[3 years]

today is our three year anniversary! it is so crazy that it has only been three years... and also crazy that it has already been three years. it was such a perfect day, and thinking about it makes me teary eyed. 

I can honestly say that I fall more in love with Sean each and every single day... even on the hard days when I want to wring his neck, haha. he is my best friend in the entire world and I am so lucky to have him. I know that my love and appreciation for him will grow even stronger as I watch him become a father to Ronin. 

I couldn't imagine my life without him, and I know that he is my absolute perfect match. he has been such an amazing partner throughout this pregnancy, and I am SO incredibly thankful for that. watching him talk to my belly makes my heart swell so big that it feels like it will burst. he is going to be an amazing daddy and a great role model to our son. I would be extremely proud to have a son just like him. 

the past three years have been magical, but I have a feeling the best is yet to come. <3 p="p">

Friday loves

the Savona Stripe pillow from Crate & Barrel. 

and the Pierson pillow too. both are in my cart right now, because both would look amazing on my couch. the green ties into our Grape Leaves wall color, and the orange is a nice pop that matches our new storage items we picked up from IKEA.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Big Brother is back. 

I am completely annoyed that Brenchel is back. but also? SO FUCKING HAPPY to see Jeff & Jordan again. I love them and I want to be friends with them IRL.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I watched our wedding slideshow today. 

our 2 year anniversary is only a month away. on one hand, I can't believe it's been 2 years already... and on the other hand, it feels like 50. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing, handsome, supportive, and hilarious husband to call my best friend. I hope he knows just how appreciative I am for him and everything he does for us.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

this much more hysterical version 

of the cat lady eharmony video (yes, I am aware that the original is a fake).

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Erinn's window shopping collection of white pants. 

I want a pair very badly, but I will have to lose a few pounds first. maybe next year. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

the new Misfits Dinnerware from CB2. 

actually, pretty much every new item in the CB2 and Crate & Barrel catalogs. why am I so obsessed with these stores?! 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Happy Friday! 

oh, etsy.

My name is MandeeFoFandee, and I am an Etsy addict. I first came across Etsy while planning our wedding, and wanting to make it super personal, without spending a ton of money. Etsy was the perfect place to find unique items to add for that touch of specialness we wanted.

Now that I'm concentrating on decorating our new home, I once again find myself perusing Etsy for good deals on unique and personal home accents. I figured I'd share with you my recent finds (and loves).

Gaining a new last name has it's perks... especially when it starts with a Q. Q is such a rare letter to be found in names, and so I'm discovering that I want to put the damn letter Q EVERYWHERE in my house. I'm obviously not going to be that crazy, but I do want to showcase it somewhere.

The Letter Q - 4x6 photograph - $4.00
JavaJaneDesigns

I need lamps for my living room desperately. the only problem is... I have no idea which kind of lamps I want. I know I want a floor lamp for the corner behind my couch because there is absolutely NO light here whatsoever. I also need a table lamp for the end table nearest the windows for night time. when it comes to decor, I know what I like, and I don't necessarily care if it all "goes" together - I just know what I think looks good. BUT I'm having a hard time choosing lamps - do I want them to match the dark espresso furniture? do I want them to coordinate with the green walls? do the metal parts HAVE to include brushed nickel because that's what kind of hardware is in here? no clue. but I do know that when I stumbled across this beaut, I fell in love, but I must find a cheaper alternative. for those steal finders, feel free to help a sister out on this!

White Ceramic Onion Table Lamp - $175.00
LiseVintageLighting

the kitchen is going to be our spring project. it's the only room we didn't touch with renovations, and in my opinion, it's fucking hideous. I'm talking about un-leveled floors, gross yellow-ish linoleum tile, old as dirt cabinets (which are in pretty good shape, just not my style), vertical fabric-ish window blinds, and poor lighting all over. while I would LOVE to tackle all of those issues and just gut the whole damn room, it's just not realistic for us... so we're going to do one project at a time. the one aspect of the kitchen I'm dying to change is the cabinets. thanks to all the lovely decor blogs I follow, I'm craving white cabinets. I wish we could splurge on custom knobs and handles, but let's face it, we ain't rich folk. so in the meantime, I will daydream over these lovelies.

Cabinet Knobs with Antique Images - (4) for $32.00
PegandAwl



if you know me, you know I'm obsessed with picture frames... especially different ones... especially handmade ones. thanks to Erinn, I've come across Nestlings, and the custom frames that are made in the shop are a MUST have. I'm loving this one, but I think if I splurged on a frame like this, I would include bits of our vows or the reading from our ceremony. I would proudly display it in our bedroom.

Fancy Frame Quote - $65.00
Nestlings

during the brainstorm process of our kitchen re-do, I came to the conclusion that I wanted it to tie into the rest of the house - modern and clean, with a pop of color. enter the pear. we ran a "perfect pear" theme with all of our wedding accessories (cheesy, yes?), and I have a bunch of different pear items that I plan to display in the kitchen. I'm not gunna go apeshit with the pears, but I think it'll help to have a cohesive color scheme of black, white, and pops of green. the only problem is, we have cabinets that don't go all the way to the ceiling, so I need some things to display up there so it's not just empty space. and I think I've found a solution, through Romy & Clare Designs. They have an array of kitchen ceramics designed with painted pears, that would look SO good at the top of my cabinets.

Pear Mod Medium Square - $39.00

Pear Funky Teapot - $84.00

Pear Funky Cream & Sugar Set - $60.00



I'm doing a black, white, and red color scheme in our bathroom. I know it seems like there's a lot of black and white, but there's really not, I promise. anywhozits, this print would go perfectly with the scheme of things.

