over the past week...

i turned 26!!!!!

 i went & watched my little brother's soccer game with his girlfriend 

& busted out the saltwaters.

husband celebrated his last day at coast guard station sandy hook!

& celebrated in nyc while i saw my college roomies in poughkeepsie.

(anddddd kept the sun off my face with some Utah love!)

i fell in love with this new essie color "go ginza"

 & snagged this gnomie candle for california to remind me of my gnomie roomies!

and i found the prettiest soaps that come in the cutest reusable tins 

& started re-reading outlander... cuz it's that good!

the past week started with the best roomie reunion. it was much needed time spent with two people who i love dearly: miss mary & minna. my birthday followed two days later & then pete celebrated his last day in the coast guard on wednesday. i just have to do this right quick:

AHHHHH HUSBAND IS DONE WITH THE COAST GUARD!!!!!!! 

HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE EVERRRRRR!!!!!!!

ok i'm good. 

i seriously can't believe he is done. well not totally done, he is going to stay in the reserves for a little bit, but the ridiculous crap we have both put up with for the past 4 years of him being stationed in nj has come to an end. an END! i don't even know how to react i am so excited. it is sunday night & i keep thinking pete has to go to work tomorrow but he DOESN'T. it's so crazy! only military wives can understand what i'm talking about. it is so hard to wrap my head around the fact that i get to see my husband everyday from now on. it's so exciting i can hardly contain myself.

and then, on friday, pete and my best guy friends brett & keith planned a little surprise going away party for us & that was just the best. talk about flip cup, salt 'n peppa pandora station, & mixing dunkin donuts fruit coolada's with vodka (my greatest idea ever!), mixed with my favorite people... it was just a great night with great people & i am so thankful. so thankful i have a husband who has become friends with all of my friends because he knows how happy that makes me, & just genuinely loves seeing me smile. i don't know how i got so lucky.

and sooo... happy sunday everyone!! we are getting ready for some serious game of thrones action... can't wait :)

see ya tomorrow!

26.

woo baby. 26 years old! 
& i have a feeling this year will be the best one ever! 

photos from this weekend's birthday celebrations with my college roommates

taken with iphone vsco cam app

and so, i am laying outside on this beautiful birthday. not a cloud in the sky. 
my dad came home early from work to take me out for coffee & donuts and i am looking forward to spending quality time with the family tonight! sadly, pete is at work... but it is one of his LAST days in the coast guard and that is like the best birthday gift in the history of birthday gifts that i could ever ask for... so it's all good.

thank you for letting me take a much needed break from blogging. i am doing wonderful health wise & it has just been crazy busy around here with packing, planning, & getting ready for our move to San Francisco next week! crazy i know. but i am back & ready as ever to continue this journey with you all. i won't share with you what i am wishing for when i blow out the candles on my cake (strawberry shortcake that is) because i want it to come true! but to give you a hint, it will have something to do along the lines of going on more adventures & making up for lost time ;)

over the past week...

i went to my favorite book store... more on these two books below. 

& we played lots of games of mexican train. i was losing here, can you tell?

my new mittens came!! 

& i made chocolate cupcakes + chocolate frosting, yum!

i purchased these two books:

i have been anxiously awaiting Jessica Alba's new book. she is my favorite celeb mommy

& i have been saving my pennies for Design Sponge's hardcover book

(the perfect addition to my stack of coffee table books)

and these...

these books are so amazing and are very meaningful to me. during my senior year, all four of us "gnomies" started using Wreck This Journal. my roommates and i would take turns on various occasions "wrecking" the journal throughout that final year of college. since then, it has made its way to birthdays, bonfires, & even our weddings. it has all of our memories in it & currently is in the hands of roomie down in PA.

and then, Keri Smith created "Mess" and i saw it at the bookstore this past week & obviously sent the picture to my roomies via instagram... and the idea came about: a sort of traveling pants meets a penpal slash journal. i am going to purchase Mess & put my mark on it & then mail it to whoever i think needs it next. i am going to put little notes in it, pictures, jot down thoughts, moments when i miss these four girls (which is like everyday) & whatever else i feel like. and it will make its way around to all of us & will be the cutest way to keep in touch. (especially since pete and i are making our way to California in the next two months!)

i hope it inspires some of you to do the same! as you grow older it gets harder and harder to keep in touch with friends. but i am truly blessed to have the greatest group of girl friends in the world. girls that understand how busy & crazy life can be, & when a month goes by & then you chat on the phone, it is like you haven't skipped a beat! 

so check out these two books here and here & start your own traveling journal!

outer banks, NC

 

 

as promised, here are photos from my college roommate's destination wedding this past october all taken by our ridiculously talented other roommate Minna Prisco. remember the name. she has been snapping amazing photos since the day i met her & her talent oozes out in every picture. she has even started to get into the wedding business & all of us gnomies are cheering her on. we call each other puzzle pieces because when we hug, us two midgets fit perfectly interlocking in each other's arms. true love.

hope you enjoy these pretty pics of the lighthouse, the view from our hotel, & the cute as pie wedding.
happy monday!

love.

here's a little preview of my roomie's wedding photos from the other weekend all shot by the super talented & sweetest husband & wife photographers ever: Daniel & Kate Pullen. for more of their gorgeous outer banks wedding, click here & enjoy!

my roomie's wedding

aric's face as his bride walked down the aisle + saying their vows

 me & husband in our seats + being silly with my college roomies

sunshine beams + pete with minna

the gorgeous lanterns + cape hatteras lighthouse

 cutting the cake + the bride & groom's first dance

 the stunning fall colored florals + guests signing the painting i made for the "guest book"

this past weekend was my best friend from college mary & aric's destination wedding. & what a wedding it was. located on the bay side of the island cape hatteras in buxton, NC, was the most gorgeous, breathtaking inn that hosted the most adorable wedding i have ever seen. the details, the scenery, & the pure love in the eyes of the bride and groom were enough to make us all weak in the knees. the food was fantastic, the favors were individual vintage tea cups (swoon) & the table numbers weren't numbers at all. as a nod to the trip the two of them took to the Bonnaroo music festival one summer, the tables were called "this" table, "that" table, "our" table, etc... needless to say everyone was having a blast finding "which" table they were sitting at! mary was dressed in a detailed lace wedding gown with little cap sleeves, while the boys were in flip flops & the guests barefoot. the night ended with north carolina tradition of dancing in the grass under the stars. more pictures coming soon (both professional + from our super talented college roommate minna)