starbucks - it does a body good!

there are days at work that seem to drag on forever (not for any lack of things to accomplish, but just a pure lack of desire to do anything even moderately productive) and then days that are happy in the most unexpected ways. this morning has proven to be quite the delight. jim and kathy are both out of the office today - so i came in KNOWING i have a day to myself to really CROSS STUFF OFF THE (proverbial) LIST! i got a lot accomplished this morning and then at 10am decided we should venture to Starbucks for some artificial rejuvenation (also known as a black tea lemonade). there is a vendor that periodically brings me starbucks gift cards - and now that The Well is open downstairs, we rarely travel to procure coffee type beverages. SO i called Mindy and whispered, "how would you feel about a morning trip to Starbucks, my treat?" and she happily obliged. when we arrived, i asked the kind barista to please add the new gift card to my existing balance and was WIDE EYED when the total was revealed! i can go to starbucks for a free for a WHILE friends! WOOT! then as I headed to the beverage pick up counter, i came face to face with one of my FAVORITE people - my friend in real life: Noelle.OH THE JOY THAT ABOUNDED FROM MY SOUL! now, noelle has had a rough couple months - she broke herself and doctors didn't catch it so she hobbled around for way too long before they finally realized she needed surgery and now her recovery time is like forever and she can't work and she's trying to get into nursing school and it's just a LOT to handle amidst the throbbing and annoyance of a massively swollen lower extremity which is necessary for basically all kinds of normal activity (including driving) so it was a SHOCK to see her up and around in a public place. Ahhhh. we hugged - a good hug - and laughed - and it was GREAT! totally MADE MY MORNING! Starbucks - you are SO GOOD TO ME!

ahhhhhhhh....

i moved into a house with adri on march 30. 2008. we lived together for almost 2 full years. she moved back to canada in february of 2010. tear. tears. during that time she dated, was single, dated again, fell in love, and then moved away - with hopes of getting engaged. hopes became reality when erwin proposed. WOOT! adri is in canada sporting a lovely diamond and planning a joyous celebration while erwin is here (in California) working and getting their home ready! they are rockstars! they have handled this entire process with grace and joy and have rested in the peace of knowing they love a God who is totally in control. they're inspiring and encouraging. i love them. AND now that their engagement pictures are on facebook and invitations have been mailed out (at least to the California peeps), it is with GREAT JOY that i reveal the wedding invitation of Adri-Anne and her man Erwin. they asked me to design their wedding invitations and we had a blast dreaming up their overall scheme. i am SO HAPPY with how they turned out!who knows what paper projects are still in store - but for today - i'll just celebrate the completion of this one and send my heart-felt CONGRATUALTIONS to my dear friends! i truly could not be happier for you!!!

champagne & strawberries

sweet kenz is a valentines day baby...so...her birthday trumps whatever ridiculous hallmark celebration i dream of someday having and provides the PERFECT excuse for chocolate covered strawberries (she's gluten intolerant - so she can't even have cake people - it's a match made in valentine's day heaven) and champagne (well the champagne is for me - she can't have that either.last night we had a delightful dinner in her honor, ate a few too many chocolate covered strawberries, sipped on some white wine (thanks steven!) and then chatted it up in the hot tub. it was a WONDERFUL birthday celebration part 1...can't wait for part 2!!

Happy Birthday Kenz!!!!

today is my dear friend Kenzie's 25th birthday! WOOT! i am SURE it is hard for her to share her day of birth with this crazy day called valentines...but she does it - every.single.year. in 2009, gan and i took her on our inagural cupcake crawl in celebration of her big day,and then last year (2010) we had a dance party, sandy picnic, and afternoon at the museum.this year gan is living in nipomo, so the celebration has been temporarily postponed. however, kenz and i enjoyed a delightful lunch @ nordy's cafe and are hitting up the hot tub with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne tonight...should be good times!!

kenz, i am so blessed to call you friend - it has been a joy sharing life with you - we have made some FABULOUS memories and you have been a voice of support and encouragement in my life. i hope 25 is filled with amazing things! iloveyou!

a weekend type situation...

this weekend ended up being a lot more than i had originally anticipated...

(well except for friday evening - all i did friday was grab a quick birthday gift for a friend and hop in bed - literally - by about 9:30pm.)

saturday i lunched in burbank with two fellow world changers. we ate at Porto's - which is this STELLAR restaurant/bakery type situation...so good! honestly, who wouldn't be happy when walking into an establishment and being met by THISafter lunch, wes and i said farewell to the feemster and her fiance (who were off to a game of ultimate frisbee) and then spent all afternoon hanging out. we went to the SKETCHIEST estate sale ever. seriously, some old man died and his family was trying to make money off his explicit materials. questionable! we didn't purchase anything. promise. i left wes in burbank (which is unfortunately far from orange county - 36 miles should not be over an hour away. sad!) at approximately 6:30pm and drove STRAIGHT to Cal State Fullerton to celebrate Rachel at the opening of her solo art show! it was FABULOUS! rachel is AMAZING! this was my very favorite piece. it must be the colors - but it is gorgeous and would look PERFECT behind a couch! LOVE IT!

