The first day of my 30's

Joel surprised me and took the day off from work even though I told him that I didn't want him to.  I'm so happy he didn't listen to me because the day was so much more fun with him home with me.


It started off with a short dance party with Jbear in his bedroom and then I made pumpkin pancakes.  I also went out late last night to pick up whipped cream.  I had to have whipped cream!!

He wasn't amused when I tried to put some whipped cream directly in his mouth but he loved it regardless. 

Always playing with the phone while I check out all my facebook birthday lovin'.

These are the same faces that accompanied my 90's party decor!  

Joel is aware that Joey sang that song.  We are teaching our son to say Jordan Knight.  

Shirt: GAP, Skirt: Target- a gift from Kim, Lace Shorts: F21, Owl Necklace: Target, Bird Necklace: Uncommon Goods.  

I loved this idea of wearing all my favorite jewelry on my birthday. 

Flowers in our backyard.

Once he woke up from his nap we headed to the park before my Zumba class. 

All I wanted to do after my class was (take a shower) get some ice cream, put the baby down for bed, eat pizza and...

watch High Fidelity.  I LOVE this movie!!!

It was a really great day and I still have the weekend to look forward to.  And the roll of film from my new holga. 

I'm Zack, You're 30!

This is me today hanging out with Zack and Uncle Jesse (oh and Joel and Jonah too).  So far, so good.... strawberry frosted doughnuts, pumpkin pancakes and a peanut butter torte... my 30th birthday tastes delicious!

Good thing I've got Zumba tonight!!

Elizabeth Takes Us Down Memory Lane!!!

Elizabeth from She Likes Stripes is totally awesome!!  She has been 30 for a whole week now so I most definitely look up to her :)

When Cynthia asked for guest bloggers to help her celebrate Birthday Week, I jumped at the chance, and not only because my birthday is a week before hers, and that we're both turning 30 this year.

Ever since I can remember, I have had a bit of a strange relationship with my own birthday. I LOVE it, but it has a history of turning me into a bit of a basketcase. I can remember very strongly spending the week or so before my birthday every summer thinking about all of the milestones... "This is the last time I'll ever ride my bike to town while I'm 12!" "This is the last time I'll ever eat ice cream as an 11-year-old!"


(1984, 3 years old and clearly VERY HAPPY to have received an impossible-to-find Cabbage Patch doll. I'm still not good at hiding my displeasure now.)

It's a little bit... ridiculous, but it happened, almost every year. I can remember gifts (like the lava lamp I received for my 13th birthday, the one I wanted so BADLY), celebrations... so many details. I have been a bit nervous, honestly, as I have gotten older and have been facing the stereotypical milestone ages.

So in the past few years, I have marked my own birthday by writing a list of things I wanted to do each year. I am certainly not the first person to write a Birthday To Do List, but I have SO enjoyed writing the lists and documenting my progress each year with photos and eventually mini scrapbooks.



I am not planning to write another list to commemorate turning 30, mostly because my 27, 28, and 29 lists have been so enjoyable and memorable. (And it's getting much harder to come up with new things every year!) But I would HIGHLY recommend writing a birthday to do list, at least once. It's important to achieve a balance - keeping things from being too specific ("go on a trip" on my 28 to do list, rather than saying to go to a specific place), but also keeping fun, frivolous things on the list ("go on a picnic" or "play mini golf" or "drink beer samplers" in with more serious things ("finish couch to 5k" or "try not to freak out about turning 30"). I'd also say that this kind of list is the perfect time to include simple things that you always have wanted to do but just haven't gotten around to ("get new glasses" and "get a tattoo" and eating at certain restaurants).



And most importantly is to keep it fun - or, don't feel bad if you don't get to some of the items. And to document with photos, keep ticket stubs, etc so that you can then turn your list into a physical memory that you'll always be able to look back on. I love the idea that I'll be able to hand these minibooks to my future children and they can see what I was up to when I was 27 or the year before I turned 30.




But most of all? I think we could all use a dose of Cynthia's enthusiasm when it comes to both birthdays and getting older. Since we're the same age, I've tried my hardest to take Cynthia's perspective (that things just keep getting SO MUCH better the older she gets) rather than defaulting to my childhood panic about no longer being 29 and now being 30.

Happy, HAPPY birthday, Cynthia, and I personally think turning a day into a week-long celebration is something we should ALL be doing.

Thanks girl for sharing all your birthday nostalgia, I love you that much more after reading this!!!  
You can read Elizabeth's birthday posts here and here

Holga!!!!!

I feel so ashamed that I had NO IDEA that Holgas that took 35mm film!  My brother and his family got me this awesome camera for my birthday as well as an original (medium format) Holga.  I already have one from years ago but this one is purple, and I love it.  I can't wait to finish the roll and drop it off to be developed.

Jodi is kickin' it, Ronald McDonald style!

Jodi from Jodi Mckee Photography is taking us way back and possibly bringing along some grade school birthday memories.  Kid Jodi is the cutest thing in the whole world.  Be prepared!!


While our lovely Cynthia is turning 30 this week, I do not have especially fond memories of my 30th. Not that I wasn't excited for it, because I do love celebrating my birthday, but because I had a terrible head cold and stayed home sick from work. Booooo! I did make it out to dinner with some friends, but it wasn't quite the party it could have been.






As a kid, my birthday fell around the same time as a friend of mine (that's her behind me in the cute dotted dress) at school. I remember that we often had to alternate years with having a big party. One year at her house, one year at mine. Or have the party a completely different weekend. That was sort of a bummer.

But one year, we had my party at McDonald's. And it was awesome. My memories include dropping straws in to cups as some sort of game, french fries, presents, cake and if I remember correctly, minty shakes. The healthiest option for a group of six year olds? No. But was it super fun? YES.





Happy, happy birthday Cynthia!!



Girl, you're the best!  Thanks for sharing this adorable memory!  I love celebrating birthdays with you!!

Beach!!!

CURLS!!!!






Love, love, love!



We spent 2.5 days up in Rhode Island with friends and it was amazing!  Another mark off on my list and it was done in the most fun way!

I have some more guest bloggers coming up.  I am not away on vacation, I just love guest bloggers!!!

Erin from Pepperknit

(ooops this post went up earlier than I thought)  
So I asked some of my birthday loving friends to share a little something this week on my blog.  I think Erin, who blogs over at Pepperknit, is so full of life and her excitement for food, friends, knitting, and photography is contagious!!  
                  
I approached my thirtieth birthday with nothing less than complete abandon. It was time to shed the baggage of my twenties (a long but unfulfilling relationship, a change of jobs for the much, much worse) and claim my adulthood. I started telling people who asked—and they always ask, when you have a girlish voice and youthful looks—that I was already thirty when I was probably just a few months past twenty-nine.

But even though I’d been “living” thirty for almost a year, it wasn’t mine yet. I hadn’t really been able to join all the women in my life (just a few years older than me) who assured me that their thirties had been their best years so far (these statements have proven accurate, btw). Even friends in their forties admitted that they didn’t really start feeling the kind of confidence and comfort in themselves that they currently exuded until they hit the “big” 3-0.

For the first time that I could remember as an adult, I decided to be demanding on my birthday. My ex had always said I was “too hard to shop for” and never really did anything special for me. I never thought to ask for more than the simple dinner out we would eat. But this year, without him, I was going to be with friends (it was Thanksgiving weekend, and we always did friends Thanksgiving), and they were asking what I wanted. They told me it would be all about me. So I told them.

“I want to go to the top of something—anything, whether a mountain or a building, but the top—and I want to take my picture there.” The details wouldn’t matter, for once in my life. The rest of the day was going to be, as they say, “cake.” (And it did involve a delicious cake!) But I had a vision for my thirtieth birthday moment, and the confidence and comfort in myself to ask for it.

They happily obliged, being more outdoorsy people than me who knew about local hikes and things in Portland, OR, where we all were. We climbed to the top of a mountain, and while taking the relatively challenging hike I realized that the top of a building never would have sufficed; I had had to EARN this achievement. It was cold, the altitude was thin. But as I stood there looking out over the Columbia River, I felt it.

Thirty.

It was mine. I was whole. I was ready.



Happiest of birthdays, my dear Cynthia. May your thirties be a time of wholeness and acceptance, and may they be the best years of your life.

Thank you so much Erin for sharing your 30th birthday adventures on my blog.  Go check out Pepperknit for NY love, pretty yarn being knitted into the coolest clothes, and yummy food photos!

SO MUCH FUN!!!

My party was a blast.  I seriously had the time of my life spending time with friends and family and dancing the night away.  Joel went above and beyond and got a photo booth from Ish Photo Booth Rentals!  It was ridiculous and my excitement made me want to kiss everyone!



Yes, I had some drinks but with all my crazy dancing I have to say that I didn't get drunk at all.  I also drink water in between each shot I take (it's my wonderful little secret) so I can enjoy tequila without the awful headaches the next morning.  Dancing and sweating like a lunatic helps too!  So what you see here is me the way I am surrounded by those I love like crazy.  I can't wait to see everyone's photo booth shots.  Once I get photos from my lovely friends Kim and Veronica, I will share those too.

My Gurl is Peacin' Out!

Yvonne is one of my gurls!  And she has been since 1997.  But she is leaving on Monday to live and work in Germany and I am going to miss her like crazy!!  There is just so much I could write about our friendship and maybe I will.  Right now though,  I just have to post these photos just to give you a glimpse of the hole that is going to be left with this girl gone.  Whoa, I don't want to sound all morose but good times always follow with Yvonne around.

Yvonne used to come visit me at work and we would always have the best time while I was closing up.  These are some of my favorite summer memories of 2001!!  I remember going online after work and she would help me respond with something clever to Joel's emails (we weren't dating at that point). 

Photoboothin' it up this past March.  

Last night a bunch of us went out to celebrate her and this huge step she is taking.  We ate, drank, drank some more and did lots of karaoke! I'll definitely post some photos when I get my hands on them.  FYI- I looked like a caged mommy animal on the loose singing and dancing to almost every song. 

We still have tonight though.  And tonight is my birthday party!! Woot woot!!  We'll be listening to this:



and this


and most definitely this


BECAUSE... It's a 90's Dance Party!  I am beyond pumped.  I don't want presents or surprises... I just want to dance and be with family and friends!!!

please forgive my terrible storytelling.  I am on few hours sleep and in a whirlwind of excitement and anticipation.  

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

I met Elizabeth in 2008 through flickr or maybe earlier but we met in person in 2008 and I instantly liked her.  It's funny because besides photography I didn't know what we actually had in common (she is into baseball and I am not, she appreciates beer and I do not).  Then as the past few years went by we realized we both had a love for being crafty, cupcakes (wait isn't that ALL bloggers?) and just hanging out and talking.  Elizabeth is one of the sweetest people I know.  She sends me packages randomly filled with papery crafty goodness and music. She even crochet a super adorable hat for my baby boy.


When reading her blog I find myself thinking, "Oh my goodness, that is SO me".  We have similarities, we have differences and my world feels that much brighter with her in it.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!!  Go spread some birthday love her way!!!


The girl really does love stripes!!!

And with Elizabeth's birthday here it means that Birthday Week for me is just starting.  I can't wait to share all that is going on over here!!!

cramming it in!!

The countdown to 30 is starting!!  And I still have many things to accomplish on my list.  

First up is Have a Picnic with Jonah!

Lately I've been so bored with putting Jonah in his high chair so we've been having picnics everywhere- his bedroom, the living room, the park, our backyard...


even in the back of my car in a Walgreens parking lot.


Sending some snail mail out!

Plus letters and photos for my grandmothers (I still need to call them though). 

I don't know about you but this week is going by so so so fast.  

Steppin' Out (aka That Skirts Looks Mighty Familiar)

Top: Target,  Skirt: H&;M,  Shoes: Macy's


Bird Necklace: Uncommon Goods,  Envelope Necklace: Urban Outfitters, Bangles: F21,  Belt: GAP

I seriously wear this floral skirt all the time (1,2,3)!!  I bought it in March and have been pairing it with everything in my closet.  Best $13 I ever spent!!


We are heading out to spend time with my very dear friend Kate, and her family, who live in Virginia.  They are heading north for 2 weeks and we get to spend a few days with them.  I'm already sad thinking of saying goodbye to them all and possibly another year going by.  No, no, no... must think positively that we'll see them sooner!


Us and our boys (she also has a 3 year old daughter) last June.  It's been over a year since I've hugged my best friend! Ahhh look at how little the Jbear was!

I am sure I will return with a million photos!!!

Refreshed

Last week we headed down to Philly for a short trip.  Joel had work to do so Jonah and I visited with friends we hadn't seen in awhile.  It was a much needed break from the norm, ie. driving to get anywhere.  I put Jonah in the stroller and we walked EVERYWHERE!  It was glorious!!


This seriously adorable dude is 3 months older than Jonah and it was so fun watching them play together... like actually interact with one another.  I can't wait to go back and meet his baby sister.


I can't believe this big girl used to be just a baby girl that I nannied for.


At 5 she is all about the silly faces but she still slays me with that stare.  I love her, obviously!!


Baby Sis is the sweetest thing ever.  She really loved using Jonah's sunscreen stick.


Sometimes you hear of nannies that take care of so many children and can't fathom having any of their own.  Nuala was a dream child to spend time and I knew that she spoiled me with being so easy and all.


I can't finish this post because my heart is melting.

I feel like I still have so much to share!!  Multiple blog posts coming up!  I hope you are all enjoying the start to your weekend.