Birthday Bliss

It's Thursday. And my birthday was last weekend and I had every intention of talking about it but then I didn't. So that's a thing that happened.

I'm 28 now. Which didn't seem weird to me until my brother called and told me that he can't wrap his mind around the fact that his little sister (again, me) was "almost 30". So I guess now I feel a bit older. Because I was told that I'm older.

I used to be the type of person that just went crazy for my birthday. I would plan parties and themes well in advance and a bunch of people would come to celebrate me and I was living the dream! Then some annoying BS happened and I stopped loving my birthday to the point where last year I didn't even have people over. How weird is that?

This year, I eased back into things because my BFF was going to be visiting. So we went mini golfing on Saturday at this amazing little place north of the city in Skokie.

The guy builds each of the obstacles and there are ones with moving parts and pop culture references so it's amazing. I mean, I spent my birthday with 2 of my favorite people and the TARDIS. So I don't see how it can get much better (spoiler it does).

We headed home and got ready for my "party". I say it like that because I was really nervous about having people over. So I planned a low key night with a few close friends and board games and beers. And it was AWESOME! I mean it. I'm still not sure how excited I'll be about birthdays future but this was perfect.

Anytime you can sit in a room with people who are really present and want to have fun and enjoy the things you do is just the best thing in the whole world. And then your boyfriend might do something adorable like commission a cake that looks identical to your 101 Dalmatians cake from your 6th birthday. And it goes to a new level of bliss. 

Basically, birthdays are good again. And I love my friends. And I love John. And I love my family. And I love cake. So that's a recap.

5k, baby!

I did my first 5k this past Saturday. Please note, I didn't say that I ran my first 5k. I mostly walked, and that's FINE.

First of all, I sprained my ankle while on vacation, so I couldn't run if I tried. Secondly, I totally jogged more than John expected me to and when we were walking, it was a fast walk. Thirdly, I had a very busy July so my Couch to 5k program was a bust anyway.

But whatever! I did it! I made it through a whole 5k in sunny 85 degree weather and I'm awesome.

Also, it was a color run (technically Graffiti Run). Obviously. So I ended the day covered in colorful powder that took at least 45 minutes to clean off my skin. It was fun, but it definitely wasn't serious. 90% of the people walked (slower than us, thank god). I'd recommend it for a good time but I'd also never do another one. So take that for what it's worth.

Trust me, I'm not the most fit person. So if I can make it through a 5k - YOU can make it through one. You are amazing!

Vermont Wedding Bliss

You know those weddings that you see on Pinterest and you think to yourself "nope, that's not real. That's a magazine."? Well, I went to one of those weddings last week and I can confirm that not only are they real but they're magic.

Let's back up a little and get some back story here. Last week, John and I drove out to Vermont to attend the much anticipated wedding of my step sister, Lauren and her main squeeze, Ira. And when I say "much anticipated" I mean I've been waiting a year for this shindig, all the while getting bits and pieces of the planning and hard work going on at my dad and Jean's house. Their basement was wedding central and it was amazing.

So, we drive out to Vermont (by way of Michigan-Canada-New York) and the second you get into the state it's just like "Yep, this is where beautiful weddings happen. I get it." There are rolling green mountains and beautiful blue skies as far as the eyes can see. Once you get over your poor decision in hotel choices (looking at you Hilltop Inn) and get into the wedding mindset - you're whisked off to the countryside for a rehearsal dinner in a freshly built wood barn.

I shit you not - it was the most beautiful building on the most beautiful plot of land. And to make things even better, there's a wood fired pizza oven ON SITE churning out tasty noms for the whole party. So, you're wandering through this amazing place and looking out on the mountain view with the people you love and you realize, "Oh, this is just the rehearsal. Oh god. What is this magic?"

Apparently there were professional grade fireworks after we left the rehearsal. I mean, come on! How can you top this amazing day? The amount of times that I said "this is like a magazine wedding" was ridiculous.

Oh, I don't know, how about by doubling down  and churning out the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to? Sounds great! The next day, we come back out to Brookfield, VT to Ira's family house - Brookfield and we are so perfectly on time that there is a bench for us and the bridesmaids are walking out the second we sit down. 

