Sunday Routines

For me, Sunday's are a day to prepare mentally and literally for the week ahead. I love to start the week with a clean house and nothing to worry about chore-wise because, lets be honest, if it doesn't get done over the weekend I'm definitely not going to get to it during the week.

Laundry gets washed and folded and sometimes even put away! The dishes are washed, floors vacuumed and swiffered, groceries are stocked up, and I organize my work planner for the week. Is this borderline OCD? Probably. Do I love doing it anyway because I'm crazy? Yep. Does that mean it's definitely OCD? Most likely. Do I have more questions than answers? Always.

On Sundays when the weather is nice enough, I will also wash all of the floor mats and linens and spray them with my home made essential oil blend (usually peppermint, lavender, orange oils) to promote peaceful energy aaaand get rid of any doggy smells. We also diffuse oils and open up the windows to get some fresh air flowing. That always makes sure the house smells clean and homey for the week.

One of the best things I think you can do to start the week off on a positive note is to put clean sheets on Sunday night. Maybe it's just me, but I always sleep better on clean sheets. Lavender pillow spray is also pretty great ;)

The real estate market is so intense this time of year and it makes a huge difference for me to not have to worry about too many chores during the week so Sunday's have become a little refuge for me to sort through everything and plan for the week ahead. Obviously with 4 animals, vacuuming and swiffering are not just a once a week thing, but doing a big scrub down shrinks those dust bunnies down exponentially.

Today I was actually a little bit surprised when I opened up all of the windows because it feels, smells, and sounds like Spring! I know were a couple of months away from the first day of Spring but NC has the weirdest weather. Also, global warming. Anyway, there are birds everywhere and the air feels crispy with not a hint of humidity. Perfect day for getting some fresh air flowing through the house.

Now, I know I'm not the only person with a crazy routine...what are some of the things you do to get ready for the week ahead? I'm always open to suggestions (and ways to make your house smell good when you are constantly surrounded by fur babies)

Kitchen cleaned, & oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in ze oven
 because the wedding is over and I am eating everything.

Thank god for my planner, otherwise I would never know what is happening.
Also, email inbox is empty hollerrrr

Remembering to water the plants is not high on the priority scale but even Fergus the Fiddle Leaf Fig
gets some love on Sundays

Diffusing a blend of peppermint, lavender and sweet orange. Smells sooo yummy!

Clean(ish) floors and some natural light to get some good vibes going ;)

Happy Sunday!
E

What's on the Menu: Fourth of July (Part 2)

It's actually, officially INDEPENDENCE DAY!! However, we celebrated too hard all weekend so I am celebrating by watching Captain America and trying to force my dogs to snuggle as they run about the house barking at fireworks (high five)!

heh heh heh 'Merica

We did have a great BBQ yesterday and were able to spend time with our wonderful friends, eat some amazing food, and drink too much beer. We were ALMOST outnumbered by dogs since all of us are in that awkward 'we don't have kids yet but treat our dogs like they're babies' stage, but the humans won out in the end.

J and I got up early so he could start marinating the ribs in a new homemade sauce (Pineapple Habanero), and I had to get the biscuits and veggie burgers crackin.

The veggie burger recipe is from one of my all time favs Thug Kitchen. They are super easy to make, and only require a few ingredients that we usually have laying around the house:
-3 cans white beans
-an onion
-cumin, chili powder, paprika
-jalepenos
-bread crumbs

All you have to do is bake them for 30 minutes and they are good to go!

The biscuits are another favorite of ours from the Foster's Market Cookbook.
They are amazingly buttery, and cheesy, and delicious! And, they are good for several days after so you can heat them up and have them with breakfast and dinner.

We also had sides galore thanks to our amazing friends, and everyone was stuffed by the end of the night. I for one will be doubling up on Pure Barre this week, especially since Wednesday is Glow Day at the Pensacola Barre studio! (and who doesn't love doing pilates covered in glow paint??)

Here are some photos from our festivities...

