Welcome To The World Baby Luke!

I am so happy to introuduce you to my new boyfriend, Luke! He was born on Tuesday night and I immediately fell in love with him. You may have seen his parents' maternity shoot here. I went to visit him yesterday and just stared at him. He's stolen my heart :)

 

 

Happy birth day, Luke!

WHITE TRASH BIRTHDAY BASH!

Hey Ya'll! Yesterday was my birthday! Ugh, I'm so old now. :( But to prove that I'm still young, I threw an awesome party... It was a WHITE TRASH BIRTHDAY BASH! Here are the pictures with a bit of how-tos. Enjoy!

I bought this custom beer can windchime here on etsy! It was only $5!

Jen painted some awesome signs for the front door.

We filled up kiddie pools with ice. And beer.

We hung various shirts (Nascar, WWF, leopard print) and underwear (very large and very small) on a clothesline made of twine and poles.

Quartered McDonald's hamburgers on a bed of fries? Those were our appetizers!

We had a boys-only wet T-shirt contest.

The girls brought the trashy class!

For decorations, we put fake flowers in beer bottles and scattered them around.

Classic addition to any clothesline.

We had a unicorn pinata. And used underwear from the clothes line to cover our eyes.

Maybe Anthony needs the other pair...

Baby bumps and beer: classic white trash.

The setup crew!

Twinkie Cake!

Food: Besides the twinkie cake and McDonald's, we also had Jimmie Dean sausages wrapped in crescent rolls, BBQ ribs and burgers, and fresh guacamole.

Music: My playlist was awesome! Def Leppard, Christina Aguilera, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Kansas, Journey, and so many more!

Decorations: We put fake flowers in beer bottles, used old sheets as tablecloths, and bought VHS tapes to use as props.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Happy Birthday to one of my new friends who I hope will one day be an old friend! :) Katie is sweet, fun, generous, awesome and beautiful. :) Hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday, James!

Jamie is a dear friend who I met in high school. We used to spend our time lounging in Amy's backyard fort, reading those teeny tiny New Testaments the little old men passed out to us as we left campus. I remember listening to lots of Kansas, Jimmy Eat World and Blue Oyster Cult. James is a super friend and I hope he has a super birthday! :) 

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Today is the birthday of one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, Jonathan! We've been inseparable for 8 years and I've had shared some of my best times with Jon. On your 27th birthday (so old!), I wish you health, happiness, love and laughter, Jonathan! :)

{jon and i at the getty in 2004 for my birthday (such babies)}

{out for amy's birthday earlier this month (such old fogies!)}

Happy Birthday, Jenjamima!

Today is my new friend Jen's birthday. I am so, so happy that I get to spend time with her. She's crazy and fun and hilarious and beautiful. :)

{amy, jen and i}

Happy Birthday, Robert!

Robert was the boy next door in my dorm hall in college. He likes to tell a story about how his first memory of me is of me stabbing an apple with a spork, because I didn't "like to bite into things." I like to tell the story about how he offered me a banana and I said, "I'm ALLERGIC to bananas." Obviously, meaning I hated them - but he thought I was literally allergic to them for years until I finally corrected him. 

Robert is one of the coolest people I know - fun, exciting, giggly, optimistic and smart, eloquent, well-read, cultured. He is brave and it has been lovely watching him discover himself over the years. He has always made me feel so good about myself and I hope he can say the same about me. 

These days, I only get to see him 4 or 5 times a year, even though he lives about... 20 miles away. Luckily, we have one of those friendships where you can pick up right where you left off. 

Happy Birthday, my lovely Rupert! :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you :)

Playlist For A Happy Birthday!

{newborn me}

Today is my birthday. Does it still count as a birth when it's a Cesarean section? My mom would probably say so. :)

Ever wonder where the term Cesarean section came from? In Latin class in high school, I learned two different theories. The first is that it comes from an alleged Roman law named Lex Caesarea that stated an infant had to be cut out of the mother's womb if she died before giving birth. The other theory, which I was taught had more merit, is that the term comes from the Latin verb caedere, which means "to cut". A form of this word is caesum and it seems this is probably where the term came from.

Anyway.

It's my birthday! And on such a fabulous day, it is only fitting that I share with you my good mood. So here is my current "It's My Birthday!" playlist, complete with youtube links and my favorite lyrics from each song.

Enjoy!

