27th Birthday!

Another year, another birthday for the blog! This is probably the fourth of fifth birthday I've shared on the blog. That's pretty cool, huh?

I celebrated my birthday with a weekend full of drinking. Seems like I'm really growing up...

Friday started with one of my favorite events of the city, the American Craft Beer Festival! I went with a large group but ended up just sticking with a few people throughout the night. I had an awesome time trying tons and tons of beer, of course!

I didn't take any pictures except one of my pretzel necklace!

And here's a blurry one my friend Caity took:

I didn't get much sleep, but I woke up on Saturday excited about the day! Two of my friends came in for my birthday -- I have the best friends! Hayley was there when I woke up and we spent the day chatting and laying out in the sun. It was 80 degrees and sunny. Perfect. When Sara arrived the three of us went to the grocery store to get ready for the BBQ I was having!

Again, I didn't take any pictues, but the cookout was great and I'm so happy my neighbors share their cute little backyard.

After some eating, drinking and game playing we headed to one of my favorite bars, Scholar's, for the night.

It was a super fun night but I definitely had too much to drink, as evidenced by the worst hangover I've ever experienced on Sunday. Still, I smiled big when I saw how these four slept on Saturday night. They must really love me :-)

Sadly, my birthday was spent alternating between my bed and the bathroom. Eventually I felt okay enough to sit on the couch watching a Harry Potter marathon, eating some cold leftover french fries, and admiring my birthday flowers.

I have to say, I received so many really nice messages on facebook, texts and phone calls from people this year. It made me feel so loved and special.

And now...the celebrations will continue into next weekend in NEW ORLEANS! Woo woo!

Fours

Four names that people call me other than my real name:
Jule/Jules
Joz
Julie Bug
Juelz (like Juelz Santana...LOL)

Four jobs I’ve had:
Gymnastics coach
Cashier at Steve & Barry's
"Recreation Assistant" AKA Towel Folder at Northeastern gyms
Development & Communications Manager (right now!)

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
Moulin Rouge

Fight Club

Love Actually

Hook

Four books I’d recommend:
I Know This Much is True

Me Before You

The World According to Garp

MaddAddam Trilogy (Technically three books...)

Four places I’ve lived:
Massapequa, NY

Back Bay in Boston, MA

South Boston, MA

Cape Town, South Africa (for 6 months)

Four places I’ve visited:
Botswana

Italy

Iceland

Israel

Four places I’d rather be right now:
Lounging on the beach
At the airport waiting to board a flight for a fun vacation
Hanging out with friends anywhere
Sitting on my back deck reading a book

Four things I prefer not to eat:
Chicken :-(
Asparagus
Canned fruit/vegetables (unless it's cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving)
Grapefruit

Four of my favorite foods:

Pickles

Watermelon

French fries

Shell fish (in general!)

Four TV shows I watch:
Game of Thrones

The Walking Dead
Modern Family

The Amazing Race

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:
New Orleans in a few weeks

My sister's wedding in July

Figuring out a West Coast trip for the fall

Running some 5ks

Four things I’m always saying:
I miss you (I live far away from a lot of people)

Aw (I find a lot of things to be cute)

Love you (nearly every time I get off the phone with anyone)

Thank you (lots to be grateful for, always)

Four favorite songs:

"The Trapeze Swinger" - Iron & Wine

"You Get What You Give" - New Radicals

"Fireworks" - Animal Collective

"You Make My Dreams Come True" - Hall & Oates

Four items on your wish list:

This $600 Vitamix

A trip to Japan

New sneakers

A boxer puppy

My First Stitch Fix!

I've been hating on my wardrobe lately. It just doesn't seem "grown up" which isn't surprising since most of my clothing comes from Old Navy and Target...

In any case, last month I decided to finally try Stitch Fix! From their website: Stitch Fix is the first fashion retailer to blend expert styling, proprietary technology and unique product to deliver a shopping experience that is truly personalized for you. Simply fill out the Stitch Fix Style Profile and our personal stylists will handpick a selection of five clothing items and accessories unique to your taste, budget and lifestyle. You can buy what you like and return the rest!

When you sign up you answer a bunch of questions about your style, pricing preference, and generally what you're looking for. I also connected my Pinterest board and went to work filling it with feminine styles and bright fun colors (I thought I didn't have a personal style, buuut, I definitely do).

I set my delivery date for May 21, and when the package came it felt like Christmas! Look at all the pretty colors and patterns!

Here's what I got:

Jarred Lace Detail Cap-Sleeve Blouse:

Kept! I LOVE this top and already wore it! Such a pretty color and I love love love the details on top.

Avah Chevron Print Dolman Sleeve Top:

Sent back. This shirt was really comfy and I liked the color, but it was pretty expensive for a basic top.