Sweet Friends 

Men & Their Fire Sticks

Dog Pile Up

Poodle Mama

Cop & Tuck 

Lovely Milton Ladies

Happy Fourth of July friends! Hope everyone had a wonderful, safe long weekend :)

Let's Talk Food: Our Fourth of July Menu (Part 1)

If BBQ is not synonymous with Independence Day, then I don't know what it, which is awkward because I'm a vegetarian (most of the time). When we cook any meat in our house I am adamant that it comes from our local butcher so I know exactly what farm the meat came from, how the animal was grazed, and any other horrifying details they choose to give me that day.

J is actually kind of a master griller so it makes my vegetarianism quite difficult sometimes. For this weekend, we compromised though with a menu of delicious dishes and sides that cater to all diets! Even my lovely friend who is gluten/soy free (love ya girl!).

With that being said, here is a list of our favorite cookbooks that we whipped out for the occasion!

1. Foster's Market Cookbook
2. Thug Kitchen
3. 12 Bones Smokehouse: A Mountain BBQ Cookbook

These cook books are staples in our kitchen and you should definitely check them out!

For today's cookout J mixed up some of the 12 Bones Chicken Rub and marinated a pork butt in it over night (thank you little piggy butt!) You slow cook the pork in the oven for 4 hours on 275 so it comes out perfect for pulled pork sandwiches or tacos!

The we made the 12 Bones drop biscuits. This is our first time using this homemade biscuit recipe since the Buttermilk Biscuits in Foster's Market Cookbook are so delicious but I'm excited to see how they turn out. Instead of smoked gouda we used chipotle gouda for an extra kick.

12 Bones Chicken Rub

Gouda Drop Biscuits

Kitchen War Zone

What are you cooking for today's festivities??

Happy 2nd of July!

Let the Festivities Begin...

I'm sitting here drinking a G&T, watching Shark Week, snuggling with my dogs...the usual, and I literally just realized that today is Thursday and not Friday. Which is weird because this morning I knew it was Thursday (according to my FB post) See below...

What I'm getting at is that it is BASICALLY Friday now so everything is good, but things got weird there for a while. 

This weekend will be filled with fireworks, junk food, and lots of red, white, and blue down here in good old Florida and I can't wait to spend time with good friends and pig out (aka wear daisy duke overalls, drinks lots of beer, and yell "MERICA" a lot while holding fiery objects). 

In order to prepare for this weekend of unhealthy eating and laziness I went to Pure Barre, did 3 crunches, and didn't eat any cookies (yet...the night is young...but since I'm calling in Friday early I guess were good). 

I've also been very busy updating my Fourth of July Pinterest board, #becauseamerica and you can check it out here for funsies :)

List of the Day: What makes for a good Fourth of July Experience

1. Friends: this one is obvious. You need people to party with, and who better than people you like to be around!! Especially since people will be drinking and we all know everyone gets annoying when they holiday drink so it's good to surround yourself with people you like regardless of their mental state.

2. Game: Corn Hole, Bocci, Volleyball, flip cup...you name it! This is a holiday celebrating America so obviously we need to incorporate a little bit of friendly competition. And beer.

3. America Jello Shots: Maybe this isn't a must for everyone but I always like to include it to really drive home the point, aaaaand it reminds me of tailgating in college. 

4. Greasy food to soak up the alcohol: This IS a must. Grills must be involved. And it's best to alternate greasy food, drink, greasy food, drink, just to be safe. You know the drill. 

5. Nalgene of water: HYDRATE YOUR BODY SO YOU DON'T HATE YOUR LIFE THE NEXT DAY!!! We are not 23 anymore. Hangovers hurt. They make you sad. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. 

So, everyone stay safe! Don't drink and drive! And wear your protective eye gear if you are the master of firework ceremonies!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND!!!

One of THOSE days

Today was one of those days. You know the kind. The kind of day where you come back from being out of town and have a million, bajillion little things to do to catch up with work...and home...and chores...and your email.

The kind of day where you make yourself a cup of tea, forget about said cup of tea, locate it 2 hours later, and have to reheat it. Multiple times. 

