Weekend Rewind

Happy Monday!  Ok, so not really--I'm super sad that my mom had to leave us yesterday and head back to Virginia.  We absolutely loved having her here with us!

Just as I said on Friday, we did end up doing a lot of cooking, eating {if you follow me on Instagram, you already saw my wholesome breakfast...} and A LOT of shopping!  We made a quick trip over the river to the "good mall"and browsed the stores we don't have close to our house.  I love everything about Anthropologie {except their prices...} I could spend hours there going through all of their awesome displays.  LOVE all of these cute little bowls

I walked away with these tea towels and measuring spoons for the kitchen {all on clearance, O!}

I also managed to still have gift cards from Crate & Barrel that we received as wedding gifts two and half years ago!  I know, I know.  But, with the gift cards, I picked up a new pie plate just in time for holiday baking.  And the super cute ceramic egg crate.

Anddddd then I showed O this super cute ceramic egg crate, to which the following conversation unfolded:

A: Look at this!  How cute is this?!
O: What are you going to do with that?
A: It's for our eggs--you know, to store them in
O: They come in a pack of 12.  What are you going to do with the other six?  That thing only holds six.
A: We'll work it out.
O: I can't be on board this...

He might have a good point.  Maybe it was an impulse buy.  Maybe I'll start buying the six pack of eggs.  But it's staying in our fridge.  I'll let you know how this works out...

Overall, it was such a good weekend & I'm so so lucky to have the best momma around!  I miss her tons already!

Five on Friday!

Oh heyyyy, Friday!  I'm excited to link up with  Darci, Natasha, Christina and April again this week--I really look forward to sharing my favorites each week, and reading yours!  So here you go:

{one}  My momma is here visiting this weekend!  She flew in last night & I'm SO GLAD to have her here!!  Living so far apart for the last few years hasn't been easy, so we make the most of our time together!  A lot of shopping, eating {and a little wine} is in the works

{two}  Grey's is back!  Yesssss, I still watch it.  I'll admit, it's not as good as it once was.  I just feel like I need to know what happens.  So I keep watching.  Did anyone else watch?!

Grey's Anatomy

{three}  I know I run the risk of sounding like a lush after the wine comment, but I LOVE Angry Orchard Hard Cider!  I first had it at last year's Oktoberfest, and was glad to see that it was back this year too.  It's definitely the best hard cider I've had.  Screams fall.  Best enjoyed while watching your football team win ;)

{four} This one shouldn't come as a surprise, especially after my product hoarding confession on Monday.  But there's nothing like a new shampoo!  When I got my haircut two weeks ago, my stylist used this Bed Head Shampoo, and oh.my.gosh.  Saying that it smells good doesn't do it any justice.  It smells RIDICULOUSLY good.  Like I-can't-stop-smelling-my-own-hair good {weird? maybe.}

I use it a few times a week, alternating with my regular shampoo, to keep my hair hydrated from all the heat abuse it takes.

Tigi Bed Head Urban Antidotes Shampoo

{five} This new wax tart warmer I bought at Target!  With two dogs in the house, I'm obsessed with making sure our house smells good and not like a dog.  I run through candles like its my J.O.B. so we'll see if this is a good alternative.  So far I LOVE it!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!!

Sausage Breakfast Pizza

It's Wednesday!  Wednesday's are ok.  You're getting over that "hump" but at the same time, Friday afternoon still seems so far away.  Need a delicious breakfast idea for this weekend?  This is one of my favorites!  It's SO yummy & easy {like most of my recipes!}  I love that you make this the night before, and all you have to do is pop it in the oven first thing in the morning.  My mom makes this on Christmas morning every year, but it's not just for Christmas!  We had this at our girls breakfast earlier this month--I was glad I could just throw it in the oven & visit with the girls and enjoy three cups some coffee ;)

Sausage Breakfast Pizza

ingredients:

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 roll of mild bulk sausage

1 cup of frozen hash browns, thawed

4 oz shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of milk

5 to 6 eggs, beaten

Salt & Pepper

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Mushrooms {optional}

1 onion chopped {optional}

Cook the sausage {and onions if using}, drain.  Spread crescent rolls on bottom and sides of 9x13 pan.  Spread cooked sausage on crescent rolls.  Layer on hash browns, Cheddar cheese and mushrooms if using.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs with milk, salt and pepper.  Pour egg/milk mixture over the ingredients in pan and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese.  Let set in refrigerator overnight.   Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes, until crescent rolls are golden brown, and eggs are set.

