I’m getting to that point in the summer where I ask myself at least once a week: “Where did the summer go?“
Sadly, I haven’t been able to come up with an answer yet, but these vintage beach photos are making me smile, at the very least. How cool are they? The sun and sand is calling my name, friends! xoxo
[Via Travel + Leisure]
I went to bed last night with the best of intentions. My long weekend was over and I was determined to hit the ground running come Monday morning.
And then yesterday, I made the mistake of having a bit too much caffeine, which meant I stayed up later than usual, which meant I had trouble falling asleep, which meant I sleep way too late for my liking, which meant…
Well, I could go on, but I think you see the endless circle I’ve been spinning on. I mean, it’s like I’m on some sort of crazy hamster wheel and CAN’T GET OFF.
But I digress. The good news is that I DID have a wonderful birthday weekend! It was full of food and family and lots of fun. And, of course, I’ve got the photos to prove it, starting with the photo above — that’s how I spent my Sunday. It was picture-perfect and glorious…
On my actual birthday, we met some friends for lunch at Portillo’s — have you ever been there? It’s a Midwest staple and the cheese fries are something out of this world. Then, like the mature, classy 35-year-old that I am, I had to open my presents the minute we got home! I got some wonderful throwback gifts, like Minnie Mouse Lip Smackers and Simon. What child of the ’80s doesn’t love Simon? Who wants to challenge me to a tournament?
I binge-watched Angel and was so happy to see Drusilla, my favorite crazy vamp! Fun fact: Juliet Landau, the actress who plays her, follows me on Twitter!
We also watched a birthday episode of Frasier for old time’s sake!
My mom made her famous cookies (here’s the recipe!) and as the official tester, it was my job to taste them and report on my results. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it, right?
And to top things off, my mom won a pretty blanket in the summer reading club at the library. She was quite proud of herself!
Seriously, though, I wanted to thank you all for the sweet messages and tweets on my special day. As I said on Facebook, on my birthday and every day, I couldn’t ask for a more loving family! Feeling very grateful and lucky today…
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! xoxo
Happy Monday, friends! How are you on this fine and dandy morning? I’m slowly recovering from my Long Birthday Weekend Bonanza — you know how wild and crazy I can get! The whole weekend was just sheer madness. But today’s guy is anything but madness. He’s more dreamy than madness and I fell in love with him while watching this show — currently watching it for the second time. His accent is quite sophisticated. His brain is oh-so-sexy. And he has a way about him that makes me want to confess my every thought…
ALEXIS DENISOF!!!!!!!!!!
“That’s an important lesson for me, to not qualify my experience against somebody else’s. My experience is the experience that I wanted to have, and have created for myself, but it doesn’t make me any more deserving than anybody else — or less.”
Well, friends, it’s 8:49 a.m. and you all know what that means…
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
My 35th birthday, to be exact. But who’s counting, right??
I am. I’m counting every day and every month and every year. I’m counting the highs and lows and all those in-betweens. Why? Because I’ve lived through them all, and by golly, I think I’ve earned the right to celebrate that.
For so long (too many years, honestly), I feared my ever-increasing age much like Norma Desmond feared her fading star status. Maybe I even mourned and shed a little tear as I sang along passionately to Against The Wind, my voice breaking at the most emotionally dramatic parts. Yes, sometimes it all got to be just too much. I wanted to stop time and desperately hold on to those years; I’d felt like I’d already lost so much. The last thing I wanted was to lose more precious time.
But somewhere along the way, my outlook began to change. I slowly realized that age isn’t something to be feared.
It’s something to be embraced and celebrated.
And as you know, if anyone knows how to celebrate a birthday, it’s Yours Truly! I can party with the best of ’em! That’s why I’m declaring these next four days my Long Birthday Weekend Bonanza. I’ll be taking the rest of the week off to engage in merry merriment and plenty of relaxing! Oh, it’s going to be most epic, trust me!
Don’t worry, I’ll be back bright and early on Monday morning. I’ll also be popping in on social media throughout the weekend, so come say HEY on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! And be sure to celebrate yourself this weekend too! After all, I think you’re pretty awesome!
THAT is something to raise a glass of root beer to!
P.S. Birthdays past, because you know I overshare like that: 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd and 34th… :)
P.P.S. Excuse the selfie on this post — it’s the first one I took with my new phone!!
A couple years ago, I asked about your favorite iPhone apps since I’d just upgraded to a cool phone. Like most things involving technology (well, aside from blogging!), I’m late to the party yet again, but I JUST got my first iPhone yesterday!
I’ll just let that confession sink in for a moment.
Anyway, I’m a bit overwhelmed by this new-fangled gadget. I need your help, friends! I’m dying to add some fun apps to my phone, but…which ones??
What iPhone apps do you love? Which ones do you have on your phone?? Which ones can’t you live without? And most importantly…is Candy Crush horribly passe? Let me know your favorites in the comments! I’ve got some adding to do! xoxo
P.S. Maybe the BEST part of my induction into the world of iPhones?? I can finally use emojis on the regular — there are millions of them at my fingertips now!! So get ready for that! I’m pretty fond of the unicorn emoji — who knew there was a beautiful UNICORN emoji?? It’s a brave new world for me!! :)
[Photo via We Heart It]