Attempts at Domestication - Newlywed housewife trying to learn the tricks of the trade

My Summer Must-Haves

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Ashley

I don’t know about you guys, but when seasons change I get greedy. I always want new clothes, accessories, and new home decor as each season changes. In the fall, it’s all about boots, jackets and scarves and deep oranges and greens. Then Winter rolls around and I’ve got Christmas on the brain. I love getting new Christmas decorations and of course making Jesse a list of all the things I want . Spring comes and I’m ready to brighten up the house and my wardrobe with fun colors and lighter fabrics. Since it’s June and summer has officially kicked in here in VA I’m all about my summer wardrobe, being fit for those more revealing summer clothes and spending as much time outside as possible.

Right now there are 5 major things on my summer must-haves list: 1. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – This has nothing to do with clothes or being fit, but in the summer there are way more patio parties and time spent with our friends, which means time to enjoy a nice beverage. Summer Shandy is a mix of lemonade and beer, so it’s sweet but not in a sickening way and it’s less filling than beer, perfect for relaxing outside either at night or in the heat of the day.

2. Wedges – I’m obsessed with my wedge sandals this year. I’m not sure why but I have a new found love for heels. They can dress up the simplest of outfits, plus they are super comfy. I really want to get a new pair, or two for this summer. (Remember what I said about greed?)

3. Maxi Dresses/Skirts – I love my maxi dresses! They are so comfy and lightweight, perfect for summer. Plus they can be dressed up or down depending on your shoes and accessories. I seriously feel like I’m wearing my pajamas in public, without all the weird stares and ending up featured on People of Wal-Mart. I’ve got my eye on a few skirts and dresses at Target to get before the summer is over.

4. Map My Run – I recently downloaded the Map My Run app to my phone and I love it! It uses GPS to tell me how far I’ve run, how many calories I’ve burned, and even breaks down my average mile time. I’m still using the Couch to 5k program because I don’t run 5ks when I’m not training, but I do like to stay in at least Week 5-6 so I don’t have to completely start over when I do train again. Map My Run will be even more useful for training too, whenever I run another 5k.

5. Nalgene Water Bottle – Jesse bought me this water bottle a few weeks ago and I’m so glad he did. It’s a 20 oz bottle and I try to drink at least 1.5 – 2 full bottles a day. I go to the bathroom a lot more, but I also feel better in general. I’m more motivated to work out at home after work, and during work I’ve been less likely to snack. Plus, hydration is so important in the hot summer months, so I fill this bottle up and take it with me everywhere now.

What are your summer must-haves this year? Any new clothes/accessories you’ve got your eye on? How about activities? What do you love to do in the summer?

Where’d the Weekend Go? #1

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Ashley

What a summer it has been so far! I think Jesse and I have some sort of plans for almost every weekend until the fall! We love to be busy and go out and do things, especially during the summer, so for the summer I’ll be turning Mondays into weekend recaps of all our fun activities. We have a long list of things to do around the house, and we’ll do a lot this summer, but probably not as much as usual. Partly because of the business of summer and partly because Jesse’s work is closing on Mondays for budget reasons. These days wont be paid, so our income will be lower for the next few months. Since the blog will be affected, because we wont be able to do as many projects, I told Jesse he needs to finish up some posts he’s been working on and try new recipes for me to write about. After all, I’ll be working while he’s at home.

This weekend was fun, it got off to an interesting start when our work lost Internet for most of the day. We’re a web company, so it’s hard to get things done without Internet. Good news though, we got off an hour early! Jesse and I used that time to go play tennis together, it’s our summer couples activity and it’s a blast. We suck but it’s fun and it’s exercise.

Then we packed up and headed to Williamsburg to spend the weekend with my Nana. She is my favorite person in the whole world and I really treasure our time together and had fun cooking breakfast with her on Saturday morning.

