diff --git a/spec/controllers/notifications_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/notifications_controller_spec.rb
index 3f3e408423c33491e9efaa2a9653ffa6b761eda3..bfc73ac6eaf64e07fc690d5eb719b1b452180b21 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/notifications_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/notifications_controller_spec.rb
@@ -5,12 +5,8 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 describe NotificationsController do
-  render_views(false)
   before do
-    @user = alice
-    @aspect = @user.aspects.first
-    @controller = NotificationsController.new
-    @controller.stub!(:current_user).and_return(@user)
+    sign_in :user, alice
   end
 
   describe '#update' do
@@ -37,7 +33,7 @@ describe NotificationsController do
     it 'only lets you read your own notifications' do
       user2 = bob
 
-      Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user)
+      Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice)
       note = Factory(:notification, :recipient => user2)
 
       get :update, "id" => note.id, :set_unread => "false"
@@ -49,20 +45,20 @@ describe NotificationsController do
   describe "#read_all" do
     it 'marks all notifications as read' do
       request.env["HTTP_REFERER"] = "I wish I were spelled right"
-      Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user)
-      Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user)
+      Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice)
+      Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice)
 
       Notification.where(:unread => true).count.should == 2
       get :read_all
       Notification.where(:unread => true).count.should == 0
     end
     it "should redirect to the stream in the html version" do
-      Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user)
+      Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice)
       get :read_all, :format => :html
       response.should redirect_to(stream_path)
     end
     it "should return a dummy value in the json version" do
-      Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user)
+      Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice)
       get :read_all, :format => :json
       response.should_not be_redirect
     end
@@ -71,11 +67,11 @@ describe NotificationsController do
   describe '#index' do
     before do
       @post = Factory(:status_message)
-      Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user, :target => @post)
+      Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice, :target => @post)
     end
 
     it 'paginates the notifications' do
-      25.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user, :target => @post) }
+      25.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice, :target => @post) }
       get :index
       assigns[:notifications].count.should == 25
       get :index, "page" => 2
@@ -83,20 +79,20 @@ describe NotificationsController do
     end
 
     it "supports a limit per_page parameter" do
-      5.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user, :target => @post) }
+      5.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice, :target => @post) }
       get :index, "per_page" => 5
       assigns[:notifications].count.should == 5 
     end
 
     describe "special case for start sharing notifications" do
       it "should not provide a contacts menu for standard notifications" do
-        2.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user, :target => @post) }
+        2.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice, :target => @post) }
         get :index, "per_page" => 5
 
         Nokogiri(response.body).css('.aspect_membership').should be_empty
       end
       it "should provide a contacts menu for start sharing notifications" do
-        2.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => @user, :target => @post) }
+        2.times { Factory(:notification, :recipient => alice, :target => @post) }
         eve.share_with(alice.person, eve.aspects.first)
         get :index, "per_page" => 5