What is your favorite make-ahead dish?!

This Weekend

The weather cooperated Saturday, and the rain disappeared just in time for us to head downtown for Oktoberfest!  We're very lucky to live so close to Cincinnati--it's nice to be able to go over there and take advantage of fun things like this, but then come home to the 'burbs.

There was a lot of chicken dancin', lederhosen's, and yummy food {and drinks!}  I even got a free hat and t-shirt from my Oktoberfest fav's, Angry Orchard!

The rest of Saturday was spent eating, relaxing, Pinning, and watching a mini Friends marathon

On Sunday, it was church and I was able to get the house cleaned & organized because MY MOM IS COMING TO VISIT!  {Can you tell I'm excited?!}  So I tackled the guest room first.

Here's a little tidbit {I promise, it's relevant}  I'll just put it out there--I'm a product junkie.  Pretty sure its hereditary.  My Gram has a dresser {A DRESSER!} full of miscellaneous cosmetics, samples, and the "free gift with purchase" bags and contents.  I suffer from this same type of hoarding, but on a much smaller scale.  SO, I took all of my random samples and freebies, and popped them into this glass jar for the guest room!

Similar Jar Here

We don't have guests very often, but I thought it would be nice to keep a few little things in the room that guests may need!  I hope the samples finally get some use now!  Or I could just start using them...

I'm about to fill up with a little more coffee this morning--sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays stayed up too late watching the Emmy's!  Did y'all do anything fun this weekend?!

Five {on Friday}

Hellllloooooo, Friday!  SO glad to see you again.  My favorite five this week:

{one}  This link party!  I loved linking up for this last week.  I found SO many amazing new blogs to follow, as well as a few new followers!  Thank you so much Darci, Natasha, Christina and April for hosting!

{two}  Hi, my name is Ashley and I'm a lip balm addict.  I've tried many a balm, but this is a list topper:  Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment.  I'm using the Rose tint right now, but would love to try out other colors!  It's a splurge, but lasts for a long time!

{three}  Speaking of splurges...have you ever tried a Philosophy Shower Gel {or ANY philosophy product for that matter?!}  Holy mother.  They all smell SO.GOOD.  I recently gifted the Cinnamon Buns scent to a friend, and I've got this Pink Frosted Animal Cracker in my shower.  Ahhhh! Amazing!

{four} a fun new iPhone background via Design Love Fest!  I may have downloaded the matching gold sparkle desktop background too.  I feel a home office makeover brewing...

{five} I shouldn't should go shopping this weekend.  LOFT has so many cute fall pieces out right now! My to-buy list includes:

Plaid Sheer Blouse

Metal and Bead Bangle Set

Modern Skinny Jean in Ruby

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for nice weather this weekend.  The forecast is calling for rain as of now {boo!} and I had some fun outdoor things planned!  If it does end up raining, it'll give me a chance to do some much needed cleaning and organizing around here!

What are your plans for the weekend?!

Baked Mexican Bean Dip

I mentioned on Monday that we I like to have "living room tailgates" on game day.  This involves the two of us watching our Wildcats or NFL teams, snacking and maybe enjoying an adult beverage.  If it's a big game, we may even have others over to tailgate in our living room too. {Ok, so we're eating, drinking and watching the game at home.  But when you say "tailgating" it just sounds like more fun, right?!}  I made one of our favorites on Sunday--Baked Mexican Bean and Taco Dips.

