High Five for Friday

Finally reaching Friday and the weekend is the best feeling in the world. So here's another High Five for Friday!

1 // EH and I have NO official plans for this weekend (minus him playing golf this afternoon) so I plan on taking the time to lounge in my backyard oasis.

2 // I got a pedicure several weeks ago and used vinylux polish for the first time. It's similar to shellac but you don't have to cure them under a UV light (so much quicker!) and it lasts just as long - plus you can remove with nail polish remover which is great! Anyways, mine have finally started to wear off so if I must...I'll be getting a pedicure this weekend too.

3 // This guy seems to have so much more energy when his hair is cut really short - who knew. He's been keeping EH and I busy after work each night playing with his babies. I made the mistake of burying his favorite chew bone underneath them all so this happened:

He had to take ALL of the babies out to get to the bone - but the basket terrifies him for some reason so it's a lot of tipping it over really fast and grabbing a baby out. He finally got it out minutes later.

4 // Since it's not going to be unreasonably hot this weekend (or so I think now), I'd like to open the windows and doors and let some air through the house.

5 // I've been really good the past month or so with a semi-spending freeze. I've got a couple checks saved up so I think I will take a trip to the mall and treat myself to a new outfit. We've got some fun events coming up in the next few weeks so a few updated pieces will serve me well. 

Hope you have a great weekend!  

Throwback Thursday

Or maybe I should call it vintage Thursday? Old pictures Thursday?

 

Anyways, last night in an effort to get EH unstuck from the TV and into the office to study, I turned on an episode of Full House. The one where Jessie and Becky almost elope? And then of course it doesn't work out because no sitcom episode works out in just one night:

 

Photo Courtesy of www.fullhousereviewed.com

EH still stuck it through almost the entire episode because obviously it was full of compelling plot twists and whatnot. But as we were discussing the amazing fashion and wonderfully cliche catch phrases, watching that little Olsen twin reminded me of pictures from my scrapbook. 

 

You gotta love the late 80's/early 90's fashion that everyone had at this time. Like who decided a baby pink cardigan with a cottage stitched on the side would be so toddler chic?

 

  I'm genuinely surprised by my five-head as a toddler. I don't..think I have that now.

While most people go along with the different trends (myself included), there is one person who has had a consistent style since as far back as I have seen pictures for, and that's my Mom. Seriously - look how gorgeous her hair is. It's been as long or longer than this for as long (ha!) as I can remember.

I'm pretty sure my Mom kept the hot roller industry in business from the 70's-probably now.

 

It's always fun looking back through old pictures - almost as much fun as watching a throwback episode of Full House.

 

Cheers to Friday coming up!

 

Things to Remember

I can always tell when I'm not quite feeling like my enthusiastic self when I find myself pinning inspirational quotes on pinterest. I've always been really into collecting quotes - always copying them down into a little notebook and pulling it out whenever I was feeling a little down. Something about knowing someone else in the world has captured exactly what you're feeling in a way that you could never find yourself able to express is oddly comforting.

Here are a few that must be really good because I pinned them over and over. 

This one reminds me of my MeMaw who always told me the things we worry about most are the ones that never come true. So far she's been pretty accurate!

 

 

 

I have about 285 more but these were the ones that I gravitated towards tonight. Just a little boost to make tomorrow better than today!

Not So Victorious Dinner (and a PSA)

Tonight's dinner was not meant for the Victory books, I'm afraid. It all started out well - I prepped and got halfway in to the Pioneer Woman's Mustard Chicken recipe before it all went wrong.

I've made this recipe a ton - it's always been delicious and easy and drama free. Unfortunately tonight was the exception to that rule. I made it through the tough part (in my opinion anyways) of cooking the chicken, sauteed the garlic (smelled amazing!) but somewhere between turning off the burner (since I was dealing with bourbon) and pouring the bourbon into the skillet to glaze the pan -- something went terribly wrong.

At the time it felt like the flames were SUPER high and ENGULFING our kitchen cabinets and OMG WHERE IS THE DOG, and WHY CAN'T I FIND THE EXTINGUISHER (hint: because we don't own one), I somehow yelled for Engineer Husband who came running in and we were able to extinguish it.

Hopefully you have never dealt with a stove top fire but here are a few things that we did that you should NOT do:

- Forget that the right pantry aid is baking soda, not flour.

Because this happens.

And then your dinner, which was smelling really good and just about to start the delicious sauce making phase, will look like this.

You can spot the wet towel that thankfully we did not employ tonight as well.

If you DO find yourself in this situation, use BAKING SODA. Which of course we remembered after we had already doused the flames with what I can only guess is an entire bag of flour. 

But it worked, thankfully since our house is intact and we didn't make the fire worse. We were all safe and the chicken that was already cooked was spared and very gently over a low flame worked into another dish so that we could still eat.

So. Please learn from my mistakes. Be super careful cooking with alcohol and if you find yourself in a predicament like me where you're looking for something that you don't own to put out the flames, reach for the baking soda.

Photo Courtesy of ArmandHammer.com

You know you've got a box somewhere! I'm planning on putting some right next to the stove for anytime I decide to cook with booze - which likely will not be for a little while to say the least.

