a sweet little weekend

this weekend was one for the books. i had my second round of apartment visitors and it was so perfect. i absolutely love visitors from kentucky.

this weekend my family came in for a weekend visit. it was so fun. we went out for thai food on friday night. then on saturday i took them downtown to see greenville and saturday night we celebrated my 24th birthday a few days early. my mom made me spaghetti and meatballs (my request) along with one of my favorite cakes ever. its a chocolate chocolate chip cake. homemade. from scratch. beat that.

it was so wonderful. but as always, it went by too fast. it seemed like they had just arrived before i was waving them goodbye on sunday. but i feel incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family. and i feel even more blessed that they got to come down for the weekend to celebrate. i loved spending each and every second with them.

some pictures of the perfection.

oh happy day

november 10th.

to me, it would be the greatest day ever. why you ask? well because it's my birthday.

i am absolutely in love with my birthday. i am a self-proclaimed birthday brat. i'm not like all crazy and mean (think bride-zilla only birthday. birthday-zilla. yes. that.) but i do love my birthday and think it's the best holiday ever.

A and I are going to go out to dinner tonight. I am going to wear my favorite outfit to work. Those are the only 2 plans that I have. Nothing fancy.

I can't decide if it is going to be hard or not. I hope it is not. I will miss celebrating with my friends and family in Kentucky. But I'm sure the phone calls will make me smile nonetheless.

I hope everyone has the best Tuesday ever. After all...it is the best day of the year :)

2 early birthday gifts

i consider the first birthday gift being this....

and during the same visit, my sweet besties rachel and jen presented me with a little gift. they gave me a card that i would be receiving my gift in the mail.

so last week, i opened up my mailbox and what did i get? my gift.

it was wrapped up so cute with a little note from my girls.

and when i opened the box, i squealed with delight.

one of my favorite necklaces from thatwinsomegirl. (lets be honest though. i pretty much love everything of hers.) what a fun birthday present! i can't wait to wear it with just the perfect little outfit.

and jen and rach. i will send pictures when i do :)

lovely friday

so my sweets...i am back for another round of lovely fridays. up next? the outfit scarf.

now i should start off by saying that i am not really a scarf kinda gal. don't know why. i love to be warm in the winter. but i just never jumped on that wagon. i think it has to do with the fact that i don't really like when people touch my neck (random fact). at least that's what i'm sticking to.

however, the outfit scarf has stolen my heart. it's not the scarf you wear with a coat (i mean i guess you could) but it's more to accessorize an outfit. i throw mine on with a plain t-shirt every now and then and feel so happy. it's lightweight enough that i don't feel like it is secretly trying to strangle me and it is OH SO SOFT.

have y'all tried the outfit scarves? you should. they are wonderful. i am {somewhat} of a convert. i will now wear a {lightweight and soft} scarf. 

banana republic, jcrew and {maybe} ae are responsible for the pretty ones you see above.

welcome to my home

i have been promising this post for quite sometime now. so friends and family...i will finally take you on a tour of my SC apartment.

and blogger friends...please come along as well. 

before we start the tour, remember that my apartment (decorating) is not done forever. but it is done for now. and i think it is pretty girly and cute and just perfect for me. 

so take off your shoes and stay awhile. and {friends and family} i hope this makes you want to plan your visits soon. i am starting to get lonely down here (that is for another post...but prayers appreciated!)

so come on in...

When you first walk in, you step into my living room.

{the door there leads to my sweet little porch that i forgot to take a picture of}

This is the other side of my living room.

{Front door is to the right}

From the living room you can walk to the left which is my dining room/kitchen area.

{my dining room. my sis is drawing me some art for the wall on the right}

and this is my kitchen.

{you don't know how badly i want to paint/redo the cabinets. but alas...it's a rental}

I added that little shelf above my sink. it was wasted space so i fixed that.

{and i need as much storage space as i can get. i don't have much}

the other side of my kitchen.

from the kitchen i will take you into my bedroom.

{so girly and so much natural light...i love it}

and last {and pretty much least} the bathroom.

{nothing too exciting here. just a bathroom with some girly and whimsical touches}

and that concludes the apartment tour. i hope y'all liked it.

keep an eye of for cheap and sweet little steals out there my sweets. send them my way. like i said...i'm only done decorating for now!

a picky writer

i am the pickiest person when it comes to pens. (weird and silly...i know) but true. 

i am a pen brat. i won't write with pencils. i like my pens. 

and sharpie read my mind. thank you sharpie for recognizing that i love writing with pens that are like small markers. and making them not bleed through paper. 

these will be forever be my favorite pens to use. seriously my sweets, y'all need to try the sharpie pens. they are wonderful. i bought a pack of 4 the other day and i have found my match.

a wish granted

a few weeks ago, when A and I were up in KY for a wedding, a wish of mine was granted. (remember i wished for

 it here?) a bunch of us went to a pumpkin patch and it was so great. it was a perfect fall day. i definitely got my fill of autumn while there and it made my heart so content. 

i left with some small pumpkins, caramel apples and fudge. and i got to spend a sunday afternoon with some of my favorite people and dearest friends. 

and it was perfect. 

thanks {gil} for the picture.