1/11/11 - I Turn 29!

Well, I didn't intend for my last post of 2010 to be a Thanksgiving one...but I'm back in 2011!


And what a day to come back - I turn 29 today!

Love from Malibu, CA*

It's hard to believe that my 20s are almost over. (Although after this, aren't you supposed to celebrate the 1st anniversary of your 29th birthday, and then the 2nd, and so on, so that you never really leave your 20s?) So much still to do, so I better crackin' on making and crossing things off a 30 Before 30 list!


What have I been up to?

• I mentioned that I might get laid off from my job. Well, it happened at the beginning of December. But it's okay! I had been interviewing and (so luckily) had something lined up. Whew!
  
• I started my new job the week before Christmas, which allowed me to join James on the interview trail in St. Petersburg, FL, the LA area, and Chicago! It was so much fun, and we got to stay 3-4 days in each city. (The photo above is from Point Dume in Malibu. We had hiked up to the top and there was a group of 3 other guys up there...one a photographer, one a cinematographer, and I happened to ask the guy who was neither but just so happened to take my new favorite photo!)
  
• Christmas and New Years were there before I knew it. I hadn't finished Christmas shopping by the time I was laid off, and I was in town only for a few days up until the week of Christmas, so I pretty much ordered everything online this year!  All of our family is here in Dallas, so we spent the holidays at home and had a wonderful time.
  
• I got rid of 100 things in December...and I'm hoping to do it again in January! As it gets closer and closer to Match Day, the idea that we are moving is slowly sinking in, and we have some major decluttering to do! The sad part is, getting rid of 100 things didn't make a noticeable dent. About 25 things were books (we still have a million left), and 60+ were items of clothing (sadly, I had not cleaned out our closets in forever, seeing as how lots of things dated back to high school, and many items had been out of site, out of mind in a box under my bed). The books we sold to Half Price Books for like $10 (probably not worth it, I should look into other sources as well since we still have a lot of medical ones that may be worth something), and the clothes that were in good shape were all donated. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has this much stuff.
  
• We've been slowly planning our trip to Europe, and this month we're going to kick it into high gear and finalize everything! As always, we're trying to be frugal about things like our accommodations, so that always takes a lot of research. Our steal so far is that we got a 3* hotel in London on Hotwire for $70! (We used Better Bidding to help guess what the hotel was beforehand so we could scout location and read reviews before pulling the trigger, as described in this post.)

So, Happy Birthday to me! It's going to be a great year. Any ideas for my 30 Before 30 list? What is/was on yours?

P.S. I figured out where the leopard flats from this post are from: they are the Joe's Jeans Stella III

Happy 27th Birthday to My Fave Guy!

If our future babies look half as cute as you did

in this 1985 Olan Mills photo (does everyone remember Olan Mills?), I will be a lucky woman.

Love, Your Wife

P.S. Thanks for proposing to me on this day three years ago.  Can't believe it's been so long since then!

P.P.S. Since we will be embarking on a nine-hour roadtrip when this post goes live, I guess I should drive during and let you listen to the US versus Algeria World Cup game with nary a complaint.  It is your birthday, after all.

28th Trip Around the Sun

I'm 28 today!

And I've been so surprised by all of the emails, texts, and FB messages wishing me a happy birthday.

And by these nice surprises from coworkers:

"Happy Birthday, I bought you a Diet Coke."
(A joke in the office because the drink machine is now free.)

But hidden on the back were Lotto tickets...

and I won $7! Woo-hoo!

And some yummy cupcakes on my desk when I came back from (my free) lunch...so sweet!

(They came from the cupcake place down the street where my friend works, so maybe she even decorated them!)

I'm so thankful.

Ice, Ice Baby

Monday's my birthday. (28: eek!)

But I don't want to go out this weekend, as 14 degree weather does not equal celebration for me. (I know any Northerners reading this are rolling their eyes at all of us down here freaking out about the cold, but hey - I live in the south for a reason. Give me 100 degress any day.)

I was an ice baby, born in a Texas ice storm. Every year, my mom likes to tell me how the doctor stayed with them all day while they were awaiting my grand entrance into the world, as there was no use in going home, and how all of the family later braved the roads to come see me.

It's sweet, but it doesn't stop me from disliking cold weather, and therefore January, with a vengeance.


So maybe next weekend I'll do some celebrating, when it should be back to normal temps. This weekend, all I want to do is curl up with my new library books and do some home organizing.

Any exciting plans that don't involve a Snuggie for you this weekend?

26 Things Before 27

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. (Yay me!) I had a fantastic, wonderful weekend that started with a surprise party on Friday, continued celebrations on Saturday, and a nice dinner with family on Sunday.

I wasn't exactly excited about entering my late 20s, so it was great to have the best birthday ever! (By the way, "60 Minutes" was on in the background last night, and Andy Rooney stated that no one wants/needs to count their birthdays after 25. What do you know, Andy?)

Let's take a look back on 26 memorable experiences, accomplishments, and general highlights of the year before I turned 27, shall we?

1. Celebrated a Canadian St. Patty's Day

2. Devoured poutine in Toronto

3. Had foie gras at Toque! in Montreal

4. Attended Easter Mass at Notre-Dame Basilica

5. Climbed into a shopping cart for some engagement photos

6. Partied like a bachelorette rockstar in Las Vegas

7. Bought a condo

8. Navigated the mortgage closing process and survived

9. Planned and paid for a wedding and survived

10. Got married

11. Celebrated

12. Honeymooned in Costa Rica

13. Had an adventurous road trip

(A tractor totally got stuck on this rickety, one-way bridge for over an hour on our way back)

14. Got my appetite back (too nervous to eat in the months before the wedding!)

15. Relaxed

16. Refrained from alimentaring los monos in Manuel Antonio

17. Ziplined through the rainforest

18. Soaked in the Tabacon Hot Springs, heated to an extremely hot temp by the Arenal Volcano

19. Danced as newlyweds at two weddings

20. Took a bite out of the Big Apple

21. Swam with some swans in Birmingham

22. Voted for a president that actually won

23.Froze my booty off in Boston

24. Tried ossobucco as my last meal of 2008

25. Rang in 2009 running down the beach with a sparkler in my hand, watching fireworks, and feeling a burst of pure joy

26. Had a surprise party given in my honor!

I ran out of numbers! So many great things happened to me last year, and I'm so blessed to have great people in my life to share these experiences.

Coming soon...27 things before 28!