A Very Merry Birthday

{Design*Sponge}

Thirteen more days :)

Twenty is a big step for me; I've never been twenty before

and that means I won't be a teenager anymore

--actually, I hadn't thought of that one (really, I hadn't!) until my orthodontist mentioned it.

It seems so much more than nineteen, so I'm hoping it will be a better balance for the braces:)

Seriously, I don't usually get so excited about my birthday but this one is

pretty special for two reasons--okay, maybe three:

1. We'll be in New York(!!!), thus the East Coast in the Fall.

I'm really looking forward to the accents, colors, and yes,

the cold!

Papaya drink and hot dog, roasted chestnuts, and NY pizza,

here I come!

2. I might be able to convince my family to go see an opera

(I'm thinking a matinee of Cosi fan tutte, we shall see).

3. We'll be with dear, sweet friends.

This is probably the main reason that thrills me the most :)

{bonus} For just one year it will be that much easier to calculate how far apart

Nicole and I are in age! Yes, that reason was free of charge

This is Grace.

She is small and very sweet.

She's also sporting the latest custom birthday crown; made with love for the party of a special birthday girl. I've branched out from the style I used for Mia; for example, with the one above, I covered the elastic with fabric and I did a few things different in the way I embroidered the pieces together. It was pretty fun to put together and I hope the Little Birthday Girl enjoys it!

{Inspiration}

This is a lightweight coat a dear friend loaned to us--isn't it adorable!

Yes, those felt flowers are sewn onto the sides of the light blue corduroy

I'm so excited to wear in on the plane!

We still have a few things to wrap up at the house and all of the packing to do!

Tomorrow we are planning to spend some time in Austin and are hoping to find some hostess gifts, other gifts, and general shopping. I know we just saw them

but we're all aching to see Nicole and the Stickies!

Dom won't be 17 months forever and I don't think we can see our family too often.

Are there any other Fall birthday people out there?

It's my favorite season and a pretty good month in which to have a birthday :)