i was wrong.

27 isn't for the birds. It was the best birthday to date, thanks to my wonderful husband, family and sweet friends. Each played a significant role in making my day incredibly special. Thank you for the gifts, the cards, the phone calls, and the texts. I am blessed and feel very loved.

Isn't my mom-in-law the best? She dropped this off at the office before we headed out of town on Thursday. It's safe to say that we had enough goodies to last us all weekend at the beach.

This hand-carved bracelet made it's way into the goodie bag. I LOVE it and haven't taken it off of my wrist. Thanks again, Shug!

I would be lying if I said that being at the beach didn't help lift my birthday spirits. Friday morning I woke to my daily forehead kiss from the hubs and him telling me to sleep in and that he would be back shortly. When I came to, I headed downstairs and found a box of my favorite donuts on the counter ready and waiting to be eaten. 

John was kind enough to document his trip for me. Well, really, he was just taking pictures to send to family/friends to make them jealous and I so happened to come across them and asked if he would be kind enough to share them with me for the blog...What can I say? The truth hurts! HA. 

After a delightful breakfast, we took our first walk of 2012 on the beach. My, how it has changed from last year! We couldn't believe how recessed the ocean was! 

After our walk we decided to gear up for the day ahead of us = pour some bubbly! My birthday is a celebration, right?   

Cheers to 27!

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the pool, reading on the front porch, and driving around on the golf cart—a beach favorite. 

The chapel in Carillon. It's precious. 

Thursday night John chose the restaurant for dinner (The Red Bar...shocker!), so I got to choose the restaurant for dinner Friday night, my birthday night (naturally). I wanted to go somewhere we had never been and decided on V seagrove. BEST. FOOD. EVER. Not only was the food great, but the service was phenomenal. John and I were very impressed and cannot wait to go back. 

iPhone = blurry.

We took the party to Bud & Alley's after dinner and then home for...presents! What did John give me you ask? A dress, two tops, a cookie cake, and a delicious candle! I'm thankful for his generous heart :) 

Saturday was "Anniversary Celebration Day." We beached it all day and I loved it. The weather could not have been more perfect—sunny with a breeze. 

We took our typical walk on the beach, strolled around Carillon, but added a new fun tradition...paddle ball! SO fun. 

That evening we had reservations at the quaint Cafe Tango in Blue Mountain Beach. My sweet friend, Lacey, recommended it to us and it most definitely exceeded our expectations. YUM. 

I will go ahead and skip to Sunday evening, seeing that Sunday was spent doing the same as Friday and Saturday and because, clearly, the food was the main attraction of the trip. Man, we are fat kids. We decided to head to the other side of town, Panama City Beach (!), for an evening of fun. We ate an early dinner at The Back Porch—an oldie, but a goodie and then hopped across the street to the Pier to watch the sunset. It was stunning. The best part? Sharing that moment with John. It is a moment I will never forget!

Breathtaking.

 We walked around Pier Park for a bit, listened to some music at Tootsies, and got some icecream before heading to play...

PUTT PUTT!

This wasn't our first rodeo. It has become somewhat of a tradition for me and the hubs. Moral of the story: we played, I won, and now I get to go on a shopping-spree. I would also like to mention that I was mere inches away from getting a hole-in-one on the 18th hole. INCHES! For something that is seemingly impossible, that's talent.

When I woke up Monday morning I was slightly depressed since it was our last day at the beach. After packing and cleaning up we drove to Seaside for breakfast and one last stroll around the block. Because it was our real anniversary, we decided to splurge and start our feast off with beignets. I'm salivating right now thinking about them. 

The time came to say our goodbyes and hit the road. It was bittersweet.

I'm so thankful for my time at the beach with John celebrating my birthday and our first big milestone. It could not have been a more perfect weekend. Back to life, back to reality. 

you are the best thing.

As I mentioned in the commencement of this blog and throughout, John and I are huge Ray LaMontagne fans. We have seen him in concert three times since we started dating (every time he comes to town or comes in a 300 mile radius of it). Let's take it a step further: I am an official "fan club" member (no, I am not embarrassed to admit that). A step even further: I emailed his manager and asked if we could book him for our wedding. Surprisingly, he emailed me back. Not surprisingly, they declined my offer. A step even further than further: the fact that the band we did choose for our wedding had a few Ray tunes on their song list was a deciding factor in booking them. I'm not crazy, I promise. Anyway, we settled by dancing our first dance as man and wife to "You are the Best Thing." 

