his birthday.

Happy birthday to my..

best friend,

soul mate,

high school sweetheart,

better half,

husband,

old boyfriend,

one time fiancé,

doggy daddy,

future baby daddy,

med school student,

lover.

You're the best thing that has ever happened to me,

and I'm forever grateful you were born on September 24th, 1990.

We celebrated his birthday a little early this year, since I unfortunately had to work on his actual birthday and then had a very early flight to catch the next morning. 

We had people over for cake, root beer floats, & Krispy Kreme's. 

I made a "no bake" cheesecake.. and it looked cute for about 2 seconds until it started melting and turned into pudding.

Wife fail.

But hey, no way to go wrong with donuts and ice cream though, right?

We played lots of catch phrase, and visited with friends, late into the night.

It was really sweet!

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us!

Click "read more" to see the rest of his birthday celebrations!

birthday girl.

Happy belated birthday to meeee!

Goodness gracious it was a wonderful day.

First off lets talk about how my AMAZING hubby went above and beyond. 

Like, really. 

I woke up to a ton of balloons with numbers on them. 

He told me to pick one..

then he had a ton of little notes in envelopes that coincided with the numbers.

When I opened the note it had a little clue on it, which then lead me to this incredible game-show-style display that had little cubbies with numbers on them-

and that's when I'd open the box and find the present inside!

Pretty impressive huh?

He seriously makes my heart so happy.

No other person in this whole entire world has done so many nice things for me, 

simply because he wants to see me smile.

I can't say it enough.

I love this man so dang much it hurts.

And to top it all off he also had a huge quiz the next day.

He sacrificed hours of studying to make my day special,

and I can't thank him enough. 

Lately I've had an obsession with these candies. It's not good. 

Prettiest flowers.  He did good.

Oh yeah I also got this vintage bar cart- it's my new favorite piece. 

Romei also got a present, too. He was pretty excited. 

After opening all my presents,

Zak went off to class and I headed over to a birthday breakfast the wives were throwing me-

which was the sweetest thing ever.

These ladies make everything from scratch, and let me tell you, they know how to freaking {pardon my language} cook.

It was so yummy and a great way to start my birthday celebrations!

Thanks ladies!!

For some reason I look like I'm wearing a straight jacket?

Then I met Zak back at home and actually took a nap-

which NEVER happens. 

I'm not a napper- it actually stresses me out {I know, I'm really weird}

but yesterday's was so nice and relaxing. 

It gave me the perfect chance to recharge before heading to the mall!

I was then told to go have an afternoon of shopping and eat lots of cookies at Paradise Bakery-

it was like the best set of directions I've ever been given!

First stop, Anthropologie. 

Gosh I could just buy that whole store. 

I snagged a pumpkin souffle candle- perfect for fall and this cold {don't even get me started} weather we've been having. 

I total recommend it!

I then skimmed over Pottery Barn and found a total steal on a aged silver pitcher I've been eyeing for a very long time. 

Then I found the perfect birthday dress for our Saturday night dinner date..

and continued to window shop and eat the best cookies ever. 

On my home I picked up our favorite Greek take-out and we had a picnic on the living room floor while watching some Netflix.

It sure was a great day.

I can't thank everyone enough for all the phone calls, texts, emails, comments, gifts and birthday celebrations.

Really, it made me so happy.

See more of my birthday post below!

birthday wish list.

Welp 23 has come and almost gone!

So I thought I'd list a couple things I'll be wishing for this year.

1. To get on the Phoenix Track- long story short there's a chance Zak could finish his 3rd and 4th year in AZ.. but we're on the wait list still.. so yeah that is the stop thing on my list this year!

2.  Skype call with the family. 

3. Dinner with my hubs. Any sort. Unfortunately he has a test the day after my birthday.. so our celebration might be held off till the weekend. 

4. Flowers. What girls doesn't love flowers?! Peonies, babies breath, hydrangeas. Love them all. 

5. Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. So I can celebrate without feeling guilty {see last post to why we're trying to be healthy now}.

6. Zak's choice of present. He's the best at picking presents. And the best at surprises. And the best at being all lovey dovey romantic man. 