Saturday consisted of us watching the Office together (we’re going back and watching from beginning to end) and playing some more tennis. We then hit up Old Navy because they’re having a 50% off sale on shorts and I had a gift card. I’m in this weird spot where I’ve lost almost 10 lbs. since last summer, but I’m still 5 lbs. heavier than I was 2 summers ago (and I think it’s all in my butt/hips) so NONE of my shorts fit me. Now I have shorts that fit me and are age appropriate (Good bye college cut-offs!) Jesse also decided that he needed new clothes and that he wants to make his wardrobe more adult and trendy. Then the clouds parted and the angels sang Hallelujah. I’ve only bee working on convincing him of that for the past 5 years!

We ended the night with wine and Settlers of Catan with friends. We do this a lot. I have like 10 Settlers posts on Instagram.

Yesterday we spent some time with my family for Father’s Day and did some clothes purging and filled a giant trash bag of clothes to take to Goodwill. We also realized that we’ve staffed a lot of youth camps and events in the past 10 years. I’m hoping to turn all of these shirts into an awesome quilt. Any of you quilting masters ever done a t-shirt quilt before?

I rounded out the evening last night by leaving Jesse at home and going to a blogger get together for Richmond bloggers. My buddy Samantha at Designer in Teal put together an outing to a new Mexican restaurant and I got to meet a bunch of new ladies. Read a bit about that over on the VA Bloggers site!

How was your weekend? Any new experiences or fun activities? Whose going to hit up that Old Navy sale?

I’d like a Patio Please

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Ashley

So those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile may remember this picture: (If you’re new, I whipped this up in MS Paint with my master skills last year). In this lovely picture I explained how we’d like to expand our patio, add an arbor, plant a garden and kill the monkey grass. Almost a year later, the patio still looks the same, except we did add the arbor. (Which you can see in this party picture). After Jesse and I crunched some numbers and did some research we’ve realized that it would be WAY too expensive for us to expand the patio to the size we want by laying and stamping a concrete slab. Also Jesse really doesn’t want to destroy the existing concrete patio to lay pavers because it’s like attached to the houses foundation. So what are we going to do?

The current patio is large enough for a small round or square table with 4 little chairs and that’s really it. We’d much rather have a 6-8 person table, or one of those outdoor living area sets, with room for a fire pit and space to walk around. This picture is best for showing how tiny the patio really is. What we’ve decided to do is seal the cracks in the existing patio and stain it, then expand it into the yard using pavers of the same/similar color. This seems to be the most cost effective option for us, and cost effective = done sooner rather than WAY later. We also wont encircle the tree within the patio, to save time and money, plus now I think that was dumb anyway. But pretty much everything else will be the same as in my fabulous Paint creation.

It’s really hard for me to draw out what I want for our yard, I suck at Photoshop and things like that, and I’m no where close to the “mood board” stage, so how about a backyard to-do/dream list:

Finish pulling up monkey grass and make a pretty flowerbed around the edge of the patio, up to the tree.
Plant grass in the giant dead spot left by the monkey grass (Best time for this is the fall)
Plant a small herb garden to the left of the patio, right next to the back door.
Build a privacy screen/box to cover the AC unit.
Plant a garden in the large bed to the right of the patio.
Reseal and stain existing patio.
Expand patio using brick or concrete pavers.
Buy patio furniture.
Build a potting bench/outdoor serving area for the space under the kitchen windows.
Hang cafe lights over the new patio.
Make it pretty.

I’m hoping to accomplish the monkey grass, flower beds, and privacy screen this summer, but everything is definitely going to have to wait. This summer is kind of tight on cash with the government furlough (which affects us), doubling down on student loans (no kids until those are gone and I’d like to have a kid or two before I’m 30) and our Europe trip (Yay for a good/fun reason to be broke! ) But hopefully by next year we can make the patio a priority and actually use it!

Does anyone else dream big even when you’re broke? Or fantasize about projects you know are a long way off? Do you have a patio to enjoy during the nice warm weather? If so, I’m jealous.

May Recap

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Ashley

What a crazy month May was! We did a ton of work outside and even more work getting ready for my sister’s graduation party. I also fit in a few master bedroom projects, so I feel like this was one of my busiest months thus far! In case you missed anything, or are new here (Welcome!) here’s a recap of all things May:

- I finally got around to decorating my mantel for spring, I’m kind slow sometimes.

- We borrowed our neighbor’s power washer and washed our house for the first time.

