#tbt... Birthday Twins 1st Birthday Celebration

When I first started working at Friday's I met two of my best friends there.  During our journey towards becoming besties we discovered that JG and I had birthdays only 2 days apart so we dubbed ourselves the "Birthday Twins" and began starting to celebrate our birthdays together.  Although the past few years due to crazy schedules we have started to move away from celebrating our birthdays together, but that doesn't mean that I don't look back on those first few birthday celebrations fondly.  So today's #tbt is going to be dedicated to the first time we celebrated our birthdays together!!

Birthday Twins in an awkward prom pose

Birthday cake one of my co-workers made for me

Best friends out celebrating our birthday

Do you have anyone you consider your "Birthday Twin"?

Random Things You Should Know if We Are Going to be BFFs... Part 3

Well today is the day... the day I turn the Big 3-0!  Yup, that's right today I officially leave my 20s and enter the wonderful world of my 30s.  I hear that the 30s are the new 20s so hopefully that means that I have another decade of fun left in me! In continuing my birthday week posts where you all get to know me a little bit better, I figured that it was time for another installment of  "If We're Going to be BFFs, You Should Know..." where I tell you a bunch of random facts about myself that not everyone knows about me. (If you missed parts 1 and 2, you can find them here and here) 

one// I applied to colleges as a history major, but I never actually took a history class during my time at Bucknell.  I fell in love with my political science freshman seminar and never looked back.

two// I applied Early Decision to The College of William and Mary, but they somehow "misplaced" my application.  I decided it was fate and that I was not supposed to go there, so I switched my application to Early Decision II at Bucknell and never looked back! 

My 1st Day on Campus as a Bucknell Freshman... posing with the little bro & the 07 balloons

three// Crickets may be the scariest bug on the face of the planet.

four// I am allergic to lilies and have a very hard time in the grocery store around Easter.

five// When my little brother was only a few months old I wrote his name on the ceiling of the car and told my parents that he did it.

six// I was "that kid" that read under the covers with a flashlight so my parents wouldn't know how late I was up reading.

seven// I won the Dennis Vanderhoff School Citizenship Award in 5th grade and my name is on a plaque in my elementary school. Can we say nerd alert lol

eight// I was a Sunday School teacher and Vacation Bible School teacher at my church from the time I got confirmed until I left for college.

nine// My 1st true BFF is still to this day one of my BFFs (she was even MOH in my wedding) despite living hours away and not getting to talk to each other much. 

Love my first grade bff

ten// I am mildly obsessed with Zumba. 

Can't tell you how many times I have used this statement...

What are some random facts I may not know about YOU?

Blogger Men Tell All... Thanksgiving Edition

Seeing as it is my birthday week and you all are getting to know me a little bit better this week, I figure this is also a good time for you to get to know my husband a little bit better.  We missed the Blogger Men Tell all link-up last month as the husband was in the UK and I just didn't get around to asking him the questions before he left... blogger fail.  BUT this month, though it has been crazy, we are both around and I have gotten him to answer these questions AND I am linking up ON TIME... blogging miracle!

So once again I am linking up with Samantha over at The Samantha Life, Becca over at Becoming Adorrable and Melissa over at Daily Chaos in order to get my husband a little bit more involved in this little blog of mine.

Me & the hubby... he always makes that face when I ask him to take selfies... I think he purposely tries to ruin them!

one// What food do you look forward to most at Thanksgiving dinner?
Mark: Pie.
Me: Any particular type of pie?
Mark: Nope. All pie.

two// Do you ever go shopping on Black Friday?
Mark: Once in a while. We haven't anymore because we have been driving around.
Me: I think he is referring to the fact that we are always traveling on the holidays so don't really have time to Black Friday Shop.

three// What's your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?
Mark: I don't know. Having turkey.

four// Do you travel for the Thanksgiving holiday or stay close to home?
Mark: We travel. 

five// What are you most thankful for this year?
Mark: You. 
Me: I'm waiting for more.
Mark: That's it.
Me: Are you sure there isn't anything else?
Mark: Yup. Is there something else I should be thankful for?

Once again my husband is a man of few words on here, but I swear in real life he does talk a bunch.  Maybe after he does a few more of these I'll get him to give more than one word answers without me having to ask follow up questions. 

What do you think is your significant other's favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Golden Vlog #3... All About Turkey Day

Good Morning friends!! It is that time again... Golden Vlog Time!!! Actually Golden Vlog time was almost two weeks ago, but once again I didn't get my act together and am a little bit late to the Vlogging game.  But hey, better late than never, right?!  Since it is my birthday week I figured this was the PERFECT time to do this Vlog so that you can get to know me a little bit better and so that I can talk about my favorite holiday... THANKSGIVING.

The Golden Vlog series is a monthly series hosted by my good friend Elizabeth over at Elizabeth Loves, along with Faith at Life with Mrs. G & the Artist. Bex at butcher's niche, and Sarah at 12 Twenty Seven.  Every month they put together a series of questions for us to answer in a Vlog form... this way you get to know us as a person not only through our writing, but also through our spoken word.  Plus, I mean it is kind of cool to actually see and hear the bloggers you are following instead of just reading what they have to say.  Come on friends, you can't tell me that if you don't actually know me in real life that you don't kind of wonder what I sound like?? ;-)  Anyways, this month the prompt was all about Thanksgiving and this month's questions were:
one// What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?
two// Do you travel to family or do they travel to you?
three// Do you have the traditional Thanksgiving dinner or do something completely unique to your family? If so, what?
four// What's the must have item for Thanksgiving dinner?
five// Do you decorate for Christmas Thanksgiving weekend?
six// Are you a Black-Friday shopper or no? If so, do you go crazy early or sleep in and miss the crowds?
seven// Have a favorite recipe? Care to share?
eight// What are you most thankful for this year?

