friday's fancies #123.

Happy Friday, everyone! It may not totally feel like spring, but the weekend is almost here...so that helps, right? This week's Friday's Fancies is devoted to the playful pattern known as polka dots. If the stripes in my closet don't watch out, they may lose first place in my wardrobe rotation. Though my budget won't allow for the splurge, I centered my ensemble around these fabulous spotted pants. After all, Friday's Fancies is all about dreaming up great outfits without spending a dime, so here goes...


find them here:
Kelsi Dagger Ellice Wedges

Even if you don't have polka dots on the brain, you can join in for Friday's Fancies! The themes are only a suggestion. As long as your post is fashion-related, you are more than welcome to add your link below. If you'd like to join in the fun every week, click here to sign up for the once-weekly newsletter! The ladies who make up the Friday's Fancies faithful will make you feel right at home :)

I'm rounding out a long work week by heading up to Boston to see one of my BFFs, {hp}, who is in town for a few days. I can't wait to play tourist with her! You can catch updates from yours truly via Instagram.
Many thanks to those of you playing along with #projectpolkadot today! I'm so lucky to have you!
Have a fantastic weekend--and I'll see you back here on Monday! xoxo {av}

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thai chili beef.

While my parents were visiting over Easter weekend, we attended another fabulous cooking class at the Johnson & Wales campus in Providence. Growing up in southern Indiana, I wasn't exposed to many "ethnic" foods, but my world opened up when I went to Georgetown. My first dinner out in DC was at a Thai restaurant--and I've been in love ever since. When I saw the Tantalizing Thai class pop up on the J&W schedule, I knew we had to attend. The class was collaborative and we were randomly picked to do create one of the main dishes: Thai Chili Beef. The final product was ah-mazing, if I do say so myself.


Ingredients:
3 pounds of beef tenderloin - sliced into thin strips {less than 1/4 of an inch in thickness}
5 garlic cloves minced {if you aren't a huge fan of garlic, you can use less!}
2 tablespoons of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
3 tablespoons of oyster sauce {though the oyster sauce is optional!}
1 1/2 tablespoons of brown or palm sugar
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
5 Thai or jalapeño chiles {seeded and sliced}
3 red bell peppers {sliced very thin}
1 cup of cilantro sprigs

Preparation:
-Mix the beef with the garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl 
-Set aside this beef mixture to marinate for at least 15 minutes
-Mix together the fish sauce, oyster sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl to form a sauce and set aside
-Heat the oil over a high flame in a wok {or deep skillet}
-Add the chiles and red bell peppers then stir fry rapidly for about 30 seconds
-Add the marinated beef and stir fry quickly for 1-2 minutes {or until the beef is cooked through}
-Reduce heat to low, then add the sauce ingredients and toss to coat the beef
-Remove from heat and serve hot {with jasmine rice if you wish}
-Garnish with cilantro sprigs
**recipe adapted from the one presented in class**

This recipe should serve ten or so people, but I could have eaten the entire dish myself. We decided a little less oyster sauce than suggested would reduce the saltiness, but other than that, the recipe was a serious winner. It will definitely be added to the dinner rotation in our apartment!

What new dinner recipes have you discovered lately? Share them below, pretty please! xoxo {av}

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one month to go.

Exciting things have been going on behind the scenes in our little life. Though this post title is deceptive, I am far from preggo. {cv} and I are edging closer to an exciting/stressful/awesome/crazy time in our life: we're finally breaking ground on our future home in the beginning of May. I'm the first to admit that I am clueless about many parts of this process. Thankfully, I have wonderful sounding boards out there
{cough--you--cough}...


Seeing a shovel go in the ground will be a dream come true. I'll count my blessings each and every time I drive up to the construction site, especially on that day we can finally drive up to our home. I promise to share questions and updates along the way. 

 I'm anxious about all the decisions coming our way, but I'm incredibly thankful that {cv} and I are on the same page aesthetically. Here are a few of the Pinterest boards I've created to help get us going:

For those who have built or renovated a home, what do you wish you knew before you started the job? I can't wait to hear your sage advice! I know we'll need it! Many thanks in advance for helping me maintain some sort of sanity over the course of this build ;) I know we couldn't do it without you! xoxo {av}
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play the game.

Happy April--and happy baseball season! My first memories of {cv} include his beloved Red Sox hat, so the game quickly found a place in my heart when we started dating. Growing up in southern Indiana, I didn't have an allegiance to any particular team, so I quickly jumped on the Boston bandwagon. {Don't judge--I was really trying to be the cool girlfriend, ok?!} After moving to New England, my bandwagon status transformed into true fandom after my first game at Fenway.


This quote seemed only appropriate for the kick-off of a new baseball season. One of my sweet readers, Annie, suggested it :) Babe Ruth gave us the perfect mantra for this week--and for life

Want to see one of your favorite quotes on {long distance loving}? Click here to submit your own!
What baseball team has your affection or are you happy to enjoy peanuts + beer in the bleacher seats?
Wherever you stand, keep Babe's mantra in mind. Have a great Monday, friends! xoxo {av}

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