weekend recap (with cell phone pictures!)

Friday Night:

Sean & I met up with our awesome friends Kaycie & Adam and grabbed lunch at a local Irish place before heading into Baltimore. we had some drinks at Howl at the Moon and then cabbed over to Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to see this excellent fellow perform stand up comedy. 

and THEN I laughed so hard that I couldn't feel my face and I'm pretty sure I urinated a little in my pants. if you ever have the opportunity to see Louis CK's stand up, fucking DO IT. 

after the show was over, we headed back to Howl for some more drinks and good times all around. lots of dancing, singing, and people watching. and then Taco Bell for the drunk ride home. nom. 

Saturday:

clean clean clean clean clean clean. I cleaned my house from the minute I woke up until I had to leave for my cousin's sweet 16th birthday party in preparation for the Scentsy party I was hosting Sunday. I scrubbed baseboards, mopped floors, rearranged kitchen appliances, and hung up fun cork boards in the kitchen. 

cousin Sammy turned 16 years old. CRAZY! she's so beautiful and free spirited. love her to death. we had pizza and cake to celebrate. it's always wonderful to spend time with my mom's side of the family. 

when I returned home from the party (at about 9:30PM), I did a little more cleaning/straightening up and then convinced Sean to help me build our IKEA dining table that's been sitting in the kitchen (in the box) for MONTHS. 

I also decided that there was no way I could put together IKEA furniture without wine. this may or may not have had anything to do with the mistake we made while building, causing us to backtrack juuuuust a little bit to fix it. woops. the table only took us about 2 hours to put together, and that was mostly because we had to use a screwdriver because the drill battery was dead as a door nail. 

yes, I've already broken out the Christmas pajama pants. don't judge me. 

oh well. we got her done, and she is beautiful! there are two additional leaves to expand her to seat 8, but 4 is perfect for now. now I just need to figure out how to decorate a dining room table. 

Sunday:

got up super early since I STILL had more cleaning to do. I wanted the house to be absolutely spotless, so it got the deep clean that it so badly needed. finally got out to the grocery store and back to the house about 30 minutes before people started to arrive. 

the next couple hours went something like this: eat, drink wine, cuddle baby, gossip/girl talk, check the score of the Skins game, cuddle baby, drink more wine, show off Bear's amazing balancing skillz, drink more wine, eat, smell Scentsy, drink beer. 

it was a great time for sure. now that the house is completely cleaned, we will be having people over more often, fo sho. after everyone left, we cleaned up and parked our butts in front of the TV for the remainder of the evening. I vaguely remember falling asleep while watching Homeland last night. 

WHEW! so it was a great weekend for the Quinns and now it's back to reality... I've got a week full of work, school, a vet appointment for Miss Mama Cat, and a visit with a friend who recently decided to take in and foster her own mama cat and 4 wittle babies! eeeeks, can't wait to meet them! 

I hope you all had a FANTASTIC weekend like I did. 

oh, and tell me what you're reading right now. 

I haven't picked up a book in WEEKS and I really need to get back on the wagon soon. it's killing me! 

Bear says HAPPY MONDAY!

Friday loves!

it is my best friend's birthday today! 

go give her some love! :)

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the story of this married couple in Iowa who died only an hour apart while holding hands. I can only hope Sean & I will be as in love as these folks were after 72 years of marriage. 

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this tutorial for a hand painted mug. 

guess what everyone is getting for Christmas? hot chocolate (or maybe coffee. or vodka.) and one of these babies!

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this woman completed 38 random acts of kindness to celebrate her 38th birthday. 

she fed quarters to parking meters, paid for strangers' tolls, delivered balloons to hospital patients, and a lot of other sweet things for other people. her selflessness is SO inspiring to me. I think I may save this link for my birthday next year.

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2012 mini cat calendar. 

it's going on my wish list. 

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these Seychelles pumps. 

I am in dire need of a pair of plain black heels. I hardly ever wear them, but the only pairs of heels I own are open toe, and I feel like it would be a good idea to have some closed toe shoes as well. EITHER WAY, I want these. right now. except Sean will never approve of spending $90 on a pair of shoes. 