The kind of day where you are trying desperately to motivate yourself to do a bunch of things that have been piling up but the weather decides to be rainy and cold, and all you want to do is read a good book under a bunch of blankets in your comfiest sweats. 

The kind of day where you come home from meeting with a client and you realize your dogs ate the homemade biscuits you left on the counter. All 12 of them!!!!

The kind of day where you are late to a closing because of a hailstorm/tornado watch and realize when you get there that you are wearing that gross pair of moccasins that should NEVER see the light of day. 

You know, one of those days. 

The kind of day where you really, really need to go to the grocery store because there is no food in the house but you don't feel like cooking so you decide to pick up Taco Bell instead. 

The kind of day where you accidentally quadruple book yourself and end up missing a hair appointment and a doctors appointment (BUT you make it to the important things!)

The kind of day where you decide to call your bank because the business checks you ordered STILL haven't arrived and they tell you that your order was never processed. 

So. Since it was one of those days, I am going to pour myself an extra large glass of wine (to drink with my Taco Bell), put Fixer Upper on T.V, and call it an early night!!

After all, tomorrow is Friday!!!

February Favorites

While February might have been a short month, it was jam-packed with great books, recipes, and Netflix shows to get us through the last of these cold, rainy days. Here is my list of Feb Favs that I want to share with you :)

Recently, I have been on a cooking show kick on Netflix and let me just tell you these shows are on point. They make you hungry but the music and imagery is breathtaking and I am convinced that I want to go to culinary school at some point now (terrifying, I know).

I've also been slowly making my way through a stack of wonderful books I got as birthday presents! Cookbooks, home decor books, and self improvement books are a huge guilty pleasure of mine. You know, the kind of books that most people just set out on the coffee table...I am a huge nerd and actually read them, over and over and over again.

 

 

Since the majority of the days in February down here are cold and rainy, we have been eating a lot of warm dishes for dinner. Classics like tomato soup and grilled cheese, chicken and wild rice stew, homemade buttermilk biscuits, and yo-yo ramen noodles (which basically means we make ramen and add a bunch of random yummy things to it).

The Buttermilk Biscuit recipe in the Fosters Market Favorites cookbook (above) in RIDICULOUSLY YUMMY. And easy to tweak and make your own. 

Also, cheese and wine. We go through a weird amount of bread, cheese, and wine in our house. Especially since I realized how easy it is to bake Irish Soda bread from scratch. Slap some local jam on it and it is a perfect snack during the day. 

 

There is nothing cozier than coming home from a long day of showing houses, putting some oils on the diffuser, getting some biscuits baking in the oven and settling down on the couch with a good book and some hot tea. 

I recommend all of the books above and would love to hear which recipes are your personal favorites!

xoxo Em

Weekend Update

A big cup of reheated (multiple times) coffee in my Durham mug, Harry Potter playing on the TV, and snoring pups at our feet. Not bad for a 3 day weekend in Milton. The weather down here in Florida is incredibly volatile in the winter, so yesterday it was seventy degrees and sunny but today it is in the 50's and super chilly outside! We had plans to maybe take a trip somewhere for the weekend but there is something so easy and comfortable about a good old fashioned stay-cation :) Especially since as a realtor there isn't really such a thing as a three day weekend. 

I plan on spending this weekend catching up on some reading, trying out a couple of new recipes, and showing houses to some wonderful new clients. Not too shabby!

In honor of Valentines day we are going to make...drumroll please...DONUTS!! I have no idea why but I really associate valentines day with eating donuts, and according to Pinterest I'm not the only one who feels that way. 

We are going to try several different recipes and combinations so hopefully they taste awesome and we don't burn down the house! As an amateur in the kitchen that's really all one can hope for...

Keep an eye out for our V-Day donut adventure tomorrow... ;)

Flight Delays, Gratitude, & Favorite Holiday Traditions

If you can name one thing worse than winter storm flight cancellations in Kansas during the weekend after thanksgiving, now would be the time to speak up! I am currently on my second cancellation in 24 hours due to icy conditions and I would be lying if I said that my gracious, thankful attitude wasn't getting worn a bit thin. 

