a few things to say

Just a few things I have to say:

1. Why Nonna Why?! Yes, Wynonna was voted off Dancing with the Stars last night. Yes, it was warranted, she didn't move AT ALL on the dance floor, but I really didn't see it coming. I figured she had legions of fans that would keep her in for a bit longer. It was one of my favorite entertainments of the week seeing what awful outfit she would wear, how awkward her dance {or non dancing} would be, if her boob would finally take Tony out on the dance floor and really just having that 'Nonna Fever. I'm very disappointed with the Judds right now. First Ashley drops out of the Senate race--that was pure entertainment in itself-- and now Wynonna's out. The Judds made a vast exit from the radar this week. If you missing Twinkle Toes too, check out my new favorite thing on YouTube. Wynonna + Bette Midler+ The Rose circa 1996.

2. Winter is Coming.Yes, I Jessica Clayton, got sucked into the Game of Thrones. From Saturday to last night I watched all 20 episodes that make up Seasons 1 & 2 and last night watched the first episode of Season 3. I'm all caught up, and I hate it because now I have to wait. I really didn't think I would get into this show like I have. There are so many different characters, it's hard to keep up. The story is set on the fictional continent of Westeros. Basically you have your Lannisters {rich, ruthless, incestious} currently on the throne, you've got your Starks {loyal, brave, northerners}at war with Lannisters in hopes of getting two daughters back, and to live back in the North and rule over their own land. Then there's Daenerys of House Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, who is on a journey back to the capital from her exile to also take over the Iron throne which belonged to her family before the current King's father destroyed them and drove them out.  And you've got the men of the Night Watch who protect the walls of the Kingdom and much, much much more. It really can't be explained. You just have to watch and remember A Lannister Always Pays his Debts.

3. Ohhh Kimmy. Who is telling Kim Kardashian her pregnancy look is cute? It's not. They way people went after Jessica Simpson seems horrendous in light of Kim's looks. But really Kim, not cute.

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4. Slap yo Mama good! This recipe is super yums. I got it from a blog post my friend Christa posted a few months back. The first time I tried it, it didn't turn out too well because I left the crock-pot on High too long, but my second attempt last night was perfect. It's just so, so good.

5. Oh and on Wednesdays....

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weekend wrapup

I painted my nails "THRILL OF BRAZIL" // Thoroughly enjoyed the March issue of Southern Living while sitting on the back patio on Saturday//Yummy grilled steak, baked potato & asparagus dinner made by my parents on Saturday night// Went to see OZ: The Great and Powerful 3-D Friday afternoon with friends Heather & Georgia Wood from church// Obsessed over Shirley MacLaine movies for most of the weekend too--Terms of Endearment, The Evening Star, The Apartment, & Postcards from the Edge


Oz: The Great & Powerful was so good and TOTALLY worth the 3-D experience. Sometimes I don't really think it matters, but this one I totally recommend 3-D all-the-way!

How was your weekend?

happy {post valentine's} friday

I hope everyone had a LOVE filled February 14.

{hearts}

Happy Valentine's Day. Last year I blogged about all the things I LOVE. They haven't changed. You can read them here. 

Living Dallas

Last night's episode of Dallas was just as full  of backstabbing, double crossing, manipulations and betrayals as ever. Which made it just as enjoyable as always. I not only enjoy the constant guessing game of who is on top in the power plays, but I love the scenery of Dallas. The show is entirely filmed in Dallas itself so you get great location shots throughout the city and of course Southfork Ranch itself. I also can't get enough of the style and colors that are completely TEXAS. Here's a few things that can help us live a little more "DALLAS" in our day to day life.

1. "Longhorn" Texas Bevo oil painting 2.Tory Burch robinson Spectator Envelope Clutch 

3.Tory Burch Alexa Cropped Skinny Jean 4. Colleen Lopez Color Block Dress 

5. Jonathan Adler Multi Bargello Cheveron pillow 6. yummy guacomole is very Texas 

7.Oil Well model music box 8.Technibond Set of 3 Gold Bangle 9. GAP 1969 Western Shirt 

10. Tory Burch Leather Amarina Booties

11. Promotional photo of Linda Gray and Larry Hagman during the Original Series 

12. GAP Floral Scarf 13. Southfork Ranch t-shirt

weekend fun

Friday I loaded up and headed to my beloved Florence for a few days. Friday night I got to spend with my friends Shelley and Britney. I'm so thankful for my involvement in Panhellenic in college because it brought these two wonderful girls into my life. They are such a fun time. We went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings and talked and laughed and talked and laughed. So. much. fun.

