{pinteresting} the big 3-0

i've got a big birthday coming up {gulp} and the only thing keeping me calm about entering into a new age bracket is the idea of a pretty party...i'm thinking black, white, and gold, with lots of sparkles and lots of bubbles!  here's a little sneak peek of what we're planning:

{thank you, pinterest!}

{pinteresting} happy easter weekend!

a little bit of easter inspiration for you as we go into the weekend... {thank you, pinterest!}

{stateside} new orleans!

not that we ever need an excuse to visit new orleans, but we had a good one this weekend: it was my good friend CJ's 30th birthday!  we flew in on friday afternoon and immediately started soaking up our favorite city: lucky dogs, hand grenades, live music, cajun and creole comfort food...all of the very best things!  this year also happens to be the ten-year anniversary of the first trip we took to the crescent city {actually the first trip we ever took together}... we did all of our favorite things and had some fantastic new experiences too.  couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

{three little things} thankful thursday

{pinteresting} hello, spring!

nothing says spring like sweet florals in gorgeous colors! happy first day of spring, everyone!

{...and thank you, pinterest!}

{holidays} happy st. patrick's day!

wishing you a happy shamrock day filled with luck and love and lots of green goodies!

{1} diy clover patch cake topper  {2} bailey's irish cream cookie recipe

{3} coconut and lime macaron recipe  {4} diy chocolate coin gifty

{5} shamrock macarons with bailey's chocolate ganache recipe

{6} green velvet cheesecake cake recipe

{pinteresting} emerald

seems like the perfect time of year to celebrate pantone's color of the year: emerald!

"lively. radiant. lush...a color of elegance and beauty that

enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony."

{...thank you, pinterest}!

{three little things} thankful thursday

it's a ridiculously gorgeous and unseasonably warm day today, the kind that calls for iced lattes, driving with the windows down, and running in the afternoon sunshine with my mister...

{stateside} orlando: disney world

all last week A was in orlando for work. which sucked for me, up until friday, which is when i caught the first plane out of here and traded the cold of colorado for 70-degree days and the happiest place on earth!

first stop: magic kingdom.  we only had half a day there, but we made the most of it.  we watched the parade of happiness and headed straight to the new fantasyland expansion {think little mermaid, beauty and the beast, and a storybook circus, with more to come}.  we ate an early dinner at the beast's castle {where i pretty much almost passed out from the shock of all my little girl fantasies coming true right before my tear-filled eyes}, complete with exclusive disney champagne and a photo op with the master of the castle himself.  next we got coffee from gaston's pub and i tried to contain myself once again when i saw little mermaid land.  we did a few other magic kingdom musts {the haunted mansion, space mountain, etc.} and stayed for fireworks of course!

saturday morning we got to epcot right when it opened. because we are ridiculous.  but also because EPCOT IS THE BEST.  they were having the flower and garden festival, which meant we got to see all of our favorite disney characters portrayed in plants throughout the park.  and in other exciting news, they'd re-released CAPTAIN EO!  children of the eighties rejoice!  michael jackson at his finest!  we got to meet prince eric {!} and go around the world showcase with my dad who was in town from tarpon springs {!!}!  we escaped angry trolls in norway, drank champagne in france, ate enchiladas in mexico, and saw a british rock band in england.  happiest place on earth indeed.

{stateside} orlando: universal studios

on sunday we went to uncharted territory: universal studios.  our mission: the wizarding world of harry potter.  and it did not disappoint.  the look on A's face when we finally got to hogsmeade = the look on my face when i walked into beast's castle two days before.  we drank butterbeer and ate shepherd's pie and rode the hogwarts ride and wished we could live there for the rest of forever.  we explored the rest of the park of course, but nothing could possibly compare.  although we did get to see the delorean from back to the future and A really loved the ET ride too...