Baked Mexican Bean Dip

ingredients:

1 can refried beans

1 block of Cream Cheese

1/2 packet of Taco Seasoning

1 cup shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

serve with:

Tortilla Chips & Cold Taco Dip {below}

Preheat oven to 350.  In a microwave safe bowl, add refried beans and cream cheese.  Microwave in 30-40 second intervals, stirring until cream cheese has melted & combined with refried beans.  Stir in 1/2 a packet of taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese.  Once combined, spread into a baking dish and top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, until cheese has melted.

  

I almost always serve this along with scoops and cold "Taco Dip" which is: 1ish cups of Sour Cream & the other half packet of Taco Seasoning.  Stir well & refrigerate while Bean Dip is baking.  They go SO well together!


What's your favorite game day/tailgate recipe?!

Helllllooo Fall!

It looks like Fall finally found us here in Kentucky {at least for a few days!}  The cooler temperatures inspired me to start decorating for the season...ok, so just mums and a wreath out front.  It's a work in progress.

I got my craft on and made this cute burlap wreath for our front door.  I used the same technique {if you can even call it that...} as I did for my little burlap Christmas tree.  It was a nice distraction during the Kentucky/Louisville football game on Saturday.  PS: is it basketball season yet?!

In addition to starting to decorate for Fall, I stocked up on more Pumpkin Spice Awesomeness.   If you follow me on Instagram, you already saw that I found Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese at Target this weekend.  Oh my gosh, y'all.  SO.GOOD.  The cashier at Tar-jay tells me its even better with Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips.  I believe her.

On Sunday, we went to church & came home for a little living room tailgate!  O is a Green Bay fan, and having been born and raised right outside of DC, I'm a Redskins fan!  So we were a house divided for 3.5 hours.  Guess who wasn't happy at the end of the 4th quarter.  This girl {and this dog.}

{Looks like I'm not the only one who needed a haircut this weekend...Sorry, Iz.}

We also had three gorgeous nights on the deck--perfect weather!

Here's to hoping this week goes by fast so I can do more of the above!

Five on Friday

I seriously love reading what other bloggers list for their Five on Friday's!  I've never joined in on the fun, but there are just SO MANY things I'm obsessing over right now--I give you, my Five on Friday fall favorites:

{one} The Season of Pumpkin Spice everything has arrived.  This stuff is like crack.  I searched not one, not two, but FOUR grocery stores to get my hands on this creamer {thanks, Target!}  

{two} Essie Smokin' Hot Nail Polish.  I love dark polish in the fall!

{three} Change in season?  Time to change my hair.  I LOVE this style I've been seeing all over Pinterest.  I'm scheduled for a cut tomorrow that is long overdue and  I.CAN'T.WAIT.

source

{four} The return of football...ok, so it returned last week.  But both my college and my NFL teams had a poor showing, so I'm hoping for a better football weekend.  

 

     

{five}  Fall scented candles making my whole house smell AMAZING.  This is my new favorite of the season!

Happy Friday, y'all!

Hospital Survival Kit

I mentioned on Monday that we had little breakfast celebration this past weekend before our sweet friend left for the hospital to have her baby!   I sent her home with a little hospital survival kit--you never know how long things will take to get movin' when you're having a baby {or so I hear} and I wanted to make sure she had a few little things, just for her!  I failed to take a picture of the finished gift, but here is a breakdown of the contents:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

I'm FAR from being an expert on what new mom's need in the hospital.  BUT I did a lot of research {ie: asking friends and family members who have given birth} and I asked what comforts of home they were glad they'd packed or wished they'd had during their hospital stay!  After the gift was wrapped and given, I thought of a few other things I wish I would have included: Wisp toothbrushes, candy and snacks and drinks!  Side note, the superlative for "Most Appreciated" goes to the good quality toilet paper.

As more and more friends have babies, I'm excited to add to this Survival Kit list.  Spoiler alert: this is now my go-to shower gift.

