twenty-fourth birthday

wow is all i have to say to turning 24.

my husband knows how to plan a special

occasion, and he made it magical along with

all my other loved ones. birthdays are the best

because they remind you to celebrate, to feel

and soak in all the love around you, and to

appreciate another year of this amazing life.

living away from most of my closest friends

and family can make having a birthday a little

different, so it means even more when people

are darling and remember me & make me feel 

loved. this year they rendered me speechless with

the sweeeeeetest video in the world. i have had

a rough few months lately and my husband

must have known this was exactly what i needed..

so he had all my very favorite people record

messages to me and put it together into a perfect

little video that i will keep forever. he had me unwrap

an iPad at dinner as my last gift, put in headphones,

and press play. then he watched me as i watched the

best video and of course start crying. it felt like a

huge hug from all my loved ones and like they 

were there celebrating with me! best feeling in 

the world. i love my people and i love chase

for doing it. that was obviously the highlight, so

the video is below...and then pictures of our

fun celebrations are below that! thank you to

my loves for making my day so great. xo

<

^^ this is what your birthday looks like

when you live away from home!

^^ flower delivery from bffs

^^ woke up to perfect pink buildings on an 80 degree SF day

^^ and, a brand new BIKE from the greatest

parents. i will never be able to keep up with 

these triathletes on it, but this is something 

i cannot wait to have and use all around 

the city! the pink bows are my favorite part :)

i missed these two on my birthday, but felt

their love from afar and can't wait to 

see them this weekend in newport!

^^ sweetest packages, and the perfect gift from brynn..

an R letter with a map design on it! love.

^^ kendall and laur both know me so so well.

^^ chase surprised me with reservations at one

of the best restaurants in san francisco, foreign cinema.

basically all you need to know about this place is:

the menu changes every day, the courtyard has twinkly

lights, and they play old fashioned black & white movies

on the wall every night when the sun goes down. i think

husband picked pretty well. it was such a fun dinner.

^^ and, just like i asked, all his presents were

"experiences" instead of things (plus a few cute

clothes we picked out together). he put all the

experience gifts in envelopes and had me open

them through the night, and wow were they good.

^^ broadway tickets to see once when it comes to town

this summer, YAY! and, the best/worst gift ever---he

REGISTERED US FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO MARATHON!

whaaaat? this was so unexpected, when i did my 2nd marathon

last fall i told him i was never doing one again- too painful!

well, he didn't listen because he signed us up-- hahah! it will

be his first one, and the course is pretty fun through the entire

city (and across the golden gate bridge) but i better start training

since i had no idea! i'm out of shape (i blame the commute)

these gifts will definitely be memorable ones!

^^ my friends know me far too well. ladurée cookbook?? heaven!

^^ my sis-in-law's hand painted cards are my favorite.

^^ my official package-opener

^^ aaaand, my BFF BOOKED A FLIGHT TO VISIT ME!!!!!

this was the best surprise in the world! ashley had been secretly

talking to chase and they booked a flight, then she called me

at dinner and had me open this itinerary! i was screaming at

the restaurant! i cannot wait for this and there could not be

a better gift. this friend outdoes herself every year.

^^ and then of course, best gift of all.

hope no one minded the birthday girl

crying her eyes out at the table after

watching this!! favorite thing ever.

^^ would you just look at this place!

^^ double birthday wishes

then we left a dinner and got in a cab...

we get out of the cab after dinner and...

surprise, we are at a 20's dance club for lessons and dancing!

only this boy would find such a fun place and take me dancing.

(FYI: we are TERRIBLE dance students, laughing

the entire time and wouldn't rotate through..oops!)

^^ luckily after the lesson the 20's band came

on and we could just do our own thing as 

everyone else danced the exact moves around us.

thanks to this babe of a husband for making

all my wishes & dreams come true. i love being 

24 already and hope you'll always dance with me!

xo