Out of My Zone

PLACES

If you know anything about me, it is that I can be considered a creature of habit.  I basically like to go to the same places and if it is somewhere to eat I usually order something I have ordered before.  I always think I am going to order something different, but when it comes time to tell the waiter what I would like, I always chicken out.  I just go with the basic, already known meal.  Boring!

So in this new year I am going to try and branch out.  You know, get out of my comfort zone.  

With that being said, this weekend I tried someplace new.  I have never been to this restaurant and it is actually new to the area. 

A friend and I had lunch plans this past weekend and once she got to my house we still didn't know where to go.  (We aren't the best at decision-making)  But I said lets try something new and we headed out the door.

Yes, I know it is Mexican, but one step at a time on this branching out thing.

I order a chicken quesadilla (a favorite of mine)

It was delicious.  I enjoyed my lunch and my friend ordered tacos and she said she would come back because she enjoyed her meal.  We are planning a trip back, maybe a happy hour.  Chips and salsa!

I have to say this little adventure turned out great.  The place was decorated full of colors, it was so much fun.

Lesson:  

Try something new because you never know.  This place is now on my list of places to go. 

Do you like to go out of your box?

 

Currently Like

HER

During these winter months, it is the little things that make me happy.  So this post is about the little items that I currently like.  

1. The "Wet" Brush

I love this little brush so much.  I have curly thick hair and this brush tackles through my hair without a problem.  If you don't have one and are looking for a new brush I would direct you to this one.  You can use it on dry hair or right out of the shower wet hair.  Just Great. 

I was first introduced to this brush at the blow dry bar, which brings me to the next item on my list.

2. Haute Blow Dry Bar

I know I have posted about this place before, but it is such a great place I needed to tell you all again.

You can find my original post here.

I just love this place and if you live here in Baltimore and you haven't been, you need to go!  If you don't live here, there are blow dry bars everywhere.  It feels great when someone does your hair, plans or no plans.

3.  Decorating My Home

I love decorating with books.  One about the home, one about golf, and one about photography.  Perfect group of three.

 

I have been changing little things around my house.  I love decorating and with it being so cold out I have entertained myself.  

Thanks to Mackenzie at Design Darling everyone can decorate and make their rooms look cute.  How cute are these matches that I bought from her boutique?  There are so many great items to choose from on her site.

What are some of the things that make you happy during these colder months?
Any home decorating tips?

Through My Glasses

HER

Glasses are such a fashion statement these days.  Everyone seems to love accessorizing with different frames from black to tortoiseshell. 

I have worn glasses for a long time now.  I mean long.  My parents were told I needed glasses when I was in Preschool.  At that age I wasn't really sure about the glasses idea.  I never knew that I couldn't see, I just thought that was normal.  How was I supposed to know?  I remember picking out my first pair, little clear blue frames.  I still have them, actually to tell you the truth I still have every pair of glasses I have ever owned.  

After years and years of glasses, years of when they were cool and everyone wanted them to years where they were not that cool, I did make the change over to contacts.  This was a big deal for me.  I was a junior in high school.  But I couldn't leave glasses behind completely.  I still had them to switch between.

I was the child that had two pairs of glasses when I was older.  One black frame and one tortoiseshell.  You need options for outfits, right?

With glasses being so popular right now, it has brought back my love for frames.  I just recently got new ones because well, I saw them and had to have them.

     

I just fell in love with these!

It still amazes me that people can see clearly without any help.  How do they do it?  I couldn't imagine my life without glasses.  I believe they are a part of me and really help to make me who I am.  They have been with me forever and I don't think I would be the same if I didn't have the options of glasses or contacts in the morning.

Are you a fan of glasses?  Do you wear them or wish you could?

In my Travels

HOME

 In my travels this weekend I found some great items at HomeGoods.  I often will get in too much trouble when walking through HomeGoods. (A good friend of mine and I will go together and I feel like we pick up everything)

I love things for the home, decorating is one of my favorite things to do.  I feel like I need a new home or need a change around my house.  As you can see sometimes this is a problem.  I sometimes find great items I either don't need or don't have room for.

I found so many great things in my travels.  I don't even know where to begin. 

Well a first find when I entered into the store was this cute envelope mailbox.  I just loved it, but sadly it did not make it home with me.  (I was shopping with the hubs= fast trip, in and out)  I may have to run back for it.

