Freddy's Fiyahhhhh Island Friday

This weekend marks the 4th annual Fire Island weekend girls trip!!!!! This is one of the best weekends of the year for all of my girls and I to get together and it started 4 years ago at my bachelorette party- its a tradition that we are not giving up! What a great time to lay on the beach with your besties and cook good food and catch up over many drinks! The island is a barrier island south of long island.. did you get that???

We will be east of the letter A.

The only way to get to Fire Island is by Ferry (about 30 minutes). That means no cars!!! An island that is 1/4 mile wide with little beach houses and bars and restaurants and NO CARS! Now that's paradise!
I packed late last night and plan to buy my groceries for the trip now..... procrastination much???!!! We divvy up the groceries and it works out perfectly!

I'm so excited for this trip and can't wait to tell you all about it when I return!!!!

I hope you have a Fab-U Friday!!!

Freddy's Fab-U Friendship Friday

After 10 glorious days of unpacking and getting our cozy LI cottage set up, here's what we've got on our weekend "to-do" list:
-finish unpacking the 3 boxes we have left
-find curtains I like and hang them up
-get the insurance paperwork in to the claims company because the movers shoved the king size matress through our small cottage door and broke the trim off, which in turn got stuck on the matress, which ripped the new-ish latex matress (no bueno!)
-return  "waterproff" digital camera to Best Buy so they can fix whatever water damage it has
-bring unwanted items to my mom's house and while we're there take a dip in the pool and have a family BBQ
-go to the beach, jump in the ocean and layout for a nap:)
-use our brand new Weber Grill that we boguht off of craigslist (after I get a propane tank for it)

I'm pretty satisfied with the unpacking progress of our first week in NY.

I also bought this AMAZING livingsocial deal to Breath N Flow yoga. It cost $25 for one month of unlimited yoga. This week I managed to go everyday M/W/F and TWICE a day on Tues/Thurs. My favorite by far is Yogalates- a mixture of yoga and pilates. Also they do the "pose of the month" and this month is head stand, or Sirsasana. I actually did it once at the yoga studio with a spot. I thoguht I was hot stuff and came home to show the hubs, who was basically in awe that I could actually do this. I held it for a few seconds and then my legs went over and I totally bit it!!! Hysterical!
This weekend I might try the hot yoga, which is kind of scary because I don't love to drip sweat (which is why I was a swimmer!)


My studio,  headstand attempt pic coming soon...

 I'll let you know how that goes....

I've been good on couponing and saving money this week, and in honor of **Friendship Day (on 8/7/11) here are some amazing deals for my friends, YOU:


20% off for H&M Kids
50% off Joann Fabric coupon for those crafty ladies ( and men) out there
30% off or 35% off with card at GAP
$5 off $50 at Kmart
100 free business cards at Staples, deal ends tomorrow

**Friendship Day was originally promoted by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards in 1919, and intended on first sunday of august to be a day where people celebrated their friendships by sending cards. The first Sunday in August was chosen as the centre of the largest lull in holiday celebrations. Friendship Day was promoted by the greetings card National Association during the 1920s but met with consumer resistance - given that it was rather too obviously a commercial gimmick to promote greetings cards. By the 1940s the number of Friendship Day cards available in the US had dwindled and the holiday largely died out there. There is no evidence to date for its uptake in Europe, however it has been kept alive and revitalised in Asia where several countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated in a number of countries across the world.

I hope you have a Fab-U Friday!!!!!!!

You Know Your On Vacation When....

You totally lose track of time and forget what day of the week it is AND have no clue as to if its still July or is it August?!!!! AND, that its already Saturday and not Friday.
And to clear it up, by vacation I mean permanently on "vacation" until I find myself a job on LI!

Move update: I learned an important life lesson this week...
If it takes you 3 weeks to pack up a townhouse, do not expect to unpack in a few days. It really doesn't work like that.

We've been unpacking bit by bit, with intermittent trips to the beach to recharge! I have missed the beach so much and really make it a point to go everyday. The boardwalk is 2.2 miles long and the hubs and I have been taking long walks and then biking a few times up and down the boardwalk before heading home.  Yesterday we walked two miles and biked six (and we didn't even feel like working out)! It is SO nice to workout together and get some fresh ocean air!!!

Other things we've done this week besides unpacking:
Rented storage container for 1/2 of our belongings
Got library cards (I LOVE the library-and yes, I think that's pretty weird)
Got the hubs his official NY State license (standing on line at the DMV for an hour is a true NY experience)
Bought a HOT craigslist item for our makeshift kitchenette


This the extent of our kitchen counter top!!!



