Doing "Home-y" Things with my Homies

This Memorial Day weekend, I remembered my fallen brethren (and military relatives) by doing something an intelligent American would not do. Move for the 4th time in a year and a half. Note: I'm getting reallllll good at packing y'all. While most people enjoyed American flag cans of Bud heavy while floating merrily down the stream, lake, or ocean, we did not. Don't get me wrong...there was a little bit of drinking to be had. Check out my sweet coozie I ordered. You know I can't pass up a good bow opportunity.

To preface this story, my boyfriend and I found a new place. We are officially combining our life - excessive shoe collection and all. The only problem was my lease being up on May 25th and our new place not being ready until June 7th. So we decided to move my whole life into his garage for 2 weeks. Yippee!

Now comes the fun part and something I can cross off my list. We've clearly been watching too much HGTV and I need to join Pinterest Addicts Anonymous because, we decided to spend the rest of our weekend building and repurposing furniture. What experience do you have in this area, you ask? None whatsoever. I'm the creative mastermind and he's the brains of the operation. Whereas I would buy 20 2x4's and maybe some measuring tape then pray for the best, he measured and calculated (roughly 10 times) before even buying or cutting a piece of wood. Like I said...he's the brains.

On the agenda:
1. Repurpose a kitchen hutch
2. Repurpose an ugly IKEA coffee table
3. Build 2 frames for mirrors we salvaged.
4. Don't saw off any fingers or get stain in eyeballs.

The most time consuming pain in the ass project was the coffee table. We sanded, stained, glued, prayed, stained some more, reglued, and waited are still waiting patiently to see the end result. That thing will be a miracle if it turns out. Here is a before pic. Use your imagination.


Next onto the 2 mirrors. We found the mirrors stashed in his garage left from a previous owner. He would have left them...but not me. I had a vision.

Here is our work in progress..He was a master cutter and I was a master stainer. Look at us go!

Now for the big reveal....tada.


I personally LOVE it. The best part is having not one, but two of them. Total cost for the wood was $25. Steal of a deal if you ask me.

The least dramatic project was the kitchen hutch/microwave/toaster oven/food processor/juicer stand for our future kitchen (How many electronic kitchen items can fit on this little girl? We shall find out...). We turned this dull little thing into a gray beauty. All she needs now is some shiny, new knobs and she'll be perfection. Hey...I know what you're thinking...she kinda looks like she was dipped in cement. But I promise the gray is realllllllly pretty and will soon be covering our walls as well. Y'all are more than welcome to come over and see it once we're settled.

Keep your eyes peeled for more DIY projects we're doing. Spoiler alert: navy chevron print. That is all.

Until next time....KEEP ME OUT OF A HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE,

L

Hey, Big Spender!

So most of you want to know how this last week worked out for me.

Did I succeed? Did I fail? Did I fail miserably (a.k.a an online J.Crew Shopping Binge or a 3 hour power-trip to Target)? The answer to these questions and more.....I actually MADE money this week and didn't spend a dime.

To those of you who didn't believe in me, fair enough, I almost didn't believe in myself. Do you understand how difficult it is to live in MY world? I work in a building with a food court. I live next to a Wendy's, Chick-fil-A, Mellow Mushroom, Jimmy Johns, Subway, and Panera. There's a shopping complex and an Ikea less than 3 minutes away. I get roughly 50 emails from shopping websites daily. Here's a shot from this morning. 54 emails. Groupon, LivingSocial, Eversave, JCrew, JCrew Factory, Bloomingdales, Saks, Coach, Amazon, CVS, Michael's, HauteLook, RueLaLa, Ideeli...........the list goes on. Most of the time I scroll through and immediately delete. Other times, I want to buy everything in sight. Not this past week though...no browsing - strictly deleting. Aren't my icons just the cutest?

So how does one "make money"? Simple, not even counting my paycheck (which thank you honey child I got today), I was paid back for purchasing a Justin Timberlake concert ticket. Hot damn.