Of course it is ridiculous for me to get so worked up over something like flight cancellations when there are real problems in the world. I have a loving, happy, healthy family, great friends, a beautiful home, an amazing boyfriend, a job that I enjoy, and so many other blessings in my life that far outweigh the negatives! 

But I really just want to get home so I can decorate for christmas and get into the Christmas freaking spirit gosh darn it!!! In the wise words of Buddy (the Elf), I am an angry elf right now. And also maybe a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins but that's another story...

Anyways, I have decided to entertain myself by making a list of my favorite holiday traditions...

1. Christmas Movies! Love Actually, Elf, The Family Stone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, The Polar Express, I love them all!

2. Christmas Music! I love listening to She & Him, Ariana Grande, Ceelo's christmas albums right now, but the oldies are amazing too, and I'm a sucker for country christmas music...

3. Making Christmas Cookies! My dad always makes his famous chocolate chip cookies at christmas and they are so delicious :) I also like making and decorating sugar cookies, but they definitely don't taste as good as his! Then, to counter the sweetness of the cookies, my mom makes AMAZING trash (chex mix not garbage haha) and I spend a good 60% of the holidays alternating between cookies and trash!

4. Decorating the tree. There is something so magical about making some hot cocoa, putting on some christmas music, and getting out the ornaments to decorate the tree. My parents tree is always covered in the ornaments my sister and I made when we were little and it brings back so many great memories to see them all on our tree :)

5. Pajamas! Every year we all get a pair of cozy pajamas on christmas eve and everyone has to sleep in them and wear them the next morning. I am all about those footie pajamas...

6. Napping by the fire. After the presents are opened, we're all full of pancakes and coffee, and everyone is comfy and warm, I love to curl up next to the fireplace with a good book and relax. 

7. Spending time with family. This is my absolute favorite thing about the holidays! Especially now that we don't live in the same state I am so excited to get to spend part of the holidays with them. None of the other parts of christmas would even matter without getting to experience it with family and friends!

These are just a few of my favorite things about christmas! What are some of your best memories and favorite traditions from the holiday season??

E

Happy 240th Birthday Marines

This weekend we got to take a break from the packing fiasco and celebrate the 240th birthday of the Marine Corps at the annual birthday ball. It was such a good time (even though we only made it to the pre-ball) and it was nice to let loose and celebrate with friends, both new and old. The music was good, everyone looked beautiful, and we all ate and drank more than we should have! 

It's nice to get super dressed up every once in a while and spend the day pampering yourself. I don't normally go all out on things like this but on Saturday I did the whole shebang; spray tan, hair, makeup...I even shaved my legs. You're welcome. Haha. Seeing J in uniform is definitely the best part though. I'll tell you one thing, I've never in my life been a uniform chaser, but seeing him in his dress blues makes me understand where they are coming from! Soooo handsome <3

We had a great evening, and ended the night at the whiskey bar, eating french fires as a night cap. Not too shabby ;) 

Today, after recuperating and having a huge brunch with friends, we tried very hard to 'adult' and went to look at appliances for the new house. It is insane how long the list of things you need in a new house is. We had to completely leave the store to regroup! I've worked with enough first time home buyers to know that this process is overwhelming but being on this side of the transaction I'm learning that the actual purchase is just the tip of the iceberg as far as making a house a home goes!

But we are SO excited! The countdown is at t-2 days! That's insane. It's also insane how much we still need to pack. Of course instead of packing right now I'm making home made buttermilk biscuits and blogging, and J is playing Fallout 4. We're very productive and can't be disturbed right now, obviously. 

The next couple of weeks are going to be incredibly busy and hectic but I'm going to diffuse my holiday oils, listen to christmas music, pack like a mad woman, and get it over with as quickly as possible so we can start my favorite time of the year!!

Woo-hoo! Hope everyone else had a great weekend, stay tuned for the next bit of madness...

E

Easy Like A Sunday Morning

Rain pouring down outside. Chicken & wild rice soup on the stove. And apple pie in the oven. It may not feel like November outside right now, but inside our cozy, little apartment it sure does smell like it! 

