wow, how did this happen?

29.

it feels like just yesterday that at 25 years old i picked up and moved from washington dc to los angeles.. or graduated from university of iowa.. or woke up every morning to strawberry waffles and a bath in my hometown in iowa.

whoa. 

i love getting older. i truly do. the ups and downs feel a lot less severe; i now have the faith in myself that i can make it through anything (not without a few bumps and bruises, of course) and through that i am able to see my world through a lens of joy.

a few of my favorite moments from the year 28:
a sleepyhead morning engagement in april (“can you see me right now? your contacts aren’t in.”); adopting our ever-so-lovable-and-farty english bulldog, rosy, last october; moving into our new place with my mama and a few bottles of wine; a road trip up the coast to lock-in our wedding barn; the arrival of three bundles of joy – silas, macy dean and hudson; going to costa rica with my brother and beau then spending the summer together in venice; finding our magical home in venice; learning how to live together (sometimes my favorite, sometimes not so much); my new grown-up wheels; one of my best buds moving up the coast just a few minutes away; sunset rooftop yoga.

from the top: my birthday boy; jasper putting on his “rockstar show;” handel group homework; sleepy pup.

i am reserving my right to be publicly cheesy today, and wish my future husband a very happy birthday. you know why? because he totally flipping deserves it.

a few of my very favorite things about him:
his undying love for flannel shirts / the way he treats rosy like his human daughter / his family = my family / when he laughs really loud and it’s totally genuine / his cooking (he went to culinary school just because.) / his generosity / his ability to forgive me daily / how he never skimps on the word “love” / his blonde beard / his impeccable taste in music / he wears hot pink all the time!! / his complete and total ADD (sometimes this is definitely not on the love list) / encouraging me to FLY / that he has more friends that he truly loves than anyone i’ve ever met / his integrity / his laugh lines / his passion for what he does and how good he is at it / singing at the top of his lungs when he doesn’t know a damn word in the song / his strength / his love of churros and fresh fruit / kissing him

an eighty billion other things that i get to discover for the rest of our lives.

xo.