Savvy Shopping: Guest Room Revamp

I gotta be honest... the whole "bargain shopping" thing wasn't as hard as I thought it would be thanks to a little store called Target.

I exchanged these $89.95 bad boys at Nordstrom:

For these $18.00 gems at Target:

Same look, less expensive. That gave me roughly $72 extra to spend on making my guest room the dream land I've been imagining for months now. Since I spent Saturday night watching DIY shows on HGTV, I gave myself the challenge of revamping the diggs for $100. 

My room inspiration came from some postcards that my mom bought when we went to France the summer I graduated high school. We spent 10 days exploring Nice, Monaco, Cannes, and Paris... it was such an amazing trip! Not only do they bring back great memories, but I'm drawn to the bright colors and chic yet relaxed vibe they give off. I  have a major color crush on yellow, so I thought these would be amazing to base the room around. 

When I started to research for items, I knew I needed to find the bedding first, and everything else will revolve around that. I've been obsessed with this set from West Elm for forever and a day:

West Elm $119

With these sheets...

West Elm $79

With this pillow cover...

Restoration Hardware $50

These three items already add up to $248 (pre-tax), and that's with ONE accent pillow cover, not even the insert or any other decorations... ain't happening. After a few hours of research, some sale rack scouring, and an impromptu trip to Goodwill, here what I came up with!

Smith Guest Suite! I forgot to take "before" pictures... doh! You weren't missing much-- brown and depressing.
Sticks on left: Ikea {Had them for years}, Headboard: Ashley Furniture: {bought when I graduated college}

Right Accent Pillow: $2.49 at Goodwill
Left Accent Pillow: Wedding Gift {Crate & Barrel}

Duvet $62.99, Yellow Stripe Sheets $29.00
Both Target

Decorative books: $4.00 at Goodwill {bottom 2}, Top 3 were gifts
Handsome couple in the back: My parents circa 1978
Table: Antique from my sweet Nana

All together, the room re-do total came to $98.48... I win! Considering it's where I basically get ready in every morning {I use the closet}, it's a double win. I'd much rather start the day with these bright and happy colors than the ugly brown stuff we had before. Since we move into our new place June 1 {more on that later}, I'm holding off on the paint, etc. But I plan on painting the walls in the new place grey, spray painting the iron headboard white, getting a tufted bench, and eventually splurging on some monogrammed pillows like the ones here.

Now that the room has a face lift, we are ready for our fun filled visitors weekend!! My BFF/partner in crime Jessica is coming in town tomorrow for work and staying through Sunday. As an added bonus, Zeke's long time family friend Lauren & her hubby Cody are visiting from Friday-Tuesday. Our weekend will be full of good eats, a trip out to the Virginia wine country, and photo opps with the cherry blossom trees. Excited! This will be my last post for a few days-- be good and have a great week{end}!

Xoxo, 

Kate

Weekend Wrap-Up: Savvy Shopping & SAE Stud

How was everyone's weekend?

Mr. Smith spent his in San Marcos with his fraternity brothers for the reinstatement of the Texas State chapter of SAE. It's true... I'm married to a 31 year old frat boy... but I wouldn't change a thing :) He and the Alumni executive board have worked for the last 8 years to get the chapter back on campus, and Saturday night their tireless efforts paid off! It was an extra special night for Zeke, too... He was presented with two awards! The first is called the "True Gentelman Plaque", which was given as a thank you for helping them get the chapter started. The second was an award from the National Fraternity... kind of a big deal! It's called "The Order of Minerva" and is given to recognize alumni for outstanding leadership and service.

Congrats baby!!

While he was off getting awards and and running wild in his old stomping grounds, I enjoyed some girl time and knocked a lot off of my "to-do" list. 

In addition to girl's wine night and the Hunger Games premiere, I've been itching to redo our guest room and had that on the top of my list. With Mr. Smith gone, this is one of the rare chances I have to change things around and he can't say anything. {Any other ladies out there know what I'm taking about??} I spent some time Saturday night looking through Pinterest, trying to re-create my favorite rooms for a fraction of the price. I also felt a little guilty about a certain purchase on a certain shopping trip to Nordstrom on Friday. I did some internal justification and told myself that if I found a more affordable pair of shoes, I can re-decorate the bedroom. It's all about compromise, right?

Here were my projects:

Find cheaper version Joe's Tina Sandals (Price $89.95)

and I can re-create...

 I'm still putting the final touches on the room, so tune in tomorrow night for a redecorating recap :)

Sweet dreams!

{Mis}Adventures in cooking: Eggs Benedict.

I looooooooove brunch... it's one of my all time favorite things.  It's always filled with great food, great friends, and mimosas- what can be better? Some recent Pinterest discoveries got me in the mood to tackle one of my go-to brunch dishes: Eggs Benedict. I figured if I can tackle this recipe, it might be fun to host our own brunch or even make this for guests when they come in town.

