[ entertainment ] :: friday fun!

Woo hoo! It's taco night!

I haven't shown you my epic Publix haul this week (The Hubs and I went there 5 times...seriously), but we got a ton of Old El Paso foods. I'm talking taco shells, tortillas, seasoning, enchilada sauce, and taco sauce. The Hubs didn't mind that I got a ton of this stuff since he loves homemade tacos with all the fixins'. We will make a taco out of pretty much anything...turkey, beef, chicken, pork, beans...so it was definitely a good buy for us.

We have also picked out a movie for tonight: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I've never seen it so I'm pretty excited! We'll probably throw on our PJ's, make some popcorn, and enjoy a $3 bottle of wine. I don't know about you, but that's my idea of fun. Maybe it will get chilly tonight and we can make a fire inside, too.

Oh, and do laundry. I've promised The Hubs I would finally get around to it!

- Maggie White

[ entertainment ] :: sunday funday!

Today is a great day for some free fun, yard work, and delicious Salsa Verde Chicken!

We have had a busy weekend of clearing out our brush pile. It was exhausting but had to be done since the opossums that stroll through the neighborhood think it's a nice place to call home. Our Demon Dogs decided to pick a fight with a opossum on Friday night and lost. They had a blast (typical hound dogs) and walked away with a few nicks and bites.

The Beagle paradise. A fenced, half-acre of forest.

I'm pretty sure the neighbors think we're a bunch of rednecks. After all, our hounds were going bonkers, I was yelling for The Hubs to get my rifle (in case the opossum was severely injured) and a flash light, and screaming, "Get the opossum! Get the opossum!" Plus, today we had a good ol' fashioned bon fire in the yard. Yep. The neighbors must love us.

But seriously, the whole cut-and-burn-the-backyard brought out the inner pyromaniac in me. The Hubs was a little nervous, eying me like like I was Aerys Targaryen or something. I'm pretty sure he mumbled something about "The Mad King" under his breath.

Other than our back yard shenanigans, we had a rousing lazy day of watching movie. Our favorite movie was Rise of The Guardians. Yes - it's another kid's movie, but it was free to watch on TV and actually really good. I'm fairly certain that these animated flicks are really made for the adults that bring the kids to them, and not actually the children. I also forced The Hubs to watch Fiddler on the Roof. (A musical! Mua ha ha ha!)

We had an awesome time watching the Falcons game at Taco Mac with Gillybean and her new beau. Rise up! (That was a shameless plug to show The Hubs that I'm trying to care about football. In reality, he bribed me with pumpkin-flavored beer and cheese dip to watch the game with him.)

- Maggie White

[ entertainment ] :: saturday night movies!

I'm hanging out with my family this weekend, so deciding on what to watch can be difficult sometimes. Since it's hot outside, we're staying cool by watching a movie!

Here is what was on the playlist this afternoon:

Troy (2004), starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, and Eric Bana (swoon!). Surprisingly, my parents had it but my youngest sister had never seen it. I usually do not like re-watching movies, but it's been so long since it first came out that I enjoyed it. Can you believe it's been 9 years?

If you need some family friendly movie ideas, check out last night's movie Epic here. Would you rather go out? Then Groupon is having a great deal for $5 tickets to Studio Movie Grill and $6 tickets to Movie Tavern. And don't forget the popcorn!

Anyway, I'm going back to a leisurely weekend reading, eating, wine-ing, and writing biology exams. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

- Maggie White

[ entertainment ] :: friday fun! + $8 Maidenform bras

Confession: The Hubs and I like animated movies. Instead of going out, our movie of choice was Epic. Literally. That's the name of the movie.

It was surprisingly good for a kid-flick, and we found it cheaper on Amazon Instant Video ($4.99) than on our DirectTV service ($5.99). The Hubs was a tad annoyed with me when I asked him to check Amazon for their prices. He said, "it's just a dollar!" so I reminded him that I bought 4 boxes of pasta this week for under a dollar. He rolled his eyes at me and said something to the likes of "you're ridiculous."

Enjoy!

- Maggie White

P.S. - emergency update! I know it's almost midnight, but I was reading my favorite blog and saw that select Maidenform bras are now Buy One Get One 50% off, plus 30% off + free shipping for Labor Day. This means I can get two of the $15 bras I've been eye-balling for just $15.75! Sometimes it pays to wait. Including tax, it came out to around $8 for each bra. I'll let you know how these bras shape up as soon as they arrive.

[ entertainment ] :: saturday night movies!

Well, The Hubs is out of town visiting his brother...what's a girl to do?

Answer: lounge in her PJ's and watch movies!

While I hate when The Hubs is away, it's prime time for watching things he does not like. Honey Boo Boo? Check. Downton Abbey? Check. Documentaries? Check.Old movies? Oh yeah!

Sometimes I plan ahead and record movies and TV shows throughout the week, but more often than not I will rent something off Amazon. This should be a good time to warn you: I have a full on love affair with Amazon Prime. Although a $79/year membership doesn't seem like something a miserly gal would like, it has paid for itself ten-fold! I use Amazon frequently, so the free 2-day shipping, free e-book each month, and free movies and TV shows make it worth it. (I promise I'm not an Amazon spokesperson!)

See? How awesome is this!

On the menu tonight, I have:

 

Downton Abbey, Season 3

Under the Dome - my dad's recommendation!

And finally, Amelie. It's been on my watchlist for a while, but always cost money to rent in the past, but I just realized it's free to stream online from Amazon.com. Winner! I have wanted to see this since it came out in 2001...it was the "cool" movie to have watched when I was in high school, but I never did. 12 years later...here we are!

What's a movie night without snacks, though? I picked up a $0.99 hazelnut chocolate bar from Aldi to go along with my Stupid Easy Popcorn and herbal tea. Maybe I'll even crack open a bottle of Winking Owl (awesome $2.49 Aldi wine). What a night!

Any movie suggestions for next weekend?

- Maggie White