five on friday 11.15.13

 whew!  with another week down, it's time for that good 'ol friday linkup!  here are five of my favorite things this week:

1.  shreddin':  i made the very adult decision to finally move towards paying off all my debts.  as someone who regularly has online shopping sprees (buyer's remorse? what's that?), i decided to shred these puppies up and throw them in the trash.  it felt pretty good.

2.  washi storage:  i had a slight obsession with washi tape several months back, and developed a bit of a surplus.  every time i saw some with a cool or pretty design... into the shopping cart it would go!  it was a bit out of control.  well, instead of keeping these pretty little rolls hidden away in a desk drawer, i decided to display them in a glass apothecary jar on my desk!

3.  sweet invitations:  my lovely friend, katie, gave me the cutest and most creative southern-inspired bridesmaid invite this week.  isn't it the cutest?  i of course said yes, and i can't wait to be a part of her big day!

4.  sweet dreams:  so i had this dream wednesday night that i stumbled upon a cronut stand in some obscure city of my dreams, and i ate cronut after cronut.  it was so real... the surgary crunch with every bite and the way every cronut layer melted in my mouth.  oh, why could this dream not be real???  well, it doesn't look like i'll be making it to dominique ansel's bakery in new york city anytime soon, so i may have to try this authentic cronut recipe from the boy who bakes if i keep having cronut dreams like i did wednesday night!

5.  cafeteria classics:  i almost forgot how delicious (and easy to make) sloppy joes were, until i made them last night!  i try not to alter such childhood classics too much, but i made it with ground turkey and served it with an arugula salad... to be healthy and stuff :)  

hah!  have a good weekend!

i've got that summertime sadness

with several long months of cold weather looming upon us, cory and i decided to pack up last weekend and head to the beach just one last time until next summer.  

we had a lovely time. although it was a bit too chilly to go swimming, the weather was still nice enough to enjoy most of our favorite local spots, including:

chops deli.  three words, people: broccoli. cheese. soup.

cape fear wine and beer

 and the oceanic.  i could live on that pier.

we also went for an unforgettable walk down the beach and saw the most beautiful sunset.  here are a few shots i captured (#nofilter, lol):

please hurry, summer 2014.  please.

five on friday 11.8.13

 

friday = linkup time!

1.  one thing i really love about north carolina, is the fact that we get to experience all four seasons (as opposed to florida where the four seasons are: summer, hot summer, really hot summer and sweat your buns off really hot summer).  i can't get over these beautiful fall colors lately, i'm especially partial to the yellows!

2.  i've been pretty under the weather this week... say hello to my little friends^^^  those puffs plus vicks are the greatest things since sliced bread!

3.  i have to admit that when i saw the title of this article (marriage isn't for you) and opened it, i was not expecting to read such a profound stance on marriage.  honestly, i've never thought of marriage in this light, but now i wouldn't see it any other way.  to quote the article, "marriage is not about you.  marriage is about the person you married."

4. this may be due to my slight obsession with my new favorite tv show, american horror story: coven, but i am really into the cape trend for this fall/winter.  i think they look so stylish and glamorous.  they have the ability to transform your average boots and jeans into a completely stylish ensemble!

5.  finally, how amazing are these guys?^^^  i love this!

hooray for the weekend!  i hope it's a great one :)

hey, guess what... i can sew!

when i received an invite to a friends baby shower a few weekends ago, i got an itch to get all domestic and make her something, rather than buying something off her baby registry.  while i'm sure she probably could have used the items on her registry more, i really love the idea of giving someone something that you put a little time and thought into... it seems more meaningful.  so after a quick trip to the fabric store, i fired up the sewing machine and made this baby blanket:

 i used this tutorial from a pretty cool life blog.  in my opinion, it was a really easy tutorial for a beginning sewer (as long as you are somewhat familiar with your sewing machine).  i hope baby newman will enjoy his new blanket for many years to come.  i had so much fun making this, and can't wait for my next sewing project... luckily, i have a lot of coworkers who keep having adorable babies, so this shouldn't be a problem ;)

five on friday 11.1.14

it's november.  it's friday.  let's linkup!

1.  butternut squash is my new obsession, and this recipe for squash and spinach lasagna is amazing!  other than the prep, it's not too complicated.  also, i learned that soaking those no-bake lasagna noodles in warm water before assembling your lasagna makes a world of difference!

2.  i read this very touching article earlier this week, about a dying man whose son found a creative way to make his father feel surrounded with love throughout his last few months of life.  coincidentally, i woke up this morning to #skybluepink 

 3.  i tried the silk egg nog for the first time, and it's really good (plus dairy-free and less calories)!  i also saw a pumpkin spice version in the store i will be picking up soon, since the nog is almost gone :-/

4.  this buzzfeed article about 55 things only '90s teenage girls can understand really tugged at my nostalgic heartstrings (especially numbers 4, 17, 18, 25, 37, 52 and 54).

 

5.  while most women currently have scarves and boots on their shopping wish lists...  i've been busy searching for  clothes and bikinis for our upcoming honeymoon in july.  it's so much fun, plus there are some really good deals right now on summer stuff.  my lastest find is this retro style high-waisted bikini from victorias secret... 

i can envision myself in this now, laying on the beach with oversized sunglasses and a redstripe in hand. Ahhh.

happy friday, y'all!