friday things

well, we are back after a 6 day get-away where i feel like all we did was relax, read, eat, and repeat! it was so wonderful to spend time with family & have no time restraints and no schedule.  it was the best kind of vacation.  while away, shawn & i celebrated one year of being engaged.  it was a special day starting out with a little breakfast date, and ending up pool side with a cold drink in hand :)

here's a few photos i snapped via instagram:

it's always so hard coming home, back to reality after an amazing time away. but all in all, it is good to be home- to sleep in my own bed! and it just makes me thankful to have such fabulous people in my life!

lots to look forward to! (more to come on that!) happy weekend, friends!

xo,

happy monday! hoping you had a gorgeous & fabulous easter.  ours was just perfect & i'm still enjoying a little break from work...not anticipating going back tomorrow. but on the bright side, it will be tuesday, which is almost wednesday - which is mid week! woo...

some photos from the weekend:

 

 a risky move...ending in failure! c/o my brother!

 every year, my brother gives me flowers on easter. this year: peach rananculus...my fave!

 

mom's chocolate peanut butter cake...seriously to die for!

easter (as are most holidays) are a chance to reflect & be thankful.  i'm so thankful for time spent with family, for health, for good food, and great memories made...&  i'm thankful for the future!

let's make it a great week!
xo,

birthday recap & christmas right around the corner..

i find that the holidays are the craziest time of the year along with the best time of the year.  my birthday is on the 19th, which to me, is the perfect way to start off the christmas celebrations! and the best way to round out the celebrations? with shawn's birthday on new year's! yes, that's a lot of celebrating in a very short period of time, but i know of no other way to do it so i absolutely love it!

with my birthday being on this past monday, shawn & i decided to have a little celebration, just the two of us, on saturday.  we started the day off with a little bit of shopping around town.  it was the perfect way to get into the spirit. we walked along main street, in and out of the little boutiques...which were perfectly adorned for the holidays. i love seeing strings of lights and holiday wreaths all around.  i found some perfect gifts for my brother & mom, as well as the perfect stocking stuffer for shawn. thankfully, he was outside on a phone call when i made that purchase! after our afternoon stroll, we headed home to wrap up some gifts & relax for a little bit before readying and heading out for the evening.

one thing we both love is a good bottle of champagne.  lately, we have decided that champagne doesn't need to be saved for special occasions, but rather enjoyed for all occasions that you want to make special! so we sipped on some bubbly while we got ready.

then we headed out to partake in...BOWLING! if you can believe it, in the 5 and a half years we have been together, we have NEVER gone bowling together!

after our game that went by way too quick, and shawn beat me so pathetically, we headed to the bar upstairs and enjoyed a drink or 2! then we played air hockey, where shawn may or may not have pathetically beaten me again ;)

it was the most fun!

on monday, we met with my mom & brother for some amazing sushi.
mom brought  my favorite wine: cupcake savignon blanc & a new one that i have been wanting to try: cupcake red velvet. which was perfect in every way!

 my brother's creatively wrapped gift (above) & its contents (below!!!)

 yes, all of that was consumed..

all in all, it was one fabulous birthday & i can't think of a better way to start my year!

*****

christmas eve is tomorrow,  i can hardly believe it! today will be filled with wrapping & baking. the rest of the weekend? family, friends, food, laughs, love & a few presents :) i can't wait!

merry christmas to all!

xo,

artsy celebrations.

this past friday night we celebrated my brother's fantastic hard work.  he has earned his masters degree & we are so proud! his final art show through the philadelphia university of the arts had it's opening friday evening, so we joined him & then went out for a much deserved drink or two;)

these are a few photos i took of his work through instagram. he has a very unique style of painting where his goal is to capture reflections.  my two favorites are 1 & 2 above.  if you are interested in seeing more, you can check out his website here.

 congrats big brudder!!

have a fabulous sunday;)

xo,

the new skinny, a new read, & a birthday girl!

i must say that on monday i finally had a chance to try out bethenny's new skinny girl - the skinny girl sangria!

it is delish! 

very refreshing & a great summer drink...

how cute is bethenny in her hot pink dress?

*****

on the book front, i recently picked up a chris cleave read titled incendiary.  after reading little bee, i was desperate to get my hands on something else by cleave.  so far incendiary is pretty interesting.  it is written by a wife/mother whose husband & son are somehow killed by osama bin laden.  the whole book is a letter to osama from this woman.

*****

happy birthday to one of my favorite girls....

happy birthday giuliana! had to include that little hottie bill! love them!

*****

i'm looking forward to this evening- my cousin and her bf are joining shawn & i for dinner...hoping it's not too hot to sit out on the deck:) 

xo,

it's so hard to say goodbye.
i love seeing my family.  i get so excited when they will be coming to town, or when we will be going to visit them. but when it comes time to say goodbye it gets so hard for me.
i immediately start planning our next get together & start a mental countdown.

let the countdown begin...

playing catch up

this week has been insanely biizzzz-eeee. however, i must make a small tribute to my sweet little courtney, whose bridal shower was this past sunday!  she was completely surprised! the shower was "philly" themed, complete with cheese steaks, soft pretzels, and tastykakes..

***

on monday night shawn & i had a lovely evening with my adorable cousin and her bf! they joined us on our roof deck for some dinner and drinks.  it was a beautiful night!

we even had some free entertainment - my neighbors were having a huge birthday party complete with a live band, anddd they were awesome! thanks neighbors:)

i have so much to look forward to for the rest of this week.  first and foremost: this is the last week of school! tomorrow i am meeting some former co-workers for dinner. friday is our last day of school, we are done-zo at 12:30 sharp! that evening i will be attending a dear friend from high school's wedding.  the rest of the weekend is jammed pack with family parties & i cannot wait to see everyone!

hope your week is off to a great start too=)