celebrating

tomorrow night we're celebrating the 27th birthday of a friend of ours.

my husband's friend's fiancee. {got that?!}

we met in 2007 when my husband & his friend lived together.

she was {is} gorgeous & i was intimidated.

until about 3 years ago when we discovered our shared love for country music.

summer country concerts & trips to nashville {love!} followed.

as did "girl's night out" & dinner dates with the guys.

this past month she asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding.

she has become one of my close friends.

i always thought that my "close friends" would be the girls from my sorority/college.

those 9 girls mean the world to me.

i was fine {& blessed} with those 9 friends.

and now another has come along.

another girl & i made plans to celebrate her our friend's birthday.

dinner w/ 12 people, drinks at a bar & then hanging out at after.

my husband commented the other day, essentially,

that it's silly to want to get everyone together to celebrate a birthday @ our age.

{unless, of course, it's your 30th & your friends are surprising you in vegas}

i've thought that over for a bit. here are my thoughts:

there are too many scary & lonely times in life.

why not take the chance to celebrate when you can?

celebrate friendships. celebrate anything. celebrate the small things.

just celebrate. together.

so, tomorrow night i'm doing just that.

cheers to new{er} friends, good food, laughter, a night on the town

& a slice of birthday cake!

balloon bench via this pinterest pin from yatzer

homecoming

this weekend i'm headed home.
home to my alma mater.
home to the butler bulldogs.
home to my sorority house.
home to the place of some of my favorite memories.

cheers to a fantastic education.
cheers to the place where i met my best friends.
cheers to my old stompping grounds.
cheers to the nostalgia & the memories.
cheers to some of the best days of my life.
cheers to butler u.
image via kelseys wanderlust

out with my boots on

it's been a while since i've been to nashville.
there's something about that place that makes me feel alive {& young}.
maybe it's the neon lights.
maybe it's the plethora of cowboy boots tapping to live music.
maybe it's singing at the top of my lungs in a honky tonk with my girlfriends.
whatever it is, i have determined that it's good for the soul.

i'm going to miss out on sharing this fall weekend with the husband & the pup
but the bright lights on broadway are calling my name.
be back sunday. xoxo

image above by aron wright via design sponge.

indiana camping

some of my favorite childhood memories are times spent camping with my dad.
spring tent camping and fall & winter cabin camping.
campfires, games, sing-a-longs & flashlights skipping here and there.
too many snacks, comfy sleeping bags, hot chocolate, & star-gazing.
laughter, late nights, fresh air & staying up late into the night.

twenty-some {!!!} years later i still love everything about camping.
although i now substitute an air mattress for a sleeping bag & beer for hot chocolate.

this weekend we'll celebrate the start of summer by going camping in indiana.

friends will come. campfires will be built. food cooked over the fire & beers drank.
stories will be told & we'll stay up way too late. too many snacks will be had.
& i'm sure we'll sing-a-long when our favorite country song comes on the radio.

when i'm camping, it's like all is right in the world.
the beer is colder. the night lingers longer. the stars are brighter.
marshmallows are for dessert.
life just automatically slows to an enjoyable pace.
sounds like a perfect way to welcome the start of summer.

picture by: simply bloom photography

arranged friendships

this weekend we headed to keeneland to celebrate a friend's birthday.

friends are quite spectacular things, aren't they?

i have a few good friends that i hope will stick around.

we've celebrated college graduations, engagements & weddings together

& someday {not any time too soon for me!}, the birth of our children.

as arranged marriages aren't too popular in the States these days.

i'll take an arranged friendship between our child & the child of our friends.

i would hope that they are a dynamic little duo. like batman & superman.

both little superheroes on their own accord but more powerful together.

resulting in lots of adventures & only a few broken bones.

lots of memories & plenty of belly laughs.

more so, a friendship that spans years & years covering graduations, weddings,

& witnessing friendships form between the little superheroes of their own.

via bippity boppity boo

a 30th. celebrated.

within the last few years one thing has be come apparent to me.

life is short but sweet for certain.

in thinking about my husband's 30th i knew i wanted to celebrate.

more importantly celebrate him, his life & everything he loves.

which are, in no order: me, family, friends, gambling, captain & sprite.

so, i planned a surprise 4-day trip for his birthday.

on the day of our departure, we arrived at the airport.

he still had no idea where we were headed {except that it might be warm}!

i led him aimlessly around the airport, before letting him know

that we were headed for vegas! as we walked to our gate, each with a huge grin on our face,

his childhood friend & girlfriend appeared & told him they were coming too!

we made it to the hotel {caesars!} in vegas & proceeded to live it up.

later that night, after several drinks, another surprise came:

his whole family appeared from behind him at the roulette table.

and that wasn't all. four more of our friends {old & new} followed hours later.

all in all, 16 people flew to vegas to celebrate his birthday.

