birthday boy.

happy birthday to my sweet, perfect husband, slim!

slim is so special, and on his special day 

i thought i would let you know a few

 of my favorite things about him...

slim is a dedicated physical education teacher & really

practices what he preaches. he loves his students &

works hard with them to teach healthy habits & skills to improve

their fitness & futures.

he also motivates me to train harder & smarter & to get stronger.

also, he's super strong & is really easy on the eyes.

we have fun&laugh together.

is there anything more important?

he's a super fun & goofy & sweet uncle.

(here with his baby doppelganger, oliver)

he's a real city boy, with county boy moves.

he plays along with my love of fashion & wears

(pretty much, w/ some exceptions) anything i buy for him.

(this pic is from my birthday in december where he sported

a totally hip denim shirt i had bought for him like 4 years ago.. 

he said he was just waiting for the perfect moment to wear it)

he's a crazy attentive dog-dadio, really patient & can fix pretty

much everything. he's a bit of a perfectionist when it

comes to chores.. especially hanging pictures and crown

molding. i'm constantly learning from him the art of home improvements.

jim loves bikes.

road biking, mountain biking, beach biking, cyclocrossing, etc.

i like bikes.

jim is such a solid biking mentor. he is patient & knowledgeable.

he encourages me to tackle my fears & never laughs when

i fall down, flip over or scream in terror.

he's a real keeper & i'm happy he's mine, all mine!

happy birthday to my sweet, sweet slim.

dr. seuss.

according to the great dr. seuss,

love is just falling into mutual weirdness.

v week love.

hope everyone has a great monday.

it's valentine's week...

 show the people you

love how much you love them

 with a text, card or hug. xo

the shed & church

i turned 27 on the 17th.

i had a fabulous birthday!

me & the baby- how pretty is she- omg!

the baby surprised me with 2 vintage pyrex pieces!!

lea, jared, jeff, tj, me, raffy, slim & brian williams made up

the most exciting & loud table at the shed at glenwood

*thx for the recommendation cori! it was amazing!

i take making birthday wishes very seriously.

it's a homemade birthday ding-dong!

.d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

handsome jared- still glowing from his safari.

we went to a bar called church..

(sister louisa's church of the living room & ping pong emporium)

slim kicked some major hipster ping pong booty!

the art was amazing & cringe-worthy.

xxx.

thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special!

fabulous alert!

we crossfit in minimal support shoes... i prefer classic chucks.

but....omg! 

i just found these...i'm breathless. i want them.

*slim just hid my wallet...and his.

this squat would be way cuter with some rockin' sequin chucks..

don't you agree?! just sayin.....

*i'm back squatting in my dress because i was late and didn't want to waste time, 

so i just busted out some reps in my dress. 

birthday love.

happy birthday, mom!

mom, you are so cool.

you have taught me how to be truly authentic & true to myself.

you are the smartest, most creative & loving mother

anyone could every wish for.

i can't wait to continue to celebrate YOU today.

november is for sister birthdays!

a shout out to my aunt rhonda who celebrated a birthday on nov. 28.

happy birthdayday with love, mandel ladies.

xoxo

tid-bits via pinterest.

dr. seuss always had the right idea.

i've used this as a mantra many times.

this makes me crazy.. why!!!

i.love.pumpkins.

i'm trying to persuade jim to get into crocheting.

this will be his 1st project.

slim bought me a sewing machine for my birthday last year.

he recently bought me sewing classes.

all i need is this charm and i'll be good to go.

*i have a fab brother machine, but this is so classic!

every day i'm hustling.

enjoy your day!

do good.

see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

do the evils have to be in any specific order?

i love my girlz & love this pic!

my own theory:

see the best in people

really listen to people, even if they aren't speaking

speak words of strength & kindness- be understanding.

heartbreaking.

just heard the tragic news: jeter & minka broke up.

lea levine- YOU'RE UP!

go get your man.

slim does it again.

jim thinks it's silly that i'm so amazed by his

bad ass handyman-ship.

lea took "big red", her hand-me-down 4runner in for a

oil change and for some funny noises it was making.

firestone told her that she needed a o2 (oxygen senor) replacement.

they gave her a quote around $300- we called a few other places and they

gave quotes from $275-$400+.

jimbo did some investigating, watched a few youtube videos, found the

part on amazon for $80 (half off!) and was ready to go!

this is the o2 sensor.

slim in action under the car!

my dad wanted to get in on the action too.

slim's a cute mechanic- and he works cheap too.

before we knew it- slim was done and the baby's car

was good as new and ready to go!

happy customer and her mechanic!

way to go slim.

total savings: about $300 bucks!

camp reunion.

we had a camp reunion lake party on saturday.

i baked corn on the cobb cupcakes &

lea made camp horizon cake pops!

the butter is starbursts!

test run of the cake pops for sue's shower- yum.

have you ever seen this? 2 in 1! i love it.

me & slim & huge shades.

lea & jared rockin it on the dock.

tara and jeff feelin' the camp love.

erica, roz & shaquita sittin on the dock looking pretty

and jammin out to some old school whitney.

"bobby ruined whitney"

"no! whitney ruined bobby"

tara busting out some tunes from the body guard soundtrack:

"i will always loooooove you"

jared, cupcakes and camp family- life doesn't get much better.

h&d.

our college pals heather & drew tied the knot

this past weekend at a beautiful rock quarry in north carolina.

it drizzled throughout the ceremony, but heather just glowed.

the venue was absolutely breathtaking.

phi mu reunion.

the cake was just as good on the inside as it looked on the outside.

o, tara jane.

the bridesmaid bouquets were all buttons.

i was in love.

no sorority girl wedding goes without a silly old song.

cute heather & drew water bottles served in a liquid logic kayak!

each table had personalized tj's wines, red & white

and a bowl filled with goldfish.

of course, raffy had to drink it and eat all of the fish.

*it's good protein.

the wedding was beautiful,

heather & drew are a happy & beautiful couple

and it was so great to catch up with old friends.

there's nothing like a visit with old friends to revive the soul.