How Pinteresting

Happy Saturday! 

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend so far. Mine is off to a lazy start, but Steve insists I deserve it so I'm trying not to feel guilty or check any work e-mails. ;) Speaking of someone who totally deserves a lazy weekend... it's my husband! He took the PA bar this past Tuesday and Wednesday, and the NJ bar this past Thursday. Talk about exhausting. I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished. He is one of the hardest working people I know. So now the waiting game begins with both bar results and job prospects. It's a little unnerving and a little exciting at the same time to not really know what's around the corner. We're in this crazy adventure together. :)

Anyway, back to the laziness. So... I finally caved and bought Fifty Shades of Grey last night  andddd I might be about 3/4 of the way through the book this morning. What can I say? The gripping storyline really pulls you in. ;) Ha! 

Tonight we're meeting friends about an hour away for dinner at a byob. We haven't seen them since their wedding in May, and I can't wait to hear all about their honeymoon in Italy. Swoon. 

Tomorrow, unfortunately, I need to get some work done so I don't completely overwhelm myself this week. Do you ladies ever work over the weekends? I try not to make a habit of doing it, but sometimes it just needs to be done. Maybe I'll work poolside. That should lessen the blow a little bit!

~~~

To kick off my lazy weekend I pinned my little heart out last night while unwinding from the crazy week. I thought I'd share my favorite pins from this week:

When S & I start a family, I'd love to do a gender reveal with our families. Just another excuse for a party, after all! This idea is super cute.

 Hmm... guilty. 

 Truth. <3 

 Love this idea for displaying pictures in our future home!

 I've been meaning to learn how to do this... I need all of the hair tricks & tips I can get!

 I just love this look. Long, summery hair, big shades (of course), and effortless comfort.

 How amazing does this look?! "Summer Beer" ...6 pack beer, 1 can frozen pink lemonade, + vodka. Yes please.

xo, Jen

Lately

Hey hey! I admit it for the thousandth time. I am the worst at this blogging thing. But I like it. So I will continue to be bad it and it and enjoy it. :)

Brace yourselves for randomness!

Here are some thoughts/happenings/pictures as of lately...

This picture makes me laugh because I wanted to take a pic of my new phone case (finally! yay!) and the quickest way to do it was on my laptop. So I'm in it. In my pajamas. But it's a cute phone case, right? Found it in Francescas. Love that store. 

Steve and I made our first summer trip to Scoopy's, our favorite local icecream shop, the other day where I indulged in small cone of strawberry cheesecake. Delish.

My new bag arrived. :) It was a joyous day.

Umm...did you guys know that there is a candle that smells exactly like suntan lotion? Slatkin & Co. candle in Sun Tan (you can find them at Bath & Body Works). This is the best candle to burn to get you in the summer mood. :)

Happy Wednesday!

xo, Jen

Birthday Snapshots + a Bittersweet Goodbye

This month has already been a whirlwind!

So far I can say that July has been a month of change and anticipation {mostly great, some difficult}. We celebrated a couple of weekends ago with my family, and then on my actual birthday {which was a Monday this year... damn Leap Year! :)} I worked from home, met friends for lunch, and S and I went to an ah-mazing Mexican BYOB for dinner. It was such a nice day. :)

Steve & me 

Grilling with the family

The fruit pizza I made for our get together... definitely making this again. SO good!

Birthday dinner with the boy

The restaurant we went to... delish

Dinner at the Tortilla Press... salmon with mango barbecue sauce, chipotle mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies

Switching gears... this past weekend we {once and for all} moved mom out of the house. The place that I grew up in. That we grew up in. My whole family, really. My husband, even. The memories we have in that house are countless, fill my heart up, and make me feel so lucky to have lived so many years in such a great place. I know that a house is just a structure, but that place was home, you know? So... it was hard. And I think I tried a little too hard to justify why it shouldn't be hard. But of course it should be. I think anyone would be lying if they said it wasn't difficult to say goodbye to their childhood home. But the sweet outweighs the bitter in the "bittersweet" of it all. In the end, it is a good thing in many ways. It really feels like we're flipping the page and starting a brand new chapter.

Goodbye girly pink room with the worn grey rug that I loved so much!

And goodbye view from the screened porch where we spent so many evenings.

Goodbye 68 <3 

Quarter Century

It's my birthday!

I'm 25.

How did that happen? :)

All of the love and wishes from family and friends today have really made a girl feel special. Yes, it's a "work day," but since I work from home on Mondays I've been able to work while also enjoying the day. I took a break for lunch with friends earlier {so much fun!}, and the hubby is taking me out to dinner in a little while {location is a surprise!}. I got to enjoy my favorite part of every day {a leisurely stroll with husband and pup}, the Bachelorette is on tonight {guilty pleasure!}, and My TB bag should be arriving any day. I mean...life is good.

Hope everyone is enjoying a great start to the week!

xo, Jen

Is It Really July?!

How is it July already?! It feels like the summer is just flying by.

I must admit, I love this month. The Fourth of July is always the signal to me that summer is officially in full-swing. Then only five days later is... my birthday! Who doesn't love their birthday month? :)

Some other things I love about this month {and summer in general} are: 

• Taking long walks with the hubby and puppy in shorts, flip flops, and a tank top...and running through all the sprinklers along the way {how old are we?} 
• Barbecues! Even though I'm not a big meat eater myself, I just love the concept of barbecues... a great excuse to get together with friends and family. Plus, the smell is always divine. ;)
• Fireworks. Even once The Fourth is over, you still see fireworks from time to time, and they are a surefire sign that summer is here. 
• Water, water, water... whether it's laying out by the pool, going out on a boat, or swimming in the ocean... love being by the water in the summertime.
• The more laid-back attitude that everybody seems to have. Work is a little more relaxed, school's out for the summer, people are enjoying vacations... ahhhh. 

Anyway, so far July has been busy but fun. On July 1st we held a bridal shower for one of my dear friends {Hey, Becky!} who is getting married in September. Her colors are purple and cream, so we tried to subtly tie them in throughout the shower... although the main focus was on great food and drinks. It was a fun afternoon!

The bride {on the left in orange} mingling

The bride-to-be and her niece, Victoria

Tying on the infamous bow hat

Dress-Forever 21, Necklace-Charming Charlie...Whole Outfit = $45! 

The dessert table...yummm

In other news, Steve ordered the bag I have been lusting over from Tory Burch for my birthday, and since he ordered on July 4th, it was discounted 20%! SCORE! 

Perfect for every season... love her!

I also caved and bought an iPhone since my Blackberry finally croaked. Now I'm trying to find a cute case... any suggestions? I'm looking at this one:

Hope everyone is enjoying July so far! 

xo, Jen