I've "heard" that it's a tough dish to make because of the whole "egg poaching" process. But thanks to my inflated confidence from some successful first-time cooking experiments, I thought to myself...

Last week, I bought this contraption from Crate and Barrel that, according to the sales rep, was a fool proof tool for poaching eggs...

I also did a ton of research online watched one video, and decided I was an instant poaching machine. Since I *knew* I had a natural talent for making eggs benedict, it would be a shame to stick to the regular, boring recipe. I decided to make a hybrid of these two delicious-looking dishes:

Avocado Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict with BBQ Hollandaise

I laid all of the ingredients out, poured a glass of wine, and told Zeke to be ready for dinner in about 10 minutes {according to the video}.

Step 1: Cook the canadian bacon.

Easy peasy. Next!

Step 2: Make hollandaise sauce. Melt 1 1/4 c of unsalted butter in a pan while you combine egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender. Should be easy... right?

I open the box of butter to realize I only have 1/4 cup left. Crap!!! Luckily, I had some "I can't believe it's not butter" in a tub at the back of the refrigerator, so I threw a bunch of spoonfulls in the pan. Apparently the stove CAN believe it's not butter, because it melted in 2.5 seconds and started to bubble while the unsalted butter took its sweet time. Panicking, I threw the egg yolk and who knows how much lemon juice in the mixer, and went back to the failed butter mixture that was scorching in the pan. I'm sweating at this point... and I'm only on step 2. 

Pour butter into egg/lemon mixture, stir. Add BBQ sauce, mustard seed, chili powder, cumin.
Somehow, 20 minutes later, I think the sauce is ready. 

Then.... oh SHIT! I also realized I didn't turn off the pan that the Canadian bacon was cooking on, so they were shriveled,  brown, and looked plastic. Good thing I have a whole package of those. I'll deal with that later. On to the next challenge: Poached eggs. 

Bring water to a boil, reduce, gently drop the egg in the water, do the cool "spoon the egg" trick like the guy on the video did. Easy... right?

Wrong!

Eggs # 1-7 failed miserably. The "bubbles" are the egg whites. 

Yes, I went through 7 eggs. Every time it "gently" hit the water, the whites dispersed, hardened, and I had to pour the water out and start over. I tried different temperatures, different methods with the foolproof egg poacher, same result. FML. 

Flustered, I decide to abandon the stove idea and opted for the "foolproof microwave instructions" I saw in one of the recipes. Instructions: Place egg in 1/2 c of water, microwave for 1 minute. How can you possibly screw that up?

30 seconds in... I hear a loud pop. SHIT!!! I open the door to find the egg exploded all over the microwave.

I only had 4 eggs left, and that's how many I need for the recipe, so I looked around the kitchen to regroup and plan my next move. I realized I've made a complete mess and only have the {now cold} BBQ hollandaise sauce to show for. It better be good.

Plan B: Screw poached eggs, fry 'em. 

Old faithful.

While the eggs were frying, I threw the english muffins in the toaster, warmed up the BBQ Hollandaise sauce, and a few minutes later......

Taaaaaaadaaaaaaaaaaa!

Surprisingly, it turned out really well! Now... the eggs weren't "poached"... but that was more of a cooking item to cross off my bucket list. Fried eggs with runny yolks still serve the same purpose as far as I'm concerned. Zeke said he was 110% satisfied. According to him, the sauce was one of the best things I've cooked so far :)

If you're ever interested in experimenting with Eggs Benedict recipes, here's my advice:

- Get an egg poacher, and make sure you know how to use it. Don't assume anything.

- Fried eggs are an acceptable and delicious substitute for poached eggs. 

- Don't use "I can't believe it's not butter". It is not butter.

- Try this recipe with BBQ hollandaise sauce- it adds a nice tangy element. 

- Also add avocado: smooth and creamy flavor cuts the sharpness of the BBQ.

If you have any tips for my next go-round... let me know!

XoXo, 

Kate

My own personal March Madness

The month of March has been busy, but pretty fantastic if I must say so :) Lots of running/training, girl's nights with new and old besties, and quality time with the hubby. Here are a few pics of what's been happening {outside of St. Patrick's day}...

It's easy to make yourself run with scenery like this at night.

Girl's night at Blush and Brush in Georgetown. 

Pre-Cherry Blossom

Love my Jen time!

Found another fab nail place: Mimosa in Dupont.
Bottomless champagne and affordable mani/pedis- yes please!

Spotted Rick Santorum's tour bus in DC during the primaries.
Not getting my vote, but a cool reminder of how close we are to the action!

My niece turned 6 months old... is she the cutest thing or WHAT??!!! 

Speaking of cute babies- I got to see my boyfriend Brayden!  So in love with him.
Tara is pretty cool, too ;)

Me and Shannon discovered we both loved pucca shell necklaces in college.
We also refuse to take another profile pic for our bank cards.

