tuesday trinkets.

I don't know how, but a week has gone by since my last post. I have pictures and stories to share about the trip that we just took to DC, but will save those goodies until tomorrow. Instead, I'm going to share a few little things that I am very much loving right now.

• I cannot remember where I first saw this site, but I had to share one particular post. If you have seen the closet that Kyle and I currently share, or saw any of the closets I had while at A&M, you will understand why this made me laugh. I can especially identify with the writer's need to buy her favorite pieces in multiple colors (for me, this would be the Jackie cardigan.... thanks J. Crew) and her plethora of warm, cozy coats.

{check out whoorl.com}

• In the market for the coziest, most snuggable (nope, not a real word) robe EVER? Well look no further because I have found it. That delightful new husband of mine gifted this to me on my 23rd birthday. You may thank me later.

restorationhardware.com

• Is anyone else excited about all of the wonderful tv that is starting up? Don't worry if you aren't, I've got plenty of excitement to go around. Want to know what we'll be filling up our DVR with? It's your lucky day...

Glee (favorite new show!)

SYTYCD

The Office

Project Runway

The Rachel Zoe Project (new to my list)

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

• Check out the invitations I made for Jenn and Jason's engagement party. I blurred out two lines of text so that the party address isn't posted for the world to see. Jenn picked the paper (it's from Paper Source) and I took care of the rest.

That's all for tonight. Check back later this week for DC pictures, a glimpse into some of my new fall decor and a yummy recipe that is perfect for the upcoming chilly weather.

until next year.

After a fantastic week of celebrating, my birthday is officially over. (Kyle thinks it was over at 12:01 Thursday morning, but I firmly believe it extended up until our house guests left) We had a wonderful weekend with my parents, Jenn and Jason. Kyle and I took them to some of our favorite restaurants and loved showing them around our new town.

One of the definite highlights of the trip was shopping for wedding dresses for my beautiful, newly engaged sister. College football started on Saturday so Kyle and Jason enjoyed some football while the Simars hit up some bridal salons. We still have some more searching to do, but I can already tell you that my big sister is going to be a stunning bride.

We are new fans of CamiCakes Cupcakes. Here is the HUGE selection we had for the weekend.

After dinner at Two Urban Licks. Definitely one of the coolest (and yummiest) restaurants I've ever eaten at. Kyle and I first ate here last Valentine's Day and knew that we wanted to bring guests here because of the unique atmosphere and incredible food.

Sister pic!

We wrapped up the weekend with church, bridesmaids dress shopping at J. Crew (!) and a trip to the aquarium. Those pictures are on my mom's camera so I'll share them later.

In other news, I got a call at 8:30 this morning to substitute a third grade class. I had a really good day with the kids but am exhausted! I hadn't been expecting that I would have anything to do today so Kyle and I stayed up much too late watching a movie. I would share some stories from my day, but I'll save them for later. Instead, I will be curling up on the couch to watch SYTYCD and enjoy the Blue Bell ice cream that I accidentally bought at Publix. I don't know how I have lived here for 3 months without realizing there is Blue Bell ice cream just down the street.

We have another fun-filled weekend coming up! We will be heading to DC on Thursday to spend the weekend with Jenn and Jason. We also have an upcoming trip to Arizona to look forward to as well as another trip to DC in October. As much as I wish we lived somewhere that allowed us to see our families every day, I love getting to fill our weekends with fun trips to see everyone. Speaking of trips, I should probably take a tv break and pack....

Hope you all enjoy the last few days of the week. Can't wait to spend the weekend with Jenn, Jason and this sweet little face....

my birthday: georgia style.

I had a fantastic birthday celebration on Wednesday. The weather was amazing and for the first time in my life, it felt like my birthday was in fall. Not even kidding people... we had brunch outside and I wore jeans and a cardigan. I know that outfit combo is no surprise to people who know me (in fact, I'm wearing jeans and another cardigan right this minute) but the fact that I wore that to sit outside and still felt a bit of a chill in the breeze was magical.

Is anyone sick of me raving about the weather here? I make no apologies. You people need to hear how awesome it is.

Okay, back to the birthday.... After our outdoor brunch we took a stroll to Starbucks so that I could enjoy my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. I usually have a pretty strict rule that I won't drink one until October, but I made an exception because 1. duh, it was my birthday and 2. it felt like October in Texas

In the afternoon we enjoyed my first birthday cupcake of the day (I had two... and yes, Kyle sang both times). I am officially a huge fan of CamiCakes Cupcakes. We're picking up some more today! I even got to open some thoughtful gifts from my parents, Kim & Scott and Grammy.