Priya Sequin Detail Top

Sadly, sent back. I really wanted to like this one. I loved it when I pulled it out of the box -- the front is light pink and the back is grey cotton. The sequin details in the front just gorgeous. Unfortunately I just didn't love how it looked on me. I wish it was a tiny bit longer.

Kam Dress

This was a tough one and I debated it until the last second. I am obsessed with the pattern and colors on this dress. Seriously SO pretty. However the material was a little heavy (it reminded me of a wet suit) and it "cupcaked" out at my waist a little too much for my liking. In the end, I sent it back.

Hudson Dress:

I loved how this dress looked in the picture, but not so much how it looked on me. Sent back.

Overall I'm very happy with Stich Fix, despite only keeping one item. I think my stylist totally knew what I was looking for and delivered. Sadly, not everything is going to fit how you want it to.

At least I get to keep wearing that pretty blue shirt!!

Reset

My mind has been all over the place lately. I've been distracted in everything I do, and it's time for a physical and mental reset. I read this great post on Reddit this morning about how to improve your life today with four simple rules:

Rule #1. Never have a "zero" day: A zero day is when you don't do a single thing towards a dream or goal or whatever it is you want for your life. This doesn't mean you have to do something huge every day. If your goal is to get fit, it could be doing just one single push up before going to bed. For me, I have to stop this consistent string of zero days I've been having.

Rule #2. Be mindful of the "three yous" - the past you, the present you, and the future you. Be grateful to the past you for the positive things you've done and do favors in the present for the future you. The cycle of doing something for someone else (future you) and thanking someone for the good in your life (past you) is the key to building gratitude and productivity in the present.

Rule #3. Forgive yourself, and move on. This one is a no brainer, but sometimes it's the toughest thing to do.

Rule #4. Increase exercise and reading. I've touted the benefits of exercise and reading for years, but I haven't been practicing it much lately, particularly the exercise part. I've been spending so much of my time on the dang computer mindlessly scrolling through social media. It has to stop.

So I've made some goals for myself:

1. Complete Couch to 5K. I think I'm finally over the worst of my injuries (despite having some ongoing, lingering neck pain...ugh) so I'd really like to start running again. Today I completed week one, workout one, and I really want to finish it through. I'd love to do some 5ks this fall.

2. Read in bed vs. watch TV before going to sleep at least half the nights of the week.

3. Sign out of facebook, twitter, etc. each time so I'm less likely to go on. This shit is nothing but a fake jealousy fueler and I can't take it anymore.

4. Return to yoga. I stopped going to yoga when I hurt my neck and then had trouble getting back into the swing of it. Yoga was such a wonderful mental release for me and I would really like to start going again at least once a week.

5. Some people won't love you no matter what you do. Some people won't stop loving you know matter what you do. Go where the love is. 

Liz's Bridal Shower

I went home to New York last weekend for Liz's bridal shower. This was the last real event before the big day -- just about a month and a half to go!

Before I get to the shower, I need to post this picture of the amazing sandwich I had in NY. Why can't I transplant a few NY delis to Boston??

Is there anything better than an egg everything bagel?

Planning for the shower started a while back. We decided to have it out in Bay Shore at Fatfish Wine Bar & Bistro and it turned out to be the perfect spot! I sent out these adorable invitations to everyone and included a recipe card for people to fill out as a special gift to Liz.

The weather on the morning of the shower was really bad. It was down pouring and it didn't look good for the rest of the day. Somehow, just as the party started the sun came out and we wound up with a beautiful day!

The shower was a bit of a pinterest overload. I have a pretty crafty family and my cousin and sister knocked it out of the park helping with decorations and gifts from the bridesmaids. And now, time for tons of pictures!

Tables all set up

My little sister made that sign!

"Activities table"

Date night jar -- everyone filled out a date night on a popsicle stick

Marriage advice book (all the guests filled out a card)

Do you spy the Santa Claus in the bottom right?

Homemade chocolate favors

Honeymoon gift basket from the bridesmaids

Wedding day gift basket from the bridesmaids

Amazing "wine for firsts" basket from the bridesmaids

With my little Laura

All the guests!

This was a lesson in public speaking for me. I once again learned my voice is not happy to project.

"The Dating Game" -- I taped Liz's fiancee Marvin answering a bunch of questions, which Liz had to then answer herself. Any questions right, she gets a scratch ticket! Any wrong, she has to chew a piece of bubble gum (she was a BAD SPORT!)

Sisters!

Bridesmaids, minus 3!

Strange traditions

There are so many weird traditions around bridal showers. The strangest being that you cannot use a knife/scissors to open any gifts. And apparently guests are not supposed to give knives either. We all almost injured ourselves opening the boxes up with forks.

And now...it's almost time for the wedding!