happy halloween

It's typically mid Summer when the question comes up amongst my friends, "so what are you being this year?!" and then the panic sets in when I have no clue.

Weeks go into searching online for different ideas as to what to dress up as for Halloween. And while I've always enjoyed this holiday growing up trick or treating, I still love dressing up even as an adult. I usually make my costumes rather than buying pre-packaged ones, thinking that I save a lot of money, which in many cases isn't always worth it given how much time I've spent searching Gabes for ladies construction boots, or Goodwill for a leather vest. This has resulted in a nice collection of wigs and random paraphenalia that I'll likely never use again.

Growing up, we didn't live in a neighborhood, so we were those people who's parents would drive us to other neighborhoods to go trick or treating. I remember there was one house where a man would hide with a chain saw and just hearing the roar of it would send all the kids running and screaming. For some reason we still went back there every year, testing ourselves to see if we were still petrified.

When we were done all four of us kids, would come home dump our sacks of candy on the table, trying to determine who had the biggest pile. Then there was the "inspection" by Dad to see if any candy looked "suspicious". These would end up in his bowl of candy. Funny we didn't catch onto that until later in life. Then the trading amongst each other would begin, I'll give you my Snickers for your Reeses Peanut Butter cups! We were so worried about who had the most candy, even though there was no way we could ever eat it all.
 As I've grown up, I miss the excitement of trick of treating. With all of the places I've lived, there have never been children around to trick or treat. (Ha! This may be why I miss it!) I've bought candy and waited anxiously for the door bell to ring, but it never does. I'm sure when we move this next time it will be a different story and I'll probably be complaining about how I have to buy all this candy!

So back to the costumes. Halloween costumes became a big deal in college where (yes I am admitting) most girls, including myself found it as an excuse to wear things they would NEVER wear in public. There were always so many Halloween parties to go to, and often times we'd be to the point we were sick of wearing the same thing so many nights in a row. Post college, we tamed it down a bit and usually it was one party and the dress was a little more conservative.
It's cold in October, what were we thinking in those short skirts?!

Of course it is fun dressing up yourself, but it's even more fun seeing what everyone else is wearing. Last year we went to Stage AE on the North Shore in Pittsburgh and there were so many awesome costumes. One of the local radio hosts dressed as Abby Lee Miller from Dance Moms and he looked just like her! This year he was Honey Boo Boo. Ridiculous.

I am a little sad to report that I did not dress up this year, this is the first time in awhile. That's not to say I didn't get in the Halloween spirit, I did. Last Friday, we went to Fright Night at Kennywood with friends and had a blast, even got a little skerred! (Mostly from riding roller coasters in the pitch black).

So in honor of halloween's past and my lack of costume/creativity this year, I want to reminisce a bit. Please don't judge, people!





Freshmen year Flapper.
Pretty conservative. Dad would be proud!









Sophomore year Police Officer.
Uh oh, seriously, no need to show the stomach.








Junior year Mafia girl.
Couldn't get John to dress up this year.


Senior year Referee. I can't find any pictures of this! I remember a long blonde wig though and not wanting to spend money on a real ref shirt so I painted black lines on a white tee.











Homewrecker.
All time favorite. I just cannot get over those boots, I wish I knew where they went. (Pretty sure the only thing I can get John to dress up as is a construction worker)













Flight attendant.
John was a pilot. Duh, didn't you see that patch on his pocket?

 

 







Sarah Palin.
It was an election year and I remember people requesting to get pictures with me. John was McCain.















Betty Rubble.
Ok I did cheat here and buy a pre-packaged costume!
















Kat Von D.
Another favorite. I still wear those tattoo sleeves occasionally.











Flo.
I thought I was being unique until I realized Progessive has an entire site providing instruction on how to dress up like her!
