:)

7. Candles. Enough said, I have an obsession.

8. A day of shopping. Literally don't know the last time I shopped. Love you Omaha, but your fashion kinda stinks. So maybe just window shopping.

9. A family walk with Romie. One of my favorite things to do, ever.

10. Well shoot, I was going to list this retro Anthropologie bathing suit i've been eyeing forever. But, they're all sold out now. Dangit! I guess that's what I get for waiting till fall to order a swim suit. 

I asked for my birthday off from work, so to say I'm excited is an understatement!

Next Thursday should be a really good day. 

xoxo

September.

Oh yeah double blog post on a Friday night!

partayyy.

It's September- the best month of the year!

It's our birthday month.

And I'm in a wedding.

And I'm going to Arizona.

Woot woot. 

I can't wait. 

It's been six months since I've been back, and that's way too long. 

I'm so excited to see everyone.

August went by in a flash.

It was a pretty good month.

I put my phone down lot, worried less and prayed more. 

We ate way too much, and now we're paying for it. 

Trying to be "healthy" this month, wish us luck.

Zak has one month of school down, and time is flying by.

The temperature is cooling down, and I'm just waiting for the leaves to change. 

I'm trying to embrace the stupid cold months and look forward to the holidays and not the single digits.

I've been keeping busy with lots of breaking news, pool days with the wives, running, dinner with girlfriends and long walks with Romie. 

First time laying out all summer.. and now I'm a lobster. Never again. 

Study breaks are my favorite times.

This is why we are not eating out this month- TOO much Chinese take-out.

Oh just looking like a wet cat after the tornado watch we had.

I'm really really really going to miss our green view come the next few months.

Today I spent my afternoon cooking lots of meals-

and now our little apartment smells like tomatoes, basil, freshly baked baguettes and pasta.

It's devine. 

For some reason when I feel anxiety creeping up 

{which seems to be daily, why?!}

cooking and walks with Rom and running seems to help. 

So that's what I've been doing a lot of lately. 

Oh and cuddles with the hubs too, that always helps.

:)

 Oh and here are some photos of Romie.

PS his name is pronounced like Rome and ee not Raw-mi.

#crazydoglady

This is him not wanting to get out of bed.

After Zak leaves at the crack of dawn he becomes my cuddle buddy.

happy birthday husband.

My babe turned 23 yesterday! 

It's blast being married and celebrating together. We started the day off with a big birthday breakfast. You know the whole works- pancakes, bacon and eggs! Mmm it was pretty delish. Oh and he opened his presents of course.

I just love spoiling him. 

He scored tickets to an upcoming concert he'd been wanting to attend!

 Afterwards I had to go to a little interview (ps I have some exciting news, I'll have to tell you about soon) and then Zak headed off to class. 

When he got home we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Rojas and enjoyed a nice helping of chips and salsa. My favorite! And Zak's too. 

Well when we got home I had a little dessert party planned but someone (cough cough Zakary) passed out at 6:30 pm. I think it's safe to say medical school is exhausting. I know I say it all the time, but I don't know how he does it! 

I took some pictures yesterday, but they're on Zak's phone.. and he's at school.. so here are some of my favorites that I do have on hand. 

Hope you enjoy.

xoxo

birthday girl.

Another year has come and past. I'm twenty three now!

Crazy.

It was an awesome day. Zak out did himself really. He always tells me his goal in life is to make me happy, and that he does. 

First I should warn you that he is a the king of surprises. He always has something pulled up his sleeve. I never try and guess. I love waiting to see what he has planned each time. 

When I woke up yesterday I was greeted with a smile and a kiss and led out to our living room which was adorned in pink and mint streamers, balloons and banners. His decorating skills are the cutest, I swear. 

He had me open some of the presents, I snagged three adorable white owl vases and a couple cute blouses. Then he pulled out the fruitiest birthday cake I had ever seen. 

Side note: Whole Foods has the best cakes! 

Anyways, that sucker was gone within the hour. No mercy.

