This picture is of me and The Hubby last month at a friend’s wedding. I laughed when I saw it, because even though we’re posed together, it doesn’t really look like we’re in the same place. It was only because of a funny angle, but honestly it’s kind of how I’ve been feeling these last few weeks!

The Hubby and I have been in the same place but I just don’t feel like I’ve seen him at all…we’re like two ships passing in the night (like that naval reference?). Even though all our guests are gone, we’re still playing catch-up with all the things we’ve been putting off the last few months. We keep joking that we’re just like roommates at this point! I keep hoping we’re going to get a break and find some time to spend together, but we have a Bail (Navy goodbye party) tomorrow night, I have a goodbye dinner Saturday night, and a baby shower Sunday afternoon. It’s not looking good for us this weekend! It just amazes me sometimes that even when my hubby isn’t deployed or off training somewhere we can almost feel far apart! Do your schedule ever make you feel this way?

I am a HORRIBLE blogger!  It’s been THREE days since I last posted!  I bet you thought I fell off the side of a cliff or something, right? Were you calling the authorities because you’d thought I’d gone missing? I bet you were. But no need to worry! I’m just fine! All safe and sound. Just taking a few days of much needed R & R after hosting guests for months on end (my life’s so rough, you know).  I had a great weekend though, a little Bethenny Getting Married? Saturday morning, a massage Saturday afternoon, fondue with the hubby Saturday evening (made at home!), and a hike with the hubby and Paul the Dog on Sunday. Oh, and lots of sleep. What a weekend!

And now that I’m all nice and rested, it’s back to life in the real world. Well, until my Aunt Di and two cousins Charlie and Annie Kate come visit on Friday, then it’s off to Disneyland!!!

But tonight, the spouses of officers in my hubby’s squadron had a Officer Spouses Club meeting. It was nice to touch base with the ladies…I hadn’t seen many of them in months! It is such a great group, and I was so happy to have an evening to spend with them. For the occasion, I needed a really quick, but fabulous dessert. So I made what I call “Boozy Berries”.

These are AWESOME, and they take only 5 minutes to make. First, get the whipped cream going (remember…just dump one pint of whipping cream in your Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment and let it go!). Cut up 1 carton of strawberries and mix with a carton of blackberries and a carton of raspberries. Cut up 8 or so mint leaves into tiny slices and mix with berries. Sprinkle with a little sugar (okay, a lot of sugar) and a little Grand Mariner (2 teaspoons or so).  At this point, your whipped cream should be looking pretty whipped creamy. Sprinkle with a little sugar (okay, a lot MORE sugar if you’re like me ). And TA DA! you’re done!  Serve the berries with a generous scoop of whipped cream.

So there you have it, another delicious 5 minute dessert brought to you by This American Wife! See you back here tomorrow!!!

On Friday, we held a farewell party for one of my friends, Yolanda, a member of our Officer Spouses’ Club. Instead of holding the party at a restaurant or someone’s home, we decided to hold it somewhere else…but we still wanted to have food and cocktails. Rather than doing a potluck thingy, I just had everyone give a few dollars and I supplied the food and drink.  The place we went was 45 minutes away, so I had to plan on serving things easily transportable…which was a little harder than I thought it would be! Transporting everything I usually use during a party nearly filled up my whole trunk!!! I ended up serving:

Red wine, white wine, and cranberry/champagne cocktails

A selection of cheeses and nuts

Terra Chips (LOVE these!)

Berries with a fruit dip

Chicken Salad sandwiches

Chocolate truffle cupcakes

Jordan almonds

So how do you make a fabulous-looking moveable feast? Here are my top tips:

• Bring a tablecloth. This makes ALL the difference!
• Provide nice plates/ cups/  napkins.
• Coordinate your serving dishes….even if this means their all white plastic…at least they match!
• It’s okay to take shortcuts.  I made the cupcakes and the fruit dip, but I bought the Jordan Almonds, chips, cheese, fruit, and chicken salad (Trader Joe’s Wine Country Chicken Salad…yum!!!).

These tips can help you spruce up your next Girls’ Night Out, Dinner Party, or family picnic!

Alright, so you want to know more about how I stretched my dollar; here are my top tips:

1. Paint really does do wonders. Right after we painted, the room instantly felt different. So if you want a quick room update, drop the $60 or so and buy some paint!

2. Secondly, shop in your own house! I talked about this a few days ago, but just as a reminder, the dresser that is our new “entertainment center” and the bookshelf that now houses the wine, scotch, and cigar collections were all unused pieces that we already owned!  The bookshelf was just in our guest bedroom closet. It was ugly brown, so we just painted it cream (with a $1.00 can of unclaimed paint I got at Lowe’s) and painted the backs blue (with another can of $1.00 unclaimed paint). The dresser, I didn’t have to do anything to!

