Bethany's 30th birthday, featuring Catbird

As part of this year's July family birthday celebrations (I have three family members with birthdays in early July), I was able to take a brief trip to Chicago to attend a birthday party for my brother's wife Bethany and spend a little time with my parents. I love Rob and Bethany's friends and was so glad to be part of this event.

 

Part of the birthday celebration included the first ever performance by Catbird. Hopefully there will be future performances!

 

Have you been celebrating any birthdays this month?

32nd birthday in Chicago

Jake was out of town at a work commitment for the entire week of my birthday this year. So I made a bunch of plans, including spending my actual birthday in Chicago with my immediate family. Since I got a DSLR, most of my Chicago trips haven't allowed for a lot of random wandering and picture taking. It was great to spend a few hours out in the city with family, camera in hand, on my birthday.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made my birthday and my entire solo week so great. I am blessed to live near a lot of family and to have so many good friends in Milwaukee.

Pinterest picks for my birthday

I haven't put together a Pinterest favorites post in forever. My birthday seemed like a good excuse to make that happen again. Enjoy.

Recently I've started pinning cat pictures, which is a slippery slope. Of course many of them are little orange guys. That face...seriously, how does your heart not melt every single time you look at it?

Ever since Christmas, I can't stop browsing kraft gift wrapping ideas. Apparently this is going to be my thing now because I literally have enough ideas to keep me going for decades.

 This is the best melted crayon idea.

This picture is so perfect for so many reasons.

Because I can read about all things photography for hours at a time lately (surprise, right?).

Butterbeer is a real thing, and no, it doesn't contain beer. I made the hot version for a get together earlier this month, and it was a big hit. Put it on your list of things to do.

Finally, the past few months I've been listening to Pat Metheny's cover of The Sound of Silence all the time. And at the end of the day, I still have The Simpsons' The Sound of Grandpa in my head instead. #reallife Also, this made my whole month better.

What have you been pinning lately? Feel free to share links in the comments!

one of my favorite Etsy shops

I'm taking a few minutes today to promote one of my favorite Etsy shops: memoriesforlifesb. I know that many of my readers are familiar with Edi's shop and blog and/or have heard me promoting her items before. Whether you're a long-time fan of Edi's or you're just learning about her shop, I hope that you take a few minutes to pop over there and check out one or more of the following items.

Despite the recent popularity for fall and winter weddings, spring and summer are still by far the more popular wedding seasons. If you have a wedding in the upcoming months and are searching for those final few items, check out Edi's wedding section. She has an extensive selection of glassware (i.e. champagne flutes), guest books, table numbers, and personalized bridal party and wedding gifts.

Are you in the early stages of planning a wedding? Edi also makes engraved wooden wedding invitations.

Mother's Day and Father's Day are both going to be here before we know it. Stay ahead of the game and shop for your gifts now.

One of Edi's most popular items to date is her engraved cutting board. For moms who love to cook and bake and who make time tested family recipes on a regular basis, it's hard to go wrong with this cutting board.

Earrings are also an ideal option for many moms. These tribal wooden earrings are simple, lightweight, and versatile.

For the dads in your life, think about picking up one of Edi's newest items: an engraved knife with a wooden handle.

Cuff links are another great choice for dads that dress up on a regular basis.

 

Finally, are you in the market for a spring or summer birthday gift? I love Edi's wooden greeting cards and customizable picture frames.

G is for a Great Guy's Birthday

Are you ready for another round of Alphabe Thursday? Let's go!

The past couple years I've put together a special feature for Jake's birthday. This year his birthday falls on a Thursday so I'm working it into this series. I've put together just a few things that remind me of Jake / that he would want for his birthday.

 Jake has a fairly massive t-shirt collection and is always looking for new additions, particularly those that have funny sayings. Penny Arcade has most of their t-shirts on sale right now, and I picked up a couple of his current favorites for him, including the one above.

 On a similar note, in past years, I have gotten Jake funny TV show offerings, such as posters and mugs. I have discussed our love of Archer before. I know that some of you will appreciate this poster.

Jake spends a significant amount of time at work in areas with limited to no cell coverage. If you can relate, you know that this can drain your smartphone really quickly. I recently got Jake a car charger, but I've thought about getting him something like this portable charger, too.

Jake and I go to a lot of concerts together. I searched "concert tickets" on Pinterest and found several great images of concert ticket pillows. I think that this is such a neat idea for preserving special nights together. I'm Not a Pilot is performing at Summerfest the day before Jake's birthday this year. That night they're releasing a live recording of a collaboration concert with the MYSO from this spring that we attended.

Jake and I got a new grill this summer and are excited to put it through its paces the next few months. We lived through nearly a year of a dying grill, which has meant a lot less grilling than usual. It's so exciting to have grilling dinner options again. I'm determined to branch out a little and try some new grill recipes, including grilled pizza. I had to pick out a pepperoni recipe for this feature.

Jake is adamant about having a funfetti dessert for his birthday. I always buy a mix, and most years I make it as cupcakes or a 9x13 cake with homemade buttercream frosting.

Check out what the other Alphabe Thursday participants posted for the letter G this week right here!