My 26th Birthday | Santa Rosa Beach

beach = no makeup

Trey don't hate me for this picture. I just could not bring myself to crop you out...

For my actual birthday we stayed in, watched Alabama beat Ole Miss and ate lots of delicious finger foods. Anna did an amazing job on those cupcakes! I have such amazing friends! I wish everyone could have been there. 

Another Year has Come and Gone

A lot happened in my 25th year. I learned a lot of things about myself.

Perry got married and I got to be her maid of honor. 

I met my first ever celebrity.

Had a fun time at Mardi Gras again.

I bought a house all by myself! (The shutters are one of my absolute favorite things about it)

Spent a weekend in Nashville for Kylie's Bachelorette and became friends with some amazing girls. (Sorry Kylie just realized you were taking this picture) 

Dad's garden was awesome this year!

Kylie and Bobby got married! Wow what a weekend!

Floated down a river for the first time. 

Hannah got married! 

I went to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for my birthday. 

So onto the next year! 26, please be good to me!

Trey's Birthday Dinner

Trey's Bloody Marys are always like a meal. This time he made them with beef jerky, pickle, pickled okra, blue cheese stuffed olive, colby jack cheese and a pearl onion. 

This year Trey's Birthday was on a Friday so when I got to Mobile we went over to one of his friend's house for dinner. Nathan made cheddar jalapeño stuffed turkey burgers. They were so good I did not use any type of condiment on them. That is saying a lot because I like to dip everything in some type of dressing or sauce. We also had homemade french fries and grilled asparagus. 

6.15.13

We had so much going on June 15th. I have a very large family so parties sometimes get planned on the same day. Mom and I went to my cousin, Jordan's birthday pool party and then headed to my other cousin, Meghan's baby shower. It was a fun packed day. Mom made both of the cakes. 

11.17.2012

Last Saturday was my Mom's birthday. We got up early and drove to Birmingham. We went to The Shops at Grand River then to The Summit. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. It was both of our first time to ever eat there. For appetizers we ordered Crispy Mac 'N' Cheese - mac 'n' cheese lightly fried with panko, served on creamy cheese sauce and Mediterranean Focaccia -  herb cheese focaccia baked and served with Mediterranean olive oil and parmesan. We ordered the Original BBQ Chicken pizza - BBQ sauce, smoked gouda, red onions and cilantro to share. Everything was delicious. I got a glimpse of their salads at the table next to ours, they were huge and looked amazing. I hope to go back and try out some of their other dishes. 

After walking around the Summit a little bit we headed back to Tuscaloosa to get mani/pedis. I got a gel manicure for the first time and I love it so far! I had no idea what I was missing out on. It was my Mom's first time to have a professional pedicure. She loved it. I think we will have to make it a common outing for us from now on. After getting our nails done we went to my Aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner. I will save that for another post! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!

Better Late Than Never

This picture Trey's friend took on my birthday in September. I just saw it and had to post it since Trey and I never have any pictures together. 

Happy Birthday Daddy! Get Well Soon!

Today we will be celebrating my Dad's birthday in the hospital. Dad is doing great and will hopefully be moved out of TSICU soon and into a regular room. The doctor clamped the two drains that are in his head so that he is able to get out of bed a little today. We have been so blessed! Please pray that he will continue to do well and will be home soon!

twenty-five

When I was 18 I had great plans that I just knew would happen by the time I reached my “mid 20s”. To be honest, most of my plans haven’t panned out in the time frame I had allotted.

It took me 5 years instead of 4 to graduate with my bachelor’s degree. I started in Elementary Education but found out through lots of experience with children of all ages that it just wasn’t what I was meant to do. So after much thought, I changed my major to Business the summer before my senior year. I knew it would be tough and set me back on graduating “on-time” but it had to be done or else I knew I would be miserable with teaching and that would not be good for me or my future students. So a year later than planned I graduated.
 

As some of you may know, I am a paralegal and really enjoy what I do and where I work. I never imagined that this would be my career. It kind of just happened out of nowhere. But I am blessed to be able to say that I actually like getting up and going to work every day.
 
I came across a post from Laura Virginia's blog, Meet Virginia, on my Google Reader yesterday. I just had to share some it.

"What I didn’t know, and I wish I had, what I know now: it doesn’t always happen that way. And if it doesn’t, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s perfectly fine. And it’s exciting! And your life is no less legitimate or established than your friend’s who is married and working full time and sporting a cute little baby bump. You don’t need to be waiting around for your life to start. Your life is happening right now."

Like Laura, I want all of those things too, but in my time. It can be so easy to get caught up in what is going on with all of your friends' lives that you forget to live your own life. 

Although none of my plans transpired on my timeline, everything has worked out pretty awesome so far. I am embracing my “mid-twenties” with my arms wide open. I can not wait to see what life throws my way.

Here is a look back at the good times my twenty-fourth year brought me. 

I moved into my first place and lived solo for the first time.

Had a great time decorating for Christmas!

 

Threw my first Christmas Party.

Went to my first blogger conference.

 

Had lots of fun with family and friends.

Lots of fun was had with this guy too!

Vacationed at the beach.

Traveled to Washington, D.C.
 

So here’s to having the best 25^th year of my life! 

Happy Birthday Trey!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday today! I can’t wait to see you this weekend and celebrate! I love you!