Before I headed in for the night Shelley and I made a trip to Target and I went on a little Sonic date with Kaitlin when she got done babysitting for the night. 

Shelley having a little America fun in Target.

Saturday morning Melanie and I were lazy and got sucked into a Say Yes to the Dress marathon. It's so easy to do. ha! When I finally pried myself off the couch to go get ready, I headed downtown to meet my friends Amy and Lauren and Lauren's precious baby girl Bella Claire for lunch at Rosie's. Before I headed into Rosie's I stopped in Cherry Tree Lane to see my friend and owner of the beautiful store Kathryn. Kathryn is always fun to catch up with, she's quite sassy and as always Rosie's was super yummy. It was so good to see Amy and Lauren too. Lots to discuss and catch up on!

Ahh I love me some Rosie's

Cherry Tree Lane. So, So pretty!

Saturday evening Kaitlin and I headed to Double Springs, AL for the wedding of our sorority sister Brittany! I always enjoy a car ride with Kaitlin so much laughter and fun. The wedding was so beautiful and Brittany looked gorgeous. I had so much fun celebrating their nuptials and catching up with all my ADPi's. It was definitely a fun time, especially on the dance floor and at the photo booth. And yes, I do have an injury from the bouquet toss. There was literally blood. One girl was serious about this stuff and I suffered the consequences. ha! 

Photo Booth fun!

After the wedding fun, Kaitlin and I made a date with a few to meet up back in Florence for some Cosmic Bowling at the Lauderdale Lanes. I initiated this. Secret { I LOVE BOWLING} I don't know why, but I do.  And Cosmic bowling is even better! 

I required everyone to pose before their first bowl! 

We finished up bowling about midnight and of course we were in need of some nourishment. So in true college fashion we headed over to the Waffle House. 

So greasy, but oh SOOOOO yummy! 

Sunday, I spent the day with the awesome MELANIE { who was also my hostess for the weekend} We went to lunch at my downtown Florence favorite, Ricatoni's. I couldn't come to town without indulging in the amazing cheese ravioli and a side salad and of course lots of bread! New joke "you know you've been out of college for a while when you don't know ANY of the waiters at Ricatonis!" 

Heaven on a PLATE! 

After lunch Melanie and I did some riding around and just enjoying the beautiful day. We also made a trip to Miami Ice. The perfect treat for a hot day!

Ahh they are so yummy. {yes, all I did was eat this weekend!} 

After our snow cones we went to see ROCK OF AGES! All through college Melanie and I had a tradition of going to the movies on Sunday afternoons. We were excited to recreate this tradition this weekend. Oh, and ROCK OF AGES was so good. Not much of a plot, but the music is worth it! I love 80s power ballads. I really want the soundtrack! 

Getting ready to ROCK out! 

Such a wonderful weekend! I love coming back and visiting this place! 

Oh, so pretty!

What did you do over the weekend?

Saturday Morning Treat

Yum, Yum, Yum! I woke up this morning with a craving for cinnamon rolls. A wonderful Saturday morning treat!

Also enjoying perusing this little gem of a Tumblr: WhenInDc {very funny}

What are you doing on this Saturday AM?

grape drank

This beautiful warm, spring weather has me longing for that feeling of freedom and summer that college used to bring. Now, in the real world, where warm weather just means...warm weather and in DC tourists galore I'm missing those days of heading off to work at camp or the excitement of a new internship and a new city, or the fun of working part time and spending my freedom dining on Rosie's patio and late nights at OTR  in my favorite city on the river.

Another thing I miss hanging out with my friend Melanie Harris! She is an awesome middle school math teacher who, although only two years older than me, became a true confident while she was my adviser during my term as SGA 2nd Vice President in college. I've been thinking of Melanie a lot lately because she is just a girl that loves to have fun and be around LOTS of people. The best thing about Melanie's house is that there is ALWAYS "purple drank" in the fridge which most people know as grape Kool-Aid. While at the grocery store a few days ago, I kept thinking about how much I was loving the warm weather and I wanted fruits and salads to fill my cart. I also wanted some "grape drank." I purchased a fun turquoise plastic pitcher and FINALLY found the Kool-Aid and loaded up on packets of grape. 