- I used spackle and paint to repair some cracks and peeling paint on our front porch.

- My obsession with gold spray paint began by “dipping” a lamp for the spring Pinterest Challenge.

- After 2 years I finally framed and hung our vow art. (Tutorial for art here)

- I created invitations for my sister’s grad party using washi tape and craft scissors.

- We eat soup all year round, and Chicken Tortilla is my favorite for warmer weather.

- I made giant tissue paper pom poms for party decorations.

And if this weekend is any indication of how June is going to be, we’re in for a busy one! On Friday we went to my sister’s high school graduation, had lunch with the family, went to the movies and had dinner downtown, and then went to a friend’s house.

Saturday we slept in a bit and went to buy tennis rackets. We decided that playing tennis a few times throughout the week is going to be our couple workout for the summer, it’s been a blast so far. Then we went to a cookout and I discovered my new favorite drink: Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy! It’s like lemonade and beer and all sorts of delicious!

Then Sunday after church we headed downtown for Richmond’s Bacon Festival. It was super crowded and super hot, but we still had fun and even tried bacon smores!

How was your weekend? Is your summer going to be busy too? Did you get a ton done in May?

How to Not Make a Balloon Path

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Ashley

For my sister’s party last week I had a great idea to make a balloon path leading into our house. I was inspired by this image that I found on Pinterest. (If anyone knows the original source please let me know!)

But this is what I ended up with. Major fail.

How did things go so terribly wrong you may ask, and even if you aren’t asking I’m going to tell you anyway. Let’s start with price. Did you know that most places charge you $1 per balloon to inflate them. That’s the price at the Dollar Tree (where everything’s a dollar) and at Kroger and Martin’s (grocery stores in the area). And don’t even bother calling florists or Party City, they charge $1.25 – $1.50! No thank you. Finally we called Wal-Mart, who charges $.50. Winner!

We considered buying one of those one time use helium tanks for $40, but the total at Wal-Mart was cheaper than that so we went cheap. It was super fun carrying over 40 balloons through Wal-Mart at 10 pm on a Friday night, especially since I had them all tied to my purse so they wouldn’t fly away.

Doing the balloons the night before instead of the day of was our first mistake. I knew I wouldn’t have enough time the morning of the party to go spend over an hour in Wal-Mart, get the balloons home and then tie them to golf tees (that’s how you get them in the ground) and line the driveway so I thought, it’ll be fine on Friday night. Nope.

Another way to fail at making a balloon path is to do it on a windy day. It was over 90 degrees last Saturday, so the strong breeze was lovely for the party guests but not for the balloons. When I went outside again all of the balloons were a tangled mess from the wind and all that getting blown around caused them to deflate faster. Double fail.

So there you have it. If you ever want to make a balloon path dont do what I did. Get your balloons inflated the day of your party and if it’s too windy, save yourself 20 bucks and skip it. Unless of course you like balloon clusters.

Anyone else have a decoration you were completely excited about just totally fail? I’m sure I’m not the only one.

If you want to see non-fails from the party go here, here and here.

Exciting news! I was interviewed for Retailing Hardware magazine a few months ago and the article was published in this month’s issue. The article is about how recently more women are shopping in hardware stores and how those stores can appeal to us. I was interviewed with a few other avid DIYers about my opinions and my worst hardware store experience. Check out the magazine here (I’m on page 44)!

Graduation Party – Success!

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Ashley

What a whirlwind weekend! I’m exhausted! But I would definitely say that my sister’s graduation party was a big success. Everyone kept telling me how lovely all the decorations were and my sister had a good time, which is the most important thing! I got some great pictures of the decorations, but of course I’m missing a few because my mom showed up with all the food before I could finish. Doesn’t she realize I have a blog to run?