After we finished eating cake for breakfast, I turned around and saw one more present sitting on the table with a big teal bow on it. I started to rip off the wrapping paper and saw the words "MacBook Pro."

I literally could not believe it. 

Honestly, I backed away from it and kept asking if it were real about five times. 

Seriously he's the best. 

I don't even know what to say. 

A new laptop.

WOOT WOOT!

After present opening, Zak headed off to take a quiz and I got ready for our day date plans. We went to our local iPic theater to see "We're the Millers" and then headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant Roja's for some good ole chips and salsa. If you can't tell by reading this blog, chips and salsa aka Mexican food is one of our favorite types of food. 

We eat it any chance we get.

Afterwards we headed home, I blew out my candles and made a wish! We had already eaten my cake, so we made do with a fudge bar to hold the candles. It was a mighty fine substitute if you ask me. 

I also had a Skype session with my family too. 

It was more like a cry fest actually. 

I don't know if we're just an emotional family or what, but the tears were flowing! 

We just miss them so much. But it was so nice being able to see everyone, including my pup Romie! 

Oh and I can't forget about the snail mail! And a package from my pops. 

One fun thing about living out of state is getting things in mail, it's always fun and never gets old. 

Zak's side of the family is just too sweet to me. All of his grandmas sent me birthday cards, including his great grandma. I mean, how cute it that? I hope I remember all of my grandkids birthdays when I'm in my nineties too. 

We finished the night ending book five of the Harry Potter series. That's right, we're HP nerds. And read together. Well it's more like Zak reads to me. We have our own little book club. 

I love it. And every time we finish a book we treat ourselves by watching {and critiquing} the movie. So we got all of our pillows and blankets and had a little slumber party in the living room as we watched Order of the Phoenix.

Perfect way to end my birthday. 

A HUGE thank you to my husband. You always seem to amaze me. And I am one lucky lady to have you for all eternity! I also need to start gearing up for your birthday now, you certainly set the bar high.

And to our family & friends. It was really nice {especially being away from AZ} to get all of the well wishes, text messages, phone calls and cards. I was feeling extra loved.

Thank you!

xoxo

wish list.

So my birthday is right around the corner. And I'm trying to think really hard about what I want. My parents have already asked me a few times, and I want to be prepared the next time the birthday topic comes up. So i've decided to make a little list. 

**cough cough, in case Zakary decides to read this post there will be links included for each potential present, cough cough**

1. A dinner out with my honey.  Hmm maybe somewhere romantic, possibly a rooftop dinner in Old Market? 

2. Plane tickets home. Thankfully my parents brought this one up!

3. Anthropologie candle. I mean, they smell like heaven and last 50 years. How could you go wrong with one of those puppies?

4. A Skype date with my entire family, including Romie {my doggie}! Yep, everyone. Mom, pop, Ericka and the kiddos. It's been entirely too long since I've seen their faces. I miss them so much. 

5. Dessert with my hubby so we can of course share a banana split {that's kinda our favorite thing to do} and blow out a candle or two.

6. An entryway bench. You know I'm a married woman when I ask for furniture for my birthday. This one is cute {and matches our office chair} and this one is adorable too {in white maybe?}.

7. Flowers. What girls doesn't adore flowers?

8. Maybe one or two of these prints for our frame wall? I seriously love them all. I really can't decide which ones are my favorite, I could take them all. 

9. I'm still thinking.. 

10. ...A new laptop... Wait what? Who said that? Kidding! 

11. A white owl vase. Weird, I know. But I'm an animal lover and these little guys are too cute around the house. Zakary if you're reading this we found them at the Nebraska like Ikea place we went into a few weeks ago. Hint hint. 

12. Final Cut Pro? But wait, that isn't compatible with my MacBook anymore. Seems I would need a new laptop for this program... kidding again! 

13. A job. Depressing. I'm kidding again. But hey it would be kinda nice I suppose. 

14. A med school student hubby who gets an A+++ on his quiz, that happens to be on the same day. 

15. I don't know still.  

I'm sure I'll update/change this list a million times as the days draw nearer. And by the way these are all not expected {obviously} by any means! Just some ideas. 

xoxo