High Five for Friday!

Finally Friday. This week was super busy. I'm so glad it's almost the weekend (as usual!) and only 2 days of work next week before 3 days off for vacation! :) Linking up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk to talk about the best things from this week!

{1} My nails were pretty awesome

{2} Bath & Body Works Sale! I've hit this up twice in the past couple weeks. I know I already have unused things lying around but how could you pass up shower gel for $3 that smells like lime/coconut? That's what I thought. I got this cute air freshener for my car {smells like a margarita!}

{3} A new Wegman's opened 5 minutes away from our apartment. Yes. If you haven't been to a Wegman's, it's a giant grocery store + food court but it's NICE. Super nice. They have great produce, cheese, meat, and bakery. We hardly touched the actual aisles because the place is so big. The "food court" is like a bunch of mini restaurants in one area- but nice ones. We picked up sushi from the HUGE display. I think there were about 5 sushi chefs there! I also got a slice of chocolate cake.... bad Alyssa {but I ate it over the course of 3 days!}

{4} We finally hung some more pictures {even though it's been 5 months since we've moved in} To be fair, we bought this one last month from Ikea- only $10! I love how you can see it from the hallway if the door is open- this is the master bedroom.

And this one... Chris' mom gave this to us a couple years ago. It found a perfect home by the door where nothing had been hung yet {It's the Inner Harbor in Baltimore}

{5} Girls Night out tonight! We're going to Book Club. If you've seen the commercials for this movie, you know what I mean. So excited!

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If you've been living under a rock, this is Magic Mike!

And some random thoughts...

We went mattress shopping for the first time the other night. It was the weirdest experience ever. I was proud of my man- he was able to haggle a mattress down $500! We didn't end up buying it because we just started looking and wanted to do more research. Has anyone else been through this? I had no idea that buying a mattress was like buying a car. Ick.

Lastly... button swapping! I would love to have your button on my blog! Mine is on my sidebar so feel free to grab it and I'll put yours on mine. Just leave me a comment or send me an email!

I hope you have a great weekend:)

Summer 2012 Mixed Tape

Remember making random mixed tapes with your friends in middle/high school?

For the past couple months, Chris and I have been collecting songs we like that we hear on the radio or wherever. We decided to bring it back to the mixed tape days and make a mixed playlist for summer! It's fun and energetic so I wanted to share with you all :)

Midnight City (M83)

Houdini (Foster the People)

Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen) (much to Chris' dismay, I added this one in. he hates it :P)

Young Blood (The Naked and Famous)

Boyz-N-The-Hood (Dynamite Hack) (and this is the one Chris added much to MY dismay...)

You are a Tourist (Death Cab for Cutie)

Cough Syrup (Young the Giant)

Everybody Talks (Neon Trees)

We Are Young (Fun)

Somebody That I Used to Know (Gotye)

Lights (Ellie Goulding)

Tounge Tied (Grouplove)

What are your favorite songs this summer?

Weekend Update!

Where did the weekend go? It's already over?

Friday night, Chris and I went out for dinner at a new sushi/Thai place nearby...

I got drunken noodles and they were SPICY!!!

We then stayed in with a bottle of wine and just hung out. We didn't watch anything on tv, or really even do anything besides talk. It was so nice. After a busy week and previous weekend it was nice to catch up with each other.

Saturday we went to a Food Truck Rally with my college roomie, Katie, and her boyfriend. There were about 40 food trucks from DC and Baltimore "battling it out" in a competition to see which city's trucks are best.This was different- but fun! It was so hot outside that day but it was neat to walk around to all the trucks and try things from different ones. Mine and Katie's favorite was a cupcake truck, of course!

It was good to see them and catch up!

On Saturday evening, Chris went to a movie with his brothers and I hung out at home and was lazy. It was so nice and exactly what I needed!

Sunday consisted of running errands and swimming... fun!

The worst thing about weekends is when they end! This week's going to be a long, busy week but excited for being on vacation most of next week :)

Linking up with Sami, LeeAnn, and Dana for Weekend Update!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

High Five for Friday!!

It's finally Friday. Finally almost the weekend!

I need this weekend to recoup because last weekend was so busy and so was this week.

Here are the highlights from the week!

{1} I got to see my brother before he left for California! Yesterday's post was all about that. Today you get to see our silly bubble photo shoot. We are so cray.

{2} Super cute (SALE) finds from LOFT!

Loft has become my new favorite. I've been seriously cutting down on the shopping lately but couldn't pass it up this time. This is one of the shirts I got...

{3} We have peppers growing! I'm a newbie "gardener", if you can even call it that since our outdoor space is a small balcony. I'm super excited that something is actually growing!

{4} These cookies. Made of cake mix. Recipe from Six Sisters Stuff of course. They taste like a cupcake, with the consistency of a cookie- best of both worlds!

{5} Tacos and margaritas last night for dinner- my favorite meal. I didn't take any pictures because we were so hungry!


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Last but certainly not least. Stephanie @ Bourbon and Glitter is hosting a giveaway! She is one of my favorites and always takes time to read and comment and is so sweet. CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Linking up with Lauren!

I hope you all have a great weekend :)

Good Luck, Ben!

I can't believe this day is here! My little brother, Ben (who really is not "little") is embarking on a huge adventure- moving across the country! I'm so proud of everything he has done and am excited for him. 