This makes me want to rearrange and make room for this.  Why did I leave the store without this?  I just love the Anthropology like hardware.  Perfect for any room.

Oh these chairs are perfect!  The fabric and print is like an Oxford blue and white striped polo shirt.  Classic and simple.  Again I have no need for these.  Wish I could find a home for them.

Such a cute lamp!  I just think this would look so cute in a kitchen or den/office.  

I found some blue and white!

Needless to say this little gem made its way home with me that night.  I just love it.

That is part of the fun of HomeGoods.  You never know what you are going to find.  New things come in during the week all the time. 

Do you like to decorate or changing things around your home?

Where is Summer?

HER

So with all this snow talk it makes me wonder, "Where is summer?"  Winter is not my favorite time of the year so with that being said I am ready for the summer months. 

What I Like About Summer:

1) It stays light out.  

You feel like you have more time to do things.  I don't know about you, but I love the feeling of having more time, especially after work. 

2) Clothes.  

Summer clothes are so much more fun.  I am over sweaters, sorry!  I am ready to pull out the bright colors and wear some dresses.

And white pants!

3) Flip-flops.  

I want to wear flip-flops or sandals.  I am tired of boots and closed toed shoes.

So with that, here is one more picture. Just to get the summer feeling.

I can just park my beach chair right there and sit and read all day.

Hope this warmed up your day.  Are you ready for summer?

This Year: Organizing

HOME

What I want to get out of this new year: Organizing!  With this New Year there is a new slate.  I am going to start the year off right with getting things done around the house.  I posted about my cleaning schedule the other day.  But my organizing doesn't stop there.

I plan on working on the following:

Closet:

I would like to go through my closet and get rid of some things I am no longer wearing.  Time to give things away!

Shoes/Bags:

Organize my shoeboxes.  For my bags?  I found these great boxes from Ikea, they are a great way to keep your bags from getting dusty.  In the bottom of the closet above is where I have some my shoeboxes and on top are boxes that are full of my bags. It is perfect! 

Files:

I hate loose papers around the house.  I need to file away the rest of my papers from last year and get together for this year.  I just opened my new pack of folders from Target.

Jewelry:

I like to put all my jewelry in clear bags, that way I can see everything.

Now doing these things makes me feel great once completed.  I love checking things off my list.  Time to get to work!

How do you organize your home? 

Instagram It

HIM/HER

Why do we love it?  Why do we check Instagram and like people's pictures?  We like to see what new things people have and what they are wearing.  We like to see where they are going and have a look into their lives.
Personally I think Instagram is great and easy.  Follow someone and like their pictures.  How easy?  And to be honest Instagram has brought a good amount of traffic to the blog.

Why we like Instagram here at BMorePreppy  
 

Well, first we can share our love for things fast.  We can just snap a picture and post it in no time to share with all of you.  Two, we can see what you all like and we can always write a post about anything you find interesting from our pictures (Just ask).  We are able to share things such as events or just our everyday with you in just a couple simple steps.  You can get a look into our life and the things that make us happy.  It is so easy to share a photo.  Here are some of the favorites from Instagram.

This is a little taste into BMorePreppy's Insagram account.  Hope you enjoy!

What are some of your favorite Instagram accounts?

Do you enjoy sharing and liking pictures as much as we do?

Ring in the New Year

HER

Well this post is about the month of January and how I celebrated the new year.  (A little late, I know)  I have been going and going lately and I feel like time is flying.  So, I am going to try and catch up.  I wanted to talk about New Years.  

New Years is not one of my favorite holidays/events.  So this year a good friend of mine and I decided to have an easy night.  We decided to make dinner together and ring in the new year on the rooftop deck in Baltimore.

Background- We both got married in 2013 so we were being the "old married couple" together.  We thought it would be fun to make dinner together and watch the fireworks.  Plus she had to work early the next day.

Our night started with pulling out the recipe binder (5 inch binder to be exact) and picking out something we wanted to try and make.  We found a appetizer we wanted to try, something new.  And after that soon found our main dish.  Both involving chicken!

We walked to the grocery store and got everything we needed.  Then the fun part started.  

I am going to share our appetizer with you all because it was soo good!

Buffalo Chicken Bites 

Half a block of cream cheese, some hot sauce.