What other items should I add to the list?!

Weekend Recap

Monday, already?!  Ugh.  Who on Earth decided it would be a good plan to work five days, and then take off two?  Terrible idea.  I liked last week better when I had a three day weekend.  I think Monday's are extra hard when you've had a fun weekend.  Let's take a minute to recap all the fun we had in the past 48 hours:

Saturday morning I got together with our Life Group girls to have a special breakfast for our sweet Rebecca on one of her last days of being pregnant.  We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this baby girl any minute!  I love any reason for all of us to get together.

And I LOVE breakfast food.  Our spread included breakfast casserole, fruit, and a quiche.  It was SO.GOOD.

And as if that wasn't enough fun, Abby and I ran up to Ikea Sunday afternoon.  This has been a much discussed trip to Ikea.  Months in the making.

We may have mentioned something about taking a U-Haul with us at one point, but the husbands quickly shut that down.  Which is a good thing, because I would have come home with this kitchen, more accessories for the new bathroom and all of page 136 in the 2014 catalog.  I did come home with a few fun accessories though!

We wrapped up the weekend grilling and enjoying the gorgeous weather.  It won't be long before it's dark at 5:00pm and too cold to sit outside on the deck {sad face}

What fun things did you do this weekend?!

Budget Master Bath Make-Over: After

Well we did it.  Three days, four colors, and miles of painters tape, but we finished our mini bathroom makeover.  Because the room is so small, it didn't take any time {silver lining?}.  But once I painted the walls "Toasty Grey," I just felt like it needed a little something extra.  I found tons of great ideas on Pinterest, but found inspiration right in front of me {literally}

Sooooo, we painted an accent wall with thick stripes {look familiar?  Oh hey, blog background!}  Curveball, I know.  Painting the stripes wasn't that bad.  The worst part was the measuring and taping around all of the fixtures.  I used Virginia at Live Love DIY's tips for measuring the wall and Megan at Honey We're Home's method of sealing and painting.  Both worked like a charm.  Crisp, evenly spaced, wide stripes.  And I LOVE it.  Just last week, I was explaining my hatred for our tiny master bathroom, and now it's easily my favorite room in our house!  Better yet? I came in under my self imposed budget.  A little paint goes a long way!

  

In addition to painting the walls and vanity, we replaced our dated medicine cabinet with a larger one, sans frame.  I envisioned a great decorative mirror like this in the bathroom, but we just couldn't give up the extra storage, so a new medicine cabinet it was.

I also picked up a few new accessories from HomeGoods and Target.

And one of the biggest changes, new floor!  Adios 1990's linoleum, hello clean tile.  This isn't just any tile.  It's peel-and-stick!  With grout!  {Thanks O!}  More on that later.

I can't get over how different this space is now.  SO much brighter than before, and the stripes create an optical illusion that makes the room feel wider and taller.  Mission accomplished.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

I'm taking a break from the bathroom makeover marathon while O puts the new flooring down, to make another batch of my favorite homemade ranch dressing.  I got the urge a few weeks ago to make some--I know what you're thinking,  wayyyy too much effort.  Not really!  Totally worth it AND so much better than the bottled dressing {sorry, Hidden Valley}.

Now, it's in our fridge all.the.time.  I could seriously drink this stuff.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Recipe adapted from unknown source.

ingredients:

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk (I add just a bit more for a thinner dressing; prob 3 tbsp.)

3/4 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 heaping teaspoon dried chives

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 heaping teaspoon garlic powder

1/4-ish teaspoon salt

Ground pepper to taste--I gave it about 50+ grinds out of the pepper mill

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix mayo, sour cream and milk together until smooth.  Whisk in dry seasonings, salt and pepper until combined. Add lemon juice, stir again.  Pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate for an hour or two while the flavors come together.  Serve with everything!  It keeps for about two weeks in the fridge, but it never lasts that long in our house.

Linking up to The Winthrop Chronicles!