happy birthday dear chelsea

{photo credit: facebook}

today is my friend chelsea's 29th birthday. she and i met in college and even though she's a better dresser than i am (and a better baker, hostess, business woman, and hair model), she likes me and has remained a wonderful friend throughout the years. this weekend, we are having a MASSIVE girl party in my hometown with her and her mom, my friend sarah and her mom (and two kids), and me and my mom. girl powerrrrrr. i am woman, hear me roar.

chelsea has stuck with me through all kinds of ups and downs in my life. she has been a strong support system and sounding board when i needed her help, and she has also been a good enough friend to tell me when i'm about to do something stupid. "don't stick your finger in that outlet. you'll get hurt." that kind of thing. i owe her big time for putting up with my shenanigans. (that's why she's getting four presents this year instead of one...)

happy birthday, chelsea dear! year twenty nine has good things in store for you. now let's party!

the best weekend

{photo credit: dan}

here i am posting about last weekend when it's almost time for this weekend. i can't keep up! this past weekend hit the spot. like really and truly. it was just so wonderful. when you cram family, friends, birthday gifts, and bacon wrapped dates into the span of four days, only good things can happen.

{photo credit: me}

on thursday, my birthday evening, i invited my family over for dinner. i was inspired to host a dinner after reading bread and wine, and my birthday seemed as good a time as any. for pre-dinner snack i made bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese. THESE. these were everything. i think we could have dined on these alone all night and been happy. i served white chix chili for main meal and for dessert, vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries drizzled with dark chocolate balsamic vinegar. hey, tastebuds. you've never had it so good.

{photo credit: dan}

on friday evening, my two best college girlfriends, sarah and chelsea, came into town. sarah is married with two sweet kids, and it had been over two years since she had visited me in raleigh/durham. it was surreal that we were all three hanging out together in my apartment. i kept grabbing them both and pulling them in for group hugs. they tolerated it. we spent the majority of the evening eating food, drinking wine, and gabbing like schoolgirls. i also introduced them to the hilarity that is impractical jokers. we laughed until our bellies hurt.

{photo credit: me}

the rest of the weekend was filled with coffee and pastries at guglhupf, shopping, wine and snacks by the pool, nana taco for birthday party dinner, fullsteam brewery with great friends for celebratory birthday beers, and beasley's chicken and honey for sunday morning brunch. after my besties left, i went for a run to fend off the inevitable wave of sadness that was to soon wash over me. and also to burn off the thousands upon thousands of calories we consumed over the course of three days.

{photo credit: me}

basically, all i want to do is rewind time and go back to last friday so we can do it all over again. thank you to everyone who made my birthday weekend so special! (you guys are definitely on the list.)

year 29

{photo credit: me}

today i turn 29. breathe in. breathe out. 

"what they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. and when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. you open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. and you don’t feel eleven at all. you feel like you’re still ten. and you are — underneath the year that makes you eleven. 

like some days you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five. and maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s okay. that’s what i tell mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. maybe she’s feeling three.

because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one. that’s how being eleven years old is". - sandra cisneros


i like this thought process very much. i'm 29 now, but i'm still all of the other ages, too. i'm a giddy and awkward age 13 when i play MASH with my girlfriends, and we put our celebrity crushes on the list. i'm five when i throw a temper tantrum like a small child who is past their nap. 22 when i'm channeling my inner taylor swift. and a mature age 29 when i see that ice cream is buy two get three free, and i walk on by. 

this past year has been one of my best yet. the Lord gave me so many new opportunities, some were wonderful and easy and fun, some were extremely challenging. each experience added a new layer, a new depth to my life. i am so grateful. i'm looking forward to seeing how this year plays out with all of its ups and downs and twists and turns. bring it on, year 29. 