For those of you contemplating this assignment, heed my warnings:

Warning # 1: PREPARE. Buy groceries that will last you at least a week. This means meal-planning. Granted, I didn't quite stick to it exactly but I made it work. Get gas ahead of time so you don't beg your boyfriend to put $20 in your car to last you the whole week. Yes that's right, $20 lasts the whole week. What's up 5-10 minute commute to work?!?!

Warning #2: WEEKENDS SUCK WITHOUT MONEY. Especially in the springtime when you have baseball games, and beer festivals, and patio brunches with bottomless mimosa's. Just tell yourself you're saving money, calories, and embarrassment from any drunk social media you may or may not be doing. Do what I did this weekend. Friday - cook a delicious Boca Burger and homemade french fry meal for your man and watch movies. Saturday - Make him take you to see a movie. In 3D. With popcorn & a soda (no SourPatch Kids). Followed by a fancy schmancy dinner. *Note: I didn't make him...he's just so perfect that he offered. Sunday - Cry profusely about your dog being put to sleep, then take a longgggg walk, then lay by the pool, then cry some more, then make your bf take you to Wendy's so you can get a LARGE DIET COKE (and he can get a Frosty), then cry some more.


Let's all take a little moment to honor the best dog I have (and probably will) ever had. RIP Little Chatze.

Warning #3: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU HAVE ANIMALS OR KIDS. Those things always have added and unforeseeable expenses.

Warning #4: If you're going to see The Great Gatsby anytime soon, do yourself a favor and see it in 3-D. Nothing is more beautiful in this world than seeing Leo up close and in 3 dimensions. Speaking of Leo, swoon over this. Yes, I know this has absolutely nothing to do with not spending money, I just find bringing Leo up is appropriate at all times.


Okay, I'm bored with the warnings. In fact, it wasn't terrible to do. Hopefully my wallet is still in my purse because I honestly haven't checked in days.  I think I'll do my "freeze week" every other month, if not monthly. It's a great way to pay down your credit card, pending you don't go into super-swipe mode the days leading up to and immediately after the Freeze Week.

I honestly can't believe I made it. I have to say...I loved the challenge. Even more, I loved proving everyone (and myself) wrong!

Until next time,

L

Living on a Prayer

Yesterday I read an article on my trusty Yahoo! homepage - the source for all breaking and not-so-important news - that inspired me to knock an item off my list. As I scrolled through the list of stories, one caught my eye. It was a blog post about how a couple survived on $3/day. I was fascinated by the headline until I read the story in its entirety and realized they were only "living this way" for 5 days and weren't including their 2 kids in the "experiment". Sure, the premise is cool...they are living "below the poverty line" for 5 whole days to see if they can "survive" living in Brooklyn.

A) Doing something for 5 days is hardly a life-changing experience, so why it was on a major site is beyond me. Do it for a year...a month...hell, just a week. I value weekends just like most people, but you aren't proving much when you live on $15 for the week then go out Friday night and order the largest rib-eye and bottle of wine you can find. B) Having been a babysitter extraordinaire I can tell you firsthand, what those kids are eating, you're most likely nibbling on. So how accurate was their representation? Oh, this handful of Goldfish doesn't really count. C) I can do ya one better.

Starting today, I will not spend any money for one whole week. You might laugh, but this is probably one of the hardest things for me to complete on my list. After a thorough breakdown of my credit cards earlier this week, I realized how much money I spend on silly things. Can someone please explain to me why I'm spending roughly $70/week at various grocery stores and then eat out for at least one meal every day. Not to mention the online shopping...er shopping, in general. It's absurd.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not living off ramen noodles and beans all week (even though that sounds like a nice low-cal diet), I just won't be spending money. I went to the grocery store last night and got a few items (in addition to the mounds of canned soup, pasta, and other non-perishable items in my pantry that are simply collecting dust). This week is about being resourceful not wasteful.

I have food and a general meal plan for the week to keep me on track. I have things to keep me occupied, thanks to paying in advance for things like yoga, dance, etc... I have a gentleman to squire me about town, should I desire. Finally, I have my debit card *note - debit card, not credit card* for emergency situations, but I think I should be okay.