Bumble Bee.
Izzy from a few years ago, she wishes her old costumes still fit her too :)

Happy Halloween!

new floors

A couple weeks back I shared that John was going to be taking on a DIY project of ripping up the carpet and putting down new wood floors on the main level of our townhouse. This is a project I have been long awaiting, and is the first step to getting this place in decent shape to put on the market.
Why is that everyone waits until they are ready to move out to make all the improvements you've been wanting to do?
So while I spent last weekend relaxing with my friends, my awesome husband, brother-in-law Justin, and father-in-law were busy here beginning the transformation.
John picked up all of the materials Thursday morning at the crack of dawn when the store opened for their big sale. It was worth the wait, he ended up saving $150 by waiting the extra week!
I love a good sale!

The first step was ripping up the carpet, which wasn't that bad until John and Justin saw what was under the carpet. A million staples! Nervous that these staples would make the new boards lay uneven, they spent a good part of the day just removing staples from the subfloor. Poor Justin was sick but still suffered through it so John wasn't doing this incredibly boring task alone.
I was working at home on Thursday while this was going on, so periodically I would go downstairs to check on them, expecting to see the new floors and they were STILL ripping up staples!
Once that was finished, things seem to progess pretty quickly. They were able to lay about a quarter of the room that night before calling it a day. From what I could see, I could already tell I was going to love it!

On Friday more help arrived and now John had his dad and Justin to help move things along. The house was in shambles with saws, hammering, dust, boards, nails, and STAPLES so it was the perfect time for me to leave and let them do their thing. So Izzy and I headed to DC for some QT with the girls.
Over the weekend when I talked to John on the phone I could tell he was exhausted. As with any home project, nothing goes quite as fast or as easy as you have planned but when it's all done and you see the finished product, somehow it's all worth it.
And when I walked through the door on Sunday night I knew why he was so exhausted, the floors looked awesome!!

BEFORE:

izzy was not happy her carpet was going away

AFTER!!!!

It's amazing what a difference it makes! They did such a GREAT job!!

I am still getting used to vacuuming and swiffering a lot more. Carpet is so forgiving in that regard, but with this I see every little crumb or dog hair! I'm sure as time goes on it will become less noticeable to me, but for now I want them to be spotless. At least for the first month!
The only bad thing is that having these nice, new floors is making everything else in the house look really bad, especially the kitchen... so perhaps that is next...but I think that may require more than just a weekend trip, which may not be so bad afterall  ; )

A big THANK YOU to my father-in-law and Justin for helping John out with this!

drinks, dogs and DC

The DIY floor construction project had begun at home, which was my signal to pack up and get out!

With a suitcase filled with way more clothes and shoes (6 pairs to be exact) than one girl needs for a weekend trip, Izzy and I began our journey to Washington DC Friday afternoon. The drive took a little longer than I expected due to the rush hour traffic out of Pittsburgh and the nice site-seeing tour my GPS took me on through downtown DC but we finally arrived at Lisa and her boyfriend Adam's place in Arlington, VA.

 After hugs, catch-up story telling, watching Izzy steal all of Daisy's toys, and a bottle of wine later, we decided to venture out to the local watering hole, The Liberty Tavern. This place is pretty cool.
In typical fashion we start talking to randoms about Pittsburgh sports, everyone has a connection to the three rivers somehow. We were just about to interrogate the quiet guy in the group for every last detail of his planned wedding proposal when we decided it was a good time to head home and spare mercy on him. Why is it we love to hear details about a proposal for someone we don't even know!

Saturday morning while we anxiously awaited the arrival of Rebecca and Jess, we took our furry babies for a walk around the neighborhood. It was the perfect Fall day and several people were out decorating their houses and yards for Halloween.

Many had the traditional pumpkins and gourds lining their steps and walkways but others took it to the extreme! This house actually tows a hearse from 3 hours away to put in their yard! They decorate their front and back yards with all sorts of goblins and ghouls. Last year they had over 700 trick or treaters!!

Can you imagine how much candy they have to buy?!












We made it back to the house just in time for the girls to arrive! Laughing so hard tears were coming down their faces, we thought they were just really happy to see us but no, they were actually cracking up from this news video that went viral featuring a lady named Sweet Brown. The way she describes her escape from the fire is just incredible. Thank goodness she is OK!

From then on the the phrases "the smoke got me!" and "ain't nobody got time for dat!" were part of every conversation this weekend and probably will be for many months to come!

