A LITTLE BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!

Processed with VSCOcam with t1 presetA Little Birthday Surprise took place 3 days ago in our home! My sweet hubby had a special Birthday to celebrate.. His big quarter of a century birthday. I think anyone who has read my blogs, knows how I feel about the big 25! To me its a special day! Unlike me, birthday’s are not that ‘big of a deal’ to my fiancé! He doesn’t like to make a big deal about them and rather just lay low. Trust me it’s not because he’s getting old.. lol.. I mean… OLDER! lol. He’s just a lay low kinda guy, especially for birthdays.

None the less, I wanted to make it a little special. He made it quite hard for me actually, he had no idea what he wanted or what he even wanted to do. So it was up to me, to make his day a little special. I wanted to do something he would never even think I would do… So I got my crafts out and got to work. A morning surprise was what he woke up to! I also gathered some ideas and began to think of some things we had talked about doing in the future. So with no help from him, and a little stress later, I came up with a simple idea. On his birthday we would paint!!  I’m sure everyone has heard of BYOB painting classes, where you bring your own booze and snacks and paint away! Well we kept it classy with some wine, grapes and muffins (lol) and got to work! And no better way to end the night off than by sharing it with family and having dinner with the ones you love on your birthday. Thats exactly what we did! Thank you to everyone who was there to share it with him!

Even though it was a simple day, I know my hubby appreciated it. Like I said, he’d rather lay low. He’s a simple kinda guy and I love that about him. We always talk about keeping the small things in our relationship alive and full of love and I really think this was one of those days. It was small, quaint, relaxing and full of fun and love. And what better day to experience something new than on a birthday??  Plus, we surprised ourselves with our art skills! Which by the way,our art pieces are a little glimpse into our wedding!

All I know is this… I can’t wait to share more Birthday’s with my future husband! Wish you so many more my love. May God bless you with many more full of health, love and happiness. Love you!

Love…

Jen ❤

Processed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetAnd Yes! I made the ‘happy birthday’ banner and notes. Did i mention I love washi tape and that i woke up at 7 am to surprise him with this while he was sleeping?!? oh for the love of…LOVE & Birthdays..lol. Processed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetProcessed with VSCOcam with t1 presetThe Final Product and a glimpse into our wedding next year! And yes, we did paint our wedding venue! Thats a Picasso for you! 😉Processed with VSCOcam with t1 presetSuch a lovely day! Thank you to Painting with a Twist: Ft. Lauderdale for having us for a day! A special thank you also for allowing us to paint our venue and letting our creativity run wild and helping us every step of the way!

-Jen<3

HELLO 25.. HELLO ST.AUGUSTINE!

hello25I think Birthday’s are just another day to be thankful and to realize how much we are blessed. Usually my birthday’s consist of a nice family dinner and day out! Well this year, for the big 25 it was more than just a dinner and day out. Thanks to my lovely boyfriend and family, it was a Birthday weekend getaway! It was so great and special of him. Since Xavier and I started dating, I have always made comments on how lovely it would be to just take a drive up to St. Augustine, FL. Well about a month before my big 25, I made it known that for this birthday I really wanted to go somewhere that I had never been to before and to be able to share it with his and my family. I think he got the point because one, he told me to stop worrying about it and two, he secretly planned the whole thing. He got my parents and his family all on the same page and they agreed to make the drive up for my birthday for the weekend.

I think one thing we did learn throughout his planning is how hard it is for both of our families to keep secrets,haha. We had a couple of people slip throughout the process. My mom during the week, slipped and asked me how the weather was in St. Augustine. His Aunt mentioned St.Augustine in a conversation about hotel rooms. And our friend Anita during lunch made it known that we weren’t going to be here for the weekend. Needless to say, I kind of had an idea a day or two before the actual trip. haha, my babe at least tried. Don’t get me wrong, I was still pretty surprised. Surprised because even though I kind of knew, I was surprised that not only did my parents go but also his parents and his aunt and uncle and their daughters. It was definitely shocking that he was able to get both of our families together, since we’ve failed several times at doing so. With the exception of some other individuals that I wish could have made it. It was still so special to have the ones that were able to make it, get away with me and leave their busy schedules behind.

The night before the trip, midnight to be exact, I got my Happy Birthday wishes and a beautiful watch and a card stating that we were leaving for the weekend! He can be so sweet. So the day of my birthday we got our bags and headed to my parents house. Turned out we were driving up with them, so off we were! Xavier than let me know that his parents would be driving up the next day since they had to work. Long behold, after a 4 1/2 hour drive we were there! Xavier’s parents and aunt and uncle would meet us there the next day.

All in all y’all, it was such a great birthday weekend! It meant the world to me that my family was able to be a part of yet another birthday. Turning a quarter of a century old is a big deal after all!  I truly feel beyond blessed to have such a caring family, not just MY OWN but also Xavier’s. My family and his, are all so supportive of our relationship and have such loving hearts for both of us. I really feel thankful of everyone who put their time and effort on making this birthday special for me, especially Xavier for making the plans. Life can be overwhelming at times, but life can also be wonderful if we choose to make it that way. Life is also about all the little moments we get to experience and who we get to experience them with. This past weekend the moments were memories I will cherish for a life time. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! You all made me a very happy birthday girl.

And just so you all know, St. Augustine, FL is a beautiful little city! It is full of history, scenery, relaxation and so much more! Being known to be the oldest city, it is so incredibly cute and charming. There was so much to see and experience all in this little place. The views and the stories behind every thing you saw were remarkable. I highly recommend a trip to this charming little city! You truly will be taken back by all it has to offer. It is romantic, relaxing, exciting, and full of charm all at the same time. It was definitely a hot hot summer weekend, with much walking, but it was so worth it! We all fought through the heat and soaked up all that we had to see and learn there. I won’t tell you too much so you all experience it yourselves one day but here are some shots we took while there. Some of our stops throughout the city included: The Fountain of Youth, Castillo de San Marcos, Flagler College, St. Augustine Lighthouse and museum, and a couple of the oldest churches in the city. Those were a few of our city stops to just name a few! Lets just say my camera was very happy there!! And so were we!! (unfortunately I don’t have too many pictures of Xavier’s family since we split up for some of the day they were there for different activities, but they very much were a huge part of my celebration!)

Again, a big THANK YOU to all my loved ones for making memories with me. Love you all. ❤

And to the Love of my Life… thank you for all your efforts in making this birthday extra special for me. Love you to the moon and back times infinity! ❤

-Jen<3

PS. I had an obsession with the beautiful doors

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Thank You for the wonderful memories St. Augustine, see you soon!  Thank you to my family and most importantly.. Thank you God for giving me yet another day & another year, to share with my loved ones and to enjoy this life you have given us!  I am so grateful.

So what places have you all visited recently? =)
*all images are property of La Vida, life as it comes 

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