One of my best friends Kristen got MARRIED!!! Isn't she pretty?

College roomies! RP207 holla.

Sistas for life ;) Such a fun day!

Thanks to a layover in Dallas, I enjoyed 2 large bowls of salsa from Pappasito's.
Texas people- you don't know how good you have it!

I found time to cook a few good meals of my own, too :) 

Mimi's Chicken, Sausage, and Seafood Gumbo- recipe to follow 

Beginnings of Slow Cooker Latin Chicken with Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes
**I added a few ingredients to spice it up a little- see below!

Swapped green chiles for roasted red pepper, added 2 tbsp of Cholula hot sauce, used 1 tbsp of ancho chile powder, and rubbed the chicken with Bobby Flay's 16 Spice Rub, recipe shown.  I swear by this rub- it goes with everything!

16 Spice Rubbed Porkchops with Mango Kiwi Salsa {Recipe for rub shown above}
Roasted corn with Queso, Cilantro, and Chile {Thank you Pinterest!}
*One of Mr. Smith's new favorite sides

The next recipe I want to tackle is another brunch favorite: Eggs Benedict. I bought an egg poacher gadget thingy and am attempting to make it tomorrow night. If you have any tips for poaching, I'm all ears.

I think that just about catches me up for what's been happening. Off to bed for this gal! Sweet dreams :)

St. Paddy's Recap

Hello there! For starters, sorry I've been MIA these last few weeks. Between running, traveling, and work, I chose to spend my downtime cuddled with Mr. Smith vs. huddled in front of the computer. No offense ;) 

St. Patrick's Day is always one of my favorite holidays. I love to celebrate the fact that I'm 1/32 part Irish by dressing up in ridiculous costumes and downing Irish Carbombs. Who doesn't?

We kicked the party off a little early this year with the Leprechaun Lap the first weekend of March. It's a pub crawl that takes you all over DC to favorites like Sign of the Whale, McFaddens, Mad Hatter. I only managed to snap a few pics, but we had a blast as usual.

To continue the Gaelic festivities, last Tuesday we attended the DC Guinness Pouring Contest at Fado in DC. Eoghain competed against 25 other bartenders from Irish pubs in the area to see who could 1) pour the "Perfect Pint" and 2) create the best Guinness freestyle drink. It was like Iron Chef, only the language was foul and the spectators got to sample the products throughout. We strategically posted up by the judges, therefore got several complementary pints ;) Much to our delight, Eoghain won! He's the 2012 Guinness Pouring Champion and has the trophy to prove it.

4 judges: 2 work for Guinness. They were intense!

Mayors of P Brennans, current and former. 

A "perfect pint"

One freestyle pour- cut a hole near the pee pee of the statue,
run a hose through it, fill 4 pints. 

Eoghain's freestyle: Red Velvet Cupcake Shot. 

Cake Vodka, grenadine, Guinness, whipcream topper.
Delicious! 

Crowning the victor

#1 Fans

Next, we went to an Irish Whiskey tasting Thursday evening at P Brennan's. This is the 4th tasting we've done there and we love them! It's a great way to learn about the history of the brands, what actually goes into making them, and discover something other than "the usual". {Hint, hint: there are other types of Irish Whiskey besides Jameson!} I didn't get many pics of the evening, this one was much more low key for me since I had the half marathon only 2 days after. I was a good girl and went home at 9:00 :)

My favorite was Redbreast {top right bottle} with 2 ice cubes. Has a good caramel flavor.

 And finally... St. Paddy's day arrives! Half marathon time!

Chaotic metro ride there... packed wall to wall with anxious runners. 

Me + Blair = shoe twins!! I also bought us matching Double T running charms to add some bling. Aren't we cute?? 

Holding steady at mile 6.
Me: "BABE! Come grab my tutu! This thing sucks!" And he did :) 

Slow and steady doesn't win the race. It finishes. Good enough for me!
Me crossing the 13.1 line {in the white hat} 

Proud hubby

Running buddies!

The run was a lot harder than I expected. I feel like we were prepared for the distance, but not for the surprise "hills" on the course. We went through several tunnels and under bridges. And what goes downhill must come uphill-- no fun! But overall, the weather was awesome, the spectators and bands kept it lively and fun... it was a great experience. I can definitely say I would do one again!

After the race, we showered/rested up, then headed to P Brennan's for some real St. Paddy's day festivities. 

Red Velvet Cupcake Shots {duh}

WTH 

Love my silly hubs

Running buddies post-shower. Yes I wore my medal out. I earned it!!!

My Austin, TX thrift store shirt... it's the truth! 

Easy, Kyle. You're scaring the kids.

I didn't last much longer... we were home and asleep around 8:30 pm. I guess that's what happens when you get old. And there you have it!

I have a ton of updates and some fun chicken, pork, and gumbo recipes to share from March. Stay tuned...