Every time I go to get that pitcher out of the fridge I think of Mel's house and summer time movie dates, late night chat sessions, and SUPER random group hangouts. You can always count on Mel to bring an interesting crowd together. So pour up some Kool-Aid and enjoy the sunshine. It's that time of year!

bright, sunshinny day

It was a perfect  BEAUTIFULsunny day. I can't wait for my lunch hour everyday just so I can go walk around and sit outside for a little while. I've been craving the sun and I try to soak up all of it I can in my short hour.

I found the BEST little Mexican to go place today near my office. I wasn't too hungry so I just got some fresh guac and chips. They also have homemade fruit teas. I got this passion fruit one and it was so YUMMY.

Also loving this song at the moment:

vday

Prince William isn't Princess Catherine's only Valentine this year.

Nope he has to share that with this cute little 8 year old boy.

I got a Valentine too. From my sweet Mom & Dad:

This was the flower scene outside Union Station this morning...It was quite barren when I left to go home afterwork:

And THIS happened at work today:

Daphna was so embarrassed, but it was such a fun moment. I wish I had a video of the beginning of the whole thing. It was quite hysterical.

And this is how I'm ending my night:

Chocolate covered strawberries & Downton Abbey. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

How are you spending your Valentine's Day?

memorable sandwich

I had my first Pret-A-Manger experience today. I was in Union Station looking for a new lunch option and found this tucked away in the corner. It's a new obsession. It's a grab and go kind of place, it's 100% organic in all of it's items. It's a chain based out of London but they have locations in Chicago, NYC, and DC. I got a grilled cheese today and they toasted it to perfection. But it was more than a grilled cheese. It had parmesan cheese, brie, roasted tomatoes, basil, black pepper, a special Pret's seasoning and it was on their bloomer bread. It was just so, so good. I can't stop thinking about how good it was. I'm definitnely going to be a returning customer.

weekend roundup

I drove into DC this weekend and spent some time with Christa and MV. We started our afternoon with some Mexican on the Hill. There was some creepy Disney artwork and random pinatas, but the food was pretty good. From there we went to Crumbs to get something sweet. I got the chocolate brownie cheesecake cupcake. It was wonderful. Very rich, but extremely delightful. It was starting to rain, but we wanted to do something in DC. We finally decided to go to the American History Museum because they had just gotten some new stuff outside the their Warner Brother's Theater. Sidenote --Christa doesn't really like museums, so she wasn't as into the idea as MV and I}--but she suffered through it. Not much else you can do when it's cold and rainy. We walked through the First Ladies exhibit and the Evolution of American Transportation too. I love, love, love museums.

Michelle Obama's Inaugural gown

Chatting at the bus stop

Hanging out on subway car

covering my hair from the rain...looking ridiculous.

Christa & MV

When we left the museum we walked back to the car {which MV had done some pretty good paralleling to get into} and noticed that his trailer hitch was missing. Someone had stolen it. So random! After this we went back to Christa's apartment and hung out and watched HGTV. We were really into House Hunters on Saturday!  After a while we went to get some sushi at Kyoto on the Hill. It was very, very good and they had some GREAT music playing. I got the Sky Roll, Shrimp Dynamite roll and a ginger salad. I had been wanting some sushi for a while. It definitely satisfied the craving!

After dinner we went back to Christa's and watched Ides of March and Moneyball. Both were movies I had been wanting to see. and I really enjoyed them both. Ides of March is based on a presidential campaign so of course I was into it {and it had George Clooney and Ryan Gosling..whats not to love} It was pretty dark, but very intriguing. Moneyball was a lighter movie. Very different from most of Aaron Sorkin's stuff, but still very good. Sports movies are always fun to watch. It was pretty late when we finished the last movie so I ended up staying the night. Sunday I drove back to Virginia Sunday. Sunday afternoon I worked on my Valentine's cards and watched Gilmore Girls. I really have missed that show. It puts me in such a good mood. I love escaping to Stars Hollow. It reminds me of watching and cooking dinner with my mom on Tuesday nights when I was in high school. It was a Tuesday tradition.

Sunday of course ended with the SUPER BOWL. So proud of ELI and the GIANTS!  I also love watching the commercials and the half time show. This year Madonna didn't really do anything for me. I mean she is a pop legend but I expected a little more from her. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. {and I totally missed the controversy of MIA, I guess it was just too quick for me} The commercials were lacking to me. I did enjoy the Seinfeld one, the M&M was cute, and the french bulldog winning the race was really cute. I think my favorite was the Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" Very well written.

Ready for a new week ahead. Happy Monday.