Birthdays Past & Present!

It's My BIRTHDAY!!!!!

OK, so in celebration of this year's birthday, I'm going to take a look back at one of my favorite birthdays ever!

My 27th!

Spent in Austria (on our way to Croatia)...Mr. Marine had just returned from deployment and life was amazing!!!!

We rented a Vespa and sped around town, had near-death experiences, saw gorgeous scenery and laughed until we cried! 

Ate amazing food and drank even better wine! 

Sidenote: On my 29th, I can no longer wear that dress...not a good sign!

Ahhhh, drinking beer in the crisp Austrian air after climbing a bazillion stairs to get to the top of this mountain...errrr hill!

Now, for the hard to swallow 29th birthday we are heading to Kentucky for some bluegrass, some bourbon tasting, some shopping and a Sunday breakfast at The Downs!

Have a good weekend y'all!!!!!

Birthday Weekend O' Friends

I have been an awful blogger lately, and to be honest, I'm not sure it's going to get any better in the next few weeks! However, I wanted to at least show y'all what Mr. Marine did for me for my "Birthday Weekend with Friends."

Mr. Marine is a fabulous cook and we love to entertain, drink wine and enjoy good friendships. So for this particular celebration, we combined all the above! We had two couples over for a wine tasting experience...each couple brought a dish coupled with a complementing wine!

The Festive Fall Table

Mr. Marine's Famous Caesar Salad in a Parmesan Bowl

Mr. Marine's Duck with Soy Buerre Blanc and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Mr. Marine's Fried Georgia Peach Pound Cake with Carmel Bourbon Sauce and Candied Pecans

Note: I did not get pics of Maggie and Liz's dishes. They were the first 2 courses, and quite frankly I was too busy stuffing my face at that point!

After drinking too much wine, we headed to our neighborhood bar for some birthday drinks. 

Justin, head bartender, gave us some celebratory shots that tasted like milkshakes!

Outside the bar before we all headed home

Let's just say, none of us girls were feeling well the next day. Maggie and I of course had to be up early for a JL event. Not good. I had planned to take pictures of everyone that day, but I was so busy trying to hold my cookies down that the camera never made an appearance!

But by the evening, we were feeling better and we were heading off to a Blues hockey game! The Marines gave Mr. Marine some free tickets on the lower level so we were excited to go to our first professional hockey game as a couple!

Maggie and I outside the stadium! (This was such the weekend of Maggie and I)

So fun!

Sunday, I headed off to Market in Chicago to do some buying for the boutique....That post is for another day!

I know you are out there BCBG dress...I'm stalking you!

I have the attention span of a gnat. Actually, it might be less than that because those little gnats can be quite persistent in their quest to annoy me. 

Okay, I have the attention span of a 5 year old. No offense to those with kids of that age, but they drive me bonkers with their eternal need to change what occupies them every five minutes. Just color until the entire book is a gorgeous plethora of color. Why can't you play tag for 3 consecutive hours, or at least until your mommy and I are done having wine and chatting like you aren't there? I digress...

Back to my attention span (told you it was that of a child)... I am waiting for my Ball dress from Nordstrom. I have stalked this BCBG beauty along its route...Nordstrom, Springfield, Earth City...I know you are out on that truck and you better get here now!

The UPS man and I are great friends. After all, he brings me all my favorite things (unlike the mail man who brings me bills) so we are quite close. My lab even likes him, probably because he senses his momma's excitement every time this man dressed in brown comes around. However, Mr. UPS Man, with one turn of my attitude this vicious, slobbering, treat-desiring, trick expert Labrador retriever will attack. So it is in your best interest to bring me that dress immediately before he senses my irritation towards you...HURRY UP I TELL YOU!!!!!

Flashback Friday!

In honor of reunions, since once of my best friends just got her fiance back, I am going to post a pic from Mr. Marine's homecoming. Only those who have experienced it will know the true emotion captured in this photo... Tunnel vision, world stopped turning, and a feeling that my heart was going to leap from my chest! 

I don't have children, but women who do swear you forget the pain when you hold your baby for the first time...Well, when Mr. Marine held me in his arms it made all the sleepless nights, all the tears, all the worry fade away (Don't worry, those emotions came back when he talked about deploying again less than 9 months later) But what I felt in this moment is something that still gives me butterflies...

As a "Welcome Home" gift I got my chef of a husband the ultimate "Mr. Marine gift." We went to a fabulous restaurant in Raleigh, sat at the Chef's Table (in the middle of the kitchen) and got served a special menu by the chef himself, complete with wine pairings. Of course, Mr. Marine was in heaven telling me all about what the people were doing in the kitchen, the stations, etc...Oh, and when he discovered that restaurant uses the same knives he has, his eyes lit up like a 5 year old on Christmas morning! Actually, he was probably thinking, "I told you our knife collection was the best...even if it does cost us the price of a small vehicle." 

 

(P.S. I am in love with this pic because I haven't been this skinny since that day! It is my motivation pic when I am not wanting to workout!)

Need Stain Removal Advice!

I just spilled coffee on my brand-spankin-new silk shirt.

I am pissed!

Please tell me how to get this out!

From now on, I will only drink from a straw when wearing nice clothes. I hate you coffee!

P.S. I can't do anything at the moment, so don't tell me to take it off and soak it...I'm at work and clients don't want to see what is under this shirt...trust me!

It's Like a Fraternity Formal...Except My Date Isn't Living in Filth and Eating Top Ramen!

I just ordered this beauty for the Marine Corps Ball...

Now, let's all collectively pray it both fits and looks good!

Another Glorious Weekend of College Football...Here We Come Tennessee

Another glorious weekend of college football is upon us! So, Mr. Marine and myself (along with our dog Riley) are heading to Knoxville, TN to see...

This adorable bundle of rolls...

Take on the obnoxious orange of this school...

Good News: We are going with a Marine buddy stationed out of San Diego, so it should be a very fun weekend! 

Bad News: The Dawgs are a bit inconsistent this year so it could be a victory or an embarrassment. 

Really Bad News: It is supposed to be raining THE WHOLE GAMEDAY!