Birthday Surprise!

So the plan this weekend was to enjoy a night out with two of our dear friends that recently had a baby.  My husband got the day off from work and I was really excited about a chance to catch up with our friends.

As I started getting ready, my husband gently suggested we dress up for dinner.  We were going to a restaurant we hadn't been to before with friends that hadn't had a night out in a while, so I went with it.  We don't dress up much on the weekends so it was a nice treat.

We left early and made a stop at a shop on the way for some Christmas shopping and then headed to our friends' in the early afternoon.  We hung out with them and their daughter for a few hours...their baby sitter arrived and the 4 of us carpooled to dinner.

When we arrived to the restaurant, it was freezing out.  I was so focused on the cold, I never even looked into the huge windows at the front of the restaurant...well if I had....

I would have seen a wonderful group of friends and family waiting for me to celebrate my 30th birthday!  I turned the corner in the restaurant and there they all were, smiling and laughing.

It was such a wonderful surprise and I tried so hard not to cry, but a few tears fell...

I'm a Christmas baby.  It's one of those birthdays that when anyone finds out they always think it must be terrible!  But it never was!  I always had a wonderful birthday as a kid.  My parents never 'forgot' my birthday....they always made it a very special day for me.

It did however make it hard to have birthday parties on or even near my birthday!  December is a busy month for everyone, so as a kid I often had half birthday parties in the summer!  Having this party now was perfect.  It was early enough that most people could make it, but it was still my birthday month. 

Christmas is probably my favorite holiday and I love that I get to celebrate and share my birthday with family and friends every year!  Not many people can say that as they get older, they still get to celebrate their birthday with family and friends every year.

I am so blessed - not just with a great birthday, but with a wonderful life full of amazing people.  I have friends that I consider family and family that are my bestest of friends.  When I saw all those smiling faces at the restaurant, I was overwhelmed by the love I have in my life!

My husband did good!  I had mentioned to him that I might want to do something for my birthday this year since 30 seems like kind of a big deal (heehee)  But money has been tight and I know the holidays get crazy, so I stopped thinking about it.

But he didn't!  He got in contact with friends and family and got them on board to help him make this happen for me.  One of my friends even found a groupon that helped them decide on a restaurant!  Thank you groupon!

And thank you my husband, family and friends.  I know I have said it over and over again in this blog, but I am SOOOOOOO lucky to have the people in my life that I do!  They do so much for me, and I hope I am able to give them as much!

Back to the real world tomorrow, but with wonderful memories of an amazing birthday surprise...

Dare to DIY

So I'm attempting to join my first link party.  I'm hoping this will help me connect with more blogs AND to get me CREATING.  I've been in a bit of a rut, and what better time than the holidays to get inspired.

I'm joining Dare to DIY hosted by Newly Woodwards.  It is a lovely blog.  Although we have never met...and I'm not a super active blogger (yet), I feel like if we met, we would be great friends.

Wish me luck!  It's starts soon!

Halloween Musings

As I sit here, getting ready to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," I realize it has been quite an October.  Lots of planning for Halloween only to have to take most of it down before Hurricane Sandy came through.  We were lucky and I was able to re-decorate a bit...but really so lucky - many people got it much much worse.

We also moved into our new home on Halloween last year.  It's crazy to me that we have already lived here a whole year in our own home.  We've been busy making it our own:

  This is the set up after the storm.  I created MANY more gravestones, but wanted to set up less the second time around.  Here are a few more pics of the finished cemetary:

  

I was also busy with some indoor decorations.  We bought one of those glowing eyes that make noise that you hide in the bushes.  Well, we did something a little different with it:

And here it is in action:

As for costumes.  I found this "lovely" rose colored bridesmaid dress at the Salvation Army that totally fit like it was made for me....so I destroyed it and destroyed one of my husbands old suits to create "Ghoul Prom King and Queen"

Here are the pieces:

And a few sad pics of us in costume.  I totally got so wrapped up in the party that I didn't take many pictures:

And the cheesy "Prom" pic:

We had a great party and another successful Halloween despite the weather.  I hope everyone had a good holiday and are healthy and safe...and those of you that felt the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, you are in our thoughts and prayers!