Completely on accident the party ended up being inspired by the cover of Dr. Suess’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! which is my go-to graduation gift. This was completely unintentional, especially since my sister wanted her theme to be cats. Oh well. The biggest reason I felt like the party was Dr. Seuss themed was because of the bright pink, orange and yellow, which my sister requested, decorations. I wrapped every surface of my house in these colors. (Also the balloon path was a fail. More on that on Wednesday) Wrapping all of the streamers around the banisters and porches made me really anxious to decorate for Christmas, only 6 months to go! All of the colors were so happy and cheerful and I really feel like using the same colors, streamers and pom poms in each party space made everything look cohesive. But I was most proud of the outdoor setup. Our patio is small, but I had tables and chairs in the yard and it worked. It actually has made Jesse and I reconsider our vision for the backyard. (More on that next week, I know I’m a tease.) The outdoors pictures are the ones that I didn’t get enough of, but you can see here that I had 3 tables set up with matching table runners and centerpieces to keep things cohesive (new favorite word) even though every chair and table were different. I also hung more streamers, tissue paper pom poms and a few paper lanterns in the trees and on the outside of the house. The centerpieces were simply Dollar Tree vases that I sprayed with my favorite metallic gold spray paint paired with gold mason jars or bottles. Chelsea, sorry I copycatted you, thanks for being an inspiration! I also put Jesse’s beer pong table to more appropriate use and set it up to be the present/utensil station. The straws are something I picked up at IKEA months ago and fit the theme perfectly. I even used the washi tape from the invitations to wrap the flower pot that the straws are in and to tape up the garland. Look at me tying things together. The plates were just bright yellow plates from Target and the napkins were pink, yellow and orange tie-dye, also from Target. Sorry these pictures are kind of wonky, we have a giant dog wood tree that totally covers the patio, and where our guests were sitting that cast some crazy shadows. Perfect for an outdoor party on a hot summer day, but no bueno for pictures of said party. There’s that washi tape again and a picture of my gorgeous graduating sister! They grow up so fast! Of course it wouldn’t be a party without the food. We had a ton of sides like pasta salad, potato salad, fresh fruit, 7-layer dip and my buffalo chicken dip. Plus my mom ordered a few pounds (yes pounds) of BBQ, cole slaw and baked beans from our local BBQ joint. And of course there was a cake. The party was an excellent success, and everyone had a wonderful time. It was nice to have most of my family over for the first time and give them tours of my house and everything. Plus giving a tour always helps me put my thoughts together on what room or project I need to work on next. And my sisters and I got to snag some time for pictures with our aunts, mom and each other.

After the party was over Jesse and cleaned the house, which only took 2 hours, and headed to another party. Then on Sunday my best friend and her husband came to stay with us. They’ve been living in Florida since I met her in college but they moved to Pennsylvania this weekend! I’m beyond thrilled to have her a mere 4 hours away and to be able to see her more often than once every couple of years. Plus she’s moving near Melanie and Bekah, so I’m seeing some blog hangouts in my future too!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun? Anyone else have a long distance BFF?

Bad Blogger

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Ashley

I’ve been a terrible blogger this week! I had all my posts planned out and even took photos, buuuttt time got away from me, so those posts wont be going live until next week AFTER my graduation party recap post instead of before. Oh well. I’ll just be an awesome blogger then instead.

My sister’s party is tomorrow! I’ve been up late the past few nights working on more decorations and running errands, so I can’t wait for it to come and go so I can sleep again! I have a lot of cleaning to do tonight to get the house all staged and ready for giving people tours, then tomorrow is all the outdoor setup and food prep. I’m sure I’ll be posting on Instagram all day, so look out for that!

Have a good weekend! I’ll see you on Monday!

Tissue Paper Pom-Poms

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Ashley

I hope everyone had an awesome Memorial Day weekend! We did a ton of yard work, grilling and party prep. We are now 5 days away from my sister’s graduation party. Initiate freak out phase. I was getting a head start on decorating this weekend by making tissue paper pom poms. My sister asked for the decoration colors to be orange, pink and yellow, not her school colors, so I figured these bright, fun and cheap decorations would be perfect. Plus, they were super easy to make!