the girls spent time by the pool and the guys at the sports book.

we went to a club {vip!} & a delicious steak dinner.

but mainly enjoyed each others company.

even if it was around an electronic roulette table.

it was a short trip, but sweet for certain. time {& money} well spent celebrating someone special. i love you chris.

glittery love

today is valentine's day.
and while my wonderful husband is certainly my valentine...
there are a few more people that deserve a mention today.

my parents.
for supporting me in everything that i set out to do. always.
for always telling me how proud i made them.
for giving me a remarkable education and lots of love.
i love you, happy valentines day.

my friends.
for those crazy nights we shared, back in the day.
for staying in touch.
for never failing to share embarrassing stories over drinks when we reunite.
for loving my husband as much as you love me.
i love you, happy valentines day.

and to my husband.
for making me laugh, everyday. for cooking me delicious meals every night.
for making my friends your own. for the "just because gifts."
for sticking with me. for being yourself & letting me be me.
for not banning me from target.
for loving my family. and putting up with my obsession with peppermint.
for letting me be right every once & a while.
i love you, happy valentines day.

i love you garland via the sweetest occasion

looking good

someday, i will have children.
at some point, for whatever reason,
they might have difficulty believing that i was ever hip/cool/young.
i don't know why, but it might happen.
hear me now, children, at one time {from the ages of 19-26}
i did, infact, live it up.
one of my favorite memories from this summer involved a keith urban concert.
a hot summer night & floor seats at the show from the indiana state fair?!
it just doesn't get any better than that.
chris weaseled his way out of going with me so i took my best friend.
we "car bared" before the concert & sang along, recklessly, to every song.
and we looked good doing it.


tuesday keith urban's new cd went on sale. naturally i rushed to target to get it.
this morning i blared it in my car on my way to work. & i sang along.
with reckless abandon.
for the record, i looked good doing it.
{especially within the safety of tinted windows.}

remember that, kids, when i'm 46 & you just can't bare to imagine
that i was once a hot little one rocking out in my twenty-somethings.

photo of keith urban taken by me at the concert.
for some reason i couldn't hold the camera steady. or get it in focus.
i blame it on the car bar.

july 16th, 2010

chris & i went to hilton head earlier this summer.
our trip just happened to fall over my birthday.
we went out that night. with our friends to the harbour.
i wore my favorite coral dress.
and we had the most delicious steak dinner
with a round of champagne and chocolate cake to top it off.
it wasn't ice cream cake, but it was just as good i suppose.
after dinner we wandered around the marina.
we stopped when we heard a musician singing journey
and other oldies but goodies.
so we grabbed a couple of coronas, with limes, and sang along.
it was a happy happy birthday.

dawgs

march madness took on a special meaning this past year.
my butler bulldogs went all the way.
in april chris & i {& almost all of our friends} went to the final 4 &
the national championship game {THE national championship game}
to cheer on our dawgs.
i think that chris & i each bought 3 new butler shirts/apparel for the occasion.
there was pregaming. for both games.

lucas oil stadium came alive with chants of "bu!"
there was lots of nail biting.
there was a night full of celebration after advancing to the championship.
there was even more nail biting.
there was desperation. hope. more nail biting.
the realization that the bulldogs could be national champions.
the excitement was palpable. & i will never forget it.

and then, in the final seconds. we couldn't make the last shot.
there was an incredible sense of loss. literally. shock was present too.
to be so close to the national championship &
lose it in such a heartbreaking way....
was devastating.

we still cheered for our bulldogs that night. for their incredible season.
and we went out to the bars to celebrate the end of the incredible season.
naturally.

and we're ready for next year. go dawgs.

i'm alive & i'm free

there's no other way to see the 4th of july fireworks at the lake...
than being in a boat on the lake yourself. with friends. & some cold beverages.

we had a spectacular fourth of july. and it wasn't just because of the fireworks.
we went to the frog tavern & the sandbar, channel tubed, ate too much,
applied sunscreen liberally, played skip-bo, wakeboarded, laughed too much,
watched a corsica attempt to trailer a pontoon out of the water at 1:30 am,
& rode a jet-ski from the 1980's. not to mention my mom was the perfect host.

i'd say we celebrated america's birthday quite perfectly.
"i'm alive & i'm free. who wouldn't want to be me?" - keith urban

ahoy, chicago!

in may 2008 we went to chicago for my bachelorette party.
in may 2010 we returned for debbie's.
nautical attire was preferred.
the bachelorette wore a captain's hat. we passed around the white sailor hat.
we ate at bubba gumps & took pictures on the anchor at navy pier.
we sang karaoke {madonna's "like a virgin," naturally} & visited a few bars.
we ended the night at mcdonalds at 2am. just like the good old days.

ahoy, chicago! thanks for the memories.