Happy Birthday to my better half!

Yesterday was a super special day :) Sean turned 31! Look at the little guy circa maybe 1989 (before T. Swift made that year cool)! Does Javi look like him? I think so. This celebratory blog post is a day late because that's what happens when Javi doesn't sleep (ah!)... things get delayed (since I do most of my blogging the night before). BUT! We still got a chance to celebrate! My mom watched Javi for us and we went to dinner and to the movies last night -- we saw Beauty and the Beast. (I liked it because I love Disney but I'm not totally sold on it).

We've come a long way from all-day birthday celebrations and parties with friends but it was really nice to be out just the two of us. It's always nice to eat a meal when it's still hot :) (though we missed Javi, of course). I did get Sean a few gifts like this and this but his major gift is coming Monday -- and I'm really excited about it! I can't believe we're fully in our 30s now! It seems like just yesterday we were in middle school! I definitely took a trip down memory lane when I brought out all the old hard drives to dig out some of these gems. :)

This is the 9th birthday we're celebrating together and I think they're so special. I'm so happy to be doing this whole life thing with Sean and I can't wait to see what many more birthdays bring. 

Instax Mini 8.

I had been looking at the Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 camera since the start of the summer. I love the idea of Polaroid cameras and love how small the pictures from this specific camera print out. I thought about buying it for myself, but then I figured I'd wait out the summer and ask for it for my birthday. I was super excited when I opened it up from Sean. We had a minor incident with the camera outside the Outback -- so, a new one just arrived in the mail yesterday. Side note: these things are fragile... :) I've forgotten how nice it is to have printed pictures (I rarely print pictures anymore), and the whole Polaroid thing has an instagram feel that is 100 times better. Film is slightly expensive, and there are only 10 pictures on a roll -- so you have to be "on" and make sure the people you are photographing don't close their eyes, or look away. There are no second chances like with the iPhone. It's a one shot deal. I was super disappointed when the picture the waitress took of our table on my birthday didn't come out, not only because we missed the shot but also because that was one picture was wasted! I can't wait to take more pictures with this camera. 

I turned 27.

Last weekend, I celebrated my 27th birthday at my parents house. I wasn't feeling good and I'm sort of surprised that the pictures came out pretty decent. I had one of those days where I almost passed out in the grocery store from dizziness. I told myself it was allergies, even though I don't think allergies make you do that, but I powered through it and by my actual birthday on Tuesday, I was feeling pretty good. But the celebration on Sunday was really fun and included Chinese food, an ice cream cake, presents and family. I loved it. [Please note Sean's face in the pictures of me opening my presents. mmkay?]

What the heck is that face? I feel like it comes out during present time on multiple occasions: birthdays, Christmas, Easter... the middle child in him realizes the only child in me. And then, the face comes out. :) On my actual birthday, we went to the Outback with our parents to celebrate. It was a lot of fun :)

A birthday weekend.

Sean's birthday was a major success.
We had a day, filled with his favorite foods, a walk around Boston, a movie, and ended the night with chocolate pudding pie.
Today, the celebration continued with lunch with his parents and dinner with mine.
He loved the idea of spreading out the gifts and making them last throughout the day.
He anxiously awaited each of the present opening times,
and it really extended the fun.

For gifts, I decided against Google's advice of money clips & poker chips...
and stuck to what I know Sean loves:
supporting his friends, beer, and the chance to win millions of dollars.
Plus, a couple of things I'd like him to have.

So, I got hoodies from his friend's clothing lines: Monogram Apparel & Hurt Reynolds,
a Sam Adams variety pack + beer glasses,
lottery tickets (we didn't win),
new sneakers + candy,
a level (so he can evenly hang everything I ask him to hang, ha!),
a French press coffee maker with coffee,
and the new Justin Timberlake CD...
(okay, that's sort of for me, too).

Weekly Recap + a Happy Birthday post!

On the blog:

Monday: Typical Monday (on vacation).

Wednesday: Happy spring.

Thursday: My first ever vlog.

Friday: Brown paper packages.

Happy Saturday!

The 8:27 brown paper packages have been opened.

They were a success.

Sean is anxiously awaiting the 11:27 presents.

As is Apollo, who can't seem to get enough of the wrapping paper.

Then we're off to lunch, a day in Boston, and dinner tonight.

