Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!

It's one of my favorite holidays because, in addition to America's birthday, it's also mine! And my cousin's, actually, one year before me. I'm 31 this year, and not ashamed to say it. Last year, some people teased me about the big 3-0, but I thought, "I'm exactly where I would want to be at thirty, so no need to mourn it!"

Matt's mom's birthday is the fifth, so we had a little brunch this morning to celebrate our birthdays. My parents are in town as well, and our old friends Tracy and Thomasjohn, who just moved to town, came over as well. Kate greeted Granna at the door saying, "We bought you a present! We bought you a bracelet!" Guess we'll need to brief Kate on the purpose of wrapping paper.

We had chocolate chip muffins in lieu of cake, some egg casseroles (broccoli and ham), scones, fruit salad, and a "breakfast bar" serving mimosas and bloody marys.

 Granna opening her bracelet...

 I got some beautiful new wine glasses, a necklace, and a neat Nicaraguan vase.

Matt's mom gave me my birthday present early, by transforming our home office/scrapbook room while we were away at the beach in May. I now have a fancy, Martha-Stewartesque space in which to do my crafting and scrapbooking! The tabletop is about 4-5 feet across and two feet deep, with a gorgeous skirt that hides two smaller cabinets below.

This little butcher-block cabinet (maybe 2 1/2 feet wide) had been my scrapbooking table previously, and now it and a new cabinet form the base of my new table. I love it!

Thanks for having me, Mom and Dad, and happy Fourth of July everyone!

Tonight, Matt and I are fulfilling a fun "bucket list" wish I've had for a few years. We're going to see fireworks from the air! We're going up in a biplane to circle the city during Nashville's big fireworks show. (Yeah, I know—eek!! It'll be fine... It'll be fine... :0)

P.S.: Claire's 8-month milestones will be coming soon, including video of her creeping across the room. She's such a good creeper!