26 Years Young

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that Wednesday was my Birthday! It turned out to be a great day, despite having to work and ending up on the bathroom floor at the end of the day praying I wouldn't vomit (I guess that's what happens when you eat your weight in sugar). Haha

My mom wasn't going to be able to make it up to see me on my birthday, so she took me to lunch on Monday and brought me homemade cookies (and a Rubbermaid container of raw cookie dough). I, of course, had to eat it all on Monday before it had a chance to go bad! 

Skip a day of boringness in between, then we get to my Birthday morning which started off with donuts from a coworker...

Then by 10:00, we cut into my cake that a coworker made for me...

Then I got a delivery of gorgeous flowers from Jacob...

When I walked into the apartment after work, I was so surprised to see this...

My wonderful husband drove to my favorite cupcake shop (30+ minutes away) during his lunch hour and set up this sweet surprise for me! I refused to tell him what I wanted (because for once, I didn't really want anything), so he settled for getting me a Target gift card (good call on his part ;)). 

We then went out to eat pizza with my brother, SIL, and niece...

Her face was priceless when they brought out my apple dessert pizza (which is one of my favorite things ever). 

Once I got home, I realized that the 3 donuts, 3 pieces of cake, lasagna (lunch), pizza, wine, and apple dessert pizza were probably not the best idea. Instead of inhaling those delicious cupcakes like I had every intention of doing, I found myself laying on the bathroom floor praying I could keep it all down. Haha. No lie, I was afraid I was going to die or go into a sugar coma on my birthday! 

Since I wasn't able to force the cupcakes down that evening, I had to get up and eat one the next morning so Jacob would know how much I appreciated them (even though sweets were the last thing on my mind). Haha 

Hopefully by the time I turn 27, I'll learn to stop after the first helping of sweets...

Are Independent Women Killing Chivalry?

As I left my office this afternoon, a nice woman held the door for me when she noticed me a few paces back. A simple notion that I am usually the giver of, rather than the recipient. It made me try to recall the last time a man held the door for me. Other than my husband, of course, who tells me that I never give him a chance to open the door because I'm always three strides in front of him (I can't help it, usually we are going into a restaurant when we are together in public so who can blame a girl for practically running?!) or older men at church, I honestly couldn't remember the last time a door was held for me by a man. 

I could stand on a soapbox and say that chivalry is dead, but I'm beginning to think that isn't the case. Could it be that we, self-empowered, independent women of the 21st Century have become so self-reliant that we can't even allow a man to open a door for us? Maybe I'm not in a hurry to get to food, after all, maybe I'm in a hurry to get to the door to prove that I don't need a man to open it for me...

Thoughts?

P.S. If any of you try to wait for a door to be held for you tomorrow, only to see that door slamming in your face, I take no responsibility for that...I blame the parents of that chivalrousless man! Haha 

My Name is Alana and I Have a Binge Watching Addiction...

It all started years ago when one of the families I babysat for handed me the remote and said "Feel free to watch Netflix while the baby is napping. The Office is a good place to start!" It was all downhill from there...I watched every episode of The Office within a matter of weeks.

When Jacob and I got married, we quickly decided that it just wasn't worth spending over $100 a month on cable when we rarely watched it. I wasn't completely sure I could survive without cable, but I decided to give it a try. Ten months later and I am happy to say that I don't miss cable one bit!

I have had quite a few people ask me for show recommendations, so I decided to compile a list of great shows to binge watch. There are a lot of popular shows on this list and a few hidden gems that you probably haven't heard of.

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I am almost done with Army Wives so I will need to find another show soon. Any recommendations? 

Something Old, Something New...

And this is the post where I dump a ton of wedding photos on you with little to no words--enjoy! 

FYI, despite what pinterest may show, going barefoot at a beach wedding in August is a HORRIBLE idea--this is right before my brother came and gave me his flip flops so I could make it down the aisle without 3rd degree burns! 

 

Before We Said "I Do"

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! Thanks to my long weekend, I was finally able to start going through wedding photos to share. Because my sister-in-law took SUCH amazing photos of our wedding, I have way too many to share in just one post, so today I am sharing our before-wedding photos!

I was originally fearful that my Vera Wang dress was a bit "much" for a beach wedding,
but I just couldn't imagine wearing anything else on my big day and it was absolutely perfect!

I saw something similar to this on pinterest and I had to recreate it--I sat in my hotel room for hours the night before the wedding, gluing the decorations to the vases provided by the hotel. Destination weddings are great, but not so fun for the bride with a vision. haha

My mom gave me a beautiful Tiffany's pearl bracelet right before the wedding
(I wore her pearl necklace for the wedding). 

Giving my niece (and flower girl) her starfish necklace.

Jacob and I wanted to exchange gifts before the wedding but I was adamant about not wanting him to see me until I walked down the aisle, so this was the solution!  

Cue the waterworks! He gave me a beautiful pair of pearl earrings, but the best part was that he gave me a heartfelt card telling me to relax and enjoy our day and that he was so grateful to be marrying me. I couldn't help but cry! haha

And I guess I did alright with my gift to him (a leather banded Fossil watch)...

Stay tuned for the rest of our wedding photos!