I knew that I wanted to incorporate our song into John's anniversary gift, so what better way to do that than with the sheet music to our song! 

The first step was to find and purchase the sheet music. I decided to buy a downloadable version and put our new, handy-dandy printer to good use. Check. Embarrassingly, I ended up printing it onto resumé  paper that I have had since my fleeting days of college. My motto: work with what you've got. Check.

While browsing around the internet for DIY projects involving sheet music I came across some great ideas:

Due to the space in the condo, or lack thereof, I narrowed it down to either wrapping several books with it or framing each page.

After much deliberation, I decided to go with the option that would make more of a statement...frames. I had a feeling that the books would get lost in the mix. The frames are something that we can view daily and are a good conversation piece. Check.

I ordered five simple 11x14 white frames and matting from Amazon. Check. Within a few days they arrived at our doorstep. 

Here are the details of the project from start to finish:

 ...and the finished product!

I love them. John loved them. And now I can't wait to hang them!

eat cake, we did.

The cake lived up to my expectations and excitement, friends. SCRUMDILIOCIOUS. 

Vanilla spongecake with Italian buttercream frosting. MMM. 

Not only did I have a piece last night, but I also had a piece for breakfast and a sliver (or two) when I got home from work today. Shhhhh, don't tell John! I plan on eating another piece after dinner tonight. I'm telling you, it's that good.

Last night, we also exchanged anniversary gifts. Below are John's awaiting his arrival. The coffee table book is "Building with Reclaimed Materials," by Beta-Plus. We purchased it this past weekend while strolling around Seaside. It's a beaut and definitely goes along with the "paper" theme. What's inside the box, you ask?! You will just have to stay tuned...

As far as my gift goes, my thoughtful husband gave me tickets to...

LADY ANTEBELLUM!!! They are coming to concert this June and I could not be more thrilled! They are one of my most favorite bands and I have been nagging begging John to take me for years. I had no idea they were coming to Birmingham any time soon, so this was a pleasant surprise! Props to the hubs! 

Our one year anniversary is going to be hard to beat! The countdown to two begins...

a story.

One year ago today...

this guy...

and this girl...

in the sight of God...

and in the presence of these witnesses...

exchanged vows, rings and a kiss.

Tonight they get to celebrate and eat this cake...

AND then, they lived happily ever after! The end.

Can you tell that I am excited about sticking a fork in the cake that has been taunting me for officially a year now?!

We are back from the beach, but not nearly close to being unpacked and settled back into our normal routine. I just wanted to take a quick minute to post and wish the love of my life, JBB, a HAPPY one year ANNIVERSARY. A post and pics to come soon from our weekend getaway!

i don't even want to celebrate.

My 27th birthday, that is. Most people's cut-off birthday is usually the big 3-0, but I'm not most people. My cut-off was 26. With our anniversary falling three days after my birthday, I haven't really thought much about turning aging one year older. I've been too busy planning our anniversary getaway to the beach this weekend. I would say that having neighboring celebration dates is an advantage. In my case, it's matter over mind.

My dad called last week to "remind" me that my birthday was coming up. Talk about a punch to the gut. For the first time, it set in that in the approaching days I would be 27! This may sound absurd to some, but I had a mild panic attack. In my eyes, I'm old. And it's only downhill from here...

On the plus side, I get to celebrate with my hubby this weekend. At the beach. One of my favorite places on this earth. On the other plus side, double the presents or one big present! (Wishful thinking, I know). In case he is feeling generous, here are a few items that are currently on my wish list:

The Singer 160 Anniversary Edition Sewing Machine. SWOON!

Jiffy Steamer. Thanks, Brooke, for making me yearn for one!

Crimson Lake Bikini from Anthropologie.

iMo Almond Camera Strap

Longchamp 'le pliage large tote bag.

That's not all. But, that's all for now. See ya on the flip side!