A Birthday Week

What a week - there are weeks that I feel like absolutely nothing happens and I might have just a handful of pictures; usually of a pretty sunset or an interesting flower, and then other weeks I have more pictures than I know what to do with. I suppose if nothing else, it's the ebb and flow of life...sometimes you're busy (in a good way)...sometimes you're busy (in a bad way)...and sometimes you are absolutely doing nothing...which can also be done in a good way or a bad way. Ha!

This week was filled with lots of busyness; thankfully it was the kind of busyness that made me happy to be alive and happy to have so many wonderful things to keep my busy. Weeks like this past one? They're always a win!

Gorgeous blue skies & puffy white clouds after a week of rain was absolute perfection.

Not the kind of ride along buddy you want when you're out for a drive.

I had Monday off - in celebration of my birthday - and so I tried very hard to sleep late (does 8 AM count as late?) and just enjoy my day of doing nothing. Granted, I didn't actually do "nothing" but did quite a few things and started my day by walking 2.5 miles with my Dad (I mean, after coffee...obviously...I don't do anything in the morning without being caffeinated first...). I asked my Mom to meet me for lunch at TGIFriday's and then I stopped in at Old Navy to check out the 40% off sale - and got myself a dress and two belts. I passed the afternoon just relaxing and walking outside with my sweet pup and then ended the night opening presents and having a cupcake. I did everything a little early so that my sister could be in on the presents and cake via FaceTime. Certainly not a bad way to start the week, right?

This decision was swift & not remotely unexpected - wonder what the 2016 season will hold?

Happy (almost) Birthday to me!

Birthday gifts from the family - a FitBit (from the parents) & Hunter boots (from the sis!)

Tuesday was my actual birthday - I could have taken my actual birthday off but I work with my friends (so awesome!) and so I chose to work on my birthday...and I had a great day! My sweet friends had awesome gifts for me (as did my boss) and they even surprised me by giving me a jar of pickles, because they already know me too well! The work day passed pretty smoothly and the day was absolutely lovely; I really soaked up all the sunshine after a week of clouds. My Mom and I had birthday supper at our local Mexican restaurant - although this year I didn't mention it was my birthday, I didn't want to get marked with chocolate syrup and ice cream - and I grabbed my *free* birthday Starbucks for dessert! We spent the evening at Long Branch for a fairly spooky meeting of our book club and of course, I closed my birthday with one more cupcake...just for good measure.

Ha - pickles for a present!

Autumn/Halloween office decor - almost all of it was a gift from my friends.

Salted Caramel Mocha Frappucino? Seems like an awesome birthday dessert to me!

An evening at Long Branch for book club - the spooky edition. The lanterns certainly added a "vibe"...

Wine & a cupcake? Here's to being 31!

The rest of the week passed pretty quietly - I did my walking/jogging, enjoyed fairly easy days at work, watched some good television with my Mom and just went about my day to day in a happy mood. My Mom announced my final birthday gift was touring Nationals Park and let me know we'd be doing that on November 1st...so I'm counting down the days to that, ha-ha! I decided I'd back the Cubs for this whole postseason thing - they are at least a National League team and I like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo & Jake Arrieta pretty well...so we'll see how that all pans out. Maybe Back to the Future was prophetic? My office was so intrigued by my surprise birthday tea that we've now scheduled our first office outing - going to tea together in November! My November is shaping up to be pretty epic...between touring Nats Park, going to tea, going to the Saints-Redskins match-up and a trip to Mississippi for Thanksgiving...but then again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

An outfit of the day shot - because why not?

Relaxing on his bed...completely ignoring the humans in the room...& his toys.

Gorgeous Mums on our front porch!

My weekend started a little earlier than usual - I had to get to out to the countryside for a certain little boy's eighth birthday party and so I was granted an early release from work to do so. I wore my Star Wars shirt for the birthday boy's thoroughly Star Wars-ified birthday party...all the food was themed perfectly - Death Star Donuts anyone? How about a handful of Ewok Bites? A sip of Dagobah swamp punch? I had all of those...and more! I helped a tiny Yoda battle Darth Vader and some other Jedis and even walked away from the party with my very own light saber...in blue of course. Made from a pool noodle, obviously. After dropping my parents off at Dulles, I came home and watched some Scandal before falling asleep for the night. Not a bad way to start off the weekend, if I do say so myself.

I love this little stinker...even if he insists on being on the Dark Side.

Selfies with Yoda...Take One.

Selfies with Yoda - Take Two.

In an epic battle of good versus evil...

We won our first battle, so we moved on to another...

The many faces of Yoda.

Saturday was a semi-lazy day - I started the day with coffee and caught up on all my shows; I watched Bones, Sleepy Hollow and Reign pretty quickly, all while drinking plenty of coffee. I did break up the marathon with a 1+ mile walk with Watson...I couldn't just be a complete lazy bum. I made up for the somewhat lazy morning by shopping till I dropped on Saturday afternoon! Everyone always needs one of those days where they shop the afternoon away and between a recent bonus at work and birthday money, I was perfectly set up to tackle a project I'd been hoping to do for some months now - re-do my bedroom! I had the bedding already picked out, but I needed some accessories and decor to go with it. I found everything I needed at Target, Hobby Lobby (I found more than I needed here...but that's always the case) Home Goods, Country Treasures and of course, the even dependable Wal-Mart! Once I came home with all my goodies, Watson and I took a walk and I started to work on my room...getting the smaller pieces in place, leaving the bigger projects (hanging curtains and changing bedding) for Sunday afternoon. Watson and I ended the evening watching Hocus Pocus - do y'all love that movie? I do!

A Fall tree on our afternoon walk.

Nothing deters this beggar...nothing.

A note about the above picture of Watson. He has always been a spectacular beggar; if you've got food, he thinks he needs it and it doesn't matter what it is. Saturday evening I was eating some pretty delicious pizza and of course, Watson wanted a slice...so he crawled onto the footrest of the recliner and started smacking his chops (yes, he licks his "lips" and smacks his mouth...) to let me know he needed a bite. He was so engrossed in begging for a morsel of pizza that he failed to notice he was creeping closer and closer toward the edge of the footrest...until he crashed sideways into the floor! He was perfectly fine and the fall didn't deter him a bit - he shook it off and immediately resumed begging, albeit this time with his feet planted on the floor.

Watson only watched until Binx the cat showed up...Watson hates cats...

Sunday colors!

I had planned to attend church with a friend on Sunday morning, but I am battling sinuses or a potential cold (let's hope not) and I woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty crummy; you know those headaches you get that make you feel like your head is full of goop? That's what I was dealing with. After coffee (it always comes first) I made a quick Target run to grab some medicine...and promptly broke out in a sweat in the middle of the allergy/sinus aisle. Boo. I grabbed my meds, some Starbucks and headed home to dose myself up. Once the medication took effect, I felt much better and so I decided I'd better seize the opportunity and finish up my bedroom before I started feeling crummy again...so I did just that. And I must say, I absolutely love the finished product - I think it looks great and is just what I envisioned in my head! 

So - I'll leave you with some pictures of the newly finished room - which I am in love with, as I've mentioned. This past week was so wonderful and I know the rest of October will be just as splendid!

Isn't it lovely? I think so!

Bedding, wall decor & of course, my awesome chair!