And then it happens, Lauren walks out and I get this pit in my stomach that's commonly referred to as the "Pacey-Joey effect". It's one of those feelings where you're like, "what's happening? This is a perfect moment. These people are just meant to be." And yes, the first time I recall feeling it was when Pacey and Joey got together on Dawson's Creek. So, that's a lot to live up to guys!

Luckily for my sensitive tear ducts, it was a sweet and simple (and perfect) ceremony. In a flash, it was over and the entire party moved down the lawn to the cocktail hour/dinner/dance party usa. This is where I started recognizing things from those months of wedding snippets from the magic basement in Michigan. And they all came together flawlessly. 

The rest of the night was filled with great food, great company, and great memories. To the point where during the speeches, this shindig went from "magazine quality" to "straight out of a romantic comedy". Basically, I was in heaven as a bonafide sap.

*Cheers to the happy couple!* 

Over the Weekend: Disney and Ribs and Etsy

So, I've gotten slowly but surely overwhelmed with the very idea of blogging. Mostly because of the idea that I wanted to blog about interesting things and keep strangers interested. But now I realize I just want to write like I used to about whatever!

Like my weekend!

Friday involved watching something like 4 or 5 episodes of Orange is the New Black. Because obviously. I know I've mentioned it before, but this show is great and you should be watching it. Mostly because Netflix understands it's customer base and drops an entire season in one day (we now only have 2 eps left this season).

Saturday started rough in that I had planned on going to an estate sale but chose to sleep in instead. This is not surprising. But eventually I woke up (still early for me for a Saturday) and we cleaned the entire apartment. Nothing like inviting a few friends over to light a fire under your butt!

Cleaning means I got to listen to my new Disney records from Hot Topic. Which means I got to live the best life possible. Just look at this beauty!

Once the apartment was undeniably clean, our friends Alyssa and Jason came over to play games and predrink for Rib Fest (aka meat city). I have already gone to more festivals this summer than any summer ever before and it's AWESOME. I'm looking forward to Square Roots in July because it's right outside our front door.

If you get a chance to stand near the meat, DO IT.

After much imbibing and overeating, we headed home for a few more games before heading to bed. Early. Because we're old. Oh, but don't worry, we I was woken up by what I assumed was a cannon at about 1am. It turned out to be a transformer but it was one of the scariest noises ever. I'm a huge baby and that's okay.

Sunday was a lazy day filled with more OITNB and snacks. If by lazy, you mean I launched my Etsy store! That's right! I finally took the pictures that I took a while ago and wrote up listings for them. It took a few hours because I'm not used to stuff like this but it felt great to "open the doors". Coming up with accurate descriptions for things like this ice bucket was harder than you'd think!

I went with "atomic"

I'm loving it. But I'm a crazy person so I'm just itching to take more photos (possibly retake some old ones) and launch more products! Trust me. There are some bigger items coming soon. :)

Anyway, how was YOUR weekend? Hopefully awesome!

xoxo

Amanda

Weekly Buzzfeed Roundup

This week I found a new outlet for my love of pop culture. This week I started contributing to Buzzfeed through their Community Page.

And Oh. My. Gosh. I love the attention! It's like getting a bunch of gold stars when they put you on the front page! My love of movies and internet and tv feels validated! haha

But anyway, I realized that these posts were all things I would normally post on the blog here and felt bad so I decided to do a roundup of the articles I've posted so you can check them out.

First up was this post featuring Superfruits medley of Miley Cyrus songs. And before you mention it, yes, I realize that it's not a cappella. But I can't edit it now.

Next up was a list of 7 reasons you should watch 'Wish Upon a Star'. Because I LOVE Disney Channel original movies! And this was recently (re)added to Netflix. Now, if they would just add 'Brink' my life would be complete.

Last, but certainly not least, I posted this list of 10 life lessons to be learned from 'Now and Then'.  This one just went up last night so it's not as loved as the other posts. :( But it's number one in my heart. Seriously, I feel like too many people skip over this gem in their lists of ultimate girl group movies and that's a mistake. Now and Then was a defining film of my childhood and that's just fine!