i love this day.

i love this day.
today i turned 23.

and i actually *feel* like i got older.

i still get as excited as i did when i was a little kid for this day each year.

for some reason, my birthday is a BIG deal.
and i woke up to an absolutely beautiful day...70 degrees, sunshine, and a blossoming tree outside my window.

i got myself a few things (as a gift to myself...lol!) like this and this and am SO inspired!!

the table and chairs are finally finished and i have to pat myself on the back for how great the set turned out:

chloe had her surgery on wednesday for bob barker's sake, and though she was hurtin real bad when we first brought her home, she is back to her old self, trying to run and play against doctor's orders. she fills my heart with so much joy.

stopped by the fabric store to pick up more fabric since i ran out of it yesterday while working on the wedding quilt i posted about a while back. on my way home i drove past this OLD farm that i pass almost everyday on my way to scott's. it looks desserted, never any animals or people, the barn is run down and there are old tires in the fields, but today as i was coming up the hill, it took my breath away when i saw this:

so you see...i love this day.

scott has planned an "old school" birthday party for me tonight. Dinner just the two of us, then joining all our friends at the bowling alley for an old fashioned grade school bowling birthday party (only there will be beer involved). it will be fantastic and i can't wait. he is so wonderful to me.

i'm off to enjoy the sunshine :)

i'm out of hiding...

i know i've been m.i.a. lately, but for good reason! work has been busy with peak wedding season now in swing so i've been meeting with lots of brides and super awesome couples. i truly love my job.

i've also been busy with random projects (if i have an ounce of free time) and lots of family events (arrival of baby eden from china, the baptism of my goddaughter, friends in from green bay, and a brewers game squeezed into the mix).

i've been slowly working on refinishing an antique kitchen table and chairs and taking something really horrid and dated and turning into a cheerful modern dining set. here is what it looked like before

and now....

i stained the table a dark walnut and painted the chairs a fabulous paprika and am *in love* with how they turned out. i did recover the hideous seats with a fun imperfect bright stripe fabric with mustard yellows and plum colors but forgot to take a picture! once the table is sealed i will take a final picture of the whole set together and finished. but waaaay better than the original, right?!

i also wanted to recommend a book that i think everyone should read as it continually blows me away. i am about 100 pages from the end and i keep thinking about how sad i will be when i finish it! (i know, strange) the author of this book captures what it is to be a female growing up so well it's hard to believe it's written by a man!!!

well, off to continue working on my numerous unfinished projects (wedding quilt, work stuff, staining table legs and poly-ing entire table)! i think i might need to create myself a list and get things done this weekend LA-style!