the best is yet to come

what an incredible weekend! the love that i felt was unbelievable and i am thanking my lucky stars for having such amazing people in my life!

on friday night, i knew j had surprise plans for me and i honestly had no clue on what the night would consist of. we headed to a late dinner and pulled in to soul vegetarian (my favorite!) and i couldn't believe when i saw a table full of my closest friends! i was completely surprised. to top it off, one of our best friends happened to be in town for an extra night (due to a flight misunderstanding) and he showed up for the birthday evening. such a great surprise indeed! 

we spent the rest of the night getting ice cream at morelli's (hellooooo salted caramel) and then went to noni's to dance. it was a bit crowded and the crowd wasn't that great, but we had a fun time regardless. i'm so lucky!

on sunday, j threw me [another] belated birthday party with a 40 foot inflatable slip n slide! we had such a blast. lots of great food, friends, water balloons, and stunt challenges. it was well worth the money for the rental and the ruined grass! i definitely recommend a slip n slide for any summer party. i would also recommend having a great group of close friends to share it with!

28 is going to be the best year yet! thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate - you all are the bee's knees!

xo

"what a grand thing, to be loved! what a grander thing still, to love!" - victor hugo

fantastic fourth

our 4th of july was wonderful! we had a few bumps in the road, but overall we had a blast.

since j was sick on my birthday, he wanted to celebrate on the 4th since we had the day off. we tried going to lunch, but everywhere was closed! we eventually ended up (after driving all over the city) at mellow mushroom and then we went and saw your sister's sister at midtown art cinema. the movie was incredible and felt so real and sincere. i felt like i knew the characters and they were friends i have. if you haven't seen it, please do!

then some of our closest friends came over for a last minute cookout. we managed to pull together a very great meal filled with tons of roasted veggies, corn, and then yummy berries and kiwi for dessert. it was such great company and laughs, but unfortunately the dogs were not happy at all about the loud fireworks. poor townes confined himself to a hallway and was shaking all evening.

i also got pink eye which was a buzzkill! i've been confined the last few days while on meds but after today i'm no longer contagious!

i'm so excited for this weekend! j surprised me with an awesome event for sunday and i absolutely can't wait! i'll share more next week!

hope you have a peaceful weekend!

xo

knock on wood

we recently had our whole house painted. the paint was peeling and we needed a lot of caulking done. 

it's so nice to have a crisp coat of paint on the house - definitely worth the investment!

the red door makes me so happy. maybe one day we'll go with an even more bold color!

i am loving the aqua and orange doors. so fun!

doors

happy 4th of july!

happy 4th of july!

today we're doing a belated birthday celebration - so hopefully we'll be outside and enjoying the day off.

it's always so nice to have the whole country celebrating your birthday!

hope you and yours enjoy this independence day. may your day be filled with swimming holes, watermelon, sparklers, and loved ones.

"freedom is nothing but a chance to be better" - albert camus

♥

picture

featured artist: bianca green

maybe it's the bright summer days, but lately i cannot get enough of color! i love these mixed media prints by bianca green. the different patterns and colors really make these prints so magnificent!

it's always wonderful when art just makes you want to smile.

the diamonds below would make incredible window decals! the colors + the sunshine would be so perfect!

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to germany or bust!

j + i are heading to germany next month! some friends of ours are getting married in the countryside (jocketa) so we're flying to berlin for a few days before attending the wedding. we're so excited to be traveling to europe again and spending time with our dear friends.

my sweetest friend lily bought me the pocket guide to berlin book for my birthday so i've been trying to nail down where we want to visit during our trip. so far, we're looking at the street art tour, holocaust memorial, the largest park (tiergarten), and the east side gallery. 

have you ever been to berlin? 

i'd love to get your suggestions on must-do adventures!

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birthday + weekend recap

well - it's official! i'm 28 years old!

going into the weekend, poor j got strep throat and with the weather being 106 degrees (!!!), i knew we'd be limited on celebrating. on saturday, i went to my parents' house to swim since it was the only way to be outside. i also went and got a mani/ pedi to treat myself. i felt so bad that j was stuck in bed all weekend, but at least he's on antibiotics so he should be better in no time.

on sunday, my actual birthday, i took a nice long early morning walk with townes and then went to body sculpting class at the Y. it feels great to go to a class like that where you can really challenge yourself and feel your body's strength.

sunday night, j managed to muster up enough energy to come with me and my family for my birthday dinner. we ate down the street at melton's app + tap so we wouldn't have to go far. food was great and then we headed back to our house. my family was very generous and got me some great gifts!

after my family left, j gave me my birthday gifts. j is such a great gift giver and i am so lucky. i got some new asics (in bright coral and yellow - love!), a kilm pillow cover, awesome bracelet, rings, 2 books, and some stenciled paintings that j painted for me. ♥♥♥

i've got a mexican dinner date with my best friend tomorrow, j's taking me out on wednesday to celebrate officially, thursday we're celebrating with my in-laws, and then there's a secret plan for sunday! i'm not usually one to prolong birthdays into birthday weeks, but i'll take it!

p.s. thank you to everyone who took the time out to wish me a happy birthday yesterday! my heart is so full!

how was your weekend? what'd you do to stay cool? 

♥