Happy Mother's Day!

Mom,
I want you to know how much I love you! You are an amazing mom to all five of us girls and I can't put into words how grateful I am to be your daughter. I want the whole world to know how much you mean to me, and what you've done to make me the person I am today. Your creativity drives me to try new things, your strength pushes me to try my hardest, and your compassion towards others has shown me what unconditional love is. You are such an inspiration to me - more than you will ever know - and having you as my mom makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

I love how we can call each other with nothing to say, and end up talking for hours about furniture, family, and how we're still trying to clean our houses. I knew I wanted to grow up to be like you, but didn't realize how much I've always been like you, until I moved out to DC. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and it also makes you see things that you didn't realize before. Like you, I can talk to just about anyone, including bank tellers, cashiers, and random women at the grocery store. Like you, I love to start a new project without really knowing where it might take me (or how long, for that matter). And like you, I gasp (loudly) whenever I have even the slightest fear that someone might get hurt or that something bad is about to happen. :)

But even as much as we are alike, there are so many ways I will always strive to be more like you. I can only hope that I will be half the wife, mother and grandmother you are to our family. You are always there to lend a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen. Thank you for always being there and supporting me through the best and worst parts of my life.

I can't thank you enough for being such a truly amazing mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo,
 your baby
& your favorite daughter :)

Photo Friday

Happy Friday! Things have been crazy around here this week. I'm getting ready to go to a conference, where I'll be managing registration for 1,500 attendees. Needless to say, work has been a little intense. But that didn't stop me from clicking away this week, so here's a little glimpse at what I've been up to.

As I mentioned in my last Photo Friday, I met up with my friend Kelsey on Friday night. She was in Korea for the last year, so we had an epic night of reuniting, which included dinner in Dupont and going to the Caps game (thanks, Drew!).

And of course, I spent most of Saturday and Sunday completing my first furniture redo!

Speaking of furniture, I can't wait to work on this little beauty. 

I put her in our living room for now and every time I pass by, it stops me in my tracks. :)

As for food, I made this bangin' dinner on Monday night and I already can't wait to make it again.

(btw, the leftovers were just as good as the original meal)

I also labored over these lasagna roll-ups this week. 

There's a lot involved in putting them together, but it's SO worth it!

 I'll post the recipe soon, I promise.

Moving on to the nature/outdoor scene this week, the weather has been fluctuating a lot. 

It's been mostly sunny around here, but chillier than previous weeks. 

One night when I got off the metro, I looked one direction and saw this:

And when I looked the other direction, I saw this:

I heart rainbows. They are just so amazing!

We did have one day where I got to whip out my umbrella, 

but when your umbrella looks like this, it's not too bad! :)

 Aside from the one rainy day, most of the week was sunny!

As for work, it's mostly been a blur! 

I think this picture of my morning commute explains how I've felt all week.

So today, I rewarded myself with a treat from Starbucks.

1-pump raspberry short soy latte - the perfect answer to my problems.

And what do I get for trying to reward myself?

This mess. 

Apparently my dry-erase board fell last night and knocked all the papers off my desk. Sweet.

The most exciting news of the week is that I'm an aunt for the 12th time! My sister-in-law delivered a sweet baby boy on Monday, May 2nd. They named him Sunil and will call him Sunny. 

I haven't met him yet, but he sure looks precious!

taken by brother-in-law, Neil

Speaking of babies, here is what my baby has been up to this week!

"What? I'm just lounging in the media center. That's normal, right?" 

"Don't mind me, just getting a better view"

"Help, I'm trapped!"

"This is my fridge - back off"

"mmmmm fly swatters ... my favorite!"

Can you guys think of any good captions for the Rooney pics? If so, bring 'em on!

Like I said in the beginning of the post, I'm heading out of town for the next 9 days, so I might be a little MIA next week. I'm relying on Jesse to hold down the fort at home, but I don't think he counts blogging as part of the responsibility - I'll ask. :)

Most of my photos are edited using the iPhone app, Instagram. You can follow my photo feed at lilsuzy.

It's Mine ... All Mine!

This is exactly what it looks like - my new bookshelf!

Isn't she gorgeous?

Want to know my favorite part? The braided detail and the curved feet!

Even the shelves have some curve ...

And the worst part?

The fact that I can't do anything until I finish the buffet!

But a girl can dream ...

So let's dream for a moment, shall we ....

I'm envisioning a light color - gray, white or light blue?

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And some distressing. Yes, definitely some distressing!

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And then plenty of pictures and goodies to fill the space.

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I can't wait!