We've been doing alot of research on "apartment style" living and are looking for fun ways to save space and store our things- next up on the list is some type of shabby chic wall-mounted wine rack! Our "cottage" is super small and we need to make the most of every nook so if you have any ideas let me know!!!!! We've gone with a beachy shabby chic style!!!

I'll keep you posted with more LI news soon!

Deali-O!

I'm on the deal wagon this week.I am gearing up to write to you all about our big MOVE, but for now we are safe and sound back in LI!!!! Oh yeahhhh.

I needed to rant about a quick new webiste I found that sells tons of electronic stuff for sale. I am a big fan of my Dell laptop and they have tons of Dell stuff on their webiste and it is VERY discounted.  Take the Dell - E Series E2311H 23-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor with LED originally marked to sell at $229.00. On this webiste it sells for $149. If you end up doing the math its a 34% mark down!
How about this (my personal website fav!!!) The Kodak ZM1 Mini Video Camcorder originally $100 now marked at $49.99. Can you say stocking stuffer???? These deals seem too good to be true--- but they're not, they are VERY real!!!!!

This website link is going under my "favorites" on my computer so I can check it daily like I do my Groupon, and we all know how insanely obsessed I am with that site (I do love my deals!)
Tell your friends and thank me later:)
Happy shopping!!!!!!

"Chugging" Along in Maryland

I'm still recovering from my "Boss Behind the Bar" extravaganza.

Partying with college students = so fun.....and NOT such a good idea if you want to be productively packing the house the next day!!! I did have a blast guest bartending at McFaddens. The drink of choice for the night was Tequila (shots, more specifically chugging double shots of tequila until I couldn't feel my face or my feet)!!! As I continue to recover from my night out with Jose (Cuervo), the hubs and I are packing up the house. Today we packed up the kitchen, and that makes moving feel so REAL. No more plates, silverware, toaster oven- you get the point. We will get take-out on paper plates and plastic utensils until the move on Tuesday.
I'm so proud of the progress we've made and how much junk we actually threw away.
LI- here we come!!!!!

Some deals you might want to take advantage of today are:
Massive Michael's Coupons
20% off at Macy's
$10 off $50 at Old Navy
25% off Ruby Tuesday
30% off COACH
20%off Kohl's
25% off EXPRESS
Plenty of Toys R Us coupons.

I hope you have a Fab-U Friday!!!!!

Oh July! Where has the time gone???

To summarize life:
My mom calls to tell me she read an article that says moving is one of life's top five most stressful events.
I feel better now! Everytime I get overwhelmed- which is about a dozen times a day- I just think that if this is in the top 5 most stressful life events then I'll be okay. I also think that starting a new job should be on that list or resigning from your job before you have a new one lined up .... I mean, I could go on like this and vent to you or we could just move on.... So we move along to other things-
Last friday was my last day at UMD- so sad to leave my kids and the wonderful friends and coworkers I spent the last 4 years with!! I was sent off in style with some sweet underarmour Terp gear and a lifeguard shirt signed by my students (picture summercamp throwback style)! They are really awesome students and I promised to hang with those that are "of age" before I leave town. SOOO they signed me up to participate in this happy hour event at Mcfaddens bar in dc called Boss Behind the Bar....  I'll be serving drinks this Wednesday @ 6pm- I'm sure there will be many stories to follow up with afterwards!

It's been real!

Something else that was AMAZING this past week was my vaca to obx (short for outer banks,NC)
We rented a house with my inlaws and vaca-ed for an entire week! It was so relaxing. I filled my days with reading, beach walks, sunbathing, and good home cooking!! The hubs caught a few bluefish and we marinated them for a while and grilled em up- delish! The marinade was super simple: lemonjuice, lemons, salt, pepper and olive oil. Let marinade for 6 hours and grill on BBQ about 6 minutes in each side. I am so excited for him to continue fishing once we move to LI. I'm totally down with dining on the "catch of the day" and saving some dollars!

OBX Beach. Duck, NC.

Now I'm on to packing the house, which btw is a never-ending task!  If anyone has any moving tips I'd be happy to hear from you... otherwise I'll be sticking to my usual schedule. Pack by day, wine by night.....

Freddy's Fab-U Friday Garage Sale

We are having our first garage sale this weekend and I'm hoping to bargain away and get rid of LOAD of stuff!!!!!
I have been so busy between sorting through what to sell/what to pack and trying to get moving estimates to help us I really don't know which end is up.

TGIF and this awesome 3-day weekend!!!!!

Happy 4th of July and I hope you have a Fab-U Friday!!!!!