Furniture Makeover projects...in the works!

In light of (many) recent events, I have had some huge changes go down in my life over the past few months. In the midst of this, I have randomly found a new hobby in bargain furniture hunting..with the intention to experiment and redo these suckers for a (one day) guest room. Or who knows- I may get so attached that it will become my primary furniture! Anywho, I have NO idea what a sander is.. and what primer means, so, this little adventure I'm about to partake in is going to be quite interesting to say the least.


Here's a picture of the 3 pieces I've found thus far::

:I'm starting with this little gem first because it's small, and not so intimidating.:

Craigslist- $5

:Then we'll tackle this dresser. The bottom left corner needs some minor repair, but I still think it has potential!:

Craigslist- FREE.

(picture from ad)

(after i brought it home)

:And third, we have this. My first splurge..and what made me decide I needed to partake in this furniture redoing in the first place. I just love this piece. It's a Jamison..and I scored it on 

Craigslist for $45! 

 Contemplating between cream white and black. Thoughts?

Going to buy everything tomorrow.. ANY advice or tips are welcome! I have NO idea what I'm doing here! ;)

I love Glenn Beck.

"Remember, beneath every cynic there lies a romantic, and probably an injured one."



"I've come to the place where I believe that there's no way to solve these problems, these issues."




"What does it mean to be a conservative? I don't even know anymore. I know what it means to me. It means to me, personal responsibility. That if I've done something wrong, its up to me to pay the price. It's up to me to make it right."

Sweet giveaways!

http://elle-hime.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-great-engagement-giveaway.html#more

3.10.12

Nori's 650 Giveaway:
http://fiercemakeupandnails.blogspot.com/2012/02/650-follower-giveaway.html


Traci's 2600 Giveaway:
 http://www.thetracefacephiles.com/2011/12/trace-face-philes-2600-follower.html

Ashley's Nubar Giveaway:
http://ashleyispolishaddicted.blogspot.com/2012/01/january-giveaway.html

Closes 2.11.12


http://www.ashleyispolishaddicted.com/2012/02/1000-follower-giveaway.html
Ends March 23




http://doityourselflady.blogspot.com/2012/02/100-followers-giveaway.html


http://www.thetracefacephiles.com/2012/02/trace-face-philes-3200-follower.html
Closes 2.11.12


http://spurplecastle.blogspot.com/2012/01/double-valentines-giveaway_31.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SekhmetsPurpleNailCastle+%28Sekhmet%27s+Purple+Nail+Castle%29
Closes 2.14.12

Big news :)

I'm engaged!!!! 

<3

12.23.11

Brittany gets hitched!

Hey blogger! Well, my week was pretty decent overall. I got some great news from the company I'm currently in the 'running' for with the hiring process, so please cross your fingers that the rest of it goes well. 

Also, Friday one of my close friends from college tied the knot! They had a beautiful wedding in downtown Orlando at The Mezz/The Abbey. She looked stunning and everyone had a BLAST. It was great to see everyone from college all in the same place again to celebrate such an awesome event! 

I unfortunately was too busy dancing, boozing, and laughing to take many photos. But here are just a few I snapped from my phone:

(The ceremony)

(On the building marquee)

(We like to party.)

(Every centerpiece was different. It was gorg!)

(First dance)

(Cake shooters to-go. Best wedding favor ever.)

My photos do not at all do this beautiful wedding justice. I'll try to post some more once other pictures are uploaded. 

In other news, my Jack Skellington pumpkin bit the dust a few days ago. He's been looking a little frail lately, but I waited until I absolutely had to before we tossed him. :(

(As you can see..pretty deformed and droopy.)

RIP Jack.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend! 

OPI Spring 2012

OPI's Spring 2012 Collection: Holland. 

Must have! 

Manicure challenge- Week 3

Week 3- Your favorite polish

If you know me, you most likely know the answer to this one! Of my 250 bottles of polish, China Glaze- For Audrey wins this prize.