I really do love our little life down here in Florida. Being far away from family is tough but its been so neat to grow as a couple on our own. It makes you really appreciate the small things like the times you DO get to spend with family but also the times where you only have each other to rely on. 

During the week we are so busy with our respective jobs that weekends have become our refuge. Maybe I'm just becoming an old lady but there is honestly nothing better than spending the weekend in your sweatpants, cooking good food, watching Mountain Men, and relaxing on the couch with a couple of dogs, my babe, and some coffee. 

Now we just have to work up the motivation to pack everything up for our move next week! I can't believe that this is our second to last weekend in our apartment, but we are both so excited to finally get into the new house. Moving is a huge part of the military life but it is still a big old pain in the you-know-what! Good thing we have such amazing friends to come help us get in gear...you know who you are...haha!

Anyways, change is in the air & the next couple of weeks will be pretty darn exciting :) Getting into our new place right before the holidays and being able to decorate, buy a huge christmas tree, bake in our new kitchen, and have friends over to celebrate makes me so happy. There is nothing better than being able to share these times with good friends and family and I have a feeling that 2015 is going to go out with a bang!

Happy Sunday :)

November First

I feel like I say this every month but, how is it already November?? I love this time of year, it has all of the best holidays, the weather makes everything cozy and romantic, and there is just something about the holiday season that makes the important things in life come to light a bit brighter than usual. Family, friends, love, hope, random acts of kindness, helping others, selflessness, warmth, good food, cozy decor...I love it all!

Also, I feel like after halloween it is finally acceptable to start thinking about Christmas. I know, I know, many of you just cringed and almost threw your computer. BUT, I already promised J that I wouldn't start really getting into the full swing of things until after Thanksgiving. Which, is completely fine with me considering all that we have going on right now. We are finally moving out of our tiny, dank apartment and into a real house. Maybe J never stood a chance with a Realtor as a girlfriend, but he has decided to buy a house down here and hopefully we will be moving into our new home in the next week or so!

Of course, I'm over here pinning like a madwoman and coming up with decor and paint for each room even though its not going to be our 'forever home'. That's one of the tricky parts about military life, you don't want to invest too much money, time, or energy into a place you won't be living for very long. But, at the same time, each place becomes your home because of the wonderful people so it's hard not to want to have that feeling spill over into the place you're living. With that being said, I'm moving forward at full speed ahead, but in a thriftier than usual style. This house will become a rental for us so we want it to be nice and homey for ourselves as well as those who rent it afterwards. 

So, before I jump the gun on interior Christmas decor I'm going to focus on FRIENDSGIVING! Friendsgiving is the Holiday that comes either directly before or directly after Thanksgiving. It is a time to celebrate with your friends, eat a bunch of good food, and remember how thankful you are for the good things in your life. It will be so wonderful to start life in our new home by celebrating with friends and filling our home with good juju. Here are some decor ideas for our new place from my Friendsgiving pinterest board. 

10 Things I Love About Sundays

Sunday's are funny because they feel like an ending and a beginning. The weekend is over and a new week is about to begin. It's a time for switching your lazy, fun weekend brain off and starting to gear up for the work week ahead. It's very easy to focus on the negatives of a Sunday; having to get up early the next day, not being able to watch Netflix for hours in a row, curbing your Pinterest habit. 

But, I also love Sunday's because they are so cleansing. There is something very therapeutic about cleaning the house, getting the fridge stocked for the week, organizing my work stuff and setting it out, getting something good cooking on the stove, and then being able to sit back and relax in the evening for a little while before bed. 

As I write this post, the doggies are snoozing by our feet, J is studying and watching a football game on T.V, some amazing smelling chicken and rice soup is simmering away on the stove, and I'm and relaxing and drinking some hot, peppermint tea . It's pretty perfect. 

Starting the week off on a good foot can make all of the difference in the world, and out of all of the days of the week, I find Sunday the easiest day to both fall off the positive bandwagon and get going with a really great, positive mindset. However, a lot of people don't think of happiness as a choice, and of course this choice is more difficult for some than others, but it is still an active, participatory thing. 

