Weekend Snapshots

This weekend we had the perfect mix of relaxation and fun...

Friday night we hit up our local Mexican restaurant for margaritas and fajitas.  We decided to continue the fun at home with some of VABeau's signature margs.  Before we had one too many we decided to finally complete our family room drapes project.  Several months ago my mom made the perfect curtains for us but we've been waiting to find the perfect curtain rod to display them on.  We finally ended up ordering a rod from Calico Corners and I just love how it fits in with the other wood in the room.

Custom drapes made by my talented mother,
what do you think?

A VABeau Marg

Saturday morning I left VABeau behind and drove south to attend my 10 year high school reunion.  I almost skipped out on the event, but I'm really glad I made the trip to see old friends and acquaintances.    I started the evening with wine and appetizers at the Molasses Grill with some of my closest friends from High School.  I could have spent the entire night there catching up with them!

With some of my favorite girls outside of Molasses

The rest of Saturday night was spent at the local Country Club seeing a lot of old faces, catching up with friends, drinking a little too much wine, and dancing to the music of our youth-late 90s rap.  I had almost forgotten how to dance to that music!

How has it already been 10 years?

With my hot date for the night

Love these girls and I'm so happy we've all stayed in touch

More friends from high school

20 years will be here before we know it!

Sunday morning I got up bright and early to help my parents get ready to leave their/our home of over 20 years.  I'm so glad I ended up being home this weekend to say one final goodbye to the house of my childhood.  I have a lot to say about this topic so expect a full post soon.

Saying goodbye...

Sunday afternoon I returned home and enjoyed a much needed afternoon with my husband.  We watched two fantastic movies-Friends With Kids (highly recommend!) and 21 Jump Street (which I surprisingly loved.  I laughed out loud the whole time)-shared a bottle of champagne, and just enjoyed being together.

This moment wins best part of my weekend

Menu Monday

Monday

*Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps

*Rice

I rarely leave Costco without picking up a package of Aidell's Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken Meatballs.  We usually make grilled skewers with them but this time I decided to try something different.  This meal was not only ridiculously easy to make, but it was also delicious and healthy.  We had a blast making as many lettuce wraps as we pleased!

Tuesday

*Oven Baked Salmon

*Zucchini Sticks

*Mashed Potatoes

This oven baked salmon has become a regular dish in our house so I decided to be adventurous and try a new vegetable recipe a la Pinterest.  These zucchini sticks were pretty darn delicious and a great alternative to french fries.  They also make a fantastic snack which I can attest to since I've been snacking on them all week long.

Wednesday

*Slow Cooker Pork Barbecue

*Cole Slaw

*Zucchini Sticks

How could you not love easy crock pot barbecue for week night meals?  I switched things up this time and traded my usual coke for root beer making the meat sweeter than ever.

Thursday

*Pork Barbecue

*Cole Slaw

Friday

*El Tio Mexican Grill

El Tio is starting to become a Friday night tradition for us.  It is located on my drive home from work, so on the Friday's that I do work, we seem to keep ending up here for dinner and drinks.  VABeau meets me, we have a few margaritas to de-stress from the work week, and share a piping hot plate of fajitas!

Read Watch Listen

It's time for another R.W.L. with the things that have been filling my time these last few weeks of Summer.

Read 

Gone Girl
This book is ruining my life!  Okay, maybe not literally ruining it.  But it is definitely taking a toll.  Thanks to this book I am exhausted all day long after staying up super late each night reading because I just can't put it down.  If I'm not reading it, then I'm at least thinking about it and analyzing it.  It's that good and if I keep this up, I will finish by the time this is posted and be ready to discuss it with anyone and everyone.  If you haven't read this Summer's must read- I highly recommend you move it to the top of your book list!

Where We Belong
I have been an Emily Giffen fan since day one so it comes as no surprise that I absolutely loved her latest book.  Where We Belong is now one of my favorite of Giffen's books and it was the perfect Summer read.  I really hope that she will write a sequel to Where We Belong so that we can get more of the character's stories.

Watch

Political Animals
I was a little late to discover this new show on USA.  I caught it just as it was ending but managed to catch the whole mini season OnDemand.  I was immediately hooked by this show and it's depiction of a former first family.  It's full of DC sites, politics, drama, and much more.  If you're looking for a show to fill the void before Fall TV starts, I highly recommend checking out this short series.

It's pretty amazing!