Although this may be surprising to some, since I'm such a pink girl. But I just adore this color for so many reasons. I love Tiffany blue, as every woman does. I love Audrey Hepburn- and Breakfast at Tiffany's is also my favorite movie of all time. And this polish is just so easy for me to throw on. I refer to it as my 'comfort polish.' 

Here's For Audrey with some stampage and Hello Kitty in the mix :)

What do you think?

Beer Cheese Soup Recipe!

Now that it's finally cooling off here in sunny Florida, it's soon to be that time of year for the annual awaited beer cheese soup!

I got this recipe from my mother a few years ago to take to a Christmas party, and after it being a HUGE hit- I've cooked it in my own home ever since. It is SO good. Your spouse, children, and friends will thank you!

Here's what you need:

1 stick margarine
3/4 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup flour
5 oz ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 lb velveta diced - 12 1/2 oz
64 oz chicken broth
3/4 cup beer room temp

And here's all you do!

1) Melt margarine over medium heat, add celery and onion, sautee 3 minutes. 

2) add flour, whisk to combine 

3) cook 2 minutes

 4) add ro-tel, velveeta, and chicken broth

5) cook, stirring occasionally untill cheese melts and soup thickens 

6) when ready to serve, slowly pour in beer and mix

And voila!! You now have the best soup ever. You're welcome ;) 

Newest additions

Love love love Holiday polish! 

I was missing these 2 pretty babies from Orly's Mineral FX collection, and couldn't resist picking them up as well. I LOVE this collection..you should too!

Emberstone & Stone Cold

 And these, well, who can resist these either?

Skyscraper & Haunting

Super easy meatball stuffed shells recipe!

Hellooo, blogger! Happy weekend! 

So, I've attempted to be a bit adventurous in the kitchen this week (and for me, adventurous in the kitchen means merely touching a cooking appliance) and try some new things out. Last night I attempted a crescent roll calzone, and it was fabulous. So tonight, my Italian kick continued, and I wanted to try stuffed shells! 

(Yum!)

I've had said jumbo shells sitting in the pantry for months, but haven't touched them because I was scared of them since I'd never cooked them before. In fact, I had to dig a bit to even find them. I saw a recipe online for taco stuffed shells that looked delish, however- I did not have ground beef. But alas, I had meatballs. I then wondered if people even put meatballs in stuffed shells. So, I figured I'd try it anyway. 

So with a few ingredients and some determination, it turned out great! And it was so easy! My boyfriend LOVED them, so that's always a huge plus too ;)

Here's all you need for it:

(Half of a large jar of marinara sauce (of your choice), half box of jumbo shells, pre-cooked thawed meatballs, mozarella cheese, ricotta cheese)

I was cooking for two, so, used 13 meatballs (half the bag) and boiled 16 shells in case any of them had an accident during the prep. (We ended up with leftovers)

So first, I boiled the shells per the directions on the box- and added a bit of minced garlic and salt to taste. While boiling, I prepped my pan by lining it with foil and spreading a thin layer of butter and marinara sauce on the bottom.

-I also preheated the oven at 350 at this step!-

I then drained the pasta and placed them on the pan after they had a minute to cool. Them, I stuffed the shells. 

First, I put a spoon full of ricotta in each.

Then, placed a meatball inside.

Luckily, the shells all made it out alive- so I just stuffed the extras with extra cheese and left them meatless.

After that, I sprinkled the mozzarella inside the shells one by one. 

Next, I loosely poured the rest of the marinara on top of the shells.

I also sprinkled some garlic seasoning on top, but that's totally up to you!

Then, you bake them in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes, and that's it! 

Not bad, right? I'm so glad I tried this out.. and we will definitely be making it again very soon!

Week 2 Manicure Challenge (One day late)

Sorry, blogger. I've neglected you. And I super neglected you yesterday, since my Week 2 Halloween mani was due. I decided to attend a mini Sunday Funday with the mister instead. But at any rate, here is my uninspired Halloween mani. 

And for those who could care less about nails, I shall post another post later! 

Window treatments are like chicken soup for the soul

May God Bless you, Ikea.

Before:

Old, ugly outdated window

 After:

Maroon curtains with black sheers on top

AND, some progress in the guest room:

Bye, Felicia!

