102. Make something old new

Okay, so there's not a 102 on the 101 Things list, but if there was, this project would have been it.

Last Saturday, Ross and I went to the largest thrift store on the East Coast, Unique Thrift. This little gem was pretty close to our first apartment, but we had never ventured there. We got there pretty early in the morning and were surprised to see the store packed with people and tons of stuff.

We walked around the general home section for alittle bit and headed back to the large furniture section where I spotted this gem. A beautiful wood table, with a leaf, and four chairs, marked $50. After examining the table and sitting in all the chairs to determine that they were sturdy, Ross and I conjured up a quick plan of what we would do with the set. In minutes, I had managed to convince Ross that refinishing the set and painting it a chic glossy black would look super cute and be easy for us to do.

(FYI, I am newly obsessed with the Young House Love blog and all the great work that John and Sherry do over there. They make me long for a house and motivate me to find joys in the little things, like fixing up furniture)

Ross was in agreement and we headed to the checkout stand where we found it was 50% off on furniture day, so we ended up scoring the set for 25 bucks! After carefully getting the chairs and table into the Corolla, we were off to Home Depot to buy supplies (not without a call to Mom S for her recommendations on primer first!). The past week, we've worked hard on getting the set done. Some may ask "why the rush?" and our only answer is we live in 800 sq/ft and don't have a garage. You gotta move fast to not live in a complete disaster.

We primed, painted, and reupholstered. We learned alittle history (our set was made in 1929) and that we could do a home improvement project without killing each other. Now, we can have more than 4 people sit at our table and eat with us.

Hosting a dinner party is on the 101 Things list, who wants to come???

Wordless Wednesday #3 Revealed

Yesterday's photo wasn't much of a mystery. The picture was taken just a few short weeks ago at our friends' wedding (Congrats Dan and Rachele!). It was an absolutely lovely affair and a great opportunity to hang out with my wonderful college roommates and their significant others. Awesome food, good music, and wonderful weather.

Weddings also give me a chance to reflect on my own marriage and remember back to our wedding day and how I felt.

Unbelievable happy and so very lucky.

I've been having a rough week job-wise and the hubs tries his very best to be supportive and make my days just alittle bit better, even when I come home and am a grouch. Those vows did say "for better or worse," right?

So tell me, how do weddings make you feel? Do you think back to being a blushing bride (or groom?) and feel nostalgic? Do you secretly wear your "Future Mrs" tank top under your party dress just for kicks?

Wordless Wednesday #3

5 Ingredient Sticky Chicken

I'm trying to expand my culinary skills and thanks to my mother-in-law, who bought be a subscription to Everyday with Rachel Ray, I think I'm doing pretty well (confession: I love that magazine. Maybe it's because I don't get a lot of fun mail, but I actually said OUT LOUD when I opened my mailbox "YES, MY NEW RACHEL RAY!" I am officially a nerd.)

Anyways, somehow I've now also started receiving "Working Mother." A) I am not a mother nor do I plan on being one for SEVERAL years B)I've never subscribed to this magazine nor am I being billed for it C)If I was subscribing to another magazine, it would probably be to Glamour or Self or something like that. But I decided that since I got it, I'm not one to waste and I would read through it. Besides articles on raising the perfect toddler and how to use Twitter to reclaim a spot in the corporate world, there was a 5 ingredient recipe for Sticky Chicken Drumsticks. Since, like I said before, I'm trying to expand my cooking repertoire, I gave this recipe a shot. And you know what? It wasn't terrible. Here's some pictures and the recipe.

Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1/4 cup o honey, 12 chicken drumsticks, and 1/4 cup of Chinese barbecue sauce (I used regular BBQ sauce) in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Put chicken on foil lined baking sheet and cook under broiler. Watch chicken closely and turn occasionally. Cook for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and marinade has glazed.

12 drumsticks for 2 people is crazy, but they made a good lunch.

67. Transfer all CDs from my middle school years to iTunes

When I was at my parents' house this past weekend, I made sure to gather a pile of my CDs that date back to when I was in middle and early-high school. My tastes in music wasn't amazing- 98 degrees, the Backstreet Boys, and N*Sync all made their way into my CD player. This was the music that I'd listen to when I slept over at my best-friends houses' or when I was writing in our "notebook" (a series of notes to each other that was written completely in code using secret names that we'd made up). This is the music I would listen on DC's "Hot 5 at 9" before I went to bed and music that my 8th grade homeroom (Mrs. Elk's class) would hum as we caught up on homework and now music that is a part of my iTunes collection. I spent Friday night (yes, I am an ANIMAL!) ripping the CDs and dancing around my den to my boy band tunes.

I got to looking at the music I had in my library and took a musical trip down memory lane. Late in high school, I went through an acoustic guitar phase that seems to have lasted straight into my twenties. Memories of washing the dishes with my mom during my senior year of high school (when I wasn't singing a song from "Into the Woods") are accompanied by "No Such Thing" and "Neon." Freshman year of college included Outkast and Little John hits, Jason Mraz's "Live from Java Joe's", and hits from Maroon 5's "Songs about Jane". My sophomore year began my deep obsession with Marc Broussard and the song "Damn It Feels Good to be a Gansta" from the movie "Office Space" on repeat. My junior year began my iTunes purchasing phase where I'd hear a song and immediately need to have it- alot of one hit wonders ended up in my library and bring me back to dancing around my living room with my roommates and hanging out with the boys that lived across the street from us. My senior year was filled with tunes from a mixed CD I created to put in my car on my trips to DC to visit Ross and my family, "Walk it Out," and the Kenny Chesney album I listened to while laying on the beach in Panama City on Spring Break.

I love music and the memories that certain songs conjure up. When I hear the Manhattan's "Shining Star," I think of my Mom and Dad. When I hear "Yeah!," I think of dancing at parties freshmen year with my best friends. When I hear any song from the "Wicked" soundtrack, I think of my little sister.

Do you have special memories of a particular song? Is that song in your iTunes collection? Do you have a secret boy band obsession? Feel free to share, we won't judge.

Wordless Wednesday #2 Revealed!

Yesterday's photo was a picture I took while we were on vacation a few weeks ago in Montana. We got the chance to spend our last day there 4-wheeling through the Monarch Mountains and through some of the most beautiful country ever. I sent several hours looking at the back of my husband's helmet, but got to drive for about 33 miles. I thought this was pretty artsy looking and like that you can see the tall trees (and me taking the picture!) reflected in his helmet!

Wordless Wednesday #2