on another note, i have some very exciting news to share with you today. i am participating in my very first giveaway! a couple of months ago, the sweet and lovely jenna from dearest love and i connected over some blog comment exchanges. i think the conversation started when she mentioned she was considering starting an etsy shop on one of her blog posts. i left a comment about my experience selling and encouraged her to do it. she sent me an email with some further questions and didn't hesitate to ask me if i'd like to do a giveaway with her with one of my etsy jewelry pieces. um, YESSSSSSS. i am so excited to be featured on her wonderful blog. i have really enjoyed getting to know jenna through our emails and from reading her fun posts. she lives in atlanta with her husband and teaches 2nd grade. i love reading about her daily life and her adventures in the big ATL. (she recently posted a recipe for blueberry biscuits that looks ridiculously good.) please head over to her blog and show her (and i) some love! you can find out all the details about the giveaway there. thank you, jenna for reaching out with this exciting and fun opportunity! 

one more thing. i am seriously grateful for you, my readers. i am a just a little blog in the sea of many, but i truly enjoy this little corner of the internet world, and i am so happy to have each of you by my side. thank you for reading. thank you for commenting. you guys are the best. 

happy birthday to me, indeed! and a happy march 6th to you. 

march mix

{photo credit: me}

hey, kids! our interet was fixed just in the nick of time for a fresh new monthly mix. march is my birthday month, so my "theme" is basically just songs i like. not so much a theme as it is an eclectic mix of random tunes. but i think that might just work out in everyone's favor!

sunday afternoon started the beginning of my birthday celebrating as i shared caramel lattes and a thick slice of chocolate cake with my dad at one of my favorite coffee shops. it was such a sweet time of catching up with him. he's a pretty cool guy with lots of wisdom to share so we always have good talks. and he also gave me his old surfboard and a bunch of really great camping gear. um, YES. i'm already planning beach trips and mountain weekends. oh, do i know how to surf you ask? that would be a big fat no. do i want to learn? yes, and now i'm basically 90% there. the hardest part is obtaining a board, right? thank you, dad!

march mix

you are enough : sleeping at last

wake up : the arcade fire

the run and go : twenty one pilots

put a light on : generationals

southern sun : boy & bear

stay alive : jose gonzalez

hey pretty girl : kip moore

ghost : sir sly

crystallized : young the giant

bright whites : kishi bashi

celebrate nothing : phantogram

just and just as : penny and sparrow

good : dave barnes

i hope this gets to you : the daylights (feat. sleigh bells)

psychasthenia : william fitzsimmons

dead in your head : bleached

(look for the music player along the side bar)


happy listening and happy march!

golden birthday

{photo credit: amy}

today is my younger brother riley's golden birthday. 20 years on the 20th. (cute kid in the middle.) yesterday, my family drove to his college town to celebrate with him. we treated him to mexican food, chocolate cupcakes and a huge cartoon balloon bouquet.

he's a trip, this one is. he is one of the funniest people i know. i don't even know how he comes up with the things that he says. i try really hard to be funny and i'm not in the slightest, but riley will make a comment off the cuff and have me rolling. i need to take lessons. maybe they offer a class in this somewhere. "how to be hilarious 101". see what i mean? that wasn't even funny. good lord.

happy birthday, riles! love you much.

happy to the birthday

{photo credit: me}

i interrupt my regularly scheduled postings to bring you this.

today is my mom's birthday and she deserves her own post. she is the most genuine person i know, and i love her for all that she is and all that she inspires me to be. she loves her husband, her kids, and her friends fiercely. she's always happy, always silly, always creative. if she weren't my mom, she'd probably be my competition. she's just good at everything.

i love you, mom. have the most wonderful of birthdays!

twenty eight and feeling great

{photo credit: me}

hello, my lovely bloggy readers! i have been a little distracted for the past two weeks with all of my birthday celebrating. i didn't make it to the blog very much, and i apologize for my absence. i'm going to try to remedy that this week with a bunch of fresh posts!

as i have mentioned before, all of this getting older crap freaks me out just a tad, but my 28th was a total dream. between my friends and family, i felt so special the entire day/week!

