Hello, Friday morning!

What took me so long to listen to my Mom and finally go lighter? It's not the hugest change, but I still feel like it makes a big difference.

Hello, Friday morning! It's 9am, I'm currently at my parents' house, and I just put a cranky Henry down for his morning nap and I'm sitting in my old bedroom.  For the longest time my parents' left my room exactly as I had left it when I went away to college. There were pictures on every shelf, books stacked on top of more books, and all of my extra clothing stored in the closet. It was always weird to come back to- it was like a time capsule in a way- my high school life staring right at me each weekend I spent time here. But now it's all put away, the walls have been painted over, the shelves have come down. It's still so funny though, to be able to open up these big closet doors and take a box down and look back through all of those memories. I even have shoeboxes full of notes from junior high. Bizarre.

In other news, tonight begins the start of my 30th birthday weekend! My birthday isn't actually until next Tuesday but today Andy flies in from Seattle, so we'll be doing dinner and RITA'S ITALIAN ICE (all caps necessary, of course) tonight with Anita before the actual party starts tomorrow. I'm so excited to have almost all of my closest girlfriends in one place at one time and I feel like my heart may burst from happiness. I don't know any of the details- it's a half-surprise party- but I do know that we're doing manis/pedis first, then heading over to the resort. What resort we're staying at, I have no clue, but knowing that Hank, Shirley and Autumn planned it I'm sure it's going to be awesome. Such a treat!

Lately I've been feeling just so happy. And not my normal, life-is-good happy, but a happy that's coming from this deep part of me that feels like "this is it." Does that make sense? I feel like I always had this dream or idea of what I had hoped would happen in my life, and as many times as I felt lost or that I'd never figure it out...I'm here, living it. And I'm sure it has to do with my impending birthday but I'm just feeling extra-thoughtful and very, very thankful for everything. It sure isn't perfect, but it's perfect to me, and while I sit here in my old room it's so much easy to see how far I've come, thinking back through all the memories this place is a part of.

So. I'm going to abruptly change the subject here and talk about a couple (and some silly) things I'm loving right now:

1. The Bachelorette. Okay this I think I might say this every season (except Jason's season because he was really annoying), but this one is my favorite. I really love Emily and think she has some great guys. My number one pick is that adorable Jef. Isn't he cute? How about you- do you have a favorite?

2. I do this thing where I eat the same lunch everyday until I get sick of it. I'll usually go about a week and then switch off, but this particular lunch has been happening for about a week and a half now. Are you ready for this amazing-ness? I cook a Dr. Praeger's California Veggie burger, then take an Ezekial tortilla (one of my favorite food items in the whole world), sprinkle some cheese on half of it, plop the cooked veggie burger on it and kind of mash it down to be flat on that half of the tortilla, then cook it like a quesadilla. Then I'll open it and add a ton of veggies, fold it up like a big taco and enjoy. It's seriously so good.

3. The Great Gatsby. I am so excited about this movie, and I'm excited that Baz Luhrmann did it. I have a huge soft spot for this adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (although the Zefirelli version will always be my number one), and I think it looks awesome. I taught the book to my sophomores many times, and I'm looking forward to see what this adaptation looks like.

And now I'm going to abruptly change the subject again to wish all of you a great weekend! I am pushing my summer reading list part two to next week, so if you were hoping to see that today it will be going up next Thursday after Literate & Stylish. And can I mention for a second how much I am loving this series? I really enjoy that it's such a short little post, but it packs a little punch with those pretty photos! I love seeing what books these women pick as they email their posts to me, and I have about a hundred amazing folks lined up to share their choices over the next months.

So now I'm off to try and get ready before Henry wakes up (poor little guy is teething like crazy), but I'm sending you a million happy weekend wishes! xoxo

edited to add: I got a few question in the comments about the dress I have on. It's from Target! I think it's even in the sale section right now. :)