calling all readers!

i've been meaning to do this for sometime, and there's no time like the present! i need to update my blogroll in the worst sort of way. many of you have been dolls and added me to your own blogrolls, but i'm losing track. if you are a reader and would like me to add your blog to my roll, please let me know.

hope y'all are having a faboosh weekend!

now i know my ABCs

i know this went around awhile ago, but i'm still feeling uninspired, so i thought this would be a fun post in the interim. enjoy a brief getting-to-know belle:

A - Age: 23.75
B - Bed size: full, but soon to be queen. just found out the p-units are buying me my new mattress set!
C - Chore you hate: taking out the trash
D- Dog's name: jake
E - Essential start your day item: diet coke
F - Favorite color: yellow
G - Gold or Silver or platinum: gold for everyday, platinum for my future wedding ring
H - Height: 5'2ish
I - Instruments you play: does learning to play the recorder in 4th grade count?
J- Job title: assistant director of annual giving
K - Kid(s): someday, but not any time soon. either two boys or a boy and a girl.
L- Living arrangements: rented 2 bedroom townhouse. just me and the puppy boy.
M - Mom's name: rebecca
N - Nicknames: sg, peps
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: pneumonia when i was 4. not fun. although i did use it to con my parents into letting me eat cheeseburgers for breakfast after i got better.
P - Pet Peeve: people who don't RSVP
Q - Quote from a movie: "we can love completely without complete understanding." ~A River Runs Through It. i can recite this entire movie from memory. best. movie. EVER.
R - Right handed or left handed: righty
S - Siblings: younger sister
T- Time you wake up: 6:00 AM...i'm trying to work my way back to 5:30 for the summer so i can workout in the morning before it gets hot.
U- Underwear: hanky pankys
V - Vegetable you dislike: beets. i can't think of anything more disgusting.
W - Ways you run late: NEVER. i am punctual to a fault.
X - X-rays you've had: couldn't tell you.
Y - Yummy food you make: my homemade mac and cheese is pretty much amazing.
Z - Zoo favorite: anything aquatic. i have a weird obsession with aquariums.

happy friday, chickadees!

success!

a few weeks back, i asked for help in picking a recipe for our office's monthly birthday celebration. the coconut cupcakes with lime buttercream were the landslide winner. i made them this morning and here are my thoughts:

holy mother of god, the frosting is AMAZING. r was giving me a hard time for making homemade frosting when it can so easily be purchased premade, but i had the last laugh. seriously....i had to put the bowl in the sink and fill it up with water to stop myself from licking it clean.

the actual cupcakes were kind of blah. as a vehicle for the frosting, they are all fine and good, but you can't really taste the coconut. while i applaud the notion of a lower-fat cupcake, these just aren't cutting it. the texture suffered from the lack of butter. next time i make these, i will use my all-time favorite basic white cupcake recipe, and substitute coconut extract for the almond extract. i will report back after this attempt.

in the meantime, i would not pass judgment if you just made yourself a bowl of the frosting and went at it with a spoon. it's seriously that good.

what's cooking wednesdays

happiness is...

in honor of our monday night girls night bachelorette viewing, we had a cookout sunday night at my boss/friend emily's gorgeous home. i was in charge of dessert, and i made my all-time favorite cobbler recipe. nothing says summer to me quite like drinking too much rosé cobbler. nom nom.

this recipe calls for blackberries, but you could really make it with anything. since it isn't quite blackberry or peach season {my two preferred cobbler fruits}, i used a mixed berry cup from kroger {strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries}. it worked just fine. you could also use cherries, but i'm way too lazy to pit my own.

seriously, you MUST try this recipe. it takes all of 10 minute to put together and it is so delicious. i brought the leftovers to work yesterday and people were freaking out.


i love how this has quickly evolved into what i made for girls night wednesdays, instead of the healthful, homemade dishes i'm supposed to be making for myself. i had arby's for dinner last night. yeah. stay tuned for next week...

you're killing me, smalls!

"first you take the graham. you stick the chocolate on the graham. then you roast the mallow. when the mallow's flamin, you stick it on the chocolate. then, you cover it with the other end. then you scarf. it's kinda messy, but it's good. try some."

i would like to preface this by saying this is the most random post ever.

but i want some s'mores. BAD. like, i am craving them in the most intense way. they make me think of summer and camping with my family and childhood. they are also effing delicious and one of the most perfect foods ever. not sure what sparked this craving, but seriously, it's going to need to happen soon.

r has a big stone fireplace in the new house. i am thinking this

plus this

might equal our next date night. especially since he's not big on sweets. then i can eat all of the smores....does anyone else love these things as much as i do?!?

negotiate?!