For brunch, Lisa made reservations in Georgetown at place called Clydes. Anyone that has been to G-town knows it's pretty crowded and on a gorgeous Saturday, it felt like the entire city was out and about! I ordered a Midnight Mimosa which was a delicious twist on a regular mimosa with champagne, chambord, pineapple juice... yummm and the Eggs Chesapeake (poached egges, petit jumbo lump crab cakes on an english muffin topped with old bay hollandaise sauce)... SO GOOD!
I highly recommend this place if you are ever in DC.

Once our bellies were full we decided to do some window shopping checking out lots of cute specialty shops. Being serenaded by a homeless man and a bag pipe wedding parade provided the perfect sound track to this little adventure :) 

After a few hours of walking around, we were getting tired and figured it was probably a good idea to relieve Adam from watching the two dogs. So we headed home to chill out for a bit before we hit the town again later that night for drinks @ Circa.

Sunday we all went to the Leesburg outlets since it was on our way back to Pittsburgh. I was really excited when I read online that they were "dog friendly". Shopping! and with Izzy!! And while it is true you can bring your dog and walk around outside, I discovered you cannot bring them inside.
Bubble burst.
I'm confused, wouldn't this make every shopping center dog friendly?!?!

Anyway, that cut my shopping trip short which was probably a good thing since we're trying to save money for this house we're going to buy some day... Sigh. So it was back to Pittsburgh for me, which I was super excited about to see my new floors! (Stay tuned for my next post!)

Ok so I know you are waiting for the wild and crazy part, and if this was a few years ago, my girl trip stories would probably be a little more exciting to read, but the fact is we're growing up.
And I am OK with that.

Don't get me wrong, we still have our wild and crazy times, but they are becoming less frequent.
Just hanging out with each other and catching up over wine and cheese is just as fun.
Often times a lot of wine and cheese!

Life is just so busy with everything else that finding the time to unwind with our friends seems to take a back burner but it's so necessary!
This weekend we spent hours laughing until our stomachs hurt, re-hashing stories from the good ole days and sharing dreams of what is still to come. Quality girl time is good for the soul and sanity!
I realize trips like this will become less frequent as everyone settles down, starts having kids, and continues to grow up so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.




Years from now we'll be looking back on these days and wishing we could do it again, but we'll be saying "Ain't nobody got time for dat!" 

Thanks Lisa for an awesome weekend!
Hopefully we'll be back soon!

 

working from home

I bet you didn't know I won the lottery.

Unfortunately, not the Mega Millions or the Power Ball, but the lottery my company had last year when names were drawn to select employees to work from home four days a week. 
Sorry to disappoint! :)

More and more companies are offering this benefit and I was pretty stoked when mine started piloting a "hoteling" program a few years ago. (Hoteling for us means working four days at home and one day in the office.)  There had been a few rounds of selecting folks for participation but time after time I didn't get picked.
I didn't mind too much because my commute wasn't horrible and I was still a little nervous about distancing myself from the corporate office world at a somewhat young age. My reason for applying was strategic in the fact that I know we want to move and the commute will become an issue, simply because I can't imagine being in the car for an hour before I start the work day and at least that on the way home. My road rage will surely set in so it's best for the Pittsburgh parkway commuters.

I realize working from home isn't for everyone, especially four days a week.
Whenever I tell people that I work from home, I get mixed responses...

"Oh, must be nice!" (incinuating I sit around and eat bon-bons all day in a pink fluffy robe)
"Ugh, I could never do that, I need to be around people" (really? some days I hate people?!)
"Do you stay in your pajamas all day?" (No, but there are days I may not brush my teeth or comb my hair until 5pm, don't judge!)

I started my transition to my "home office" last May, so I've been hoteling for just about six months now. At first, saying goodbye to a cubicle that felt like home for many years was pretty tough... (kidding!).

