eggplant spread, chicken sausage, red onions, green onions, spinach, cilantro and of course goat cheese flatbread! It was so very delicious! Was very very quick to prep too! There were other fun dishes made which I'll also share later when I have Sam's photos. 

Tomorrow night we're having a few friends over for a Game/Movie night. The house is still a mess so it's only a few of our closest friends that I dare let see the condition of the place!

Note to self: Christmas in Florida post so I can finally be caught up and done with Florida updates! Then fun post on some neat happy housewarming presents! We seriously have awesome friends and family and are super thankful for them in our lives (and not just for your housewarming gifts)! 

Also, I have not forgotten about Life's Little Things, but trying not to overload on text! I know I tend to ramble as it is. I do still have quite the list of Little Things to share! 

Alrighty, late night ramble complete. Happy Weekend to all, and to all a goodnight!  

Melanie's Birthday Dinner

Yesterday was Melanie's birthday. She's old. Meet Melanie:

For her 21st birthday, I came up with a 21st scavenger hunt. She actually completed all 21 tasks. Was quite the night. This is still my favorite. "3: Challenge people at a bar to a beer chugging contest, but must drink the beers with a straw." These two girls were nice enough to entertain us. 

Melanie on her way to completing number 3.

"I HATE beer" hahahaha, she hated beer SO much back then.

But still a champ. That girl's face is also great in this picture.

I've known melanie since my junior year of college. We met in a class we pretend never happened. Such bad times. 

Tonight we went to Chef Geoff to celebrate her birthday. I'll start by saying I'm not exactly a huge fan. I like to enjoy the food I'm eating if I'm paying a decent amount for it. I tend to find that other restaurants of the same price range generally offer a better variety of food (meats that I can eat). However, I find their happy hour menu pretty extensive and rather good. We didn't actually get to try happy hour there though since it was hopping and there was hardly any bar space. 

Anyways, I actually enjoyed my dinner last night, but it was also the first time I've ever ordered a pizza or something non awesome entree in a nicer restaurant (again, because I did not find their selection that amazing). 

All day I've been craving and drooling over goat cheese recipes! Tonight I got a chicken and goat cheese pizza. So, so good. Oh, and some fried mac and cheese. Oh and a liter beer. Yes, that's right, Liter. Their happy hour Liter beers are downright OOC. In the best way of course. Sorry, no pictures of food or giant beer, but trust that they were very pretty and also very tasty. 

Anyways, taking tomorrow off to get a lot of things done around the house before pinterest night! Exciticus. 

Hopefully I have lots of pictures to share from the evening. Hopefully making some delicious eats too.

Post o' Pictures

As promised, making up for the lack of pictures in yesterday's post. More photos today, for people like Sketchy who only like to look at the pictures and ignore the words. =) 

Winter Storm Watch as many of you know. Finally motivated me enough to go out and get an ice scraper (for windshield -- not sure if that's what it's called), shovel and [[dog friendly]] salt for walkway and driveway! 

Some other new purchases I'm excited to put together soon:

A sofa table. This is not ours pictured, I'll have baskets or bins in all 8 spaces I think. It's also much taller looking in person. 

Awesome shoe cabinet for foyer! Actually found this on pinterest. It's perfect. But we got it in a dark brown/black color.

Speaking of pinterest, some other items that were pinterest inspired (a lot more of this to come after this weekend -- pinterest night in two days!) below:  

Pinterest inspiration above. I like the colorful/decorative use of rolled up towels. I really like the crates. Maybe will try to do that with guest bath. 

Our actual bathroom. I'm trying to figure out whether I want with or without the beige cloth. Still can't decide. Thoughts? Also need to decide what will go in baskets. I like the mason jars and colorful towels. Work in progress. 

We're writing one thing that happened each day and putting it in this jar. On New Year's Eve we're going to open the jar and re-live some of the highs and lows of our year! I'll scrapbook the little cards afterwards. =) We started on Jan 1, 2013. Crazy that there are already 16 cards in there!