 

 Shredded cheese

Corn Flakes

Egg

Flour

Bake chicken and shred; add to cheese, cream cheese, and hot sauce

 Roll chicken into balls, dip in flour, egg, and corn flakes. Bake

These turned out to be so great! They were a big hit with the guys.  (I will need to get the recipe from my friend.  Once I get it I will share with you all)

A New Years wouldn't be complete without a couple noisemakers.  I made sure to bring little gift bags with candy and noisemakers for each of us.  

So after dinner we headed up to the roof to watch the fireworks.  It was such a nice night.  We had a great low key, simple New Years eve.

So what are you looking forward to get out of this new year?  I have a list of things I am excited for in 2014.  I am putting together some ideas and trying to focus on my blog.  I have some good posts coming.

Keep Calm-Baltimore

PLACES

Baltimore.  What does Baltimore mean to you?  It is a place where you can relax and have a wonderful night out.  Go downtown and have a wonderful dinner.  You can go shop around the mall.  A place where running errands can either take you a couple minutes or the traffic can be so bad it takes up your whole day.  A place where you can see designer, name brand bags or see cheap, no names.  This is a place that you will see alittle bit of everything.  Have you been to the mall lately?  You will always see alittle bit of everything at the Towson Town Center.

 So let me ask my BMore readers.  What does this mean to you?  And if you aren't from here image what it means for the place you call home.
 I will be the first to tell you that I like Maryland, but Baltimore city is a whole other story.  Don't get me wrong I love hanging out with friends downtown.  Dinner and drinks downtown is always fun.  In the summer, the idea of walking to dinner and then out at night seems like so much fun.  But, there is a catch when living downtown Baltimore.
Here are so things to Keep Calm about when living in Baltimore.

  Keep Calm- You will need to find a parking space

This is why people don't leave the city once they are there.  These city dwellers hardly ever drive anywhere once they are home from work because they have to circle around to find a close parking spot.  Now you can be lucky sometimes.

Keep Calm- Everyone knows everything

Like I stated in my Baltimore Smalltimore post.  You can't go out without running into someone you know.  There is a saying that if you don't know what you are doing someone else does.  I can tell you that this is usually true.

Keep Calm- It's the Ravens

Come on, it's the Ravens.  Now, personally I am not a big football person, but the Ravens get me going.  Why can't they play well together?  Last year Superbowl champs! What?

Keep Calm- It's Charm City

Yes, Baltimore is home of the show The Wire. Yes, people ask about that.  But I don't live there.  Not all Baltimore is like that, trust me.  It is a great place to live.  Tradition is just one word that comes to mind when I think of my hometown.  Read my High School Post here.

Keep Calm- It's the weather

Here in Balto. we like to think we have 4 seasons but that isn't always the case.  Sometimes it goes from summer to winter and then back to summer.  I know we aren't the only ones that deal with this.  I find the transition periods between seasons difficult solely because I don't always know what to wear.  

This winter we have been having some crazy weather.  Summer temperatures and now single digits!  Stay warm out there tomorrow.

Every city has something about it that makes it different, makes it stand out against the others.  Just remember to Keep Calm, it is your home.

Be Organized: Cleaning Schedule

HOME

Hello 2014, time to get organized.  Well more organized I should say.

I feel like sometimes my life gets so busy between work, family, friends, and home.  By home I mean all those fun things that need to get done at the house.  The cleaning!  Now I like to be organized.  Have you seen my posts about organizing?  Here is one about magazine holders in the kitchen. And another favorite of mine you can find here.  

I am pretty good at making time for the fun things in life like trips to the mall and being social which makes the home part of life harder.  I love to have a clean house with little to no clutter.  So you can image that I needed to make a schedule for cleaning.  I love to make lists so this was right up my alley.  

When I set out to make my schedule I made sure just to have a little something to do each day of the week that way it wouldn't take too much time and so that I would actually have the time to do the item on the list.  No procrastinating.

So here it is!

 

 

As you can see laundry is not mentioned any day because honestly that is something I can do any day of the week.  I don't mind doing laundry because I like having clean clothes.  (duh) Make sense, right?  And when making this schedule, I wanted to make sure that my weekends were free.  That way I could make time for the important things in life.  Like running errands with family or hanging out with friends.  I wanted to make time for some fun or to just relax.

 

Do you have any tricks to get things done around your place?  What is your cleaning schedule like?