happy birthday!

happy birthday to my stinky baby <3

 

my baby is the big 4 today! or 28 in doggie years.

ps. if you use instagram, you have to download the abeautifulmess app!

blog favorites from 2012

it's hard to believe that this is the last day of 2012!



*source

before i get ready to ring in the new year, i want to take a moment to reflect on this one that is very rapidly coming to an end..

i wrote a post about old friendships and what happened when i tried to revisit some of mine. i'm glad i reconnected, even if just for a moment in time.

finishing my rooster tattoo. even though it turned out i wasn't finished..
*disclaimer: i admit, i finished my tattoo in december 2011, but i didn't share until 2012!

finding out that our godchild was going to be a godson! even though carmella knew it was a boy like 4 days into her pregnancy..

picking our wedding venue and setting a date. nothing will make getting married feel more real than deciding on these two details. wedding planning in general has been so wonderfully stressful and rewarding. thankfully i only have a couple more months left of it..

deciding to scale back on blogging so i could concentrate on wedding planning, spending time with family and friends, and living outside of blogger.com

the arrival of noah on june 25. watching him grow has been such a blessing for randy and i. not to be biased, but he is one of the cutest babies i have ever known, and i can't wait to see what life has in store for him!

seeing jason mraz with randy. this was such a great date night! randy and i haven't been to a concert that we've both really enjoyed since probably 2007 or 8.

taking a santa barbara trip with my dad and grandparents. i will always cherish this trip to sb! spending time with your family when you're an adult is seriously the best thing ever (if you have a good family, that is).

celebrating a year of being engaged.

randy and i did an 8-week weight-loss challenge and lost (combined) 25 pounds! it's been a couple of week since it ended, but we've been maintaining the lifestyle changes and are continuing to be a healthier couple!

so there you have it, folks - my favorite blog moments from 2012! i hope you all have a wonderful (and very safe) new years celebration, and i'll be seeing you on the other side :)

lately in photos

hi readers! i'm in chicago right now! (and it's waaaay too hot here!)

lately, via photos:

one of our fish was SUPER pregnant. she literally looked like a swimming good year blimp!

we have these terrible high windows that are a very awkward shape so we can't put curtains over them. this makes a sleeping mask essential for sleeping in on the weekends!

lilly being a lazy lady <3

noah is "milk wasted"

after reading the hunger games, i bought the next 2 books plus the perks of being a wallflower. i'm nearly finished with catching fire, then on to mockingjay..

randy holding noah for the first time. he wasn't half bad at it, either!

just another item on my very long list of reasons why i'm marrying randy joe <3

happy birthday, with love

happy birthday to my snickerdoodle lady <3

getting lilly is one of the best things i've ever done in my life, and i can't imagine what it would be like without her.

lil, your mama and papa love you very very much, and are so excited to celebrate your birthday with you!

please don't judge me for loving my dog so much!

psst. click here for most posts about lilly!

look at my baby!

look at my baby on the ruche website :)

my birthday celebration

as you're probably aware, yesterday was my birthday!

i spent my 23rd birthday at work, but i did take the day before my birthday off for some low-key celebrating.

i began my day with something very exciting - (most of you who know me personally already know this..) my good good friend carmella is pregnant and randy and i got to go to an ultrasound appointment with her!

the baby would be special regardless, but the tiny peanut is extra special because it's our god child <3 so crazy how this tiny life with a mind of its own is growing inside of another human being!!

the three of us went out to breakfast afterward, and then randy and i did super exciting errands like getting a guest parking pass for our street and getting our cars washed.. i did get to nap, so it wasn't a total bust!

for dinner, we met back up with carmella along with her husband, matt, and momma, sarita. we went to a super nice dinner and carm baked me a delicious birthday cake!

happy birthady! <3

yesterday wasn't too bad either. i woke up to numerous facebook notifications and got "happy birthday" wall posts from many special people throughout the day. then randy and i went to dinner and finished off the evening catching up on real housewives of beverly hills and teen mom 2. all in all, it feels pretty good to be 23..

a true 23-year-old!

silly stinkerella

stinkerdoodle

2011 favorites

there are 12 days until 2012! (disclaimer: not counting today..)

to commemorate another passing year, i thought i would share my 12 favorite posts from 2011..



feb 18; a fashion profile on my dad, tim



march 20; a recap of how we celebrated randy's 26th birthday

 

may 17; a post for lilly's 2nd birthday <3



may 28; our norcal road trip for a friend's wedding, family time, and a giants game

june 17; the very first what i wore post



june 29; my post on body image



july 19; my explanation of the slow-carb diet. i've lost almost 15 pounds this year, and i think this helped..

july 21; the first (and apparently only) thyme to cook with carey

sept 23; my first posting of pictures from carmella's wedding on baby a

 

oct 1; sharing the start of my arm piece with you

oct 26: the best haunted house in long beach - that i was a part of!

  

dec 5; sharing our engagement story (november 28)



 

alaina