sunday i lunched in south county with one of my favorites from college: Krista {Machado} Piper. she called on saturday around 5:30pm to let me know she was in town and THANKFULLY (although i made her promise to call earlier next time) i was available on Sunday for some afternoon fun.i always love when i spontaneously get to spend time with old friends...they really are treasures! after lunch i attempted to make these AWESOME oreo filled brownies, but completely destroyed them, and took a nap instead! it was the better choice.

calling all world changers...

earlier this week i received thisfrom my best friend sara. she lunched with will eddleman (an AMAZING world changer) while he was home on leave. jealousy SEETHED. i would have LOVED to be in alabama lunching with them. fail california (and that doesn't happen very often!). however, on saturday, i was able to send her thiswhile lunching @ Portos with Wes Tate & Rebecca Feemster (more world changers - and the feemster was even her previous teammate). we were even. or so i thought. literally only an hour or so later i received this with the caption: "bring it".she met up with her previous teammate chase gamble while in tennessee. SO WHO IS COMING TO CALIFORNIA SO I CAN ONE UP HER???

oh the "s"

i moved into a house with some lovely girls in march of 2008...rach moved out in september (tear)...then in november we moved into a new place...then the next november we moved into a new place...adri moved back to canada in march (tear)...shalina moved out in may (tear) and craig moved in...then craig moved out in july (hooray they're married...i'd still kind of like shalina to move back in though, tear)...erin and nicole moved in...we had a major debacle...carrie moved in...ashley moved in...and thoughout the ENTIRE process, my room has looked EXACTLY the same. i decided it was time for some refreshing, renewing, you get the point.this was my favorite element of decor (i kept it - unchanged) i love the look of that "s" next to the giant frame. darling. favorite. little did i know the "s" would soon make it's way onto (literally) every wall of my room...

this is the corner of my desk (that's my computer chillin there...) - i made that print - it says something about life being better with laughter. TRUTH. and the "s" mug is from anthropologie - i got it for Christmas back in the Toll Brothers days from a girl named Lindsay...enough about that...this was my OTHER favorite area of my room (which also remained, untouched). that "s" is from anthropologie as well...and is also old...as is everything else. mom and dad bought me that mirror (which i love, originally inspired by katelin - who gave one to anna - back when we were in high school) when i moved out on my own for the first time...and i bought those hurricane candle things shortly thereafter. it is the perfect little dresser space. maybe a little busy - but i'm happy with it. (i am contemplating adding pulls to the dresser itself...)this is my FAVORITE and NEWEST addition ...a gallery wall...directly above my bed...right when you walk in the room...OH MY GOSH! so cute! the pictures are some of my very favorite people...anna and jenny are on there, sara and emily, gan and kenz, my family, rach, jenny, becky the elephant, my sweet M girl...oh it's just the BEST...and of course, another "s"! ha!and here the view including the new shelving area and the gallery wall - i'm so happy with how it turned out (still need SOMETHING) for the shelf on the right side - my dead lady champagne rest isn't quite right - but it's getting there! i actually get a little excited walking in my room now...nothing like a gallery wall to make my house a home!

best picture? really?

this weekend i continued on my quest to see all the films nominated for best picture in the oscars by spending (wasting) 2 hours of my life watching Winter's Bone. the movie was a tinge slow, based on a concept that is heart breaking, and ends with some chopped off hands. it definitely doesn't get my vote for best picture - but there must be SOMETHING in there that made it nomination worthy...if you know what it is, let me know!

happiness in the form of shoes...

several season ago Steve Madden released these AWESOME sequin flats (i actually prefer the black, but you get the point) - but they were a little narrow for my (fat) feet and a little pricey for my (empty) wallet. so i passed. sadly.
well let me tell you, JOY HAS BEEN RESTORED because target recently released their version of the SAME SHOE and at only a FRACTION (literally) of the cost. i've worn them the last 2 days and get lots of compliments. they are CUTE, comfortable, and make every outfit just a smidge better! it's love!ps if you want to be as cool as me and get your own pair, you can visit the target website because they're on SALE now! you're SO welcome!

we are SWOPE.

a few weeks back when i was visiting my best adventuremate Gan in Nipomo, i had the FABULOUS opportunity to pit-stop (approximately 20 minutes after i started) on the drive home in Santa Maria and visit the other SWOPE clan. (my dad has 1 brother: martin clifford aka. pete and that's it folks. they're the only other Swopes i know [well other than the Tyler Swope that I met in Missouri while visiting Em which is just CREEPY since Tyler Swope is the guy standing RIGHT NEXT TO ME in the above picture!]) Swope cousins are HYSTERICAL and SO NICE. we have always lived several hours apart and have never gotten to spend nearly enough time together - but they are and forever will be family and ILOVETHEM! We didn't have a lot of time (i was really supposed to be driving home - it was a holiday weekend and i had the fear of major traffic) but we grabbed some cold stone (where Tyler works) together and chatted a bit before hugging and saying goodbye. HOWEVER, since Gan's family officially bought a house up there now, there is potential for LOTS more visits which is GRAND because the older i get the more convinced i am that family matters BIG TIME and these people - well - they're mine!