Photos & Instagram

I don’t typically do much to celebrate my birthday, but this year it was really special. Chuck was gone for my actual bday, so my girl friends in the area took me out for dinner and drinks at an adorable French restaurant downtown called Caprice Bistro. It was delicious and so much fun. Then my co-workers surprised me at “staff meeting” with tiramisu cake and sweet (but embarrassing) fanfare. Then Chuck came home, a gift in and of itself. We drove home to NoVA, and he took me to the Washington Ballet’s Nutcracker and gave me some beautiful diamond earrings. 28 may not be so bad 🙂

It’s funny that with as girly as I am, I’ve always turned up my nose at the over-the-top bright Lilly Pulitzer dresses. Not too long ago, I wandered into a little boutique called Palm Garden, that sold Lilly almost exclusively. For some reason, it just hit the spot, and I was in love with everything – from dresses, to cashmere sweaters, to iPhone cases and day planners.

Of course, one of my favorites was the dress I tried above (not as loud as most Lilly) for $278. Grrrr. I’ve been trying to justify it by reminding myself how well it fit, and how versatile it is. I mean seriously – I could wear this to church, to work (with a cute cardigan or blazer!), or to one of my 10 weddings and all the subsequent baby showers.

But still… I never spend $300 on anything! And we all know I’ll want a new dress for all of those aforementioned occasions anyway…

Sigh. Frugality sucks sometimes. I’ll just have to stalk the sales, I guess!

Today’s lunch spread: bacon, lettuce, and tomato ranch pizza, puppy chow, red velvet cookies, and pumpkin-brown-sugar-glazed cake. I meant to go light on the sweets today too… woops!

Sunday afternoon walk in Holly Ridge. Looks like a place Bonni and I would have explored when we were little! We would have ridden our bikes and made our own fort and civilization. Oh, to be a kid again!

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Christmastime is Here

Chuck and I managed to get the house decorated for Christmas before I dropped him off for pre-deployment training on Saturday morning… 3:30 AM came awfully early!! I always envy the beautiful themed Christmas trees (like the ones with ivory and gold ribbons and coordinated ornaments), but there’s something extra special about a tree that has all your old favorite trimmings on it. Needless to say, I never end up going the themed route 🙂 I opt for the nostalgia instead.

Anyway, the house is very quiet without Chuck. And clean!! Minimal laundry and dishes build-up too! But it’s lonely already. It should be interesting to see how this month goes with him gone, as a precursor to the big one in January. I do wish this month was part of that, and it was started already. By the time I get into a routine, he’ll be back, and then we’ll have to start over again! Ready to get the countdown started…!!

Regardless, Bean and I will stay plenty busy 🙂

P.S. Those two ornaments in the bottom right corner of the photo collage = Chuck’s and my baby’s first ornaments! 1984 babies all the way!

Had a lovely Thanksgiving here in Holly Ridge. Our friends Shane and Katy welcomed us into their home to celebrate with their family in town. Plenty of calories consumed and laughs shared! Lots to be thankful for this year. I feel like we’ve come a long way since our initial weeks here, as newlyweds!

Shane leaves for Djibouti next week, and Chuck leaves for 29 Palms tonight. It was good to get some time together before things change…

Now… off to get a Christmas tree! I’m making Chuck decorate with me even though he won’t be here most of the season, and we are spending Christmas in NoVA. But I love Christmas, so here goes! 😀