In more cheesy news, I'll leave you with this picture:

It's really dark and horrible quality (stupid phone camera) but this has been my view the past few days when I pull into our driveway. That's sketchy in the living room looking out for me to come home. Usually Lucy and Charlie's heads are poking up above the window a bit too. It always makes me smile.

Super excited for the prospect of snow tomorrow. Super not excited to drive in it! 

The 1 Year Plan

Okay, so we're not going to talk about the game last night. That was a disaster. What was not a disaster was Happy Hour at Bar Louie before the game. I do love me some Bar Louie.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the horrible text to picture ratio in this post. No pictures today. =( I'll throw tons of photos your way tomorrow to make up, promise! =)

The past couple of days, Sketchy and I have been making lists of all the items we want to add/change in the house. Everyone tells you when you buy a house, "you're always fixing something or pouring money into the house. Your job's never done." I'm beginning to understand the part about always wanting to upgrade or add/change something but I find these things to be fun! Yes they're costly, but it's spending on things that make you happy! As such, we've decided that creating a real plan will:

1. allow us to feel structured with goals and deadlines in our attempt to get the house in tip-top shape

2. spread out the happiness in a way that we can continue to be happy every month by adding one big thing

3. actually save some money by not doing everything at once! 

3 is difficult for me because I'm the type of person that just wants to get it all done at once! However, I see the value in spreading out the joy and elongating the new homeowner feeling! 

Having said that, we're creating a 1 Year Plan to have all of our big wishlist items taken care of by the end of the year. We're going to do a little more earlier in the year just to get the house to a good level by engagement party/religious ceremony time (probably sometime in May). 

Here's our first draft of our 1 Year Plan: 

(which I'll keep in a separate tab to keep track of our progress and successes)

January: 

- Purchase another set of furniture (living room set)

- Purchase some sort of wine cabinet/sofa table for our Nalini&Sketchy Shrine

- Purchase a mancave TV up to Sketchy's standards

- Finish fencing backyard

- Purchase path lights for front walkway
- Blinds on all windows

- Fix-up entryway 

     - IKEA shoe cabinet

     - IKEA hat rack

     - DIY welcome chalkboard memo frame and key/jacket hooks

February:

- Purchase a dining room set
- Build pots/pans pull-out shelving units in cabinets

- Purchase bedframe and DIY headboard in master bedroom

- Build a bar for mancave

- DIY bar counter top (encased bottle caps VT logo)
- DIY chalkboard menu frame thing in Kitchen

- Purchase entertainment center for mancave

- Dryer vent/Dryer electrical outlet

- Have Superbowl/Housewarming Party

March:
- Shelving racks in utility room/workbench/tool area 
- Shelving and organizing units above washer/dryer

- Nicer bathroom mirrors (ORB framed mirrors)

- All english ivy gone from backyard 

- Have all frames and art hung around the house
- Vanity [[maybe]]

April:

- Purchase and install french doors
- Get office completely situated -- maybe some sort of Hutch for the desk

May: 

- Purchase and install Fireplace

June:

- Purchase grill! =)
- Figure out a patio/firepit situation
- Bring completed cornhole boards home

July:
- Paint mancave
- Accent wall in living area

August:
- Purchase multiple TVs to be mounted in Mancave (football season!!)
- Build up barware

September: 
- Extend master closet into joining room's closet to make awesome master closet!

October:
- Purchase pumpkins from pumpkin patch for stoop!
- Create Doghouse in storage space under stairs
- Deck

November: 
- Change out cabinet doors for glass cabinet doors or add peninsula/bar in kitchen (make more open)
- Change out all kitchen cabinet fixtures
- Deck

December: 
- Purchase real Christmas Tree
- Purchase Christmas lawn decorations and lights!
- Deck & Tent-y Gazebo for deck

My hope is that the home stuff is all done by the end of 2013. In 2014 I'd love to focus on enjoying our home and traveling as married folks! =))

Are there items that we have overlooked or maybe suggestions for better months (because of weather or sales or anything really) to tackle certain items on the list?