And hopefully, we'll be home for the 9:27 presents, or they'll have to be pushed back.

*gasp!*

 Sean Nerbit, Happy 27th Birthday!

I hope you enjoy your sushi lunch, a day outside (even though it's in the 30's), 

and Indian cuisine for dinner.

I know you wouldn't want to spend your day any other way,

and I don't want to spend my days with anybody else. :)

I made pinky promises that I wouldn't complain about the food or the weather,

and that I would give unlimited back rubs to you today.

If anything all these things make me realize how good I have it,

or rather -- how good you are to me...

364 days out of the year.

I love you with all my heart.

You're my best friend.

You're an amazing husband.

And, you make me laugh.

Every.single.day.

So, Happy Birthday!

[Here's to pretending I love sushi, chicken tikki masala, and 30 degree weather.]

:)

Brown paper packages.

Tomorrow is Sean's birthday.

A few weeks ago, I came across this and I thought it was adorable.

It's a way to spread gifts throughout the entire day to make it fun, exciting, and last.

You get the recipient a bunch of gifts (they can be as small as candy or as big and extravagant as you'd like),

you wrap them individually,

and designate a time to open each of them.

I chose down to the minute 27 since he's turning 27.

In the original post, one gift is given each hour between 8AM - 8PM.

But I know that Sean will want to go do things on the day of his birthday.

So I decided to do a morning (8:27), around noon (11:27) and a night (9:27) thing.

I'm really excited for his birthday to come and for him to open his presents.
Isn't gift-giving the best? :)

Happy Birthday, Apollo!

It's my favorite little kitten's birthday.

If you want to read Apollo's last two guest posts: go here & here.
If you're new around these parts -- yes, she has a boy's name.

She's come a long way from looking like this:

To this:

I can tell you she's still the same crazy kitten,

who runs and races and knows she's the cutest baby.

Occasionally, she has an attitude,

so we've been calling her our little teenager.

She's very busy celebrating her birthday with her stuffed mice,

and extra morsels of food -

so she can't guest post or anything.

But maybe soon.

For now, Happy Birthday Apollo!

:)

Happy Birthday to the first man I ever knew.

Today is my dad's birthday.

The man who raised me, taught me how to be a lady,

and what to expect from a man.

I could go on and on about how amazing he is to me.

How he treats me and my mom.

How he gives and gives.

How he offers us anything he feels we need,

while giving us plenty more that we definitely do not need.

He's the kind of dad that shows up at my house with food, just in case I'm hungry.

The kind that washes my car windows because he saw a streak.

The kind that invites me to lunch,

calls to chat,

takes care of our cat when we're on vacation,

shows up early,

still tucks me in when I'm not feeling well,

drives me home when I'm too tired,

and never expects anything in return.

I'm tellin' ya.

So, today I'd like to say...

to my exceptional dad.

26th Birthday

Last Friday, we celebrated Sean's birthday. :)

I planned a night out for us which included eating spicy wings and going to a shooting range.

Wait.. what? I know. It was so scary.

Sean mentioned [more than] once that it would be something he'd love to do and I thought his birthday would be a great time to do something that I told him I would never do!

I was so nervous. And cried, screamed and dropped the gun the first time it went off. Whoops!

But even still -- I hit the target :)

Here's the husband after -- he was very happy!

We're back!

We are back from our trip. I won't lie... we got back Sunday. I've been so busy getting stuff together for my seminar this weekend I haven't really had time to recap -- but I fully intend on it.

We had a great time! We have about 500 pictures to show for it but now I'll just post three.

This was our view from our bedroom in Puerto Rico. It was beautiful. I promise full recaps soon. Along with the other things that happened during these two weeks off from work... including Sean's birthday (which will happen on Friday). Oh, it's such a great surprise.

:)

Today...

I turn twenty-four. =)

I made those cupcakes and Sean decorated them for me in honor of my birthday!

And when I came home today... this was waiting for me.



Yes, my gifts are in a Transformers bag and yes, we use matches instead of candles.

Although, "big deal" birthdays for me [so far!] have been sixteen, eighteen and twenty-one... I think twenty-four is the biggest deal. Wanna know why?

Because, 24 is the age that I'll be married!

Which means, this is the last birthday I'll have as a "single" woman. =)

Super big deal? I think, yes!