happy birthday

Hello, lovelies! So yesterday was my birthday {the first as a wife and a homeowner - eek!} and I quietly celebrated the day with coworkers during the day and my mom in the evening {Mark is traveling so we'll be celebrating later}. And at Banana Republic, who feted my day of birth by offering 50% off up to five full-priced items {ok, I'm sure it wasn't exclusively for my birthday, but I took it as an excuse to add some pretty pieces to my collection!}. They promoted the special one-day sale via coupon on Facebook. You really should like them; they have the best deals.

Care to see what I picked up?

~how sweet are the elbow patches? i can't get enough!~

~an easy lbd that fits like a glove~

~i love a good v-neck t - it's the best for my shape~

~a little glitz - and it's on sale~

There were a couple of other things - like this black dress and a bright pink taffeta skirt {that I can't seem to find online...curious} - that I would have loved to have made mine, but even a birthday girl must use restraint. However, they are on my wait-til-they-go-on-sale watch-list!

A little something extra : Markdowns at the store usually happen on Wednesdays!

birthday bouquet

Today is my friend/coworker's birthday and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to test out a new recipe. Maybe you've heard of them or seen them or even tasted them, but it's the first time I've tried making them.

Cake pops!

I got the recipe from Bakerella and made them on Sunday. I can definitely perfect some things, but I think they turned out well.

~ i borrowed my mom's candy maker...thanks, mom! ~

~ first finished. second one dipped. ~

~ cake pops and cake balls ~

~ a cake pop bouquet. happy birthday, sarah! ~

sweet dreams

Remember when I briefly shared my ill-fated trip to Copenhagen with you? Well, one of the places that was on my list to visit was Malmo, Sweden - just a quick 42 km away. Malmo is home to one of my fave bands, The Radio Dept. {you may recognize their music from Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette}.

And now, Malmo is home to one of my favorite bloggers - Linda from Call Me Cupcake! Linda creates and shares the most delicious-looking treats - cakes, cupcakes, macarons - and presents them in ways that are absolutely to-die for.

Wouldn't it be lovely to fly out to explore Denmark and Sweden and bake with Linda? Oh. My. Gosh. Talk about a sweet dream.

Check out this gorgeous birthday eye candy from Linda. Absolute perfection. Friends, family, fiance - take note for next year's birthday fete.

maui wowie

Finally! I've gone through the hundreds of photos from our trip to Maui and, boy, what I wouldn't give to go back.

We relaxed on the beach  

{so much so that I actually napped on the sand. And in the lounge chairs by the pool. Several days in a row. Highly uncharacteristic of me since I'm always begging Mark to go-go-go.} 

We drove the Road to Hana

We hiked to some waterfalls

We explored a lava tube

We enjoyed each others' company

Here are a few of my favorite shots. Please excuse the plethora of SPS {self photo shoots} - it's what happens when you vacation a deux. And Mark is a fantastic SPS photographer.

~don't you just love mark's duck face?~

~very lara croft : tomb raider, non?~

~a gorgeous old banyan tree~

a warm farewell and a chilly reception

How was your Thanksgiving, lovelies? Enjoy spending time with friends and family?

Our vacation was indulgent and relaxing. I wished for a couple extra days soaking up the sun and 80-degree weather, but was out of luck. A little treat from Pinkberry at the Maui airport helped to soften the surrender back to reality.

~my fave - the orginal with strawberries and pineapple~

Back home, we were greeted with chilly temperatures and a full Thanksgiving feast on Sunday {thanks, Mom!} since we spent Thanksgiving Day driving the Road to Hana, exploring a lava tube and hiking around Haleakala National Park's Kipahulu area.




~a peek overtop of the jeep~

I'm still digging through the photos and video and will post a complete recap soon.

thirty and flirty and thriving

Today, I'm officially 30! And to celebrate, I thought I'd let you know some more of the great stuff you can get on your birthday. 

Joe's Farm Grill in Gilbert will give you a free meal {up to $10}

Harkins Theatres will give you a free bag of popcorn.

If you're a Beauty Insider {Sephora's free beauty club}, you'll get a free birthday gift - no purchase necessary!

smitten kitten | cupcakes

My sweet tooth will one day, I'm sure, be the death of me. But until then, I have to indulge every once in a while.

One of my favorite baked treats are cupcakes. Aren't they just perfect? A little bit of cake. A little bit of frosting. Maybe an embellishment or two. Some of them are even big enough to share {if you want}.

~surprise! they're homemade, vegan and delicious~

While I was creating the perfect cupcakes for Christine's baby shower, I went to bakery supply heaven and found this edible glitter. Oh. My. Gosh. Talk about taking your sweet creations to the next level!

~check out the luster dust on a homemade red velvet~

And I have a real soft spot for mini cupcakes, like the ones above. They're even more perfect than a regular-sized cupcake. All of the flavor, less of the guilt.

Last year for my birthday, Mark brought me a big box of Sprinkles cupcakes, my all-time favorites. Red velvet, peanut butter chip and milk chocolate. Mmmm.

birthday month

It's November and it's officially my birthday month.

I like a month rather than a day or a week. Silly, perhaps, but this year, my birthday falls on a Tuesday. How completely uneventful. And since I'll be turning 30, an uneventful birthday just won't do {plus, Mark won't be back from Virginia in time to celebrate on the actual day}.

Nordstrom kicks off the month-long celebration by giving me {and anyone else who shops there} the gift of the Half Yearly Sale, which starts November 3. That also means, if you have the Nordstrom MOD or credit card, you earn double points during the first few days!

Oh, and remember last week when I mentioned Anthropologie sends birthday love? It came! I think I get as much enjoyment from the packaging as I do the present.

But this year's biggest factor for celebrating all month long is the fact that Mark and I will be relaxing here over Thanksgiving

Eeep!


*maui image courtesy of here

a full halloween weekend

Saturday was pretty eventful. I spent the afternoon at Queen Creek Olive Mill with some friends, drinking wine, listening to jazz and tasting a variety of local olive oils. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous fall day.

Later that night, we celebrated my dear Diana's birthday. She loves Halloween. So we dressed to the nines, met up with friends and celebrated well into the night.

On Sunday, I spent the evening trick-or-treating with my two adorable nephews - both of whom dressed as Batman.  I wish I had photos, but I was having too much fun to remember to pull out the camera.

Hope you had a great Halloween!

mama mia!

Since both of our significant others have been across the country since April, my mom and I have been hanging out more. We enjoy meals, watch chick flicks and sometimes go shopping (if you know my mother, this is completely out of character for her). She even let me drag her around NYC for a whirlwind day - and didn't complain {too much} when we only took one cab ride the entire trip.

I'm so happy that we've had this time to build upon our relationship and hang out more. 

Happy birthday, mom! 

~outside juniors in NYC for some famous cheesecake~

~visiting my grandma in the hospital~