5 on Friday Superbowl Prep

Hello again everyone- guess what? ..... It's FRIDAY! As usual I'm linking up with Darci, April, Natasha & Christina. Even though we have had snow delays and shorter days this week, it has still felt a little long so bring on the weekend! Superbowl is a big deal around these parts and this year is no exception. (I'm still holding out for my Skins to go one year...before I'm old & grey...no haters haha) We'll be cheering on Manning & the Broncos this year and here are a few recipes to jump start your Superbowl party! Happy Weekend & Happy Eating lots of (unhealthy) Yummy Food!

1. Cheese & Crackers -no recipe needed, super simple but super festive!

2. Football Pizza Pockets (Recipe Here!)

3. Jalapeno Poppers (Recipe Here!) 

 4. Dark Rye Pigskin Grilled Cheese - so cute with shot glasses of tomato soup!

5. Maybe something semi-healthy?

Also, get this fun printable for your guests here: http://www.confettisunshineblog.com/2014/01/free-printable-superbowl-game-poster.html

Bachelor Recap (a quick one I promise)

I know I said I would try and refrain from snarky re-caps but this week proved to be too funny not to share some highlights. If ya'll know me, you know I do get down with some Monday night wine dates with the #Bachelor! (yes I hashed it because I live tweet it and you should join me!)   I feel like this season needs to pick up already - I mean, we’re a month in and the most drama we’ve had is  Victoria getting raging drunk and sloppy on a group date and sent home. Where’s a Courtney or Vienna or a Tierra when you need one? (or even Tierra's eyebrow? Anyone? haha) Anyway, next week Claire has a breakdown and JuPa (Juan Pablo- yes I did..) complains about a terrible night. Bring on the D-rama paalease! (ps American Horror Story Coven season finale tonight- anyone watching?!)

Also, Jenni from Frankly My Dear... is not only one of my fav bloggers but my newest live tweet buddy as well! If you haven't checked out her blog do so now & join us! Unless your Monday night is way cooler than ours and by that I mean you don't like reality TV, couch dates or WINE...

I just love her

So basically the exotic location so far is South Korea... Here is their excitement (Although some clearly have no idea where they are going and Claire screams that she doesn't even own a Kimono #Tragic)

When told she was going to be performing with the biggest pop group that no one has ever heard of:

And then the last BEST thing of the night: When Claire dramatically acted like eating a tiny piece of Octopus would ruin her life, Kelly gives us this insight...

Intro to Valentines Day!

Ok ok I know it's still January but I couldn't help myself...I've waited long enough. I jumped into the pink & hearts spirit and decorated a little for Valentines day & the upcoming month of February. Valentine's day has always been fun for me- 2 years ago hunny gave me Miss Emma for Valentine's Day, 1 year ago he gave me my beautiful new SUV and this year?? I'd settle for that dream home we have offers on.... hahaha isn't he fabulous? FINGERS STILL CROSSED YA'LL! NOT GIVING UP! We've gotten a lot of bites on our home from potential renters (we are keeping it as our first income property) so that is always a good sign. We currently live right in town near main street and a college so I have no doubt in my mind that renters will be easy to find. We even have people that want to come and tour it- like tonight! Anyway, I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and is staying warm! (I'm definitely ready for Spring)

This is what I started with while watching HGTV (I spy an Emma paw)
I scored the grapevine wreath for $4.99, the heart garland for $1.00 and
the paint for $1.99 all at Michaels

I painted the white monogram from our Christmas Wreath-I just love pink!

Any excuse to use my hot glue gun is a good one!
And 60 glitter hearts for a $1? Check!

I fell in love with this when I saw it on Pinterest! I printed it out, grabbed a dining room chair
so I could reach it, taped the original to the side of the wall and went to town! Simple but cute!

These printables are fabulous! Also via Pinterest!

Friday 5: Week Highlights

I cannot believe it is Friday already! This makes me super excited- no big plans for the weekend but sometimes that is nice. This week I thought would have gone by much slower due to the fact that we were negotiating (& still are) back and forth trying to gain our 'forever' home. If you read my post earlier in the week we put in an offer, got countered- put in another, got countered- and now we are trying to decide what we want to do! Whew...no stress at all right? (bank owned fixer-upper so the process is a little different) anyway, with that said, prayers are needed and keep your fingers crossed that this doesn't end up being a super long waiting process! (Patience is a virtue I know..) Linking up with Christina as usual! Happy Weekend Ya'll!

 Upgrade alert: Honey installed a new Nest thermostat for us! (odd the things we get excited about right?) It programs itself, learned your habits, is touch screen and color and also is controllable from anywhere! Out with the old and in with the new! (more efficient apparently too)

1980's maybe?

