My Birthday: 34

I turned 34 yesterday and I have to say, it doesn't feel much different from 33. Except that now, I expect to start receiving AARP mags and Boniva coupons in the mail.

The festivities began a little early when we had Pearl for the previous weekend. On a strong recommendation from a friend (Hi Miss), we took a little drive up the coast and had lunch at Padaro Beach Grill. It was a beautiful day and everyone and their mom was there. Literally. Eric's mom and dad met us there.

It was a burger day all around and we took our time catching up on each other's stories.

Later that night, Eric, Pearl, and I went to see a local production of Willy Wonka. It was a little hokey, but I think that's pretty much par for the course. Pearl LOVED it and it provided some family time while also inspiring Pearl's creativity. A win-win, if you ask me.

As you can see, it was a packed house.

On my actual birthday, I was surprised with some low-key decorations at work...

And office cupcakes...

And a doctor's appt.

Womp-womp.

But at least I was able to snag a good-looking recipe.

Last night, Eric took me out to a surprise dinner at a nice restaurant we'd never been to before. More on that to come...

All in all, my birthday was great. And best of all, I received a surprise gift straight out of my SkyMall dreams: The Ostrich Pillow.


34 is looking strong, my friends.

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DIY Craft Banner.

Here at the TILTE house, we like to celebrate our birthdays for as long as possible. Since my birthday is April 1st, Eric will put my birthday banner up about a week ahead of time and then I usually leave it up clear through the month. When May comes around, I switch to the birthday banner for Eric and Pearl since both of their birthdays are in May.

Last month, I made a new banner for the two of them. I'm really not very good at being artsy or creative or making things that look aesthetically pleasing, so I was pretty proud of myself when I managed to pull off the banner below. So proud, in fact, I'm going to pretend that these DIY things haven't already been spread all over the internet a million times and I'm going to give you the step-by-step like I just came up with it on my own.

For this completely one of a kind, crafty, "celebration" banner, you will need:

-Small booklet of scrapbooking papers (these sheets are the perfect size for creating banners)
-Twine
-Adhesive letters
-Scissors
-Hole punch

Step One: Create the flags
Cut an upside-down V, from each of the bottom corners and going up towards the middle, into the bottom of one of your crafting papers. Once you have one paper that looks like a good flag, use it as a template for the rest of your flags. The crafting paper booklet that I bought had variety of prints and colors, which worked out nicely for the "homemade, rustic, shabby chic Martha Stewart" look.

Step Two: Letter Your flags
If the store's discount bin has already been picked through and some of your letters are missing, don't fret. Just buy extra letters that you can use to make the ones you need. I did this with some Rs and an I. I also used some ampersands for the As.

Borrrrrred. Play with me.

Step Three: Hole punch
Punch two holes along the top of your flags- this is where the twine will go.

Step Four: String your flags
Line up your letters and start stringing with the very last letter, working your way backwards.

Step Five: Hang it!
Step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Leave it up for seven weeks and high-five yourself every time you see it.

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Guess Who's Back in the Workforce!

That's right!

IT'S ME!!!!


I finally got a job and it's a job that I'm actually really excited about. It's starting out as a part-time position, but I'm okay with that because 1) I REALLY wanted this job, and 2) I'm going to need to take baby steps in order to remember how to act like a normal, functioning, employed human being again.

My first day is this Monday and I've already started a list of things I need to do in preparation:

1. Put together an outfit that doesn't involve pajama pants.
2. Tame the Charlie Manson hair.
3. Wax my Andy Rooney eyebrows.
4. Remove the two month old, crackhead nail polish from my fingers.

Isn't this exciting???

If you need me, I'll basically be looking like this all weekend.

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You Will NEVER Guess What Happened This Weekend...

Friday night, Eric and I had plans to see The Shining at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. We had both been looking forward to it as we both LOVE The Shining and an actual showing in a theatre is not something that happens everyday. We left home early and spent time walking around The Grove. For anyone not familiar with the LA area, The Grove is an outdoor shopping mall where celebs are always spotted. In fact, we were walking next to a couple who (apparently) was famous and a TMZ photographer was trying to strike up a conversation with them.


We admired the sights...

And enjoyed the sounds...

We ended up in The Farmer's Market, which is a labyrinth of covered, outdoor food vendors. There were LOTS of places to choose from and it was kind of overwhelming.

We decided to take a break and have a drink at one of the vendor's stalls, 326 Bar. Eric ordered Golden  Monkey, a Belgian ale. I ordered a chardonnay because I felt like being fancy. We struck up a conversation with the female bartender, who had a booming voice and looked like she would be a contestant on Chopped. We were having a great time, hanging out, talking about anything and everything.

And then something amazing and unbelievable happened...

ERIC ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!!!!!

! ! !

And, of course, I said YES.

We hugged and kissed and I asked him a million questions about the whole thing. I was SO surprised and had no idea it was coming, so naturally I wanted to know all of the details. It turns out, he had consulted with two very important people the night before: My mom and Pearl. He got the thumbs up from both and decided to pop the big question while we were out seeing one of our favorite films. He was originally thinking he would ask me in front of a light exhibit at the museum, but we were having such a good time at The Farmer's Market, that the mood struck him and he went for it then and there.

With tears of joy in our eyes (and a swollen red nose from crying), we told our new friend, the bartender, about our new relationship status. It didn't take long before everyone at the bar knew and were clapping for us.

Time flew by and the next thing we knew, we had to book it if we wanted to make it to the film on time. We snapped a couple of photos on our way out to commemorate the moment and made our way to the museum.

We made it with a few minutes to spare. And then we watched The Shining.

And took pictures of the light exhibit on our way home.

And celebrated with Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Sprinkle cupcakes at 12am.

And that was my weekend.

I am SO happy. My life has been so much fun and so little stress since Eric and I met. If we had decided to stay boyfriend/ girlfriend forever, I would have been totally fine with it because I felt like I had already won: I didn't need to get married to have the best partner. So the fact that he went out of his way to surprise me with this special moment means even more. Plus, he gets mega points for proposing in the middle of a food haven.


Did I mention we're totally engaged???

:)

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