WEEKEND RECAP.

our weekend was jam packed with goodness!

we kicked it off thursday with birthday celebrations. b surprised me with the cake pictured above from a very fancy local bakery. then we had a lavish dinner at seastar. seafood for the win!

i spent saturday morning in a nearly two-hour session with a personal trainer. happy birthday to myself? i puked once and cried a few tears, but didn't quit. at the end she told me first timers usually stop in the middle and they just walk around the block and talk for the last half an hour. i totally would have elected for that, had i known that was an option. i would say my current pain level is still a six out of ten. ouch.

on sunday, my little sister graduated from college! i was beyond sad that i couldn't be there, but her school live webcasts the ceremony. it was so cool. i could see her super clearly! b and i cheered when her name was called. go em, so proud. can you even believe that is possible? we totally live in the future.

about to go watch how i met your mother. i've been watching for four years and heard tonight's episode is when we actually meet that dang mother, so i can't wait.

p.s. today marks exactly two months to the wedding, eeep!

happy week!

ANOTHER YEAR WISER.

{obviously not another year more photogenic. thanks for the adorbs tank top bets!}

it's may 9, which means i am 27 years old!

this past year has been totally insane.

in my 26th year i did things i NEVER thought i would do. i: quit a job, started a freelance business and followed a man to the pacific northwest.

i also had dreams come true that i never thought i would be so lucky to see realized. i: got engaged, found a job i loved, stood beside a best friend as she got married, learned my sister is really my sister and my friend, had people i love come to celebrate our upcoming wedding, fell in love with b's family and so much more.

i feel like it was a year of much learning. i definitely know i do not have it all figured out, and my life is far from perfect, but i am so happy today that it doesn't even matter.

and that was probably the biggest takeaway from the past 365 days. i tend to get so bogged down in the details of life that i barely lift my head to take a look around.

this year, i promise to enjoy the view. and oh what a gorgeous view it is.

WEDDING WEDNESDAY: MY BRIDAL SHOWER.

even as i write this post, more than a week after my bridal shower, i am still overcome with joy. 

we planned the shower and bachelorette for the last weekend in april and all of my favorite people were able to attend. to have all of my closest friends, my family and tim's family in one room was an incredible feeling. and to know that they were all there to celebrate our upcoming marriage... i have no words.

my sister and mom worked tirelessly to make sure the day was perfect, from picking up my favorite cake to pinteresting every crafty request i sent them. the balloon-string-as-photo-display, as seen above, was a big hit.

the ladies of my family. special shoutout also for my cousin meagan who helped emily put together a lot of amazingness for the bachelorette party, for which meg also served as the official photographer. which, i kind of regret. #blackmailworthyphotos

my best friend, who also did way too much in ensuring a fun weekend for me. champagne and cupcakes? she obviously nailed it.

my ohio university friends. we're about to hit five years since we graduated, and i feel so blessed to still have these beautiful people in my life.

just in time for mother's day, the moms!

my sweet bean bopped in at the beginning to say hello to everyone. he then headed up to cleveland with his guys for a low-key bachelor party. {wink, wink. haha.}

my side of the fam, so grateful they could all be there.

the lovely baker women, who had to traverse the back roads of ohio to make it.

 

a group shot - minus bets {besty where were you?!} - of the girls out later that night.

i think anyone who knows me in real life - or who reads this blog - has felt the fact that wedding planning has not been all i anticipated it would be. but, this past weekend beyond made up for any of the stress i had brought on myself over this year. to be able to literally feel the love from the most important people in my life and to see their excitement for our wedding - it created a joyful anticipation in me for our wedding day. i am 100 percent positive it is going to be amazing simply because of the wonderful people who will be there beside us. and for that, i can't thank them enough.

SEA LIFE: THE GREAT WHEEL.

people, the weather we are having here. oh my gosh. i probably shouldn't even say anything about it - i don't want to jinx it. saturday obviously needed to be spent outside, so i booked us tickets at the new seattle great wheel.

the wheel was just put up last year - crazy to think that was long before our first trip to seattle back in may 2011. {sidenote: we still constantly pinch ourselves that we live here.}

view from below. totally worth it to buy your tickets in advance online - you get to skip the ticket line!

inside the cart, looking up.

are you afraid of heights? i would say i'm moderately nervous nancy about them. the views made up for it, though.

can you see mt. rainer past the stadiums in the center of the photo? it's rare that you can see it since seattle is usually rainy and cloudy, but he has been out and about in the sunshine lately.

boats, boats, boats!

and, what's a seattle post without a picture of the needle?

the perfect day with the most perfect weather. happy monday, friends!