With that being said, here are 10 of my favorite things about Sunday...

1. Making a big pot of something yummy that we can munch on for the next few days
2. Opening the windows and letting the cool, evening breeze blow through the house
3. Reading what the next prompt is in The 52 Lists Project and brainstorming my answer
4. Sitting down after getting the house clean and ready for the week (smells like orange oil!)
5. Freshly washed sheets and blankets to snuggle down into
6. Scrolling through my favorite blogs & Pinterest posts in my coziest sweatpants
7. Turning on my twinkle lights, lighting those pumpkin spice candles, and reading a good book (#basic, I know)
8. Drinking a cup of hot tea after dinner and watching New Girl reruns with J on our couch
9. Calling my family in Durham to say Hi and catch up with them (even though we talk way more than once a week)
10. The feeling of a fresh, new week ahead of me with infinite possibilities!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that your Sunday has been as restful and relaxing as mine :)

E

*P.S This Weeks Prompt For The 52 Lists Project Is...

List all of your favorite things about fall.

Easy Peasy Cheesey Cake

We are living the Saturday life over here in the Nardi/Morgan household, and we are doing it right. The house smells like coffee, pumpkin candle, and Churro Cheesecake which is baking in the oven right now. I have a feeling it will be a dessert-before-dinner night...

This is the first time I've used this specific recipe and there are definitely a couple of things I will be doing differently next time (like make my own dough or used pie crust instead of pre-made biscuit dough). 

But overall, this is an easy to make, yummy, fall recipe that is quick and delicious.

All you have to do is mix...
Two 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
One large egg
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

...into your food processor like you would if you were making frosting. When it is smooth and fully mixed then you're good to go. 

Set the oven to 350, and grease a baking pan heavily with butter then sprinkle the bottom with cinnamon sugar (I mixed in a little bit of brown sugar with this too because I like it on my pie crusts).

Next, fit your dough (or as this recipe called for, the Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough) into the bottom of the pan and pour the cheesecake mix on top. Put a second layer of dough (the second can of crescent rolls dough) on top, and douse it with another hefty layer of cinnamon sugar mix. 

Pop it in the oven for 30-35 minutes and enjoy as your whole house fills up with the amazing smell of baked cinnamon sugar. Viola!

Easy peasy cheesey cake that anyone can make :)

I found this original recipe on 

http://therecipecritic.com/2013/04/churro-cheesecake/ 

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Tonight I decided to try a new recipe from the blog www.simplyquinoa.com 

However, I am not mentally capable of following a recipe without deciding that it would be better if I change a few hundred things. Sometimes it works, sometimes its disgusting ;)

That being said, this recipe was very simple to make and definitely satisfied my need to eat something leafy and green but still full of flavor. If you know me, you know that I am not the best chef in the world, or even close to it!  In fact, I'm pretty sure I resemble a mad scientist in a faulty lab more so than a semi-capable cook in her kitchen. 

But! This recipe was easy peasy and I managed to not set anything on fire. Holla.

I started by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil and adding 1 cup of quinoa. Quinoa takes about 15-20 to cook so I put a lid on it and let it do its thing. 

Next, I chopped up a large sweet potato, doused the chunks in coconut oil and a bit of brown sugar, laid them out on a baking sheet and stuck them in the oven at 425 to bake for approximately 15 mins. (scrambling them up with a big spoon every once in a while)

While the potatoes and quinoa were cooking I added 2 avocados, some lemon juice, basil from our garden, 1/2 cup of water, garlic salt, and LOTS of pepper to my food processor and whipped up some homemade avocado ranch. It was ok, but not great. I think I added too much lemon juice...

Once the quinoa was done cooking I mixed in the chunks of sweet potato and black beans (had I remembered to buy black beans...) poured the concoction over a bed of fresh greens, and drizzled my home made ranch on top. 

Thankfully, the sweetness of the potatoes balanced out the lemon in my dressing and it tasted pretty darn good. Also, coconut oil on sweet potatoes makes your whole kitchen smell amazing and you should cook them all the time.