So here begins a week without spending. I'll be living on a prayer. Hence the clever title. Now click the link and enjoy some Bon Jovi.

April Showers bring Blue Lipstick

So this post was initially designed to somewhat take care of the "Go camping with Friends" item on my list, however that quickly changed when our dear friend decided to propose to his girlfriend on the Saturday we were supposed to go camping..I digress...This post will NOW be about how awesome of a girlfriend I am. Oh, dang. Already covered that in pretty much all of my previous posts. Ok, well let me give this another try.

I love birthdays. I think it's pretty much the best holiday you have all year. One day dedicated to you. Call me narcissistic or selfish, but a day where the world revolves around me....ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY. For me, I just had to make his first birthday with me amazing. It's all downhill from here, baby ;) We went to the cabin as planned, arriving in Blue Ridge, Georgia late Friday night after an excursion to Publix in the 'burbs. We almost decided to skip the cabin and just "staycation" based on the amount of dining options and activities Suburbia offers. I mean, a mini golf place next to a movie theatre next to a Chili's? Heaven. I hear the 2-for-1's practically screaming my name.

Saturday morning started off with a bang. When I finally rolled out of bed, he was cooking me breakfast and asked me to light the fireplace. I turned up the gas and grabbed a lighter. Seconds later I was on my butt across the living room with charred arm hair. I guess I turned the gas up a little too high (this is why my mom refused a gas fireplace - she knows I'm accident prone and would have burnt the house down) and there was a tiny little explosion. Oops. The rest of the weekend I was terrified the house was going to explode.

It literally rained the entire weekend so we didn't get to go hiking on the Appalachian Trail like we planned (would have crossed that off the list). We did venture into "downtown" Blue Ridge which was hustling and bustling with out-of-towners who had been confined to their rented cabin all weekend too. There was an ecclectic mix of shops...antique stores, out of place trendy clothing boutiques, junk shops, a bird and a bear store (who needs a store 100% dedicated to this??? The people of Blue Ridge apparently), and our favorite place, an olive oil company. I will happily promote Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. They had so many bottle of homemade olive oil and vinegar, and sampling was encourage. Three bottles later (Blood Orange infused  Olive Oil, Fig Vinegar, and one of the most popular Organic Tuscan Herb Olive Oil) we left and headed into an antique shop where we found a lifetime supply of fraternity paddles. My favorites....the SAE and Sigma Chi paddle. God, I miss college. We also found a mini bar and nightstands that would be perfect for our new place, but unfortunately we took my car and the little coupe had no room for them. I'm still crying on the inside.


So now onto something I can actually cross off my list. Blue Lipstick. You read it correctly, blue lipstick. This is obviously something I would say no to (Number 78, Part 1). Any normal person would....

Well the geniuses over at Lipstick Queen have truly struck gold. Not only are they playing up on the fashionable, waspy, summer sailor trends (think navy and white yacht club attire) but its actually a great product. It feels like silk on my lips.

Let's take a trip down memory lane for a second. The time: kindergarden. The place: art class. The activity: mixing paint colors. The blue plays up the natural shade of pink your lips have and gives off a berry tint. Red + blue = purple, or as I like to call it, perfection on your pout. It also makes your smile brighter and complexion look better...hard to tell since I have flawless skin and uber white teeth already.

I tried to order it 3 weeks ago, and it only came back in stock recently. Trust me when I say, this will be a sizzling item for summer. It's sold at Barney's. Get it while it's hot and in stock. Another reason to buy....shipping was free :)

One final thing to make all of you in cyberspace jealous (and hungry). Check out this deliciously amazing Caprese Stuffed Burger we made for dinner on Monday.  I will recommend drizzling the bun with balsamic for more of a Caprese effect. I'm salivating looking at it now. Pinterest has some truly amazing things, this happens to be one of the most amazing I've yet to make. This is the 4th recipe I've made since the start of my blog and I've been thrilled with the result each time. Feel free to follow me. You know you want to.

Until next time,

L