Tada!

We also added new heavy-duty shelving in our pantry. The pantry was becoming a huge cluttered and scary mess so Seth took it upon himself to take charge. They may not be the 'prettiest' but you never see them since the door is kept closed. It actually feels like we have more space in there with those huge things!

Emma showing off her food bin

Last night we had our annual Jaycees installation banquet and since honey was off (for once) we got to enjoy a little date night away from home!

I have a guilty pleasure/obsession with Caroline Hill jewelry. A friend of mine in Atlanta has it all in her shop and it is so incredibly affordable that you can order on the fly and dress-up any outfit! Look at these cuties that came this week?

Our wedding album finally arrived from our photographer! We were so excited to get this beauty and re-live the memories- she did such an AMAZING job!

Glam Series: Skincare Routine

I heard about Jordon over at Love Always, Nancy J doing a Glam Series link-up and it got me really excited to say the least. I am always curious to find new products that people swear by so a link-up like this is right up my ally. The first in the series is basic skin care. I feel like I've had the same routine since I was a teen- creature of habit much? With that said, behold my skin care routine and I can't wait to read all the others - Happy Almost Friday Ya'll! Be sure to link-up and join in!

 

 

1. For daily use: Olay regular hydrating fluid
2. Ladies, you have to start an anti-wrinkle/aging routine like now!
3. Advanced Night Repair by Estee Lauder is wonderful for under eyes
4. Don't laugh, but I met a woman (who revealed to me that she was 56) and she did NOT look a day over 28. I begged her to tell me her skin/night routine and she laughed and told me that she puts olive oil on her skin every night. I thought what in the world? But I finally picked up a 'nicer' olive oil from Trader Joes and so far I've been doing it 1 to 2 times a week/ Use a headband or tie your hair back, apply with a cotton ball and watch TV or something for an hour or so. Next, blot with a tissue before bed since it can get messy and wake up to super soft skin!
5. Moving into day time, my two FAVORITE primers ever are Two Faced and Benefit's Pore-fessional!
6. Simple at work make-up- I love Natureluxe by Covergirl. Light and affordable (although I think it is discontinued but you can get it on Ebay for super cheap!)
7. More all-over coverage for maybe a night out, I love Estee Lauder Double-Wear Foundation
8. This is my holy grail ya'll- benefit makes the best pressed powder called Hello Flawless. You can wear it completely alone or dust over your foundation for the perfect airbrushed look! I love this stuff and I am NEVER without it!

Mediterranean Diet & Mid-Week Update

Ok so I am by no means a diet person- my husband is WAY better at staying on track the healthy way than myself but this Mediterranean Diet is working out really well! First of all, the dishes are super simple to make so it is easier not to get frustrated with coming up with something new. Also, if ya'll know me, any so-called diet that promotes red wine is the one for me! Gold star alert! Anyway I just wanted to share some of the dishes I've been preparing and we've loved them all so far!

Since we add something spicy to every dish we eat, I had to share!

1.) Honey-Habanero Salmon with Corn & Avocado Salad (click on the title for recipe! Our Fav!)

 

2.) Baked Flounder with Squash & Sweet Peas

For this I just found some flounder that was on sale, added lemon juice, habanero sauce, red pepper flakes (we are spicy people haha) and dried cilantro and baked for about 12-15 minutes- steamed so sweet peas and squash and had a purple leaf salad with yellow sweet peppers and olive oil. So Good and so simple!

3.) Tuna Burgers- This one was fun and super easy clean-up! I just took 3 cans of white albacore tuna (6 oz I believe) 1 egg, 1 cup of panko bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, a little pepper seasoning, red pepper flakes, parsley and juice of one lemon. With your hands, mix in a large bowl and form 3 or 4 large patties. Bake for about 20 minutes. We used whole-wheat flat bread rounds as the bun, added lettuce and a slice of tomato. Also, we cheated a little and had a little mayo mixed with lemon juice and basil spread on the bun. Hubby LOVED these!

As you can see it is not a difficult "diet" to follow and a lot of the ingredients needed you can find already in your pantry! Here are some more examples of things found using the Med Diet:

Also happening in our household this week is HOUSE HUNTING to the EXTREME as in..... WE PUT AN OFFER IN ON WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE OUR FOREVER HOME!! Please say a little prayer and cross your fingers that we get it. It seems to be a perfect fit of old historic charm/fixer upper & future extended family. It was built in 1850 ya'll and is screaming to be made beautiful again! Both sets of parents have come and toured it with us this past weekend and we submitted an offer yesterday afternoon. We will see how this works out according to his plan and of course I will keep you all updated! Happy Mid-Week!

Oh and did i mention we finally got some snow?? This morning's view heading to the office: