quarter of a century

today i turned the big 2-5. it was a quiet, fun day. matt took olive and i out for coffee this morning (well, coffee for us, oatmeal cookie for little miss) which is a rare treat on a work day. the ups man brought me a package when we got home - husband surprised me with TWO boxes of french macarons, overnighted from my favorite bakery in the world "pistacia vera" in columbus, ohio. he also took us girls out for gluten free pizza at uno's chicago grill this evening. such a treat! i got a few cards and phone calls from loved ones, and lots of well wishes on facebook. all in all a nice day.

spreading some sunshine

i'm still in ohio, visiting family and friends and enjoying some very lovely summery weather.. and i was so pleasantly surprised to find out this morning that the lovely  kelly of "elegantly academic" awarded me the "sunshine award." (thanks kelly, i appreciate it so much!) so to continue the tradition, here's ten random facts about me..

1.. i have lived in fifteen different houses in my 24 years of life

2.. i have lyme disease

3.. i took piano lessons for 8 years, and still try to play a little every day

4.. my favorite book is "a tree grows in brooklyn" by betty smith (go find it and read it immediately!)

5.. i think i wore blue jeans every day of my life until i turned 24. now i wear dresses every day. ;)

6.. i've lived 100% gluten free since august 2010, and plan on living without gluten for the rest of my life.

7.. i hate sewing machines, even though doing clothes altering by hand, (something i love,) is super-tedious.

8.. i absolutely adore french macaron cookies, and have tried to make them several times, with little success.

9.. i love quirky movies. ("amadeus," "the sweet and lowdown" and "harold & maud" are some of my favorites.)

10.. i love my savior, Jesus Christ, and am not ashamed to say so. :)

here are some of my favorite girls, that i know you'll love too:

Coffee & a Cardigan

Sock Monkey & Gee

29 Skirts

citytocity

My Favorite Fashion

Old Lady Chic

pretty prudent

The Cardigan Queen

the velvettes

Shades of Monet

coral-ated

i. am. exhausted. it's been a busy week, and an especially busy past 2 days, as we're getting ready to make the 9 hour drive to the beach tomorrow. today i did some mowing, finished and folded 2 big loads of laundry, took the dog to the vet to be boarded while we're gone, ran some last minute errands and now it's late afternoon and i still haven't packed a single darn thing. confession: i despise packing, and i always put it off until the last minute. not good..especially when i have to pack for three! (and my daughter requires more packing it seems, than my husband and i combined!)
[insert: tired, "poor me" sigh.]

i hope the weather is warm at the beach. as you can see, it's back to cardigan and tights weather where i live! last night i almost pulled our electric blanket out of its summer retirement in the closet, it was so cold.. silly weather.

other random news from this week: i have an iPhone again (thank you sweet husband!) and it's white!! i love it, and am so excited i get to take it to the beach (it will come in handy since the beach house we're renting does not have internet.) also, i got a much needed hair trim yesterday - got those shaggy bangs cleaned up a little. and today at the health food store, i found gluten free hamburger and hotdog rolls! do you have any idea how excited this got me? i haven't eaten a hamburger or hotdog with bread of any kind in over a year, so i can't wait to be able to enjoy a real cookout on the beach.
(sorry i'm rambling..i'm tired.) :)

anyway, it might be a week or more before i can post another outfit, due to the internet situation at our beach rental, so i tried to make this a good one! the dress is really simple, but i love the crochet lace detail around the neck. it feels sweetly old fashioned.

i was digging through a box in our attic to try to find some old purses since my old one was stolen recently, and i found a little forgotten treasure - a vintage purse i had thrifted years and years ago. i was so excited to find it! i used to carry yarn and knitting projects in it when i was at college. it brings back fun memories..

dress, belt: forever 21 // cardigan: target // purse: vintage // shoes: mudd brand (over 5 years old.)

daily life..

my husband has taken over our weekly gluten-free bread making, much to my delight. he's made an art out of it, tweaking the recipe week by week until its nothing at all like the original recipe we started with. the outcome is amazing (you'd never know it was completely wheat free!)

it's the time of year for asparagus.. i cook ours for 20 minutes in the oven, topped with sea salt, pepper, and chunks of feta cheese. so good..

we recently celebrated o.'s 2nd birthday! my baby's not a baby anymore..

we made these big, tissue paper pom-poms to hang for o.'s birthday party, and they're so cheerful and springlike that i think i'm going to leave them up for the rest of springtime..