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!

over the past week...

this season's catalogues were gone through & a little wish list was made here

+ bedroom inspiration for our new CA condo was found: a turquoise wall & white bedding

we went to Five Guys for dinner: BEST burgers, fries, & of course, peanuts!

my mother in law sent me this picture from outside her window

(we can't wait to get out there & visit: ahhh, the city of love)

+ pretty, pretty Leo was inside for about 2 seconds the whole weekend

he is in love with this warmer weather... and so are we!

i made little books with all the cards from our showers & wedding

(just hole punch, add rings & there you have it! little keepsake books that are so easy to look through & read!)

my mom and i got our hair done & highlighted blonder 
+ her hair is now long enough for her first ever sock bun!

my iphone cover has & always will be this Kate Spade vintage airmail case here

and so at target i found an ipad case that looks like a vintage envelope PLUS these botanical notebooks from my favorite paper company ever!!

we had a McDonalds feast after my brother's all day long soccer tournament

because they won! congrats boys & to my "coach dad"

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!

over the past week...

kairos caught his first vole so we rewarded him by keeping our shopping bags on the bed,

they are his favorite. his own little crinkly sounding forts!

my Stella & Dot pretties came! & in the cutest packaging i might add!

we ate donuts all weekend. & that one with the green frosting spilling out... 

ya, that's the manager's special. it will give you a stomach ache.

my favorite magazines came for the month of April!

& i made cinnamon cream cheese crumble cake (recipe here!)

& we did a little shopping for California:

husband bought these two toned Penguin boots from Saks on sale 

& is thinking about going back to get the darker colored ones!

& i scored this amazing fitting striped dress from the Gap!

hope you all had a great week & weekend. thank you so much for all the kind words i received from the video tutorial!! the response was overwhelming, i am so happy you all enjoyed it & i am getting ready to do another one very soon! Happy St. Patricks day! (we are getting ready to feast on some cabbage & corn beef ) & see you tomorrow!

over the past week...

my wound was pretty sore so i spent lots of couch time with this kitty,

lots of girl scout cookies were consumed,

god bless the person who invented samoas!

along with lots of caramel,

the only thing better than Valentine's day candy... is Easter candy!

 this was hung up by my mother on the fridge,

 little brother's soccer team was short a man so pete decided to play,

(this is a guy who played hockey his whole life. he was a smidge out of his comfort zone!)

they warmed up, stretched it out, & won both games!

we let kai sleep in our room again + we had strawberry shortcake for dessert... my favorite!

 i picked up this button up jean shirt + these colorful bowls from none other than kohls!

DAY 1          +          DAY 2

and i am doing a little experiment with my hair:

ok, so normally i shower, flip my head over to blow dry, & then curl my hair with either a one inch curling iron, or a 1/2 inch curling iron. these curls are with a 1/2 inch iron while twisting the hair around the barrel so they are more wavy than ringlets. if this experiment goes well, i will do a video tutorial!

and then, what i have always done over the years is tease my roots and add hairspray... the problem i faced with this was that by the second, and absolutely by the third day, my hair would be extremely ratty underneath from the hairspray & greasy at the roots from teasing. but i truly felt the need for the teasing to add some volume, and the hairspray to hold the curls. 

so on Saturday, i got this idea in my head that i would try to do smaller curls & then naturally let them fall out over the following days. this would allow me to try and stretch out shampooing my hair to 3 or 4 days. so the first picture of the curls is yesterday, and the second picture is of today. my husband really loves my hair curlier, but it is a lot of work... so by not having to do my hair for 4 days in a row, it makes it worth the extra effort. and i really am in love with how it looks today... just wavy & pretty.. and that picture is after i got home from the gym just now. so i am off to go rinse off, but going to keep my hair dry & i'll show you tomorrow how it looks. because this is exciting to me! my hair isn't as greasy as it normally is & it is nice not to have to do anything to it for a couple of days... because if there are two things in the world i hate doing over and over and over... it is my hair & shaving my legs!!

happy Sunday, go UCONN women & see ya tomorrow!