3. Craigslist. Craigslist. Craigslist. I purchased the blue accent chair for the seating area, the floor lamp, and the desk all on Craigslist. The chair and the lamp were ready to use as is, but the desk, you may remember, looked like this:

I briefly thought about stripping and staining it dark brown to match the entertainment center, but then I remember how LONG it took me to strip and stain my armoire last summer. So I decided just to paint it! I chose Navy Blue as one of the primary colors in the room, as so many of my hubby’s accessories are, well, Navy Blue! Here’s how it turned out (FYI…the color is actually Navy blue, not royal blue as it appears in the photo):

I knew I wanted a brown leather accent chair to use as a desk chair to tie the office area with the sitting area (where the dominate piece of furniture is the massive leather couch we already owned). I found one on Craigslist for $25. But, I was greedy, and offered $20 (I’m such a tightwad sometimes!), and lost. So then I had to splurge and buy one for $60 at Ross (which has an AWESOME home department, by the way!) I suppose $60 is still a pretty darn good price for a chair, but I was bummed that I had missed out on the $25 one!  I guess I should have taken my own advice and bid full price since I really wanted it!!!

4. Dress up your windows. One of the things this room was desperately missing before, was window treatments (by the way, my hubby HATES the term “window treatments”, he cringes every time he hears it!). There were vertical blinds (ick!) above the sliding glass door, and nothing above the window. Curtains and hardware can get quite expensive, so I needed a CHEAP solution. You may remember that I recently purchased new window treatments for the living room and got rid of these heinous wood curtain rods:

Well, I saved them “just in case”, and I’m so glad I did! I ended up taking a bit of Navy blue spray paint to them.  For curtains, I simply purchased canvas drop cloths at a home improvement store for $10 a panel. And here’s the result:

Not too bad, eh?

And that’s all I’m going to leave you with today. Tomorrow I’ll finish up my Man Cave diatribe, and then I’ll tell you about the plans I have in store for my next project… I can hear my hubby cringing already!

So I just have to share with you this news story that was shown on our local CBS affiliate that features my friend Kalee whose hubby just returned home from deployment!

If you’ve never experienced a homecoming before, well, they’re just about the best thing ever.  Being apart from loved ones is pretty freakin’ hard, but that moment when you see each other again–it’s the most fabulous feeling in the world. And it’s AMAZING to watch. You military peeps know what I’m talking about.

So without further ado, here’s the news story about the recent Homecoming here at Point Mugu:

Navy Squadron Members Meet Sons for the First Time

Congratulations to Kalee, her hubby, and her kiddos, and all the other families who are welcoming home family members today!

It’s 9:35pm and I am hitting the hay.  I’m so tired!  Apparently my relaxing weekend didn’t quite do it for me.  Hopefully, after a good night’s sleep, I’ll be nice and refreshed and ready to finish off my list of 100 Decorating tips tomorrow night!  But for now, here are 81-90…enjoy!

81. Play with lighting.  Lighting can sometimes make (or break) a room.  Make sure your room has ample light for the activities you do there, but don’t overdo it.  Do you have an amazing piece of art? Highlight it with track lighting.  Do you have a comfy chair that you never sit in?  Put a floor lamp next to it and see how it becomes a favorite reading spot!  Be sure not to forget about this important room element.

82. Try holding a decor swamp with friends or family!  One girls trash is another girls treasure!

83. If your couch/ easy chair/ dining room chairs have seen better days, try a slip cover. Many of the covers out there now aren’t your momma’s slipcovers.  They are extremely fitted without the big ties on the front that scream “SLIPCOVER!” and will sometimes help you fall in love with that old sofa all over again. Yes, this is a slipcover:

84. Create a decorating toolbox.  Things to include: a pencil, a hammer, hanging hardware, level, twist ties, painters tape, a book of ideas, paint chips, those Sharpie wood touch up markers I told you about the other day, furniture sliders, glue gun, GOOD scissors, a staple gun and staples, philips and flathead screwdrivers, and of course, a tape measure.

85. If you have a very large room, break it down into several smaller “areas” just by rearranging the furniture.

86. Don’t buy all your upholstered furniture in solid colors.  Buy something in a print to spice things up.

87. Invest in seasonal decor.  I’m not talking anything tacky OR expensive.  Have a few seashells, blue and white throw pillows, and a few american flags for summer; buy a few pumpkins and gourds, mums, and a bowl of acorns for fall; and a bowl of scented pinecones, a few fuzzy white throw pillows, and white candles everywhere for winter.  These little touches can cost as little as $20 per season (to start…of course there are ALWAYS more fun things to invest in), but can really help usher in the seasons.

88. Spring for a whole lotta inexpensive vases at the dollar store.  The collection each with one flower will make a statement…all for around $20!

89. Right now, while you’re thinking about it.  Measure your rooms, your windows, and major pieces of furniture.  Save these measurements in a notebook, your day planner, your iPhone or whatever you always carry with you.  That way, next time you’re out and about a see a piece you really like, you’ll know right then and there whether it will work in your house.

90. Incorporate antiques.  Even if you’re not into the whole vintage or shabby chic look…a few well -placed antiques can really make a room.  And of course garage sales are great places to score neat old pieces.  I have a friend who has an old typewriter in a little nook in her house…I can’t even begin to describe to you how incredible it looks surrounded by season decor! A cool old advertisement, a piece of metal work, or even old dishes are always neat finds to hang on your wall.  These items are often cheaper than what you’d pay for knock-offs at a home decor store and they have CHARACTER!

