happy birthday G.

Tomorrow is G's birthday! He never wants to make a big deal about his birthday, but he also knows that the girl he married likes to make a celebration out of the littlest moment. So, last night when he called to say he was leaving work and would be home in 20 minutes, I thought, why not have a little early birthday celebration for him?!?  Well, good thing I always have plenty of crafting supplies on hand.  So I threw up some streamers, sprinkled confetti and sequins around, and put some cookies in a glass jar.  Done and done!  

To my G, I know this is going to be the best year yet.  I love you beyond measure.  You are the most loving, kind, and sweet man.  I love celebrating every day with you.  Love you, love your show!

{my photos}

like a record.

I bought G a record player as an early birthday gift (he's been talking about one for over a year).  Who knew that I would love it just as much as he does.  He picked up a few records for me last week that I told him reminded me of my childhoood, Fleetwood Mac + Huey Lewis and the News.  I remember listening to Fleetwood Mac for hours on end in with my siblings.  So fun to have a record take me back to that time.

{record

a birthday celebration.

I am so so so excited to be sharing this fun and girly celebration I put together.  The girls at Alison Events asked me to create a post about styling a tabletop.  So head on over there today to see my version of throwing a friend the perfect little birthday party.  And check back here tomorrow, as I'll be sharing how I made that tablecloth.  Enjoy!

chicago.

Oh Chicago, how do I even begin to say how much we adored our trip there.  It was cold, yes very cold, but that didn't damper our spirits one bit.  We walked the city and enjoyed every moment of it.  I loved seeing the bean and visiting the Art Institute.  Both incredible!  We popped into bhldn and I kind of wanted to move right in.  Such a pretty store filled with the most gorgeous dresses.  And one of the highlights was walking down to Navy Pier.  A spot where my now 97 year old grandpa met my grandma in 1944.  WOW!  We also spent two days in St. Joseph, Michigan.  Such a cute little town and we met the nicest people.  Oh gosh, and I almost forgot to talk about RPM in Chicago!  Ummmm I'm like a huge fan of Giuliana Rancic.  I think she is absolutely the cutest, so I knew we just had to go to her and her husband's restaurant.  It did not disappoint.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere was amazing!  I mean, we went there at 10pm on a Tuesday night (10pm is my normal bedtime, so I couldn't even believe we were going to dinner at that time) and the place was p a c k e d!  Like crazy packed.  It was definitely worth the late night trip...yum!  Check out a few pics from our trip.  I seriously can't wait for a return visit to the midwest.

sagittarius.

Hello there.  I've been a little quiet on the blog this week, and I hate to say it, but that trend will continue this week.  It's my birthday today (yay)!  Hmmm it feels a little strange to be announcing that on my own blog, ha...but it's true.  So I've decided to give myself a little birthday treat and take the week off.  The hubs and I have lots of fun activities planned and I will be sure to share next week.  Now, I'm off to celebrate!  And special thanks to Edyta for the below photo (that was such a fun shoot)!

{photo by Edyta}

happy birthday little sis.

Yesterday was my little sister's birthday, so I had to give her a little shout out on the blog this morning.  Happy happy happy birthday Tessie!  You are so sweet and have the kindest heart.  I love your free-spirit ways and the fact that you have traveled all over the world.  You are the most caring little sister and for that I can't thank you enough.  Love ya!  

And of course I had to include some pics of you as a kid.  Ummmmm look at that smile?!?  SO cute!  xoxo!

happy birthday madre.

Wishing my mom the happiest birthday ever today!  

Madre, you are the sweetest person I know and I love you so very much.  I love that I can call you at 6am and know that I won't be waking you, because you've already been awake for at least an hour.  I love our talks and can't say thank you enough for your caring words when I need them the most.  And can we please talk about your cooking?  You are amazing in the kitchen and I envy your skills.  G and I hope this day brings you much joy!  

And yes, this is a photo of me as a baby and my mom.  Everytime I look at it, I can't help but crack up.  My rolls, that oreo bikini, my mom's smile...it all makes me so happy!

family birthdays.

This week has been a birthday bonanza.  First G's birthday and now this weekend it's our niece's 2nd birthday.  We are so excited to hang with the fam and to squeeze our little niece and nephew.  Ha, remember that time in childhood when all of the sudden it's just not that "cool" to hug your parents in front of your friends?  Oh dear, does that happen with your aunts & uncles too?  I certainly hope not, cause I plan on squishing these two well into their teen years.  Watch out, Smothering Aunt Myka is coming for a visit. :)  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

{balloons}

a birthday gift.

As soon as I spotted this Oh Dier sign via Tara's blog I knew that we had to have one.  I mean come on, that "you're killin' me smalls" one was plain old cracking me up.  So when it was time to find a birthday gift for G, I knew that one of these signs was the perfect present.  G and I don't normally buy one another birthday gifts.  Weird, I know.  ha!  Well it's not that we don't buy one another presents, it's more like we don't surprise each other with the gifts.  We are total dorks and when our bdays roll around we usually go shopping together and just pick out one special item.  Very anti-climatic, right?  But honestly we both kind of love spending the day roaming around helping one another find the perfect little item.  Well I went rogue this year and decided I was gonna surprise G with his gift.  The only problem, the big surprise was almost ruined when the gift showed up while I was away on a bachelorette party.  Crap!  Well I quickly made up some crazy story about how I had bought my cousin a gift on etsy and asked G not to open it cause I wanted to ship it to her in that same box.  He totally bought it (and sorry cousin Em, I didn't really buy you a gift...ha!).  I asked Oh Dier if they could do a custom piece and they were more then willing (btw, awesome etsy shop.  I highly recommend them).  I chose an acrylic white (you know our favorite color) sign, and asked them to use "love you, love your show".  It's a saying G and I always say to one another, so I knew it was just perfect.  Speaking of, people often ask us what it means and truth is I didn't entirely know.  It's just our little way of saying I totally love you.  Then I looked it up and found this definition on urban dictionary, "to be fond of someone, grow a liking to, fancy someone, intensely favor their whole being".  Yep, that about sums it up.  I love your whole being G and am so happy to share my life with you.

happy birthday.

Happy happy happy birthday Georges!  These past 12 years have been better then I could have ever expected.  I wake up every day feeling so incredibly lucky and blessed to have you by my side.  No matter what life throws our way, I know you are with me every step of the way, and that is more then I could ever ask for.  You are kind, funny, smart, caring, loving...I could go on & on, but I don't want to get too gushy up in here. 

love you, love your show! xoxo.

This photo is circa 2000 or 2001, when G came up to visit my family and their alpacas.  ha!