{See how I got my new bookshelf in this post from yesterday}


Thanks to those of you visiting from Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday! If you have any recommendations/requests about what I should do with this bookshelf, I'd love to hear about it. Leave me a comment below with your great ideas! :)

Craigslist Find #2: Bookshelves and Side Tables

As I was doing my daily Craigslist perusal yesterday (you can read about my CL obsession here), I came across a little gem. There are actually two gems, but my amount-of-time-available-to-work-on-projects budget can only afford one, so I had to decide which one I needed more.

Side Table ($25) or Bookshelf ($35)

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I really love both pieces, but since I just got done refinishing the side table for our living room, I decided the bookshelf was higher on my priority list. I have a few places in our house where I'd like to put a shelving unit - the living room, our bedroom, the craft room - so I have no worries about finding a permanent home for it, once assuming I get it. I'm supposed to go look/pick it up tonight, so I'll let you know what happens!

P.S. I really do love that side table, but I can't get too far ahead of myself. I still have a buffet to work on, and I won't be able to start that until the end of the month. Traveling for work is fun ... NOT! :)

Monday Dinner: Grilled Chicken and Orange Skewers

Sunday dinner was really good this week - pulled pork sandwiches and homemade french fries - but tonight's dinner was even better! As I was flipping through the latest issue of Real Simple, doing my weekly meal planning, I came across a recipe for Grilled Chicken and Orange Skewers with Zucchini Rice. With as nice as the weather has been here in DC lately, I was excited to find a recipe that I could make out on the grill.

While I was at Trader Joe's doing my weekly shopping, I decided to add just a bit more to the recipe. The original recipe called for chicken, onions and oranges, and the zucchini was served with the rice. I decided to add the zucchini to the skewers, along with crimini mushrooms. I also picked up TJ's new Rice and Orzo pilaf to serve on the side.

I'm glad I added the veggies to the skewers because this meal was amazing. The variety of vegetables and the sweet orange sections were the perfect compliment to the spices in this recipe. And the combination of chicken, veggies and rice were so satisfying and filling. Jesse and I both agreed that it's a new favorite meal, so I'm sure I'll cook it several more times this summer.

We just finished dinner about 30 minutes ago (we eat late) and I'm already on here

sharing this recipe with you; that's how good it is!

Grilled Chicken and Orange Skewers

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs,
cut into 1 1⁄2-inch pieces
1 small red onion, cut into 1 1⁄2-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
6-8 crimini mushrooms, cut in half
1 navel orange, cut into 16 pieces
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt and black pepper

Soak 8 small wooden skewers in water for at least 15 minutes (or use metal skewers). While the skewers are soaking, cut the chicken and vegetables, according to size.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the chicken, onion, mushroom, zucchini and orange with the oil, cumin, cayenne, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper; thread onto the skewers.

Heat the grill to medium high (450 degrees), lightly oil the grate, and grill the skewers, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the onion is just tender, 18 to 25 minutes.

Serve with rice pilaf.

Now go to the store, buy these ingredients, and enjoy a tasty night of grilling!

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Prepping for the Prep Work

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared to tackle the buffet. In fact, I'm so scared that I'm going to mess something up, I decided that I needed a pre-buffet project. Hence the title, Prepping for the Prep Work. Before going all out with the sanding, priming, painting and staining, I wanted to make sure that I knew what I was in for. In other words, I'm procrastinating (at least that's what my husband thinks).

So this weekend I set out to the local thrift store with the hopes of finding something cheap.

There were plenty of solid wood pieces, but most of them were at least $80. 

Not quite what I had in mind for a trial project.

As I did my final loop around, I noticed a cute little side table tucked underneath a shelf. It was solid wood (check), in great shape (check), and it was only $14 (check).

After I loaded the little table into the car, I stopped by Home Depot to pick up my supplies.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sanding ...

taping ...

priming ...

painting ...

And painting again ...

I let the paint dry overnight (and through most of Sunday afternoon) before I tackled staining.

For the staining process, I brushed on a wood conditioner (thanks for the tip, Cassie!) ...

waited 15 minutes before brushing on the stain ...

Waited another 15 minutes, and then wiped off the stain to reveal this ...

I'm pretty much in love with it ...

So there you have it. I was able to practice each step without risking a casualty at the expense of the buffet. I learned several lessons along the way and ended up with a finished piece of furniture. Alright, it's almost finished ... I still need to spray it with the Polycrylic tonight.

Once I'm all done, I'll share some of the lessons I learned, along with a few more pictures.

Next up, the buffet!

Bring. It. On.


This project is linked up to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party, Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday (POWW), and Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday: