Birthday Traditions

Tomorrow is my birthday (yaaaaay!  happy birthday to meee!) and I am continuing this odd tradition I started a couple years ago of taking the day off and painting a room.  This year I've got my eye on our boudoir.  

We had been putting off doing any work in our bedroom because we have some major construction to do first.  However, a month or two ago I proposed the idea of just freshening up the trim and window sills with a fresh coat of paint, and JEGs surprised me by saying we could paint the room.

Picture me doing the happy dance/ butt jiggle.

Our room right now is a strange muted lilac color.  

It may look gray in the picture, but in person it shows much more purple.  It's not a pretty lilac or even an interesting gray.  It's just... blah.

As much as I would love to completely overhaul the whole room, we have a couple of out of town weddings this summer, as well as some debt we are trying to pay down, so this make over is going to be done in two phases.  

And because I like you guys, I'll give you sneaky peeky. 

Phase 1:

1. I'm painting the walls a definite gray color (Benjamin Moore's Coventry Gray matched to Valspar's Ultra VOC paint) and a fabric palate of navy and coral.  

2.  I stumbled upon this bedding set at Marshall's a couple weeks ago, and it was exactly what I wanted:  masculine colors in a feminine design.  The fact it was $60 (marked down from $180) was a total bonus!

3. I really wanted to make my own curtains and bring in more of the coral color.  However, the down side to having big, gorgeous windows is that they let in a lot of sun light.  As soon as the sun comes up.  Which is like 5:30 am in the summer.  JEGs and I get one day a week each to sleep in, so we decided these blackout curtains would be much more practical.  I snagged the navy and in person they are soft and have a slight circular pattern to help tie into the bedding.  

Phase 2:

4.  Our bed is a double.  JEGs is 6'4 and we have a cat who doesn't like to share with us.  I'm sure you can do the math: we need a new bed.  Eventually we want to upgrade to a queen size, however a queen size bed and two bedside table is going to be a tight squeeze on that wall.  This BRIMNES headboard has a shelf along the back as well as shelves along the side to replace our tables.  

5. I adore these prints from etsy seller MadeForYouPrints.  I would maybe have them flanking the smaller window, and save the area above the bed for some personal DIY.  

6.  My love knows no bounds for this Pottery Barn rug.    However, with the $699 price tag for an 8x10, I might be looking for a knock off, or searching the ol' Craigslist.  

7. With our side tables gone, I am dreaming of these sconces to hang beside our beds. 

The major construction I alluded to is our closet.  If you remember, two years ago we transformed the nook area into a closet, since the original closet is basically useless.  

However, our plan is to bust out the original closet and make the whole wall look like this:

...I think instead of the doors in the middle, we are going to have another drawer and a self on top.  This will eliminate our need for the dresser next to the radiator.  Which I would like to evenually box in.

Ok, ok ok,  I am getting ahead of myself.  This stuff is waaaaaaay down the road.  Let's just concentrate on me slapping a coat of paint on the walls first.

Always & Forever,
  ME

A Winter ONEderland

On November 28th, my favorite little ladybug (aka Hunter's future wife), Jenna Mae turned a year old.  Her parents, our dear friends Cara and Rob, threw her a lovely birthday party with the theme of Winter ONEderland.

                                     

Cara decided to keep it simple and only serve a couple munchies, but focus mainly on desserts and a hot chocolate bar.

...and I was all 'well hell.  Why didn't I think of that?'

The entire set up was just so... pretty.  I cannot think of a better way to describe it;  everything was feminine and white with slight touches of pink here and there.  

In the living room hung a banner with Jenna's monthly photos backed by pattern paper

Nestled in the corner was a gigantic number one with made from cupcake liners and sprayed a gradient pink.

In the center of the dining room hung three white tissue paper pomanders, centered perfectly with the dessert table below.

In front of her gorgeous vintage gold mirror she hung snow flake shaped twinkle lights, and covered the dessert table with a lace cloth.

On each table were mason jars filled with Epson salt and tea candles and wrapped in raffia that hung one delicate snowfake per jar.  

The dessert table was filled with goodies such as fruit, brownie bites, and red velvet cupcakes.  Each food was identified with a tented card that had a snow flake graphic in the corner.

The cake.  Oh. THE CAKE.  First off, I was completely obsessed with it's beautiful simplicity.  White frosting with pink marshmallows between the first and second layer.

What I really loved about it, though, was it sparkled.  Not only were there little pink pearl-like details in the icing, but it seemed the icing itself was iridescent.

The hot chocolate bar came complete with peppermint, marshmallows, cinnamon  caramel and nutmeg to add to your beverage.  

There was also a big pot of spiked apple cider which I *ahem* may have partaken in.  Noms.

 Jenna's high chair sported the same pretty banner  from the living room

The little lady was very conservative with her cake smashing.  Perhaps in true lady like fashion, she didn't want to mess up her outfit.