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this feather printable. 

I love this blog and I get almost all of my printed art from there for the gallery wall in the entryway. I love the colors in this print... it will be up on the wall this weekend! 

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that's all I got for today, folks. I've got a busy weekend (what else is new?) full of birthday celebrations, errands, and drawing homework. 

 

Happy Friday! 

6 things that make me happy today and a photo

1. we had an amazing time in Atlantic City on Saturday, and the memories that were made were very special... and hilarious. we started the morning off with mimosas (I'm talking 10AM) and didn't end until the bus ride home around 8PM. needless to say, it was a damn good day. 

2. I'm down another 2lbs. I haven't been doing anything crazy, but I've recently started to really watch my eating habits. I've also been making sure to park far away from my buildings at school so that I have to walk further and taking the stairs everywhere. either way, it feels good. 

3. we booked our flights for our friends' wedding in St. Thomas. SO EXCITED. once we get the rooms booked, we'll be all set. 

4. being domestic. yesterday I spent a majority of the day doing things around the house - I scooped the litter boxes, did ALL the dishes, completed a few loads of laundry, vacuumed all the floors, took the trash out, completed this map project, and made dinner that was ready as soon as Sean walked in the door. productivity = happiness. 

5. I finally have a hair appointment set for this weekend and I cannot wait. I'm contemplating doing this. I am not cutting my hair (only a trim), so I figure I can pull this off until my next appointment, when it's faded. thoughts?

6. I'm skipping art class tonight. I didn't do my homework (see #4), and I have tons of stuff I need to do around the house... like hanging said map project, making another canvas painting, and grocery shopping. I'm also going to make this for dinner tonight. Sean is in complete shock that I'm cooking dinner two nights in a row. to be honest, I am too. ha! 

and just so this post isn't completely photo-less, here's what we did all day Saturday. 

what are you happy about today?

Happy Monday! 

oh, baby Rhys!

I am SO in love. 

I can't wait to snuggle you again on Friday. 

I am so thankful that I get to be a part of your life. 

you are absolutely perfect. 

Secret Santa Recap [in photos]

I'm looking forward to...

CHRISTMAS EVE.

this is the day that we celebrate with my entire family. we start the day off at my dad's house, cooking a big meal all day... it's complete chaos with everyone in the kitchen and kids running around, and I love it. we eat our big dinner there, and then play our steal-a-gift-game. it's always fun because we all have a good sense of humor, and the gifts are usually hilarious. 

from there, we head to my aunt's house on my mom's side and spend time with family there. the crowd is a little older, so it's nice to have some more adult interaction for a few hours. we play another round of the gift game at this location, and there are WAY more people that participate (my mom has 5 siblings, and each aunt/uncle has at least two children) so it's a riot. 

 Christmas Eve 2009

I love being able to catch up and socialize with close family on my mom's side. we always have funny stories to tell about her, and it allows me to remember her during the holidays from a different perspective. 

Christmas Eve is also when Sean & I open our gifts to each other. we are horrible when it comes to waiting... we can never stand to wait until the appropriate day to give gifts, so we cheat and open them a day early. this is what happens when you become an adult... you can do whatever the hell you want to do. :)

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CHRISTMAS DAY. 

another day of running around, but a good one, none the less. we drive over to my dad's again in the morning to open gifts and give our gifts to family (which includes a dad, three brothers, a dad's girlfriend and her two kids). we usually eat breakfast over there and hang out for a little bit while the kids play with their new toys. now that my little brother is old enough to enjoy the holidays, it's fun to witness him opening gifts and getting excited. 

 Christmas 2009

this year, we're spending Christmas evening with Sean's family. we'll head over there in afternoon and exchange gifts and have dinner with his family. his aunt, uncle, and cousins are coming in from out of town, so it'll be great to see them. we haven't seen some of them since the wedding! 

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CANDY CANE BARK. 

I grocery shopped last night and bought all the ingredients to make some peppermint bark... but instead of little mints, I'm going to use candy canes! I'm really excited, since I don't normally make anything special for the holidays... or any other occasion for that matter. the good thing is that it's a no-bake treat, so it should be easy peasy. I bought ingredients to make it with milk chocolate AND white chocolate, so we'll see how it goes!

if you'd like to make some yourself, check out the recipe right here.  