So without further ado....

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

PS, Don't forget to head over to the link up and check out some of the other amazing Vlogs!!

#tbt... A Williamsburg Engagement Weekend

This time 2 years ago I was enjoying roaming around Williamsburg, VA with my new fiance and having the time of my life.  As a sort of history nerd, I have always loved visiting historical places and I was so excited to find out that our surprise anniversary (& engagement!) trip 2 years ago was to Williamsburg.  Plus, as if spending time admiring my ring with my new fiance wasn't good enough, we were also able to spend some time with one of my BFFs who happened to live not too far from Williamsburg.  It was definitely a trip to remember and one of the best weekends of my life!

View on the way to Williamsburg

Our Adorable Room

Nothing says "Happy Engagement" like posing with a few oxen

Getting to see one of my BFFs was an added bonus!

Nothing says "Happy Engagement" like taking pics in the stocks with your future hubby

Have you ever gone on a weekend trip that was absolutely amazing? Tell me about it!

Subsidy Shades... Sunglasses for a Cause

This is a post sponsored by Subsidy Shades.  Though I received a pair of sunglasses to talk about on my blog, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Me in my super cool new aviators from Subsidy Shades... looking way too happy on my way to work

I was first introduced to Subsidy Shades through Britney when she was giving away a pair of their sunglasses as part of her "Golden Birthday" giveaway.  I started to follow Subsidy on Instagram and was immediately intrigued by Melissa's mission... so when she posted that she was looking for bloggers to share the story behind her sunglasses venture in exchange for a pair of sunglasses I knew that I wanted to help out.  Not because I knew I would get an awesome pair of sunglasses, but because I think what she is doing is amazing and I want to help get the word out there about her cause.

Melissa and her husband started Subsidy Shades in an effort to fund the adoption of their second child.  They had adopted a sweet baby girl in 2013, and discovered the adoption process to be quite expensive.  In fact they spent nearly $60,000 in order to be able to adopt their baby girl.  After the adoption, they then gave more of their money to help their little girl's birth mother when she became homeless because they wanted to help the birth mother to get back on her feet.  Melissa and her husband are such giving people and what they are doing is amazing.  The fact that they have created a business to help people to be able to afford adoption is truly incredible and the fact that they are selling awesome sunglasses is an added bonus!

I was so excited to receive my sunglasses in the mail and couldn't wait to open them. I was super excited because I knew I was getting my first ever pair of aviators and couldn't wait to try them out.  I have always been afraid to wear aviators because I thought they were too trendy and they wouldn't look all that good on me, but I think I was afraid for no good reason!

Of course I broke the seal on the package before taking a picture because I was THAT excited to open them up

When I opened the box I thought it was an adorable added touch that there was a picture of Melissa and her family that included the story behind Subsidy Shades.

Of course I couldn't wait to get to my sunglasses and love that they came in a cute little bag.

I am absolutely loving my new aviators and they will be perfect to wear during my upcoming vacation to Mexico!! 

Adoption is something that is important to me because throughout my law school career I became aware of truly how many children there are that need loving homes. I know that although one day I would like to have children of my own, I would also like to adopt a child because if I have the ability to give a child a great life, then I want to be able to do that for them.  

Thank you so much to Melissa and her little family for sending me these awesome sunglasses and for giving me a chance to share their story.  

Please head on over to Subsidy Shades and check out some of the A-MAZE-ING sunglasses they have and help them continue to help families afford to adopt all those children out there who need loving homes! Also you can follow Melissa and her business journey on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Have you ever thought about adopting a child?

Delicious Dish Tuesday... Dad's French Toast

It's been a couple weeks since I have participated in  a Delicious Dish Tuesday link up, so I figured it was high time I post another recipe on here.  Delicious Dish Tuesday is a weekly link up hosted by Mary at Eat, Drink & Be Mary, Alesha at Full Time Mama, and Amanda at Coping with Frugality.  I have found so many fantastic recipes through this link up, and have even had the honor of being the featured recipe twice!!

A couple of years ago my Dad stumbled upon a French Toast recipe somewhere that has become quite a favorite for our family over the  years.  It is one of those breakfasts that we make just about every time we are home in NJ for a special event... Mother's Day, Father's Day, Mom's Birthday, Dad's Birthday, etc.  It has become such a breakfast staple that I decided to make it for brunch for friends this past Sunday and let's just say that it went over pretty well with them! I think the secret may be in the bread, but whatever it is, it is just soooooo good!

Of course I took no pictures of the actual process this time because I was so focused on getting ready for brunch, but at least I have pictures of what the finished product looks like!

Dad's French Toast

Ingredients:
1 loaf Challah bread
4 eggs
1 1/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 container of strawberries (optional)
1/2 c. sugar (optional)
Powdered Sugar (optional)

Directions:
1. Slice loaf of bread
2. Slice strawberries and put in a bowl with 1/2 c. sugar (to use an an optional garnish for your french toast... or sometimes we soak the strawberries in Grand Marnier to make them extra delicious)
3. Beat together eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla
4. Heat a medium sized, lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat
5. Dip the slices of bread in the egg mixture, be sure to coat both sides of the bread.
6. Place in pan and cook until golden brown on each side.
7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional)
8. Enjoy!

Do you have any family favorite breakfast recipes?