What’s shiny, new and silver? My new garbage disposal!!!!  And although this garbage disposal was a great deal, this was NOT a twenty dollar Tuesday.

I know my life is different than it was a few years ago.  Today I nearly jumped up and down in excitement when I saw my new garbage disposal.  Not only did this brand-spanking new bad boy arrive in the mail today, but while I was driving to LA tonight to drop off some family members who had been visiting, my hubby installed it!  It turned out that after all this, we needed a new garbage disposal AND we had a backup in the pipes leading from under the sink away from our house.  Luckily my hubby, with a little help from our visiting family members, did all the supply purchasing/ repair/ installation to fix BOTH problems!  He’s pretty darn awesome that hubby of mine (And here’s to saving a few bucks and not calling a plumber)!

The bad news: our microwave is now on the fritz…

Well folks, it’s happened again.  My hubby leaves for one day and all hell breaks loose here at home.  Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it really is kind of ridiculous how many crazy things happen when he’s gone!  You see, a few days ago the hubby noticed that we were having some kitchen sink issues.  He was doing the dishes and put some things in the garbage disposal, and then they backed up into the other sink.  Gross, right?  We bought some liquid plumber, and used a little of that, and it seemed to do the trick…or so we thought.  Last night, per my hubby away M.O. I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning cleaning and organizing.  At midnight-ish, I decided to do my last chore before going to bed–the dishes. This turned out to be a horrible idea. As I was putting the last of some week-old beef stew down the garbage disposal, I saw that the sink was once again backing up!  Drat!

I determined that there was probably a clog in a pipe, and that I felt confident enough to tackle taking apart a bit of pipe to check for clogs.  I got a pan to put under the sink to catch the water that would drain out of the pipes and started taking apart the pipes.  While I was prepared for a bit of water, I was NOT prepared for the fountain spray of week-old, beefy, stewy water that sprayed EVERYWHERE.  It went all over the place underneath the sink, ran out onto the floor, and soaked me.  Yes.  I was covered in old, beefy, stewy water. Ick. Paul the Dog on the other hand, seemed to love it!  The worst part about it all?  There was no clog in the pipes!  I have since determined that there is some sort of jam/ leak in the actual garbage disposal…but that seems too advanced for me, so I’m waiting for the hubby to come home tomorrow to address that!  For now, the sink is at least usable again…not sure what I did, but it’s flushed out enough to be able to wash hands and such.  However, the garbage disposal is leaking so I’ve kept a pan underneath the sink.

I did manage to take a picture of the beefy, stewy aftermath.  It kind of looks like someone barfed underneath my sink.  Icky!

P.S. Dear Hubby, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re planning on reading up on garbage disposal repair on your way home tomorrow .

I have a confession to make.  I have an obsession.  If you haven’t yet discovered, I tend to become enamored, involved, or yes, even obsessed with things in my life (I think it’s a bit of the OCD in me). Things that have been the focus of my obsession in the past: my grey pants, Finding Nemo, my Starbucks travel mug, Dove chocolate, the television show Cops, flip flops, baking pies, folding t-shirts, learning the lyrics to “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.  What can I say? I think these small obsession add to my character and make me a VERY interesting person…right?

Something that seems to have some staying power on my top list of obsessions is the NPR radio program This American Life. Yes, it was even the inspiration for my blog title.  If you’ve never listened to This American Life, drop what you’re doing right now and go download an episode on iTunes (it’s a FREE podcast). It’s great to listen to in the car! What is This American Life?  It’s an hour-long weekly radio show (there were also three seasons of a This American Life television show on Showtime, which is also fab-o!) that features usually 3-5 short stories on a given topic.  Sometimes these are perplexing, sometimes they’re HILARIOUS, sometimes they’re sad.  Most of all, they’re just pretty darn interesting!

“Why is this crazy obsessive lady telling me this?” you ask.  Well, I recently started listening to older episodes, and I stumbled across an episode called “Somewhere in the Arabian Sea” detailing the lives of the men and women who live and work on an aircraft carrier!  The radio crew spent a few days on the boat sleeping in bunks, eating with sailors, and just try to find out what life is like for the 5,000 or so people living on this giant ship.  Since this area is so close to home, it was amazing to listen to.  If you’d like to listen to the episode, you may listen to it here.

And go subscribe to the podcast.  Now!

The Navy is full of quirky little traditions…one of my personal favorites is the “greenlight”.  What is a greenlight?  Well this tradition is,  I think, specific to naval aviation, in which all of the officers from a squadron (a group of aviators who fly together) gather with their spouses and call their commanding officer (or “Skipper”).  When the Skipper  answers, everyone yells “greenlight” and then proceed to descend on the Skippers house in a matter of minutes!  Can you imagine? You get a phone call and then five minutes latter you have a massive party at your house?!?  It’s a great time, and yes, I got to be a part of one of these parties on Friday!  I think this would be a fun tradition to start within a group of friends! What a fun thing to do on a random Friday night…it’s the ultimate surprise party! As we all know, some of the best parties happen spontaneously…so keep those party supplies on hand!