What you’ll need:
-Tissue paper (8-10 pieces per pom pom)
-Thread
-Scissors

Start with 8-10 pieces of standard tissue paper. I bought all of mine at Target for $1 each package of paper, so all I had to do was open the package and lay out my paper. Then you fold up your paper accordion style. It’s best to have a movie or something mindless playing in the background when working on this project. I watched 3 different movies while making mine. Once all of your paper is folded up, fold it in half to make a crease in the middle of the paper. Take a pair of scissors and snip each side. Don’t cut all the way through the paper, just make two slits. Then take your thread and tie it in a knot through the slits. After your paper is securely tied together you’ll want to round either edge of the paper. This helps your pom poms to look more flower-like and pretty. Then lay your pom pom down and fan out either side. Then it’s a simple as slowly pulling up each sheet of paper one at a time. Since there are 8 total pieces of paper I pulled up 4 sheets on one side and then flipped it over to pull up the other four. Be careful not to tear the paper too much! These things are really delicate. I absolutely love the color combination and they way they look hanging from the chandeliers in both the dining room and the living room. I also have plans to hang some in the trees outside, which I’ll be showing when I do my full decor post on Monday. These pom poms are so cute and fun! Have you ever made them before? How was your long weekend? Anyone do anything more fun than yard work and crafting?

Random Ramblings

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Ashley

I dont have a real post for today, because I haven’t done anything post worthy the past few days, except clean my house. I didn’t think anyone wanted me to write a post and take pictures of me cleaning the toilet, gross. But I had something that I wanted to get off my chest, and this is my blog, I write what I want.

If you follow me on Instagram you’ve seen this picture:

I’ve got that lovely wrist brace on because my doctor told me I have carpal tunnel. I’ve been having wrist pain off and on for a few months now, but last week the pain was constant so I finally decided to go to the doctor. Huge mistake because I now have a stupid brace. I hate this thing and I hate carpal tunnel, or whatever the heck is wrong with my wrist. Driving is now a pain in the butt, I can’t do my Jillian Michaels workouts, and I can’t really clean my house very well either. Yesterday I threw a hissy fit over the whole thing and decided to work out and clean my house without the brace, so now my hand hurts. I’m the most stubborn person ever.

The whole wrist thing had me in a terribly bad mood all week, but yesterday I went running in the rain while listening to angry music and I feel much better. I guess I just had to run it out.

Now I’m looking forward to a lovely 3 day weekend of more cleaning, yard work, spray painting, cookouts and crafting decorations for my sister’s party. Which means lots of fun posts coming your way over the next few weeks! I’ll even be posting on Memorial Day! I know, crazy!

Have a great weekend! What plans do you have for Memorial Day? Also if you catch me being a Debbie Downer about my wrist again on Facebook or Twitter tell me to snap out of it. I need some tough love ya’ll.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Ashley

Jesse and I are weird, as if you didn’t already know that. We like Star Wars, talking in weird voices and we eat soup in the summer. Yep, you read that correctly, soup in the summer. Soup is definitely one of our comfort foods, so when we have a day at home to just hang out we like to fill the house with the aromas of a homemade soup. Plus I make good soup, if I do say so myself. A great summer soup is Chicken Tortilla soup because it goes great with an ice cold Corona.

Ingredients
- Chicken (either leftover baked chicken or boiled breasts)
- 2-3 cups of chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 one white onion (diced)
- 1/2 one red onion (diced)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (drained)
- Diced green pepper
- Diced red, orange or yellow pepper (I usually pick 2 or do all 3)
- 1 large jalepeno (diced)
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans
- 1 can black beans
- 4 gloves of garlic
- Cayenne Pepper (however hot you like it)
- Cumin (to taste)
- Chili powder (to taste)
- Fresh cilantro (chop a few sprigs to cook and a few for garnish)
- 1 tsp. lime juice (or to taste)
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)

Let’s Get Cookin’
- Boil your chicken in about 1/2 a pot of water until so tender it just falls apart. Remove and shred then add it back to the pot set on medium to medium high heat.
- Add your broth and beans (rinsed thoroughly).
- Let it cook for about 30 minutes and then add the rest of your ingredients.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes. The key is to not overcook your peppers into mush.
- Garnish your soup with cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips and fresh cilantro. This is key to a delicious soup!
- Enjoy! And don’t forget the Corona!

Does anyone else like soup in the summer? Or ice cream in the winter? Or any other seasonably incorrect meals?

**Linking up at Serenity Now, House of Hepworths**

Linking up at Serenity Now, House of Hepworths