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (video)

"Songs of desperation, I played them for you"

Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness (video)

"String from your tether unwinds, up and outward to bind"

Train - Hey, Soul Sister (video)

"You gave my life direction, a game show love connection we can't deny"

Timbaland - If We Ever Meet Again (fetauring Katy Perry) (video)

"Baby what's your sign tell me yours and I'll tell you mine"

Elvis Presley - Stuck On You (video)

"'Cause once I catch you and the kissin' starts, a team of wild horses couldn't tear us apart"

The Beatles - Let It Be (video)

"And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me"

The Dirty Heads - Lay Me Down (featuring Rome) (video)

"I said it's hot outside, let me go swimming in your eyes"

Jack's Mannequin - The Resolution (video)

"Yeah I'm alive, I don't need a witness to know that I survived"

Boyz II Men - Amazing Grace (Acapella) (video)

"'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home."

Papa Roach - Time is Running Out (video)

"I refuse to surrender, I refuse to surrender"

Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire (video)

"Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby, edgy and dull, and cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my soul"

Toby Keith - Beer For My Horses (featuring Willie Nelson) (video)

"Grandpappy told my pappy back in my day, son, that a man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done"

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You) (video)

"But I don’t want to write a love song for the world, I just want to write a song about a boy and a girl"

** If you'd happen to like a "hard-copy" copy of this playlist, send me an email with your address and I'll drop it in the mail to you! :) **

Things To Enjoy While Turning A Quarter Of A Century Old

My 25th birthday is 7 weeks from today.

My friends always tell me that I am hard to buy for.

Let me fix that for them.

macarons and meringues

a massage and facial

chocolate dobash cake from king's hawaiian

this print of my favorite ocean

a hot air balloon ride

passenger door molding for my car -

{Luciano at South Bay Volvo quoted me a steal!}

a picnic

tulips

these shoes

a trip to huntington library, gardens and tea room

a custom photo jigsaw puzzle

a bicycle ride

a gold star (necklace) for a job well done

to see She & Him play on my birthday in Santa Cruz

dinner (or lunch) at a new (to me) and amazing restaurant (maybe like this one?)

Happy Birthday, Adam!

{happy birthday to adam :)

who is now a thousand years older than me.

don't die snowboarding today.

kthxbai.}

@ the living desert in palm springs, ca

The Real Meaning of Valentine's Day

{me and my sister last night}

Last night, I went to my Great-Uncle Harry's 80th birthday dinner. It was held at a lovely restaurant called Truxton's in Westchester. There was a surprise musical performance by my 10 and 11 year old cousins, very moving toasts and great food.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Bev are this amazing couple with an amazing story. They met at work in the early 1950's, both young college graduates working at an engineering firm. He had a fancy car, she wanted to take a ride in his fancy car; that was the beginning of an over 30 year love affair. Harry and Bev had three talented, intelligent daughters who each had two more talented, amazing children.

I love that whenever we're together, Uncle Harry and Aunt Bev always say how much they wish my grandma and grandpa were there. Whenever they mention their success, they mention how my grandpa sacrificed so that his little brother, Harry, could go to college and become the man that he is. They are such humble, loving, down-to-earth people and I am lucky to know them, much less call them family.

I never knew this extended family until I was an adult, but maybe this is better. I can appreciate them in a way I may not have if I had grown up with them. I see their love and caring and I really see what family means. It's not just the people who are related to you, it's the people you choose to surround yourself with. It's embracing love from all directions. Which is what Valentine's Day is all about, right?

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

It is my best friend/roommate/landlord/Jonathan's birthday!

Happy 26th Birthday, Jonathan!

Happy Birthday, Elvis

Happy Birthday, Elvis Presley.

{he would have been 75.}

{my favorite elvis song of all time, available on this album}

Happy Birthday, Dima!

{when i was a freshman at UCR, a mysterious package arrived one day.

it contained this note and his away game high school hockey jersey.

they were from dmitriy, a good friend of mine

who had planned on going to school in hawaii, but who ended up at UCSB.

i had a crush on dima in high school, but dima had a crush on amy.

i settled for a good friendship. it ended up being better.

i still have that jersey. we still talk about it.}

{dima playing guitar. senior year.

amy is wearing his home jersey over the

lovely red and white floral dress you see on the right.}

{somewhere along the way, I found out

that dima and britney spears share a birthday.

so happy birthday, britney, too!}