Thrifting + new easy peasy recipe!

Hi all! Happy Tuesday!! 

Today was a fun little day in the Nalley/Boyd household. Josh was off, so we started the day off with lunch downtown at a spot I love called Cafe Annie. After that, we decided to go run some errands and look around for some things for the house..which pretty much turned into an all day affair! Although we're pretty much flat broke at the moment, we managed to bring a few little things home. (Ok, so, I did the spending..but whatevs, right?)

We found these little leopard print shades at The Will for $2.99 each! 

(And a black curtain rod still in the box for $4.99)

And this cute little hook for the guest room. This is the color palette we're using!

(Hobby Lobby- $3)

And..4 vases, 2 Petula Clark records (Love her), and that cute little elephant guy for the family room

(Salvation Army- $4.44 TOTAL!) 

I'm going to do something super cool with those vases...just not sure what yet! 

And I WANTED this for the guest room, but, my friends and Josh would not allow it. Too kiddish, they say. Sad face. (I'd be 5 forever if someone would let me)

Now that Halloween is almost over, we finally have pumpkins to play with! Haha

And perhaps the highlight of the day would be this bad boy. It's a pizza casserole recipe I found on Pinterest and it was AMAZE. Highly recommend for anyone! It was SO easy and quick!

Here's the recipe link:

Yummy recipe

Oh right, and I paired it with this ;)

That about wraps up my Tuesday!! Night everyone! 

Meet the Dogs!!

Happy Sunday, bloggers! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was pretty laid back, but that's okay. 

Since this WAS a pretty uneventful weekend, I've decided to dedicate this post to my other halves/my children..aka my pups :) A few of you have asked their breeds or ages etc, so, here you go!

For those who aren't weirdo dog lovers like me, I apologize for this corny post. 

And, here we go..in the order they came home! First up, meet..

*Dakota*

Dakota is my first baby! He was born on February 14, 2004 and I got him as a birthday present that April. Here's us the day I picked him up at the airport:

He's a miniature American Eskimo. At first I thought I wanted a Pomeranian, so we were searching high and low for a white one. And then I came across this breed, did some research, and it was love. He's been the BEST dog anyone could ever ask for <3 He's sweet, loyal, well behaved, and such a momma's boy! 

(Credit: Whitney Ellen Photography)

*Starfox*

Starfox is my mister and I's 'joint' child. His birthday is October 19, 2009 and we brought him home in February 2010. Again, I was looking for a female white Pomeranian..and saw this guy (the COMPLETE opposite of what I was looking for, of course) and fell in looove. So, I decided he must come home with us and after 10 million trips to go see him, Josh caved. Good thing he did, because now they're attached at the hip. He's a daddy's boy, but he's kind enough to demand equal attention from both of us..and anyone else who walks in the door. 

One of the many visits

The day we brought him home :)

See what I mean? Daddy's boy.

*Aspen*

Aspen was a very sporadic addition to the family. Josh saw him on the http://ocnetpets.com website (the pound) and as soon as I saw his ad, I had to go visit him. At first I just wanted to give him some TLC and allow him to run around outside for a bit because they're unable to do that unless they have a 'prospect' to adopt them. But after playing and interacting with him, of course I was instantly attached. 

He's a 4 year old standard American Eskimo and was only 17lbs when I adopted him, and was missing all of his hair on his backside from flea allergies. It was heartbreaking..as you can see below.

And this is a more recent photo. After some TLC..10 more pounds and hair all grown back!

And this is the day I brought him home! (January 2011) 

Although we had a full house and this addition was a gamble, I am SO glad I did it. This dog has been absolutely incredible since day one. He was completely potty trained, is so obedient, such a momma's boy, and the most cuddly, loving, and sweetest dog in the world. It really blows my mind everyday how affectionate and amazing he is. It feels so good to know I saved this guy's life..and any other mammal additions we ever have we definitely be an adopted one!

-----------------------------------------------------------

And that's the pups! I promise I won't spam you with dog posts anymore. At least not this intense ;)