Baking soda.

(Also, in my googling since, it looks like the wet towel would also work but that seems iffy to me since you shouldn't use water. You could also put a lid over the pan and move away from the burner. That sounds like it would work but in the heat of the moment no way would I have been able to find the right lid.)

Or just buy an extinguisher. Or order take out.

Blogmopolitan Quiz

Another weekend has come and gone but we've already made it through Monday so that in itself is a victory!

I didn't want to bore you with another lake weekend recap (it was fun! we had friends and dogs everywhere!) so when I saw the Blogmopolitan Quiz from Two Thirds Hazel , I figured, perfect!

So here are my answers - though I probably should've completed this on a day that didn't leave me emotionally drained and needing a big glass of wine. Fortunately for me, the Bachelorette Men Tell All is on tonight (my not so guilty pleasure) so I'm bound to be in better spirits soon!

Hope you have a great rest of the week!

Weekend Happenings

This past weekend was the first in a long time it feels like where Engineer Husband and I had no concrete plans or trips out of town. To say this was much needed is an understatement.

Here's what we filled our free time up with:

 1 // Stopped into American Pie Pizza for a couple of pre-movie drinks and some spicy chicken dip. This has sort of become a tradition right before we go see a movie, which isn't often enough!

2 // Met up with a friend and her hilarious fiance to see 22 Jump Street. It was SO hilarious - better than the first which is saying something because I loved that one too.

3 // After the movie we headed to BJ's Brewhouse for a couple of post-movie drinks. Our friend's Fiance got RAK'd (Random Act of Kindness - it's a Chiver thing) which made EH jealous he wasn't wearing his Chive shirt. Good times!

4 // On Saturday we grabbed lunch and after deciding it was ridiculously too hot and too humid outside, I convinced EH to help me set up a little backyard oasis.

Which meant concocting up an "orange thing" (basically a screwdriver with a splash of sprite - so good!), breaking out the super SPF tanning lotion, and diving into a new book. Pretty funny so far - especially if you are read it in Ron Swanson's voice. Which of course I did.

But what really made the oasis special was my very own personal swimming pool.

Which I purchased with the money I received for returning a dress to Target, which basically meant I purchased my pool FOR FREE. Not really, but that's what it felt like at least.

On Sunday we headed to one of our favorite spots - Dugan's Irish Pub - for a late lunch and day drinking while we watched the World Cup!

Which led to another round at Stone's Throw Brewery - which I've mentioned before is a favorite.

And last but not least, we captured the elusive white(ish) chipmunk that has been terrorizing Moose.

Which EH promptly named Moby Chick. Get it?

Shortly after we shuttled him to the nearby park to join the league of other chipmunks we have relocated. Not sure if it's helping control the population in our backyard but oh well! It's so fun to see them sprint off - I'm pretty sure the park goers think we are crazy.

Hopefully that shows up!

Have a happy week!

Blame it on the Water

It's been a minute, huh? Or more like close to two weeks!

This time I'm going to blame it on the water. If you've been here before (hi!) then you may have seen me mention a certain camping trip. We started by buying and testing out a new tent.

It tested great in the living room if you're wondering!

Since we wanted to take Moose, we decided a snazzy life jacket was a necessity.

 This picture still cracks me up. A) His fluff is ridonkulous. B) He spent a few minutes terrified to move - after he realized it wasn't locking him in one position for the rest of his life he was totally fine, but man. He was not a fan in this moment.

And SINCE he was so terribly fluffy, we went ahead and got a summer haircut. 

He doesn't want to talk about it. But look how cute he is all packed up with the rest of the supplies!

So early two Friday mornings ago Engineer Husband and I shipped out super early to go claim a campsite. We ended up being WAY early (EH was convinced they would all get taken by 10AM) but it was all worth it because we got a great spot and were able to just sit around and relax until the rest of the group arrived.

Later our friends arrived and it was all about finding the perfect hot dog sticks, s'mores and of course, adult beverages. Since our phones had no service (which was awesome), I just locked it up in the truck for the weekend.

The next day we met up with another couple and headed out for the float! If you are from here or ever find yourself in The Natural State, I highly suggest experiencing the Buffalo River. We've had so much rain that the river was moving quickly but it is still one of my absolute favorite spots on the Earth.

 

We camped one more night but unfortunately were met with a torrential downpour. Luckily the campsite had a restaurant that made for an easy dinner and by the time we made it back to camp we were (albeit after much effort) able to start another camp fire and hang out a little bit longer.

After the whirlwind of the river, we made it through another work week and got ready for another weekend on the water - this time on the lake!

 

This picture does no justice to the amount of boats that were all tied up in the cove. It got even more crowded by the end of the afternoon. Hope you like your boat neighbors!

 

 Moose's life jacket was extra beneficial when paired with another life jacket.

 

 

I think he enjoyed the raft a little more though - especially when it was in the boat. Regardless, he was a trooper during both weekends. Good boy!

 All in all, they were both fun, somewhat relaxing and sometimes crazy weekends but we all made it - probably a little more sun burnt than we'll ever admit - but happy all the same.

Hope you have had a great couple of weekends - and a Happy 4th!