Dinner was at Pappasito's (is anyone surprised by that?) and then it was back home for cupcake number two. You may notice some very cheery, very pink flowers in the picture with cupcake number two... those were waiting on our doorstep when we got home from dinner. Thanks Jenn! They are beautiful!!

(I made a collage because I was mildly embarrassed by how many pictures featured nothing but my face. I'm not sure how much this helped haha)

Kyle did a wonderful job of making my birthday extra special. He also did a good job of taking lots of pictures to show to our family. He's a pretty great catch and puts up with my ridiculousness (I double checked... that is a real word) The picture up above with the coffee and the newspaper... I actually told the poor boy to "Take my picture! I look SO city!" (what does that even mean?!) After 7 1/2 years together, he didn't even comment on what a very strange request that was, just picked up the camera and took my picture.

I am sitting on my couch anxiously awaiting my parents arrival. That's right, we're doing more birthday celebrating! My parents should be landing shortly and Jenn and Jason will be here tonight. I am pretty much planning the weekend based around all of us eating at delicious restaurants. We will also be doing a little wedding dress shopping. And of course, you can't have out of town company without a little trip to the Georgia Aquarium.

Hope you all have wonderful holiday weekends. Stay safe! Be back on Monday with a recap of my 3rd birthday celebration!

birthday eve.

Kyle and I just got back from a delicious birthday eve dinner thanks to a fantastic birthday coupon. Note to restaurants and stores: if you want people to sign up for your promotional programs, offer birthday coupons. I was crazy excited to get an email from one of our favorite restaurants this morning because it meant one free dinner entree for us. To top it off, I believe I have a special birthday sample waiting for me at Sephora thanks to being a member of their little rewards program. Happy birthday, indeed!

On the schedule for the real birthday... anything I find myself in the mood for tomorrow! So far, the only guarantee is that we will be enjoying some delicious Tex-Mex at Pappasito's. I also may have discovered a pretty pink box from CamiCakes Cupcakes in our fridge, delish!

Before I leave you all and go enjoy some Heroes episodes on our instant Netflix (aka-one of the most brilliant things we have invested in as a married couple), I have a little blog-land request. I love being able to keep up with old friends and classmates through all of our blogs. It is so fun to read about everyone's new lives... grad school, marriage, living in new towns, babies, you name it! My hunch is that I have some readers out there that our lurking in the shadows.

Now, I don't for one second think that I am some stunning writer and people are sitting in front of their computers all day just waiting for me to update, but I happen to secretly read a handful of blogs myself. And goodness gracious, I hope I'm not the only one! So in honor of my 23rd birthday, let me know you're reading! Become a follower or leave me a little comment and let me know who brought you to my little blog. Chances are I have read your blog as well. If I haven't, I probably want to. It's a win-win situation for everyone!

That's all I have for tonight. I'm off to watch Heroes and work on resumes for the schools that I hope to substitute at. More on that exciting news later!

ps-it was 68 degrees outside when we walked to dinner. I consider this lovely weather a little birthday gift from Georgia to me.

one awesome husband + two fantastic friends =

AN INCREDIBLE BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!!

Friday afternoon, Kyle informed me that he had to meet with a classmate to do some research and drop off a book. I was a little annoyed because the only time his classmate could meet was 9:00 Friday night, but Kyle promised that we could go do something fun when he got home.

Kyle came home a little while later and shortly after he was back in the apartment, there was a pounding on our door. I had of course dead-bolted our door as soon as he got home and was not too excited to open our door to strangers at 10:00 at night. Much to my surprise, when Kyle opened the door, two of my very best friends (Sara and Meredith) were standing there to surprise me. In typical girly fashion, lots of screaming and hugging followed.

We had an amazingly fun weekend. Neither of them had ever been to Atlanta before and I was so thrilled to have the chance to show them around our new hometown. Here's a little rundown of our weekend in words and pictures...

The weather on Saturday was amazing so we took a stroll over to one of my favorite lunch spots and enjoyed a delicious meal on the patio.

After lunch, the ladies headed off to the Georgia Aquarium...

