friday fun: feb 11

Holy moly it is finally Friday.  What a day.  More like, what a week.  I am so wiped out... but have a pretty decent wekend ahead of me, so let's get started with my five Friday fun things!

1) I celebrated another year on this earth... in Langhorne, PA.  Not the most exciting adventure, but oh well.  My co-workers and I did venture to a pretty fabulous restaurant Wednesday night in Philly {executive chef is Iron Chef - Jose Garces}.  We indulged in the smoked pecans {soaked in maple and bacon}, fondue {w/ vidalia onions}, suckling pig, wild boar rack {w/ maple grits}, sugar pumpkin croquettes, and beignets {w/ makers mark chocolate sauce}.  Amazing.

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2) This week was absolutely crazy town at work.  A lot to do and always feeling like there are not enough hours in the day!  {I can't even count how many Red Bulls I downed this week}.  Yesterday we had a 6 am flight home... meaning I was up at 3:30am central and put in a full day of work upon arrival.  Needless to say, I just want to sleep in this weekend!

3) I have a jam-packed weekend of birthday bashes.  The mister and I are celebrating my bday tonight at Jasper's.  I've never been, so I'm pretty excited.  On Saturday, I have lunch plans w/ my rents - always a good time.  {The mister has to work thanks to blasted busy season.}  Saturday night is girls night out w/ the bffs!  We are going to Gnosh, like I mentioned recently.  Super excited for another fun painting night and just hanging out.  We have family lunch w/ the mister's side of the fam on Sunday.  Not sure where we are dining yet...but I'm always up for something good! 

4) Between the mix of all the birthday activities, hoping I can finally catch up on laundry and housework.  Ugh!  {doesn't really fit into my 'fun' things Friday... but oh well!}

5) I got the best birthday voicemail in the world from my favorite friend in New Zealand.  It's been almost 6 years since I was there and I still feel like part of my heart has never returned {the mister and I are still scoping out possibilities to move to NZ someday}.  Because of the 17 hour time-difference, we have scheduled our chat for this weekend.  I can't wait to catch up! 

I'll leave you kids with some clear pictures of why I love NZ so much... Happy weekend!

{Auckland skyline... my future home someday!}

{NZ countryside}

{so many sheep!}

{cruising around Devonport}

{Lion Rock at Piha Beach}

{Muriwai...simply awesome}

{don't remember exactly where this was...but I'll never forget standing here!}

{my sweet friend April... I miss her heaps!} 

{Uncle Leon... words cannot describe him.  Love him and his family so much!  Can't wait to catch up soon!}

And of course, If I am going to mention NZ, I have to shout out to my girl Brooke.  I seriously listen to her almost every day.  And never grow tired of hearing her crooning.  This is her first song I ever discovered... and my heart has been full ever since.  Enjoy! 

monday musings: i heart gnosh

Happy Monday, peeps!  Hope you had a fabulous weekend... mine was crazy busy even though I felt we didn't have that much planned.

Yesterday, I had my painting class at Gnosh that I mentioned last week.  It was so much fun!  I went with two girls from my small group and we had a blast.   

Here is what the painting was supposed to look like:

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And here is my creation:

And here is the lineup of all of our creations:

I think they turned out great and look so cool because they are all so different.  I can't wait to go back with my bffs for my bday celebration in a few weeks.  We will be recreating this painting:

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Hope you have a happy Monday and good start to the week!  I'm counting down the hours until The Bachelor tonight - I've been on pins and needles for this week's drama to unflold.  Love it!