Surprisingly the switch went pretty smooth for me. Being an IT Project Manager for a company that has offices all over the country, I was used to working with people remotely and rarely face to face. When I was in the office I was typically glued to my computer and telephone, always on conference calls and web meetings working together virtually. 
The same thing is true at home.
There are still many people that probably don't even know I'm not in the office because it's appeared seamless to them. I feel just as productive, if not more. You'll notice that when you're at home you feel you need to make it a point to follow up with people more timely so they know you are there working and available.  My day to day work activities haven't really changed much except sometimes I have a dog laying on my lap. It's really bad when she starts snoring and people ask if I've fallen asleep on the phone!

This opportunity has allowed me to gain hours back to my day by not having to wake up earlier to get ready and commute back and forth. With this extra time I can squeeze in a longer work out or prep for dinner a little earlier, or get things done around the house that I would have previously waited until the weekend to do.

Some things I have learned while working at home...

• Move! By putting on my work out clothes first thing in the morning, I am more likely to exercise during lunch or at the end of day. It seemed like one of my biggest excuses after a day at the office was not wanting to get changed again!
• Don't snack when stressed! I was never one to hit up the vending machine at the office when times got stressful, but being at home makes the convenience of snacking so much easier. I tried hiding certain foods, limiting to snack size bags and just realized I can't buy it at all. Instead I'm trying to use it as an opportunity to have healthier snacks or lunches that I wouldn't typically pack for myself.
• Walk away! Having a room where I can close the door and walk away helps me to turn off from work mode. I used to work from a lap top at the kitchen table or the couch and it was very easy to feel like I constantly had to be logged on all the time.
• Pick up the phone! I make an effort to talk on the phone more with people. Even though I wasn't working with anyone face to face in the office often, I was still hearing the chatter of humans around me. At home it's pretty quiet so I make an effort to pick up the phone to talk to someone for work related stuff when I can rather than email or instant messaging.
•  
• Get out more! Getting out of the house does wonders, especially on nights when John has class and I've been by myself all day. I try to make a point of getting together with my girlfriends for dinner, taking Izzy to the park, or even just walking around Marshalls! (which usually results in several unnecessary purchases!) Some social interaction never hurt anyone!

There are certainly things I miss about the office atmosphere... but the one day a week I have to be there gives me the fix I need and makes me appreciate that I don't have to come back until the following week!

loaded baked potato soup

In full disclosure, this post was not supposed to be about potato soup. It was supposed to be about apple cider donuts, but here's what happened....

Growing up near an orchard, apple cider donuts were a special treat in the Fall. Warm, cinnamony, sweet goodness. Yum. So when my mother-in-law gave me a new cookbook, In the Kitchen with David, (we both love QVC) and I opened to find a recipe for apple cider donuts, I was thrilled! The caption on the cover was right, Comfort foods that take you home!


I couldn't wait to make these things and blog about it. I went to the store bought all the ingredients yesterday, cleaned my kitchen, and then it was time to make the donuts!


I got off to a good start but then something went terribly wrong. There is a step where you are cooking the apples in apple cider and you need to let it reduce, time estimate for this to happen was 15-18 minutes. I had those apples cooking for at least 25 minutes and thought it had reduced enough so I transferred it to the blender for the next step to puree. (Opportunity to use a wedding shower gift for the first time, yay!)

I swear I held the lid held down tight, but apprently not tight enough. HOT Apple+cider puree all over the wall, counter, cabinets, window and my new cookbook (eeeek!!!).  This is such a classic mistake I hate even admitting to it. So after a few choice words that cannot be repeated here, I was able to finish that step and mix it in with the dry ingredients. This is when I realized something was not right. The instructions said to mix until dough forms and then knead it. After mixing for way longer than I should have, my dough never formed. All I had was a soupy mixture. Guess I did not let the apples and cider reduce enough on the stove, but you'd think with half of it going all over my kitchen it would have reduced enough that way. Nope.

So I put on my creative hat as to what to do with this batter... I attempted to make pancakes, they were soggy; poured it into muffin tins, still not good; so down the drain it went. Along with all my hopes and dreams of how amazing these things were going to be. Maybe next year...

