beach trip via instagram

yes friends, those coffee filters have been reestablished as party hats! many restaurant birthday celebrations happened!

instagram

another mia & birthday

yet again another mia post {previous} but it has to happen...i am doing this really dumb thing called studying! 

i take my final "boards" soon. i probably won't tell you when for the fact that i don't want to have to report that i didn't pass if i don't. so just start praying now, k? thanks! but i do have to give a major shout out to one special day...hub's bday! you know the hubs...he's that amazing guy i talk often about. well here are some cute pics of him to remind you 

yep he's my favorite!

so happy birthday c...you make my life a lot brighter and a lot more spontaneous. and for that {any many more} i am gratefule!

pop's bday

yesterday was my dad's 60th birthday...thats right the big 60! the big surprise for this monumental birthday was a visit from my brother, his wife, and the first granbebe {they live in virginia} last week. so for his actual birthday, we celebrated low key and enjoyed some quality time and a few other items:

a spice cake complete with cream cheese frosting and pecan topping

i kept telling everyone i bought it to see what they would say. no one believed me. maybe it was the lack luster frosting job. but then they tasted it, and said then they would have believed i bought it. thank you betty for your mixes ;)

rhyming notes. a birthday tradition in our house is to have birthday signs that rhyme and contain the age we are turning. my dad has been making these signs since we were young and even though we don't live at the house anymore, he still continues them via text. whew thanks for technology! yes this rhyme=not the best, but you try sixty! not easy!

older people gifts: my dad's friend gave him a bunch of random gifts. o yea chia pet, large calculator, and even an oversized universal remote were just a few of them. lucky guy! 

then we participated in a little more tradition, not necessarily tradition that occurs ever year on his birthday but nonetheless occurring annually. we watched the all star baseball game and enjoyed tots, fries, and hot dogs. while this doesn't fall into the most nutritious category, sometimes you just gotta let go and enjoy the game!

there ya have it. low key and traditional. very much like my dad

there is grandbebe l when he was here for the visit...he's wearing a shirt that reads happy birthday pop pop

a day in the life of...a birthday girl

my birthday was such a fun day! thanks to my handsome hubby {and amazing friends and family that continuously texted and called}, i felt extremely loved all day! it was such a gorgeous and memorable day and there may have been some happy tears at the end...may ;)

it all started on mothers' day when i received my gorgeous, fantastic, perfect, special...{o you get the idea} birthday/graduation gift from my main man and my parents

that is correct everyone...the canon rebel t1i...i am so stoked! that means many more amazing pics for my memories and my blog readers {ahhh much better than what the iphone could offer. no offense iphone... you've been so good, but i've moved on!} i just can't even fathom the idea that this camera is mine. it's so new and shiny and amazing! ahh we will be together for years to come!

and with that, my actual birthday started with coffee in bed...my guy knows me...

{the book on my nightstand is "vintage jesus" by mark driscoll...so good!}

 a little work throughout the day

and into the evening, it brought a gorgeous picnic by the lakefront complete with some of the best food the south has to offer!

we ended the day with a romantic snuggle on the couch with lots of blankets {& without the dogs on top of us} to a girlie movie! notice the bunny socks and tulle on the coffee table ha

the absolute best!

thanks again to husband of mine and everyone else that helped make this day so special! 

God is so good...all the time!