 I seriously cannot get enough of her beautiful little face

Cara and I used the same real estate agent, Kim and continued to stay close with her.  Kim gave birth to a son in July and this was the first time we had all the kids in one room:

Me & Hunter-13 month, Cara & Jenna-12 months, Kim & Ethan- 4 months

                                    

The beautiful family;  Cara, her husband Rob and their little girl, Jenna

Cara, thank you for getting knocked up two months after me;  there is no way I could have made it through this pregnancy and first year with out you.  You have been a little bit of sanity in whirlwind of parenthood. I adore you, your family (especially your mom!) and I hope to call you a life-long friend.

Always & Forever,

  ME 

I Turned 30... and celebrated 368 days later.

Last year I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday like a rock star-  tight pants, excessive booze, party bus and maybe a trashed hotel room.

Those plans were smashed when a month before I found out I was all kinds of pregnant.

So I decided I wanted a 30th birthday do-over.  However, I knew with my bestie getting married in July, and a bambino on my hip, I was not going to have the time or energy to plan any of this myself.  I turned to Shannon from Bottle Pop Party Company and asked her to plan everything from soup to nuts.  I believe my exact phrase was " I just want to show up and get drunk".

When it came to a theme I am pretty sure I gave her the most vague description of super girly with touches of pink and gold.  From that my friends, she spun perfection.

                           


To begin with, Shannon created an invitation



For the record 123 Bottle Pop Place is not my address, and don't act like you didn't think about Google Mapping that.  Nice try, stalkasaurus.

The food was set up in the kitchen.  Since it was an afternoon bash, we set up sandwiches and pasta salad.  These weren't just any sandwiches- oh no my friends.  We went highfalutin with smoked turkey and gouda, mozzarella and tomato and chicken salad on a croissant.  Because everyone knows everything tastes better on a croissant.

(most pictures taken from Shannigans)

                    



The desk in the kitchen was turned into a drink station with Sangria and pink lemonade



Yes, those are gold dots stamped on the bottles.  Seriously, this girl is into details.

Guests were welcomed to take home gold-stamp bags of pink salt water taffy.  Noms.

                                   

The rest of the party was held in our backyard.  Did you guys know I have a backyard?  I do.  It's huge and there is nothing out there but holes and lone tree.  But Shannon made it look awesome.

Pink lemonade cupcakes were set up outside on DIY cake stands with gold liners.

                                     

                                     

The weather was a perfect 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Two tents were set up for guests to sit and chat or dine alfresco.  The tables were covered with pink linens with Kate Spade sayings and a single pink carnation.

It's true, I am a fantastic dancer.

A photo booth with props was availible for everyone to take a second and act a little silly

Meg assists with taking someone picture

  

my nieces and nephew

me with my two besties, Jamie and Connie

Even my dad got in on the props



There were horse shoe pits for the adults



and toys outside for Hunter's future in-laws the kids



Around 5:00 pm the party started to fizzle out, and friends of ours who were not able to make it during the day showed up with more beer, hamburgers and fire crackers for round two.

When the sun went down, we busted out the fire pit the previous owners left behind.  We drank beer, and roasted marshmallows.

                     

It was the best birthday I could have ever asked for.

                     

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of my friends and family who showed up to share this day with me.  A very special thanks to Shannon for all your hard work to make this day special for me.  There are no words to describe how much I appreciate all you did.

Always & Forever,
  ME

The big three-Oooooo

Hi.  It's my birthday today.  I am turning 30.

In my 30 before 30 list (which I will update later this week), I had planned to spend the last weekend of my 20s like a rock star.  Then I got knocked up, and that idea went out the window. 

I did, however, have a lovely weekend.  Friday, JEGs and I headed out to a local tavern to watch my chiropractor's band, Dr. Ben's Backbone Blues play and snack on some munchies

Saturday afternoon I wanted to walk around a section of Philadelphia called Manayunk.  They have a main street that is filled with fun little shops and restaurants.  Years ago, JEGs and I stumbled upon an architectural salvage store that we fell in love with.  I wanted to go back and get something pretty for the house.  However, we walked the entire length of Main Street and did not find the store.  ( I found out this morning they actually closed down in February 2010.  Whomp whomp).

We did, however, have a delicious lunch at the Manayunk Tavern.  If you are ever there for lunch, JEGs highly recommends the Tavern burger. 

On our way back to the car, we popped into a store with matted photos of  Philadelphia.  JEGs purchased me this great aerial photo of the Ben Franklin Bridge in 1929.  I cannot wait to frame it and hang it in a collage.

In the evening we headed over to my friend Connie's house for a small dinner with her and her boyfriend.  While we were there, she suckered JEGs into drinking some strange Korean rice punch.

those are actual grains of rice at the bottom

He is far braver then I.  He actually drank about 3/4 of it, but when he got to the rice at the bottom, he couldn't finish it.

Connie made us a fabulous meal of chicken fettuccine alfredo, as well and a yummy french vanilla birthday cake!

She even took the time to dye it purple because it's my favorite color <3.

