Cheers to Art

Last weekend, CV and I went to a little art studio, Cheers To Art, to drink wine & test our painting skills. I was really excited to finally attend one of these classes. Unfortunately, CV wasn't as excited as I was, but I think after he realized how many hours of baseball/football I watch with him on a regular basis...he knew he owed me atleast two hours of doing something girly! :)

Here we are ready to start class in our smocks:

 It was actually a fun class. The teacher tells you which colors to mix and what to do step by step, until you finally come out with your own little creation.

Here's mine:

And CVs:

And together with our paintings.

I absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back and paint something else.

AND I get to cross something off my 101 list:

#74. Create a piece of artwork (painting, make pottery) and display it proudly

Now, I just have to find the perfect place to hang it!

Here's the whole class:

Have any of you attended one of these classes? How did your art turn out?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Welcome to another edition of:

Here are a few things I'm loving this week:

I'm loving...my new bareMinerals kit "Putting On the Glitz".
I've been wearing the "Glamtastic" eyeshadow daily...it's a must have.

I'm loving...that I signed up for my first class of Pure Barre. It's next Tuesday. Wish me luck! :)

I'm loving...that CV & I are headed to Columbus this weekend for the Ohio State/Wisconsin tailgating/game.
I'm not a buckeye fan like CV...but I guess I can pretend for a day!

I'm loving...my new Joan&David boots. (Yes, more shoes!)

I'm loving that they were originally $280+ (and the cheapest sale I could find was $154.52 on Endless.com). BUT I found them for $69 at TJMaxx. Love.

I'm loving...that I bought 4 bottles of this Sparkling Wine. (Originally $40 bottle, on sale for $7 each!)

Ahhh, I love a good deal & all things sparkly! :)

What are you loving today???

Little Ugly Ottoman

I'm back with another furniture project.

Victim: a little ugly ottoman CV found on the side of the road.

Condition: Disgusting

Step One: Remove Legs

Grab a screwdriver, etc and take the legs off.

(We will paint them later.)

Step Two: Remove Current Fabric

This involved a box cutter and removal of alot of staples.

Step Three: See What You are Working With

Hay???? Who would've thunk it.

Step Four: Batting

Cut the batting, as needed.

In my case, I cut the batting short because I didn't want it to bulge around the corners.

By cutting a box out of each corner, it allowed me to fold it nicely on each side.

Step Five: Upholstery

Hopefully, by now you have picked out the perfect fabric.

Cut the fabric to fit the seat (always allow a little extra) and staple it to the bottom.

Step Six: Prime and Paint the Legs

Paint those "gam gams" and allow 24 hours for drying.

Step Seven: Screw the Legs Back on the Ottoman and Admire

Isn't she beautiful?

And the total cost:

Only $6.65

:)

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

I finally invested in a crock-pot last week.

How I've survived all these years without one is beyond me. BUT...better late than never. Right?

For my very first crock-pot experience I chose this Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup recipe.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans (I chose the Hot & Spicy ones!)

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer

2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning (Hot & Spicy one!)

3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Shred chicken. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, and crushed tortilla chips.

This recipe was delicious and perfect for a cold Fall night.

What other crock-pot recipes should I try? Suggestions please! :)

Sweetest Flowers

A post dedicated soley on my Sweetest Day flowers from CV.

Aren't they pretty?

I'm loving all the fall colors. :)

Did anyone celebrate the fake Hallmark holiday?

A Very Friendly Weekend

Incase you wanted to know what I did this weekend, here it is in "recap" form.

Let's start with Thursday.

I treated a few of my friends to dinner at our local Mexican joint, El Toro. My friends, the Naylors, watched Paisley while CV and I were vacationing in Raleigh a few weeks ago, so we took them out for a mexican dinner to thank them for not killing my dog while I was gone.

Friday.

Two of CV's friends were in town so we met up with them and another couple for some late night margaritas (Yes, I drank margaritas two nights in a row. Jealous?) and then it turned into a little game night. We all played The Newlywed game. There were two married couples, an engaged couple, and then me & CV (who have been dating for 1.5 years). And...we came in second place! (First place was the couple that had been together for 10 years!) Woohoo. We rock.

Saturday.

CV and I hung out over his BFF's house till 2am drinking sparkling wine in front of a firepit, telling funny stories, making smores, and throwing marshmellows at each other. It was alot of fun despite coming home smelling like a wildfire.  (P.S. Making Smores with Dark Chocolate Kit-Kats instead of traditional Hershey's Chocolate is AMAZING.)

Sunday.

CV and I went to Poco a Poco for brunch. Then we ran a bunch of errands, started on some new craft projects, and then hosted a Burger Night at my house and invited a few of our friends. 

Burger Night was pretty wild. The toppings included: four different types of cheeses, lettuce, tomato, avacado, fried eggs, bacon, pepper-mushroom-onion mixture, two different flavors of pickes. (Then ofcourse mayo, ketchup, hot sauce.) Then the sides included: baked beans, macaroni salad, two types of chips, corn & bean salad. Yikes, right? I should have taken a picture of the burgers. They were massive and some needed a fork! :)

It was one little weekend and we hung out with five different couples.

That's actually alot of social time for us. ha.

Now that the weekend is over...I'm back to work-mode. I'm headed to Knoxville, TN in the morning for a few meetings and I'll be back soon.

Have a great week everyone!

Drink. Dance. Repeat.

As you can tell from my previous post, CV and I attended a dance party wedding this weekend.

Here's us in front of St. Cecilia Church.

It was a good night...

...with good peeps....

...An open bar...

...Music I could jump around to...

....funny photo opportunities...

...and more dancing...

It was a pretty fun Saturday Night.

*And taking a step back to Friday Night, I had a fabulous dinner with my girl Emily at The Wine Guy. We split the Hummus & Olive Tapenade appetizer, then I had the Chicken Marsala and the Sweet Wine Flight (Chardonnay, Moscato, Riesling, Rosa Di Rosa). Pretty delish restaurant.

And it didn't hurt that I had a groupon & found a $20 bill on the floor either! Score!

Pretty good weekend all around! Can't wait for the next one!!

Everyday We're Shuffling

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

I know we did! :)

Be Debt Free

Today is a good day because...

I PAID OFF ALL MY STUDENT LOANS!!!

That's right...I'm done paying off my thousands and thousands of dollars of student debt!!

(Let's keep the exact figure a secret, but I'm sure you can imagine the cost after going to a private university for 4 years plus an getting an MBA!)

There is some speculation on "should you pay off your student loan early or should you build  your savings" (seriously, google it..there are a million disputes) but in my case I was paying a higher interest rate on my loans than the rate I was getting in return on my savings account. So, it was a no-brainer to save a few hundred dollars and pay if off early.

SO....no more debt for me. Feels good knowing I paid off my student loans 9 years early!

*I previously posted on how to pay off your car loan early, the same applies here if you want to check out my money tips.

Now, please allow me to excuse myself while I cross #1 off my 101 List and take part in a short, yet meaningful, victory dance!

North Carolina

I'm back from my adventures in Raleigh, North Carolina with the "V family".

The week was filled with lots of food.

Seafood...fruit...yogurt...smoothies...fancy sandwiches...sushi...pizza...italian...waffles and pancakes...coffee...etc!

And was filled with lots of adventures.

Putt-putt...bowling...go-carts...art museums...shopping...movies!

And was filled with a little relaxation.

Sun-bathing by the pool...getting a professional massage!

It was a great 5 days in sunny North Carolina.
But now, I need a vacation from being on vacation! :)