I was really set on posting a recipe, so I turned a few more pages and found another (little less challenging) one for loaded baked potato soup. This sounds good and perfect for a cool Fall night. So here it goes, round 2!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Source: In the Kitchen with David, Comfort Foods

Great thing about this recipe is I had a lot of the ingredients already so it didn't require another trip to the grocery store. Also, I could easily subsitute some lower fat options to make a teeny bit healthier. I usually try to steer away from anything with the word "loaded" in the name. This ended up being really good and fairly easy to make. It got a thumbs up and an empty bowl from John so it will be on our list to make again.

This recipe makes 8-10 servings which is a lot for just the two of us. Next time, I will cut it in half. Usually after Day 2 of leftovers we can't take anymore.

What you'll need:

• 4 medium baking potatoes
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter - I used Land O' Lakes light butter
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 6 cups of milk - I used 1 % milk
• 1 cup (8 oz) shredded extra sharp cheddar - could have used reduced fat cheese
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 cup (8 oz) sour cream - I used fat free greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup scallions
• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled - could have used turkey bacon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork. Bake the potatoes until they are tender, about 1 hour.
Cool the potatoes and peel them. Cut 3 of the potatoes into medium dice, and coarsely mash the remaining potato.

 

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven (or large pot) over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook the mixture over medium heat until it is thick, 8-10 minutes. Add the diced and mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir until the cheese melts, then remove pot from the heat and stir in the sour cream and 1/2 cup of scallions.

                          

Return the pot to low heat and cook just until heated through (do not boil). Season the soup with salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with remaining cheddar, scallions, bacon and a little pepper. Voila! We paired this with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.

                            

My notes: whisking the butter, flour and milk took awhile to get it smooth, mine was a little lumpy at first. Also potato soup is supposed to be thick, but mine was really thick and I think it was due to the greek yogurt. Next time I may just use reduced fat sour cream or add a little more milk.

Can you tell the difference?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitt Pride

Happy Homecoming University of Pittsburgh Alumni!

Unlike years past we did not host a huge tailgating event before the game, but instead grabbed a few beers at a bar, acted like civilized adults, made it into the stadium before kick-off and actually stayed awake the entire time. It was weird.
Why did we do such a thing? It was a really early game (11 AM!!) and due to our usual crew being out of town or having other plans, it ended up just being me and my two "husbands" (John and his best bud Ryan). So we decided it wasn't worth all of the effort of packing coolers, the grill, and all the other stuff for just us.

I love tailgating. Especially with a football team like Pitt. You can never guarantee a good game, but we can always guarantee one heck of a time before hand. There will definitely be a tailgate post later in the season, so stay tuned. We're not usually this lame.

I've gotten to do a lot of amazing things in my life but there is one thing I feel like I missed out on. High school football.  My high school did NOT a football team.
Western Pennsylvanians say WHAT?!?!

It wasn't a small school either, it was actually pretty big. All of our surrounding schools had teams, ours just didn't for some reason. We had all of the other sports, just not football. Since I graduated, the school has started a football program and it's actually pretty good. But you can imagine moving out to Pittsburgh, when people hear that they just can't comprehend it. It is such a big deal around here, and western PA turns out some awesome kids that make it big in college and the pros.
If you are ever in Pittsburgh, check out the  Heinz History Center Sports Museum. It's pretty cool.

I've never gotten to experience Friday night lights or the immense spirit you have for YOUR home team during a football game, which is probably why when I went to my very first college football game I was in awe. I just loved it. Not just the sport, but the whole atmosphere. The pep rallies and preparation before the game, everyone decked out in blue and gold, the PANTHER, cheering at the top of our lungs and when we win the celebration the rest of the weekend. For how big of a school it is, during those moments when everyone is singing and cheering along, you feel like one big team. In it together, no matter how bad we're getting our butts kicked. It gives you such a sense of pride.

Annnnd I apparently wear my pride on my sleeve. Two of them in fact. I realized this this morning when I was getting ready for the game, I took a look the drawer and had to take a step back. I may have a problem. Is it normal to have this many college football t-shirts?!

Guess which one I picked??

I started pulling one out and there was always another one tucked under it, and another, and another. So finally I pulled them all out and laid them on the floor. Holy crap.