i was showered with so much love (and so many pressies) that i actually forgot i was adding another year to my life. i think that's going to be the game plan from now on-have so much fun that you forget about turning older!

thank you for all of the birthday wishes and sweet words! i appreciate it so much. year 28 is going to be a good one. i can feel it. 

march mix

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na na na na na na. they say it's my birthday! happy birthday to me! 

yeah, kids. march heralds the world's greatest day second only to christmas. MY BIRTHDAY. 

i will be 28 this year which makes me want to cry a little and celebrate a lot. i think our culture celebrates being young so much that getting older makes me feel like i'm not valued as much. it's all about being young and wild and free but hardly ever about being responsible and mature. or maybe i just browse through pinterest images too much. (you pinterest people know what i'm talking about i think).

that being said, i actually still feel very young and not all that "adult" most of the time. so, maybe i've got the best of both worlds? i have the wisdom of a mature 28 year old (ha!) and the attitude of a 22 year old.
a 22 year old who likes to be in bed by 10pm on weeknights, that is. 

in celebration of my birthday, here is a compilation of some rocking good tunes. it may be my birthday month, but that doesn't mean i can't give you a gift. 

treat yo self! 

* march birthday mix! *

anything could happen (blood diamond remix) : ellie goulding

breezeblocks : alt-J

picasso : the cinema

blinding light : jethro fox

holidays : miami horror

born at the right time : dappled cities

wipe your eyes : maroon 5

spotlight : leagues

farther along : josh garrels

crush on you (knife party remix) : nero

nothing but time : opus orange

baby i'm yours : arctic monkeys

around us : jonsi


anyone else have a march birthday? let's toast!

feeling groovy

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it's technically thursday, but it's my friday, and i've got that feel-good, happy, fuzzy, excited, groovy feeling. today is also my friend liz's birthday, and we're going out for fancy dinner at the melting pot.

{photo credit: me}

i'm THIS excited, and not just because it means we're wearing heels and eating until our stomachs are fat and happy but because i love celebrating my dear friend's birthday!

when i first met liz, she was this fast talking, sassy, hilarious, northern girl. she was sooooo cooooool. now, she's one of my good friends, and i can't believe i used to be intimidated by her. she quotes disney movies, people. in conversation. on a regular basis. 

despite her nerdiness (or perhaps because of it), i love her much much, and i'm thankful for her in my life. happy birthday, lizzie!

birthday recap

{photo credit: me}

i'm here! i'm here! ooops. didn't mean to go MIA on you for over a week. guess that's what happens when you turn another year older and start forgetting things. actually, i didn't forget you at all. i was just having too much fun to sit still for more than five minutes and write a bloggy post. 

this past birthday was one of the best birthdays i've had in my whole 27 years of sparkly life. from the moment i woke up till late evening, i felt extremely loved.

{photo credit: me}

my roommate woke me up in the wee hours of the morning by coming into my room and singing and dancing around. she had made us a delicious breakfast of turkey bacon, eggs, starbucks coffee, and, my favorite, a pink mini birthday doughnut.

{photo credit: amy}

as if breakfast wasn't enough, she then hands me a huuuge birthday pressie. whatisit? whatisit? i rip it open to find this letterpress. ya'll. a letterpress. i've been wanting this exact one for years. no joke. i asked santa for it a few christmases ago, but his elves couldn't produce it fast enough, and it was backordered for months. i eventually decided to cancel my reservation, but i've mentioned it to amy in passing a few times. never in a million years did i think she would get it for me. she really loves me.

{photo credit: emily}

when i got to work, my co-workers had decorated my desk in ribbons and banners and a handmade heart garland. my keyboard and mouse were wrapped up in ribbon, and my friend emily had a few treats from starbucks waiting for me. red velvet whoopie pie, what? during lunch we all ate together in the break room and had cupcake brownies, ice cream, and toppings galore. is there anything better?