Listen

Mumford & Sons-I Will Wait
I had no idea Mumford and Sons had a new album coming out this Fall.  But I was pleasantly surprised by this exciting news when I heard their latest single, I Will Wait, on the radio earlier this week.  I immediately downloaded it and have listened to it non stop since.  I will definitely be buying their new album, Babel, on September 25th!

DIY Jewelry Frame

It seems like the statement necklace trend is here to stay so I have a feeling my collection will only continue to grow.  I had been storing all of my necklaces, big and small, on a single hook on the back of my door but desperately wanted a better way to store them.  I wanted a way to display my necklaces so that I'm more likely to include them in outfits and I wanted to keep them tangled free.  So I turned to the logical place for all of my organizational and DIY needs-Pinterest:

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Christina on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Christina on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Christina on Pinterest

During my Pinterest searching I found a common theme-Jewelry cork boards.  I fell in love with each of these boards.  I especially loved the one that filled an entire wall but figured VABeau would not go for devoting an entire wall of our small bedroom to my jewelry collection.  I also loved the wine cork idea but I decided to conserve my corks for a bigger DIY for elsewhere in our home.  So I was left with the final gorgeous jewelry board as my inspiration!

I acquired all of my supplies during a HomeGoods and Michaels trip.

Supplies:

-Cork

-Stapler

-Hot Glue Gun

-Scissors

-Fabric of choice 

(mine came from leftover drapes fabric samples)

-Frame

(a HomeGoods steal)

I first cut the cork to fit the frame.  I actually did two layers of cork in order to fully fill the frame.

I then stapled (or you could hot glue) the fabric tightly around the cork square.  

It should look like this from behind

and like this from the front.

I then removed the glass from the frame and hot glued the fabric wrapped cork to the back of the frame.

I repeated all of these steps a second time with a similar frame.

I then added silver hooks, that screwed into the cork, to the first frame. 

I used smaller, more tack-like, hooks for the second frame.

A couple nails in the wall later, I had a home for all of my necklaces.

They now are easy to see, easy to grab, and left free of tangles.

What do you think?  

How do you organize your jewelry?

Weekend Snapshots

Saturday afternoon Batman matinee

Happy hour with the enomatic machines.

Post-movie wine date

One glorious cheese plate

We started our Saturday with some early morning yard work.  To reward ourselves for accomplishing so much so early, we decided to go on our first movie date in quite awhile at Reston Town Center. We couldn't resist seeing The Dark Night Rises.  I was worried that it would be weird/scary watching the movie in the theater after the Colorado shootings.  It was definitely on my mind during the first part of the movie but eventually I got so wrapped up in the story and the incredible cinematography that I was able to put that horrible incident out of my mind.  I just can't imagine how terrifying the whole thing had to have been.  Still, the movie was incredibly long but so so good!  Christian Bale makes a great batman and I absolutely loved Anne Hathaway as cat woman.  I now have the bug and want to re watch all of the other Batman movies!

After the long and intense movie, VABeau and I both agreed that we desperately needed a drink.  We received a very generous wedding gift in the form of a gift card to The Tasting Room, which has a Reston location, so we cashed in the remaining balance on a few tastings of several delicious wines.  We also took advantage of one of the first practically humidity free days in awhile and shared a cheese plate outside. 

Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants and sweet SoVA cantaloupe.

A picnic packed for a day at the winery

The stunning view from our wine tasting at Barrel Oak

Late afternoon corn hole

Strawberry pie at our church group dinner

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous here.  It felt like a beautiful April day, not an August one, so we decided to take full advantage of the weather-we packed a picnic and made the 45 minute drive out to Barrel Oak Winery.  After a quick tasting of all of the Barrel Oak wines, we grabbed a bottle of seyval blanc and joined our friends, Chelsea and George, for a little picnic at the vineyard.  It was the perfect afternoon.  

When we returned home from the vineyard, we just couldn't stay inside for long, so VABeau busted out the corn hole set and proceeded to beat me in each and every game we played.  

We ended the weekend on a good note with a church group dinner.  The couple who hosted are known for their brisket which did not disappoint.  They smoked the delicious meat for over 24 hours and it was amazing!  It was great to catch up with all of the couples and hear all about what's going on in their lives over a delicious Summer meal.

So that's our weekend in a nut shell.  

It's so hard to believe there are only a few more Summer weekends left this year!