But selfishly...I am so sad! He's always been there. I hardly remember life without him and even though we haven't always gotten along, I know he is close by. I know we'll still be able to see each other, but not as often. 

It'll be an adjustment for sure, but I'm so happy for him! I can't wait to visit him in sunny LA!  Impress those people with your art (design) skills like you did when you were 3!

I'm so glad I got to spend some time with you before you left! More on our bubble photo shoot tomorrow :P

GOOD LUCK BEN! I love you :)

Easy Key Lime Pie

This recipe is easy as pie! Ok sorry, that was bad.

I've never been to the Keys, or had fresh"key lime" pie but this one tastes pretty darn good. My best friend Liz lives in the Keys, so when I finally make it out to visit her (soon I hope), this is the first thing I want to try!!!

Here's what you need:

~Graham cracker pie crust (sometimes I make my own but this works too. Also look for the low fat version- it tastes exactly the same)

~2 cans sweetened condensed milk

~1/2 cup sour cream (I use reduced fat or light- tastes exactly that same)

~3/4 cup lime juice (Key Lime is best but it'll work with the regular stuff too)

~1 tbsp lime zest

~Whipped cream (optional)

1. Mix lime juice, sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, and lime zest in a medium bowl. I added 2 drops of green food coloring because I think it's pretty. Key Lime pie is typically not green though :)

Mix well!

I use a small grater to zest the lime but if you have a fancy zester, that'll work too!

2. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust

3. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, or sooner. Keep an eye on it and take out of the oven when you see small pinhole bubbles start to burst on the top. It's really hard to ruin this pie, so as long as it's not browned, it'll be good.

4. Chill completely before serving. I like to serve with whipped cream on top.

{adapted from this recipe}

Isn't that so easy? 

Don't even worry about getting the exact measurements of ingredients. It always turns out great.

Enjoy!

Weekend Update!

This weekend was exhausting. It was filled with activities and was great, but I feel like I need another weekend just to recover!

Saturday was Sailabration in Baltimore. There were tons of boats, planes, and tourists!!! It was a fun, long day. Chris' mom and brother came up for the special event! We walked around the Inner Harbor and looked at some of the boats, then boarded the Water Taxi to travel over to Ft. McHenry. We've never taken the water taxi even though we lived in the city for 3 years so it was fun to finally do it. 

Once we made it to Ft. McHenry, it was time to wait until the air show began. 

It was several hours in the heat and the line to buy food was two hours long. So, in typical Baltimore fashion we had snowballs for lunch :)

The air show finally began and was pretty darn cool! Here are the Blue Angels:

Then we waited over and hour and a half for the water taxi again. Finally we got on the boat and headed to dinner in Fells Point. No pictures of the food. We were starving and that was not my priority ;) I tried a local beer, Flying Dog Woody Creek Belgian White, which was so good. I'm a picky beer drinker but could totally drink this regularly. It was a pretty sunset on the boat ride back.

Sunday was Father's Day! I headed over to my dad's to hang out for the day, and brought a homemade Key Lime Pie along (recipe to come this week!). We grilled and just hung out which was nice. My brother, Ben, is moving to California in less than a week (excuse me while I go bawl my eyes out :( ) so it was especially nice to see him before he leaves on his adventure! Well of course it was great to spend time with Dad on his day!

Dad is wearing his Father's Day 2004 shirt (when Jake was 4). My hands are the same size. I love that he still wears it even though we are (mostly) grown! :P


I'm linking up for the first time with Sami, Leeann, and Dana for Weekend Update!!! :)
Looking forward to meeting new friends!  

I hope you had a good weekend too!

High Five for FRIDAY!

Woohooooo Happy Friday :)

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it's already the middle of June.

Linking up with Lauren for High Five Friday!




Here are the bests from the week:

{1} Super successful Old Navy trip! I went in to find a Chambray shirt. This has been a repeated attempt so I didn't have my hopes up. But...I found one and snatched up the last "small"- an impossible feat sometimes! Here's the one I got.


I was also super impressed with their new jewelry selection. I got earrings and a necklace: 

excuse my hair :) edit: i realize this picture doesn't show the earrings well. ugh, i need to learn how to take pictures. sorry!!

{2} Easy dinners. We've been sick of cooking this week...but most of all just sick of cleaning dishes. It's been barbecues and sandwiches for dinner which is just fine with me.



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{3} We can finally enjoy our balcony. Since we moved in our apartment several months ago, our upstairs neighbors have been a nightmare. Without going into all the frustrating details, our biggest problem has been on the balcony. Their balcony is directly above ours and we constantly find piles of cigarette ashes that have "fallen" on our NEW patio furniture (staining the cushions). We've been asking for a solution ever since. FINALLY, the management company installed outdoor carpeting on their balcony yesterday. So, FINALLY we won't have ashes falling through to ours and we can eat dinners outside!!!

Wouldn't you want to sit out here too?!

{4} Sailabration ~ It's the bicentennial of the War of 1812. To celebrate, Baltimore has brought in dozens of ships for the weekend. You're able to tour the ships, and there's also an air show. Chris is so excited to go because he loves this stuff. I'm mostly excited about the fireworks :) Pictures to come for sure!

sneak peek! I work across the street :)

{5} I'm working a half day today. I don't really have plans to do anything but am excited to have a few hours off to do whatever :)

I hope you have a great weekend!