sparkles, sparklers and champagne

no it’s not new year’s eve. i’m a year older and the big 2-7 today. in my world, this means i’m officially in my late 20s – it did not start a year ago, as a certain someone would like to tell me (or even the year before – those were 2 years of mid 20s). i was going to write that not much has changed in the past year, but this year’s post isn’t called “it’s a celebration bitches.” so i do suppose some things have changed. puttin’ my big girl pants on, huh?

instead of dwelling on everything that hasn’t happened in the past year, everything i thought i’d be at 27, i think i’ll just say i’m happy to be here writing today. what a gift.

i’m blessed to have a wonderful family, fantastic friends, many of whom came from my loving boyfriend, and of course my loving boyfriend who is always my #1 blessing every day – sometimes i’m just in awe of how much love there is in my life.

there really are no words for just how luck this 20-something is.

well, off to celebrate another year! cheers, dolls!

images via i, ii, iii, iv, v

gifts for men

when you need to buy a gift for the man who-has-everything (love you pops) or the man who-buys-what-he-wants-when-he-wants-it (love you hunny), it can be a challenge. you search and search for that one “thing” that would be perfect for the occasion. a shirt? really (really) nice denim? a wallet? cuff links?

it’s been done. and then it sits in the closet. or dresser. it doesn’t go anywhere – it’s not consumed and enjoyed. that’s why i love to gift consumable gifts with a “leave behind,” if you will. think of it as purchasing a really fantastic bottle of wine and gifting it with two beautiful wine glasses – the glasses are a leave behind. the leave behind becomes a smaller token of the experience you gave.

i love the idea of gifting cigars for my boyfriend. he’s really into them, but i know they can be expensive. purchasing 3 of his favorite, or of something he wants to try but wouldn’t buy himself would be a great gift. then you can up the ante with a funny or personalized lighter and a nice cigar cutter (note: spend the extra few dollars on a good cigar cutter for him. even if you don’t go as far as getting a personalized cutter, he’ll appreciate that it’s not going to break, and he probably won’t buy anything more than a $3 cutter for himself, anyway).

image via wedding chicks