A holiday wreath making party

Despite not being able to participate in some of my favorite holiday activities this year (namely, picking out a real Christmas tree and decorating my home), I've managed to take part in a few festivities, including a holiday wreath making party. This, folks, is an excellent opportunity to get together with friends and drink and laugh and admire each other's creativity and craftiness, or lack thereof. I recommend it. 

Here's a few photos of the occasion... hope you're all having an excellent week! 

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The Great Wyoming Trip 2013

I decided to tell the story of our Wyoming trip in a slideshow set to music above, but unfortunately it can only be properly viewed on a desktop or laptop computer (versus a tablet or smart phone), so I included a few of the photos below, as well. :)

Many of these girls have been in my life for a decade now... we all worked together through high school and college, and now life is taking us other directions... but they will be lifelong friends, regardless. This weekend was such a fun memory. I certainly got my fill of snow and  below zero temps!

Hope you're all having a fabulous week...

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Love letters to two dear friends

Blogtember topic for the day: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Today I found that there are two ladies I really wanted to write to - both are so special to me and have been so impactful in my life. Here are my letters...

Dear Megan,

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAUTIFUL! You're 27 today, an age I know you've dreaded for some silly reason, but don't worry, I'll be there with you in just a couple more months. I bet it won't be so bad. :)

I wanted to thank you today for 11-ish years of loyal friendship. You and I have known each other through so many clunky and awkward stages of life - the end of high school, all of college, several boyfriends, big life changes like marriage and moving and the death of loved ones and redefining who we are after school and after we both worked at that same little restaurant for weirdly lengthy amounts of our life, and moving into new homes and thinking about babies and planning for the future and worrying about getting older. We had so many Friday nights and Saturday or Sunday mornings together, bitching about nasty customers and loving on old people and rolling in the tips and late nights at Chili's and the movies when we had to be back up in four more hours for the next shift. We've been friends through all of that, though you've always been more constant and reliable than me, which is part of your personality as a Caregiver, I now see. Thank you for being my friend through it all, even when we got on each other's nerves, which is bound to happen over the course of 11 years... ;) One thing is for sure, I never stop loving you, respecting you, and admiring you for your wonderful heart. Cannot wait to see what the future holds for us both. It's always nice to walk through life with a friend, isn't it? Hope today and year 27 are beautiful, just like you. :)

Love, love, love,

Jenni

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Dear Kristin,

I'm not even sure where to start on this letter - it's funny, because we've had our ups and downs in this weird online/offline friendship, but one thing that remains constant is that I always have so much fondness and warmth in my heart for you, and I'm always so thankful you're my friend. You've said before that you feel out of place in this world, like an outsider sometimes, but I disagree, and I think you belong very much and add so much beauty, specifically to anyone who is lucky enough to be close to you. You've inspired me endlessly with the warmth of your beautiful home and spirit, the way you care for people (the way you've cared for me), the care you take for the small details of your world (you know how God-awful I am with small details, so I find this particularly inspiring), and the fresh perspective you always give me and which always surprises me in pleasant and helpful ways. On more than one occasion you've given me advice that was exactly what I needed to hear and saved my life in different ways, and I've appreciated our relationship of accountability, even when it seemed like I didn't. For people like me, accountability can be extremely annoying but nonetheless extremely important. I've loved growing closer to you over the last year in particular, and I hope that only continues. I respect and admire you more than you know, and I'm so proud of all you continue to accomplish. 

Lots and lots of love,
Jenni

A few from the 4th

I didn't take very many photos from our 4th celebration yesterday... we were having way too much fun spending time with family and friends and doing lake things and crashing frat parties to use their giant slip-n-slide... you know, normal stuff like that. You'll have to trust that it was fun since I have very few photos to prove it. :)

Here are a couple featured SOML sponsors to keep you busy over the weekend! Enjoy 'em!

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Back East Blonde is an adorable blog by an equally adorable Calirfornia-turned-East-Coast-girl named Nadine, who is just as funny as she is sweet. Her about page is a great place to stop first and get to know her a bit, and then perhaps go have a chuckle at her latest post on categorizing bloggers. There are a bunch more popular posts organized nicely for you right over here, so go get busy. You will love this girl!

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Priscilla is the brains behind The Wheelchair Mommy, a lifestyle blog that documents this amazing woman's adventures in motherhood despite being a paraplegic ever since a car accident in 1999. You'll be blown away by Priscilla's incredible attitude about what some might consider a great misfortune - to her, the "wheelchair" portion of her life is, essentially, a non issue. Get to know this neat lady and her family a bit better over here, browse her archives and pages, have fun, and don't forget to let her know you stopped by. :)

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Hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend! Happy Friday...


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Walton's, Austin

Lunch or coffee dates with friends are fun, sure, but I feel it's also my duty to find the cutest places in town for said lunch or coffee dates, and then inform you about them. I snapped some pictures inside Walton's for a blog post about a year ago, which is sort of a haunting post to revisit because I remember so well how disoriented Edd was that day, but also how much he enjoyed that carrot cake cupcake. :) I thought I'd dedicate another post to Walton's, because it really is such a cute place! It's actually one of Sandra Bullock's two restaurants in town (the other is Bess Bistro, which I'm dying to try!), and I must say, Ms. Bullock, you did a fantastic job with Walton's!

It's a gift store, flower shop, and cafe all rolled into one, with delicious food, great lattes, and an atmosphere reminiscent of a perfect little NYC deli complete with exposed brick and attention to detail around every corner. I met up with Shalyn and Jennifer, and we had such a nice time. :)

Happy Thursday!