diff --git a/app/models/contact.rb b/app/models/contact.rb
index da95110b..8c7153a2 100644
--- a/app/models/contact.rb
+++ b/app/models/contact.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ class Contact < ActiveRecord::Base
   validates :firstname, presence: true
   validates :lastname, presence: true
   validates :email, presence: true, uniqueness: true
+  validates :phones, length: { is: 3 }
 
   def name
     [firstname, lastname].join(' ')
diff --git a/spec/factories/contacts.rb b/spec/factories/contacts.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2872ab3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/factories/contacts.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+FactoryGirl.define do
+  factory :contact do
+    firstname { Faker::Name.first_name }
+    lastname { Faker::Name.last_name }
+    email { Faker::Internet.email }
+
+    after(:build) do |contact|
+      [:home_phone, :work_phone, :mobile_phone].each do |phone|
+        contact.phones << FactoryGirl.build(:phone,
+          phone_type: phone, contact: contact)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/factories/phones.rb b/spec/factories/phones.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ea487b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/factories/phones.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+FactoryGirl.define do
+  factory :phone do
+    association :contact
+    phone '123-555-1234'
+
+    factory :home_phone do
+      phone_type 'home'
+    end
+
+    factory :work_phone do
+      phone_type 'work'
+    end
+
+    factory :mobile_phone do
+      phone_type 'mobile'
+    end
+  end
+end
+
diff --git a/spec/models/contact_spec.rb b/spec/models/contact_spec.rb
index 523f8ad9..92e127cb 100644
--- a/spec/models/contact_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/contact_spec.rb
@@ -1,67 +1,72 @@
 require 'rails_helper'
 
 describe Contact do
-  it "is valid with a firstname, lastname and email" do
-    contact = Contact.new(
-      firstname: 'Aaron',
-      lastname: 'Sumner',
-      email: 'tester@example.com')
-    expect(contact).to be_valid
+
+  # checks that the factory is consistent with the model
+  it "has a valid factory" do
+    expect(build(:contact)).to be_valid
   end
 
+
+
+  # it "is valid with a firstname, lastname and email" do
+  #   contact = Contact.new(
+  #     firstname: 'Aaron',
+  #     lastname: 'Sumner',
+  #     email: 'tester@example.com')
+  #   expect(contact).to be_valid
+  # end
+
   it "is invalid without a firstname" do
-    contact = Contact.new(firstname: nil)
+    contact = build(:contact, firstname: nil)
     contact.valid?
     expect(contact.errors[:firstname]).to include("can't be blank")
   end
 
   it "is invalid without a lastname" do
-    contact = Contact.new(lastname: nil)
+    contact = build(:contact, lastname: nil)
     contact.valid?
     expect(contact.errors[:lastname]).to include("can't be blank")
   end
 
   it "is invalid without an email address" do
-    contact = Contact.new(email: nil)
+    contact = build(:contact, email: nil)
     contact.valid?
     expect(contact.errors[:email]).to include("can't be blank")
   end
 
-  it "is invalid with a duplicate email address" do
-    Contact.create(
-      firstname: 'Joe', lastname: 'Tester',
-      email: 'tester@example.com'
-    )
-    contact = Contact.new(
-      firstname: 'Jane', lastname: 'Tester',
-      email: 'tester@example.com'
+  it "returns a contact's full name as a string" do
+    contact = build(:contact,
+    firstname: "Jane",
+    lastname: "Smith"
     )
-    contact.valid?
-    expect(contact.errors[:email]).to include("has already been taken")
+    expect(contact.name).to eq 'Jane Smith'
   end
 
-  it "returns a contact's full name as a string" do
-    contact = Contact.new(
-      firstname: 'John',
-      lastname: 'Doe',
-      email: 'johndoe@example.com'
-    )
-    expect(contact.name).to eq 'John Doe'
+  it "has three phone numbers" do
+    expect(create(:contact).phones.count).to eq 3
+  end
+
+  it "is invalid with a duplicate email address" do
+    create(:contact, email: 'aaron@example.com')
+    contact = build(:contact, email:'aaron@example.com')
+    contact.valid?
+    expect(contact.errors[:email]).to include('has already been taken')
   end
 
   describe "filter last name by letter" do
     before :each do
-      @smith = Contact.create(
+      @smith = create(:contact,
         firstname: 'John',
         lastname: 'Smith',
         email: 'jsmith@example.com'
       )
-      @jones = Contact.create(
+      @jones = create(:contact,
         firstname: 'Tim',
         lastname: 'Jones',
         email: 'tjones@example.com'
       )
-      @johnson = Contact.create(
+      @johnson = create(:contact,
         firstname: 'John',
         lastname: 'Johnson',
         email: 'jjohnson@example.com'
diff --git a/spec/models/phone_spec.rb b/spec/models/phone_spec.rb
index 37f7260d..b0de0cbf 100644
--- a/spec/models/phone_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/phone_spec.rb
@@ -1,18 +1,13 @@
 require 'rails_helper'
-
 describe Phone do
   it "does not allow duplicate phone numbers per contact" do
-    contact = Contact.create(
-      firstname: 'Joe',
-      lastname: 'Tester',
-      email: 'joetester@example.com'
-    )
-    contact.phones.create(
-      phone_type: 'home',
+    contact = create(:contact)
+    create(:home_phone,
+      contact: contact,
       phone: '785-555-1234'
     )
-    mobile_phone = contact.phones.build(
-      phone_type: 'mobile',
+    mobile_phone = build(:mobile_phone,
+      contact: contact,
       phone: '785-555-1234'
     )
 
@@ -21,21 +16,9 @@
   end
 
   it "allows two contacts to share a phone number" do
-    contact = Contact.create(
-      firstname: 'Joe',
-      lastname: 'Tester',
-      email: 'joetester@example.com'
-    )
-    contact.phones.create(
-      phone_type: 'home',
+    create(:home_phone,
       phone: '785-555-1234'
     )
-    other_contact = Contact.new
-    other_phone = other_contact.phones.build(
-      phone_type: 'home',
-      phone: '785-555-1234'
-    )
-
-    expect(other_phone).to be_valid
+    expect(build(:home_phone, phone: "785-555-1234")).to be_valid
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/rails_helper.rb b/spec/rails_helper.rb
index b98cb0f7..c9f74ae1 100644
--- a/spec/rails_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/rails_helper.rb
@@ -18,8 +18,12 @@
 ActiveRecord::Migration.maintain_test_schema!
 
 RSpec.configure do |config|
+
+  # Include Factory Girl syntax to simplify calls to factories
+  config.include FactoryGirl::Syntax::Methods
+
   # Remove this line if you're not using ActiveRecord or ActiveRecord fixtures
-  config.fixture_path = "#{::Rails.root}/spec/fixtures"
+  # config.fixture_path = "#{::Rails.root}/spec/fixtures"
 
   # If you're not using ActiveRecord, or you'd prefer not to run each of your
   # examples within a transaction, remove the following line or assign false