 NOM.

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NEW YEAR. 

we don't have plans for New Year's Eve yet, but I know that we'll have fun either way. I'm excited that we'll actually be spending NYE together this year, because Sean was working the night shift last year. I'm looking forward to a new year and setting new goals for myself and for us. 

 New Year's Eve 2007

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SECRET SANTA/UGLY SWEATER PARTY. 

it's our fourth annual Secret Santa party, and this year, we're adding the ugly sweater twist to it as well. all of our friends gather together for one whole day. the ladies usually spend the afternoon cooking a big holiday meal while the guys sit around and bullshit all day. we make a HUGE meal, consisting of turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc - basically, your typical Thanksgiving meal.

source

after we eat, we participate in a gift exchange and then spend the evening drinking and enjoying each others' company. the gift exchange usually includes several bottles of alcohol, so it's interesting to see what'll be passed around through people. it's always a LOT of fun to get everyone together, and I think the ugly Christmas sweaters will be a huge hit this year.

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NESTIE GTGS. 

super duper excited for this one. I've been a frequent poster on my wedding month message board on The Knot/The Nest since August of 2008. needless to say, I've become friends with quite a few of the ladies on our board. we've shared a lot of good (and bad) times together and we've become family. unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to meet any of them... until now. 

two of my faves, Krystyna and Tara, are coming to the DC area to visit with family and friends during the month of January (not at the same time, boo). I'm really looking forward to meeting up with them (and some other local ladies from DC/NoVA) and getting to know them in person, as opposed to over a message board. I'll get to meet Krystyna on the 1st, and Tara on the 15th. I'm SO excited! SQUEE!

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BLOGIVERSARY. 

can you believe it? on January 19th, I will have been a blogger for exactly ONE YEAR. amazing. I've loved being involved in the blogging community and I'm proud to say that I've met some wonderful people in doing so. it's such a joy to be part of such an elite group of people, and I look forward to meeting many more in the future. I'm thinking of hosting another giveaway, so make sure you check in around the middle of next month! 

 source

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I'm looking forward to...

(shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessi over at Caterpillar Family Blog)

- finally getting my tattoo colored and filled this weekend. it's been a long journey to get this much work done, and I'm ready for it to be complete. I love this tattoo, and it means SO much to me. it's the place I grew up, it's my home, it will always be my home. I'm proud to represent Maryland.

- going out of town next weekend (October 8-10) to visit some extended family on my mom's side. twice a year, everyone gets together and makes apple butter - and I mean the whole nine yards... picking, peeling, cooking, churning, and canning.

I haven't been there for this event since I was a kid. I'm so, so, so excited to see my second cousin and her babies. we spent every single summer together growing up... running a muck and causing riots and just getting into all kinds of trouble in general.

she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and I haven't seen her since that day, which was over a year ago! she has since given birth to her second child (little girl, Ella) and I cannot wait to meet her. her son, Peyton is so big now, and I can only imagine how he smart he is with a grade-A mama like her! I really just can't wait to spend some quality time with those that I don't get to see often.

- going to see the Washington Capitals take on the Boston Bruins on October 19th with my lova lova. football season is number one in this house, but hockey season comes in at a close second. I can't wait to watch the Caps play their hearts out this season! I'm hoping they continue the dominance they showed last season!

- seeing Louis CK perform live stand up comedy on October 22nd. we've seen him twice before, and he is HILARIOUS. all caps necessary. he has a show on FX (I think?) called Louie, and it's pretty witty and amusing, but nothing compares to the raw talent that is his stand up. he is, hands down, one of my favorite comedians.