"Look! An anchor!" -MJM, the most dedicated Delta Gamma you'll ever meet

Peek-a-boo, it's Sara Lauren

While taking a picture outside of an exhibit, a volunteer asked us if we were interested in taking a tour. The tour usually costs $15 per person, but no one had signed up and he was bored, so he offered it to us completely free of charge! The highlight: getting to go into the room that houses the Ocean Voyager tank. It was amazing to get to see this from up above. The only thing between us and the whale sharks was a 3 foot wall. We were very happy girls...

This is one of the best exhibits at the aquarium. The room that houses the tank is enormous.

The biggest fans of the Georgia Aquarium

After the aquarium we headed to Rosa Mexicano for a delicious meal (thanks Mom and Dad!!)

With my amazing husband, the mastermind behind this wonderful weekend

I'm a pretty lucky girl

After dinner it was birthday cake time. We took advantage of the rooftop patio at our apartment complex and sang happy birthday while looking out over the city. It was amazing! I'm pretty sure this will become a birthday tradition for as long as we live here.

Traditional picture with the birthday cake

We finished off the weekend by indulging in some girl time at the nail salon before sending the girls back to Texas.

Many, many, many thanks to Kyle for setting up this wonderful surprise and to Sara and Meredith for making the big trip to Georgia!! It was definitely the perfect way to start of the birthday celebrating.

Now to enjoy a little more of that yummy birthday cake...

foodie friday.

Today is Bid Day back at Kappa Alpha Theta so this recipe is straight from the Theta Family Favorites cookbook. I spent 2 years living in the beautiful Theta house and if you ask any Theta what is one of the best things about living in that cute house, they will tell you about the delicious food cooked by three of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet. I got so spoiled by living in that house with all of that fabulous food. While it wasn't always so good for us, it was mighty tasty and the dinner table was never at a loss for conversation.

Here is one of my favorite breakfast recipes from my time in the Theta house. This is such a Theta favorite that girls who didn't even live in the house anymore would often show up for breakfast on the days when we had this casserole (or when we had breakfast tacos... yum). Kyle and I will be enjoying this for breakfast tomorrow morning and I am so excited. Of course, it won't be as delicious as when sweet Marilyn would make it for us, but I will do my very best.

Sausage Cream Cheese Casserole

8 oz. cream cheese

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 roll of Jimmy Dean sausage

Brown sausage and drain fat.

Spray casserole dish with nonstick spray

Spread 1 can of crescent roll dough in the bottom of dish

In a separate bowl, combine cooked sausage with cream cheese and mix well

Spread sausage mixture on top of crescent roll layer

Cover with second can of crescent roll dough

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until top is golden brown

optional: sing Think Theta while enjoying this tasty tasty treat

3 of the roomies at our last Bid Day

(even though I think you've both made appearances at recruitment this year :) )

Enough reminiscing.... time for some laundry on this rainy Georgia day

if you're looking for me tomorrow...

I will be at Target buying a frisbee and a picnic blanket. What's that? You're wondering what is prompting me to make these purchases tomorrow? Well, I'll let you in on the reason... the weather here is fabulous!

Today I woke up dredging the fact that I desperately needed to go to the grocery store. We were out of pretty much everything and I was just not in the mood. That is, I was not in the mood before I checked the weather. Every website I checked said the same thing but this Texas girl could not believe the temperatures that were showing up. Ladies and gentlemen, the computer was right and the weather was pure magic. When I ventured out to the grocery store today, in the middle of the day, at the end of August, the temperature outside was 75 degrees.

I feel like I should say that again for all of you... it was SEVENTY-FIVE DEGREES OUTSIDE. In August. At noon.

In celebration of this wonderful weather, Kyle and I took a little evening stroll and discovered an incredible park near our apartment. I have driven by it several times but never ventured inside and oh. my. goodness. I am in love. I already have two picnics lined up for us, one this weekend and one on my birthday (which is September 2, since I am assuming you now want to know) The park is huge and really beautiful. There are even ducks for me to feed. DUCKS! Saturday can't get here fast enough!

That's all I've got for all of you readers. An entire post dedicated to the amazing-ness that is Atlanta weather. I know, not the most exciting thing that has ever been written, but if you had been here today you would understand. And if you are familiar with what the weather is like in Texas right now, you would really understand.

ps-as if the weather wasn't good enough, my new copy of Vogue greeted me in the mailbox today. Not bad for a Monday.