I took the day off work today and spent a good chunk of the day getting some coats of primer on the walls of the little monster's room (more on that to come!)  Tonight, JEGs is taking me out to dinner to The Farmer's Daughter, which is the new restaurant at our wedding venue.  I may partake in a glass of wine, to which I am uber excited about.

So, not quite the rock star weekend I had originally hoped for, but a nice weekend none-the-less.

Next year, however, it is ON. 

Always & Forever,
  The birthday girl.

The Man Behind the Comments

You've seen the comments before...



But who is this man who calls himself  "LB's oldest brother"?

His name is Russell, but I call him Fuss.  And today is his birthday.

So, you may not know this about me, but I have three older brothers, and Fuss is the oldest.  As a child, he was my protecter from my other brothers, as well as my chaperone so I didn't have to ride the bus to school.



the 80s-- good times.

  As a teenager, we bonded over history and Star Trek: The Next Generation (oh yeah, I'm a closet Trekkie.  Don't judge me).  He became more then my brother- he was my friend. 

Now that we are adults, he still remains my good friend and confidant.   He has given me my first sister-in-law (horray for another chick in the family!) and two beautiful neices.

Happy Birthday to my "favorite" brother.  Thank you for everything-- I hope you have a wonderful day and a great year!

You Sniff Farts,
  ME

This One's for the Old Man.

Today is my Dad's birthday.

The ole man does not like a lot of pomp and circumstance, but dammit Dad, today you are getting a little.

Pop- the man, the myth, the legend.

There are a couple things you need to know about my father:

• He is the cutest little man you will ever meet (and when I say little, I mean the guy only tops out at about 5'5).
• He has a great sense of humor, but it's impossible to make him laugh. If you can get a chuckle out of my father, you might want to take a bow or a victory lap.
• He can give you directions to anywhere on the planet- and you're gonna get them whether you need them or not.
• He has seen every episode of NCIS at least three times.
• He can tell what episode of Law & Order is showing in the first five seconds
• Even though he is well into his 60's, he still plays on two softball teams, umpires baseball for both high school and club teams, and still manages to find time for a couple rounds of golf each week.
• Ever summer he dons a hat will a collection of beach tags that date back to 1992 (ironically, as a senior citizen, he doesn't require a beach tag anymore).
  

Finally, he's the best father four kids could ever have.

with his sons and grandson

In honor of your day, my brothers and I have compiled some of our favorite "Dad Moments":




Russell--
Our father, without fail, always calls us on our birthday to sing. Russ says, " I always let Dad's call on my birthday go to voicemail. The way he sings Happy Birthday always makes me giggle (yes a 41-year-old man giggling). I save the voicemail to listen to when I'm feeling blue."



Andrew--
"When I first started working at Torresdale [Country Club in Philadelphia], I got Dad to play golf. I'm not sure if it was his first time ever, but it was his first time in a really long time. When we get to the ninth hole, which is a par 3, he hits his shot to about 2 feet. I don't hit shots to 2 feet and he did it on his first time! As we're riding up to the green I keep saying how he's going to make a birdie his first time out and he says all he wants is a par. It was 2 feet. Sure enough he missed it and made his par but it's what I remember about our first time and I'm real glad that he took it up. I really look forward to playing with him every time I come home."


Timothy--
"When I was in 8th grade Andy was playing in a Bensalem Hockey game at the Spectrum. This was about the coolest thing ever. Dad came to Armstrong and got me out of school early so that I could attend the game and watch my big brother play on the same ice that the Flyers had one 2 Stanley Cups.
We get to the Spectrum and we sit behind the net, probably about 20 rows from the ice. The place was empty, it was a high school game so 200 people showed up, maybe. It was warm ups and the Owls were shooting practice shots at the net we were behind. I was talking to the person next to me I saw their face grimace. I turn my head towards the ice to see this black blur headed at my head at about 70 mph. Next thing I know is Dad's hand is in front of my nose and the puck deflects off of his thumb and sails up and away.

They say only Jesus saves more than Bernie Parent, I've aways felt Dad was a close third."

Me--
In the summer after my 8th grade year, my parents sent me to finishing school in Philadelphia. Every week, my father would drive me into the city, and every week that man would blast Bruce Springsteen's "Badlands". However, he was not content with just listening-- oh no. My father sang that song at the top. of. his. lungs. When the song was over, he would rewind the tape and play it again. Every single week, both ways.

I hated that song and it became a family joke about my hatred for the song and how he insisted to play it over and over again.

To this day, whenever I hear that song, I think of the ride down I95 in my dad's Grand Prix. Now I smile at the fond memory instead of grimace at the song.

Happy Birthday Daddy-O. And you know what? I'm throwin' in a Happy Father's Day too, just because I know you hate the recognition.

Thank you for being there for us. Thank you for teaching us everything from riding a bike to how to be a good person. Mom has always said, "Your father is a good man", but she didn't need to tell us. We already knew.

We love you so much.

Always&Forever,
Us.