{photo credit: kelsey}

after work, amy and our friends liz and kelly had plans to have a birthday dinner at a restaurant in downtown raleigh. we headed over to lizzy's to pick her up, but when i opened the door to her apartment, the room was completely dark. and then i heard it: SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

are you kidding? a surprise party? who is the luckiest girl in the world?! meeeeeee!

{photo credit: liz}

amy and liz had been planning this for about two weeks or so and had invited a ton of my friends. my family even drove an hour and a half from southern pines to make it. there were margaritas, tons of desserts, homemade mexican food, a tinkerbell piñata, pressies, cards, balloons, and "lacey" spelled out in pink tape on the wall. i'm not sure who thought of that, but i want it on my birthday from here on out.

{photo credit: amy} 

i still can't believe how great the whole day was. i can't believe how much work and time and effort my rooms put into making me feel like a birthday queen. i think about it and get fuzzy.

surprisingly, my birthday celebrating is still not over! i'm going home this weekend to celebrate with my family, and my friend chelsea is coming into town to hang in so. pines and par-tay!

dear 27th birthday, thank you for being the greatest. you made me feel loved and so very special. you made me totally forget that i'm now one year closer to being 30.

sweet 27

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it's my birthday. i feel very loved. 

heart heart heart.

megaroo

{photo credit: friend}

well, it looks like my new years resolution is already being put to the test. ah, so much pressure to keep it up! today is my friend megan's birthday! i met megan the first month i moved to raleigh two years ago. 

my roommate amy had told me of a small group that she had attended a couple of times. she wasn't able to go on this particular night, but i really wanted to meet new people. it was within walking distance of our apartment, so i went by myself. i had just quit my new job earlier that day (i'd had the job for two weeks), and i came in the door not knowing a soul. i come to find out later that megan was "not sure of me" when i plunked myself down in the middle of the group and introduced myself to everyone in the room. i think her words were who is this chick? what really did it for her was when i started crying during our time of sharing prayer requests. i think i blubbered something about new in town, just quit my job, don't know what i'm doing with my life. i mean, i guess i can see why she was a little wary of me at first. 

fortunately, she gave me another chance and eventually warmed up to me. she has become one of my good friends, and i love her very much. she is a woman who loves Jesus and stands up for her convictions. she loves her friends and family dearly. she throws really great birthday parties. she once drove us miles and miles to the middle of nowhere for pelican's snoballs. she let me wear her prized cowboy boots to a concert because they looked cute with my outfit. if you know her at all, you know that's surprising for two reasons. one, she guards those things under lock and key. two, "because they looked cute with my outfit" is not a good reason for her to lend you her boots. she must really like me. sadly, she moved to boone last year for grad school, and i miss her mucho. 

megs, i hope you have a stellar birthday! see you soon!

happy birthday, ames!

{photo credit: me}

happy birthday to my sweet rooms! when i moved to raleigh two years ago, i didn't know a thing about her except that she was going to be one of my roommates. i facebook stalked her before we met, and i got very nervous. she looked really fun and cute and awesome. she was moving from california, she had a tan, and in every picture she was with someone who looked equally as cool. i knew she was going to take one look at me and think i was the dorkiest person alive. i mean, i was homeschooled until the 8th grade, people. the first day we met, we started talking and haven't stopped since. she's every bit as cool as i thought. (and also more dorky than i would have guessed.)

{photo credit: me}

{photo credit: me}

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{photo credit: me}

she has been my constant companion in the "big city" of raleigh. she's there for me to talk to when i need a listening ear. she encourages my creative endeavors. she is always willing to taste test new desserts that i make. i am so thankful for her.

{photo credit: me}

love you, ames! happy birthday!

p.s. i eventually confessed to having facebook stalked her before we met, and she admitted to doing the same thing. for reasons beyond me, she thought i was the cool one. i still have no idea how, unless she's lying to make me feel better.