VIDEO = NSFW

- my best friend, Kaley, is turning 26 years old in a few weeks! her birthday celebration, which is also being combined with Kath's birthday, takes place on October 23rd. they're starting with dinner at the Melting Pot (NOM!), followed by a little low key shindig at Kaley's house. I'm really excited to have a night with some of my favorite ladies, where nothing but good times is had. AND I'm thrilled to give Kaley her birthday present! :D

- H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love getting dressed up and hanging out with friends. obviously, we don't have kids yet, so we don't do the whole trick or treating thing, but we make sure to hit a few parties every year and celebrate appropriately! Sean and I have already purchased our costumes for this year, and while we're not matching like we usually do, they're still pretty great. I'll reveal what they are in a future post!

here are our costumes from last year: we were a shotgun wedding. :)

- seeing Daniel Tosh's stand up on November 6th. I've seen bits and pieces of his show, Tosh.0, which is pretty funny, so I'm sure his stand up will be good as well. seeing comedians live is one of my favorite things to do, so I'm sure I won't be disappointed. :)

what are YOU looking forward to?

it's the year of the cicadas!

Last Friday evening, we had a little girls night, and it was one of the best nights I've had in a while. We all met at Kaley's house and started cooking. I made my homemade macaroni & cheese (I'll post the recipe at the end of this post), Aubrey made her famous nuggets (which are amazingly similar to Chick Fil A nuggets), and Jen brought brownies. We all brought our own wine (except Steph... slacker!), and our party pants. ;)

We started off the night cooking and drinking wine, and catching up as more girls arrived. It was a ruckus in the Poag house - all talking over each other and having our own conversations in equally loud voices. Drinking wine and smoking about a billion cigarettes in the mosquito infested heat outside. Laughing about things babies do, and breaking Kullen's water table. Spraying enough bug spray to coat an elephant. Celebrating the year of the cicadas. Venting about life, and raving about life. 

After we all ate, (and refilled our wine glasses for the 3rd time), we decided to break out Kaley's Secret Santa gift - Partini. I'm still a little confused as to how this is meant to be a drinking game, but we made it work. We molded things out of clay, bounced balls, hummed songs we didn't even know, and did a little charades. The game was a hell of a time, and we were laughing SO hard at the different games we had to play, and how bad we all sucked at it. Well, I guess I should say how bad mine and Kaley's team sucked, haha. 

We spent the rest of the evening talking and gossiping (only a little ;)), drinking more wine, comparing cameras, and laughing at each others' funny stories.  It was just so nice to be in the company of amazing women and have both deep and shallow conversations all night long. To forget our troubles for only a couple hours to enjoy either others' company and laughter. To indulge in good food and drink and not count calories or worry about getting too much sodium.

And of course, there are pictures to prove our good time.

And as promised, the recipe for MandeeFoFandee's homemade macaroni & cheese:

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 large block of Velveeta cheese

1lb of elbow pasta

Bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)

Milk

Steps:

1. get a pot of water on the stove, since it takes a while to start boiling. unless you have one of those fancy pants stoves that boils water in 90 seconds. if that's the case, I hate you.

2. preheat oven to 350.

3. once you have your water on the stove, melt the stick of butter in a medium sized pot on low/medium heat. when the butter is melted, add 3/4 of the Velveeta cheese. 

hint: I usually chop it in 4 equal sized pieces, and then take 3 of those pieces and cube them so that they melt faster. make sure you put the rest of the 1/4 back in the fridge so it doesn't get soft... you'll thank me later.

4. add a few dashes of milk when it starts melting to get a creamy consistency... if it's too thick, it won't cover all the pasta. 

5. make sure you keep stirring so it doesn't get all thick on the top. do this until it's all completely melted.

6. cook pasta al dente. pour the pasta in a strainer and cool it with cold water. 

hint: I run the cold water over the pasta and stick my hands in there and move it around so that ALL the pasta cools off.

7. when the cheese is melted, pour 1/2 of it into a non stick or glass pan (usually 9x13 pan works fine). 

8. add the pasta. pour the rest of the cheese in and mix it with a spatula until it's all covered. 

9. then take the rest (1/4) of your Velveeta and slice it thin, placing slices on top of the pasta. 

10. sprinkle with bread crumbs and stick it in the oven (uncovered) for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

PS - if you are trying to watch what you eat and keep healthy, I would not recommend making this dish. It is extremely delicious, and you will want to eat the entire pan in one sitting. You've been warned. 

Happy Tuesday!