i can't even buy things on sale! ~charlotte york

have you ladies all discovered the genius that is shop it to me? you tell them your size{s}, your favorite brands, etc. and voila! you receive weekly e-mails {i get mine twice a week, but i think you can get them every day} with a list of all items in your preferred sizes/brands, along with links and pictures. it's AMAZING. here is a sampling of what they found for me today:

from net-a-porter: this darling tibi dress, retail $295, on sale for $177

from bloomies: this colorful tory reva clutch, retail $350, on sale for $245

from shopbop, this tres chic juicy couture jacket {when did they become so stylish?!}, retail $298, on sale for $208.60

and from nordstrom, this fabulous trina turk lbd. retail $298, on sale for $177.90

see why shop it to me is so wonderful?! takes all of the work out of online shopping. if any of you would like an invite, please let me know, but consider yourselves warned: your wallet will be significantly lighter as a result.

hello, out there!

red and white preppy, you left the sweetest comment on this post, but you are private and i can't read you!! please send me an invite at scg2b@virginia.edu? pretty please? k thx bai!

the obsession continues

really, this has gotten completely out of hand. my newfound obsession with interior style/design/decorating whatever you want to call it is taking over my life wallet. i spend an embarrassing amount of my work free time stalking design blogs shelter magazines. it all paid off this weekend because i snagged a few great deals!

love, love, LOVE these pillows from t.j. maxx of all places. $12.99 each and totally perfect for my couch. apologies for the TERRIBLE picture quality. still relying on my crackberry until i can replace my digital.

got this at target for 35 bucks. it is going to look AH-MAZING above my bed.

and these lovelies were completely free, courtesy of my mother's beautiful peony bushes.

things i am currently craving:

yeah....OBSESSED with this rug for my living room floor.

jonathan adler used this table {from pier 1, no less!} in liz lange's weekend home {see may issue of house beautiful} and i literally squealed out loud. this WILL be in my guest bedroom.

and in a world where i have a black amex that i don't pay the bills for, this desk from ws home. le sigh.

cause if you gots the poison...

...i gots the remedy.

terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at work today.  but it's ok because i have the perfect solution tonight.

a bone dry martini, double olives, as soon as i got home

a bistro burger at my favorite local restaurant with my pops

and watching lost with r :)

happy hump day, indeed.

what's cooking wednesdays: the bachelorette edition

love, love, LOVE her

what's up, buttercups?

it's that time again....what's cooking wednesdays! my local girlies and i made a tradition this past winter of watching the bachelor {rat bastard that jason meznick is}, drinking cocktails, and eating whatever was laying around the house. in honor of our fave cuddly canook returning to our living rooms on monday for the season premiere of the bachelorette, i offered to cook the main parts of a dinner, and everyone else is supplementing potluck-style. we're doing a belated cinco de mayo theme, so here's what's cooking:

*ancho-rubbed flank steak with avocado relish i thought the ancho steak recipe looked better than the one with the relish, so we're switching it up. i like a little spice!

*black beans and rice with cilantro

*another yet-to-be determined side dish, brought by one of my lovelies

*strawberry margarita pie in the immortal words of rachel zoe, i. die.

*cornona lime, margs, and soft drinks for my mormon lovely

*munchies for viewing chips + guac and queso, homemade brownies, probably tequila shots

i am making the steak + relish, black beans and rice, and the margarita pie. we have been planning this party for weeks and i am so pumped. really, who doesn't need something to look forward to on mondays?!

what are you cooking this week, my dears?

happy hump day. love ya, mean it!

you are welcome

i feel pretty certain that many of you chickadees are already tuned into the mahhhhhvelousness of this website. but for those of you who aren't, enjoy. i'm beyond thrilled this wasn't around while i was in college. here are two of my personal favorites:

(918): Do u have any bacon or vodka by chance a completely legitimate question, in my opinion

(215): Stoned at DSW. SO MANY SHOES! THEY'RE FREAKING ME OUT. although i prefer my mind-altering chemicals to be in liquid martini form, i can understand this feeling. i get overwhelmed while sober in dsw.

i am so over this weather

what's cooking wednesdays

nummy time! last week was insanely hectic, so the only cooking i did was on sunday. we had to celebrate mother's day a week early because of my little sister's summer work schedule. on the menu for dinner:

ina's steak with bernaise HEAVENLY!

roasted zucchini and potatoes with parmesan and herbs

green salad with mandarin oranges, candied almonds, and poppyseed vinaigrette

paula's not yo mama's banana pudding seriously...if you haven't made this yet, you should. it is knock-your-socks-off rich and delicious!

so the past two nights' dinners featured leftovers from sunday dinner. on the menu for the rest of the week:

tonight chicken and strawberry salad

tomorrow or friday this nom nom-sounding strawberry-avocado salsa over something....i will probably do halibut or something

sunday ina's spring risotto i saw her make this a few weeks ago and have been craving it ever since. i just adore risotto and all of these spring veggies, so i'm assuming the combo will be fabulous!

are you noticing a pattern here? between cooking light and my food network trinity {ina, giada, paula}, i will never run out of recipes. although maybe it's time for me to branch out...

happy hump day, chickadees!

holy mother of god

per-fec-tion. le sigh...she is stunning and i want her wardrobe. lindsay lohan, take note. THIS is how a starlet should dress.