Modern Love Art Print - $22.50
LovelyPiecesDesign

speaking of art, I'm loving this series entitled Golden Magic by Phil Marty Photography. for our bedroom. I'm keeping things nice and neutral and serene in the bedroom with all tans, creams, and shades of off white. these would look perfect above our bed.

Golden Magic I - 8x10 - $25.00

Golden Magic II - 8x10 - $25.00

Golden Magic - 8x10 - $25.00


welp, that's all I've got today. I'm going to try to post Wedding Wednesday this evening, but unfortunately, I have been swamped at work today... thank god I wrote this last night! happy Wednesday!

Wedding Wednesday - V. I

It dawned on me this morning that I've never shared any wedding pictures here, with the exception of one picture in my very first post (fo fost). We'll be married 6 months next week - it's so hard to believe the wedding was that long ago! It's still crazy to think that day is long gone... with all the planning and crafting and coordination it took to make the day perfect, it went by incredibly fast.

I figured I'd start a weekly post of wedding pictures for your (slash my) enjoyment. Obviously no one cares/cared about my wedding more than I do, so if you're not diggin' the wedding pictures, feel free to skip Wednesday posts and wait for the next.

This week's installment will feature some pictures taken while the bridal party were getting ready. Who doesn't love getting all glammed up for a hot day in August? All photos are credited to the lovely and talented Jen, from JLowe Photos. If you'd like to see more of her work, feel free to visit her blog here.






Looking at my wedding pictures makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, which is great, considering that Maryland got yet even MORE snow last night. I don't ever remember getting as much snow in this area as we have this year! Our last big storm was December 19th, and we accumulated about 2' at my house. We've had a couple days where we get a few inches here and there since then, including last weekend, and again last night. Apparently there's supposed to be a HUMONGO (yes, that's a real word) storm heading our way that will hit us this weekend, and we're supposed to get even more than the last "big" storm. I don't know about you, but I'm fucking OVER winter. I'm ready for sunshine, and green trees, and blooming flowers.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the show!

First Entry, Fo Fentry.

Hi! I'm Mandee (FoFandee). I'm totally new to the blogging world, but I feel like I have a lot to say, so why not say it to the whole wide Interwebz? I'm still working on making my space funky and personal and offensive, so bare with me (or Bear with me, whichever you choose).

Some interesting things (or not so much) about me:
I married my soul mate (awww, mush) on August 8, 2009. Here's a picture of us being all cute and shit at our wedding.




He's pretty cool, I guess. We had a kickass wedding and and even more fabulous honeymoon in Hawaii. If I were smart, like my friend Erinn, I would have documented our trip, but instead, I got drunk at the pool everyday and ate too much. And had a little sex in between. Oh yeah, I cage dived (dove? what tense would that be?) with sharks too.

I'd also like to note here that the husband laughs at my ideas for a blog, and therefore will NOT be told about my little space here on the Web... unless he cooks me a really awesome meal... because then it might just slip out (that's what she said) due to taste bud euphoria.

I've lived in Maryland my entire life, and I love it here. So much, that I've dedicated my left arm to a Maryland tribute sleeve. Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that I'm one of those crazy REBELS who has tattoos that show in public. I grew up in a family with two younger brothers, and acquired two more brothers after my parents split up and hooked up with other people. My mom died when I was 16. It's been 7 years, and it still feels like it happened yesterday.

I didn't go to college. Let me rephrase that - I went to community college for entirely too long, pursuing an interior design degree. All of a sudden, adulthood smacked me in the face and I realized I had to either finish the classes required to get my associate's degree (which, let's face it, won't get you a job anywhere these days), or get a big girl job and join the real world. I chose the latter. Now I've been at the same big girl job for 5 years, and I love it, even if I don't make a million dollar salary.

Blah blah blah. There's a good chunk of my life story for you. Since buying our first home together, I've become ridiculously addicted to everything that is home decor. Pier 1 Imports, Pottery Barn, Ikea, Home Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond = 5 stores I spend entirely too much money in. I'll frequently be blogging about our home, what I've done to it, and my great deal finds on home decor.

So, you're probably wondering why I spelled "Bare" wrong in the title, huh? That's because you're smart, and you catch onto things quickly. You probably correct everyone's spelling on their Facebook statuses, don't you? Don't worry, I'm guilty of it, too.

Anywhoozits - I'm a cat lady. I wouldn't necessarily call myself crazy (I can't guarantee that my husband would say the same), but I am a cat lady nonetheless. I have four cats: Lily, Pheobe, Mama Cat (also known as Pearl), and Bear. I guarantee you will see countless photos of them throughout my blog-venture. Here's a picture of all them on our bed - from left to right - Pheobe, Lily, Mama Cat, and Bear.



See, Bear was a special case. We rescued him when he was two weeks old. We had to bottle feed him and teach him how to poo (details in a later post, I promise), and we still noticed he was a little... off. Turns out, he had some kind of weird imbalance in his equilibrium, and therefore kept his head tilted to the left and walked in circles. It was great entertainment, trust me, but we wanted him to live a normal kitty life, where he could play and run and NOT run into walls and step in his food bowl. So, long story short, my amazing vet came up with some insane concoction of medicine for little Bear, and day by day, he got better. Now, he's still a little funny in that he walks like a snake (weaving left and right after attempting to walk straight), but he's learned to live with his disability. And damnit, he is the most lovable freaking cat I've ever encountered.

So there - that's the story of Bear, and the name for my blog (courtesy of my favorite non-guidette from Jersey, Jess).

Now. I promise that my blogs won't ever be this long winded EVER again. I just feel like I had a lot to catch you up on, yaknowwhatimean? So, now that we're friends and all... or followers? or blog buddies? (I don't know the politically correct terms for this place)... tell me... how did you get the name for your blog?