This of course is about the time John walks in and says 'what the heck are you doing?! and why do you have all those shirts?! that is ridiculous Alicia' and shakes his head and walks out of the room.
I wasn't really sure why I had so many, I just feel the need every season to get a new one (or two, or when they go on sale maybe three...).

After all these years, my favorite place to buy Pitt gear is at the Pittsburgh Stop. On campus it's a corner stand on Bigelow Blvd and Forbes Avenue and on game days they bring a truck down to Heniz field.


I can't walk by without stopping to check out what they have. One time I even bought a door mat. Don't ask.





What can I say, I wear my pride on my sleeve and I love the Pitt Panthers.

                              



John is just lucky I didn't pull out all my sweatshirts and jackets too. :) We'll keep those a secret.






 











If you guessed the gold shirt, you were right!

Even the puggle has Pitt pride!

home sweet townhome

If you've talked to me lately, you are probably tired of hearing me complain about wanting a new house sooooo badly.
Truth is, I am always anxiously awaiting the next big thing in life and a new house is THE next big thing at this moment. I'm sure once we have the house, there will (hopefully!) be something (or someone!) else for me to anxiously await.

I do love this townhouse and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
In 2007 when I signed my name a hundred times and handed over the biggest check I had ever touched of my hard earned money, that is when I really, really felt like an adult. No more moving from one apartment to another with my friends and dealing with scumlords. (and boy, did we have our fair share of horrible landlords!)
Now the responsibility was all my own if there was a problem that needed to be dealt with. Yikes!

Fortunately, my best friend Lisa lived with me until John moved in after we got married. I know right?! people still do that these days?! So I wasn't all alone and had help with bills and taking care of the place. But after a bridal shower, wedding, and John's stuff moving in filling whatever space Lisa did occupy, there is no room left. I'm tired of not being able to find what I'm looking for, and something falling on me everytime I open the closet or move!
People think I'm joking when I say my basement looks like Bed Bath and Beyond. You be the judge.

while taking thes pictures two dishes fell and broke!
I told you something is always falling on me!

 

So if I want a new house, I must sell this one and that will require some work. All those projects I intended to do when I bought the place and never did are suddenly standing between me and my dream home. So it's time to make them happen! Sure, some of them can be scratched from the list but one there is one that absolutely can not.

The carpet has GOT TO GO.

No amount of steam cleaning or Dyson vacuuming is going to make this look better. If I had the money at the time I would have ripped them up as soon as I bought the place, but I didn't. Once the furniture was moved in and things got settled, I didn't really want to deal with a project like that, so I kept telling myself they weren't that bad.  But after 5 more years of wear and tear, they are that bad and I would be embarassed to show them to any prospective buyer, but I'll show you. Look at them!

Ok maybe the pictures don't do it justice, but if you saw them in person, you'd understand.

So we (actually John, my brother-in-law Justin and father-in-law, not ME) are ripping up the carpet and putting down wood floors the weekend of October 20th. Izzy and I will be packing our bags and heading to Washington DC for a girl trip to spend some time with Lisa and her dog Daisy and stay out of the way while the work is being done. Just like Extreme Home Makeover!

I feel a teeny bit bad about leaving all the work for someone else, but then remember John really likes projects like this. It's good quality MAN time. He's been analyzing his drawings of the floor plan, re-measuring, even ripping up corners of the carpet to take a peak at what he's going to find underneath (and it ain't pretty).

So tonight I played my part in this project and picked out the type of flooring we are going to use at Lumber Liquidators in Robinson. So many choices but this is what was decided upon. Brazilian Koa.
It's laminate, but you may not be able to tell if I didn't let the secret out.

So as we're ready to tell the friendly sales guy Mike to load up the truck with 400 square feet of this stuff, my father (the bargain shopper) in me comes out and asks... "So Mike, any chance this is on sale?" even though the sign clearly said it wasn't. And just like that Mike shared that they are having a huge sale beginning next Thursday. The kind of sale where they open early and stay late and it may be worth our while to wait to buy this. Well geez, glad I asked! If we can save some money, John will be there bright and early next Thursday morning when the doors open.

I wasn't really sure where we were going to store all of this wood in the mean time anyway!

Can't wait to show you before and after pics in a couple weeks!