stuff

Hey friends,
I've been busy as balls the last few days. This weekend was crazy busy with my birthday on Friday followed by a wedding out of town. I got behind on homework and have since been trying to catch up with that and sleep. I'm beyond exhausted and eagerly awaiting Friday...even though I'll work till 2 am or so that night.
I just wanted to pop in and share some pictures with y'all and let you know I'm still alive. :)
This is what I wore to our friends' wedding reception thingy on Saturday night. The dress is Eva Franco and I picked it up in the sale section of my local Anthropologie in 2010. It was originally almost $300, but I paid $75 and it was the only size 2 left. Wee! I love a sale plus dress fate.

Dress: Eva Franco via Anthropologie

Cardigan: Express

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Bag: Black Bird (Montclair, NJ)

I'm sure y'all wanna see a couple cute babies aka my nephew Nathaniel & my niece Makaila...

Yesterday (Valentine's Day), Mikey and I kept it simple. He made us some penne pasta with vodka sauce. Afterward, we double dated with Isaac and Lissi to see "The Vow". It wasn't nearly as good as we (us girls) thought it would be. On the other hand, I loved my Vday gifts from Mikey. 

Welp, off to do a buttload of more homework. I seriously think it's going to kill me. If y'all don't hear from me again, you know why.

I hope y'all are doing well!

Love,

Roni

best Birthday ever ♥

I'm so glad I told Mikey I wanted to actually do something this year. I'm definitely through being a "let's just go to dinner and be done with it because getting old sucks" birthday girl! This year's festivities were a damn good time and I've happily embraced 28. Thanks again for all the prezzies and people who sent me so much love, near and far. xo

Birthday school outfit: red, white, blue & hot pink. peter pan collar + necktie. new shoez.

Dress: ModCloth (old)

Tights in pale pink/blush: H&M

Cardigan: Target

Swedish Hasbeens via Shoe Biz

Ariel birthday party (b/c the girls say I looked like her w/my red hair). So fun! New shoez + bows! I love the Natal family with all my heart. Thank y'all for making me feel so special.

Birthday dinner at Sergio's Bistro (best in Jersey!) with my hunnie bunnie. <3

Nighttime birthday outfit: Dorothy Perkins peter pan collar/floral dress + new Jeffrey Campbell heels (from Strut of NY). 

Jeffrey Campbell "Rizzo" heels

Birthday partAy at Clash Bar! Superrrr funnn!

You get a slideshow today since I couldn't pick only a few favorite pictures from the night. Warning: I make a ton of DUMB faces that you've probably never seen on the blog before. This is just me being m e. You'll get used to it :) There's no song because I'm indecisive. Also if you want to see this bigger, just click on the "youtube" logo at the bottom right of the vid-box.

 

My favorite thing about birthdays? Everyone's so nice to you. <3

Love,

Roni

Go Shorty!

Thanks for all the Happy Birthday messages, comments, texts, phone calls, hey tells....amazingly photoshopped pictures of us together since we've unfortunately never met in person (ahem, Kirsten - haha I love it)!! This birthday and the days leading up to it....y'all have just made me feel so loved. :) Thank you! And that goes for my friends that don't get on blogger, if you ever see this.

Turning 28 means wearing a lot of red....and feeling ultra fab. 

Mikey got me some red Swedish Hasbeens for my birthday.  

And here are some sweet treats from some super thoughtful friends. I love surprises! Thank y'all very much.

Morrissey shirt (that I've worn every night) - thank you, Flowers!

Mustard beanie + lovey dovey dress - thank you, Khalilah! 

Freaks And Geeks - thank you, Chris!

Wine glass that holds 3 bottles of wine (OMG) - thank you, Stephie! I promise to only have one glass. ;)

Thank you again, Chryssi for your gifts, too!

And in case you wanted to see some baby Roni pics...

Left = baby Roni

Middle = my 1st birthday. my fave pic of me & my mommy

Right = mischievous Roni. I got caught knocking stuff down. 

My friends upstairs just threw me an Ariel birthday party! I got to wear an Ariel crown while a room full of smiles sang "Happy Birthday" to me. :) I'll definitely be posting pictures of all my birthday festivities on Sunday-ish. We're headed out to eat now and then we'll be drinking at Clash Bar with friends. 

If you haven't seen this hilarious infomercial for a gigantic wine glass (the inside joke to why Steph bought me the big wine glass for my bday) then you must see it. I've seen it like 50 times and it still gives me tummy pains from LOL'ing so hard. The one Steph got me holds 3 bottles of wine! Score!

Happy Birthday to me! Wooo! 

Love,

Roni

Let's Rewind 10 years: pt. 10

I'll tell y'all, I didn't think I'd be able to make it through 10 days of consecutive blogging...I like to take days off every now and then and get lazy. So let's finish this memory lane thing off, shall we?

2011 aka last year. 

~January: I started college, for the first time ever, and about 9 years late, but I suppose all that matters is that I'm finally gettin' my edumacation on. I mean, it's not like I was sittin' on my butt for all those years. 

~I turned 27! 

~April: Started hanging out with Isaac & Lissi, along with their 4 daughters. They live upstairs and we hang out pretty much everyday now. They're some of our best and most reliable friends in Jersey. 

~Enjoyed our first summer off, free to do whatever we wanted, in almost a decade! We took many trips, visiting my family in Texas twice, going to North Carolina, Delaware, NY of course, and Florida for our friend's wedding/vow renewal. 

We became an aunt and uncle for the first time, to none other than my favorite little boy in the world, Nathaniel. Meeting him for the first time was the happiest day ever.

The wedding in Florida also served as a grand reunion; we got to see a number of our old Vegas friends! Most importantly, I was surrounded by 3 of my best girlfriends in the world: Steph, Natty, and Chappie.

Steph, me, Natty, Chap

Natty & I enjoying the beach w/some of the best guy pals a gal could have

~December: We spent our first Christmas in Texas together. I hadn't spent Christmas with my family since 2008, and before that 2004...that's no longer going to be the case. Especially now with the babies in Texas. I wanna be there for everything!

Ten years in 10 days complete!

I hope you all enjoyed going wayy back down memory lane with me. It was a lot tougher than I thought, considering I'd forgotten, or put certain things behind me. Thank y'all for being full of thoughtful and inspiring words as you read along. 

I'll be back again later to show y'all some awesome surprise prezzies (I told you I was gonna steal your word, Allison) I received in the mail + the pretty things Mikey gave me that all together have made this the best start to 28! 

Love,

Roni

Let's Rewind 10 years: pt. 9

Look who's up early and off school! That means you get your post early today, weee!
Where are we again?...Ah, 2010. Another lively year.
~For my 26th birthday Mikey and I went out to eat at a yummy steakhouse (I'm addicted to filet mignon) and then we saw the Beatles LOVE Show by Cirque Du Soleil at the Mirage Hotel & Casino. It was an all around amazing time. Jen, I can't remember if you saw this while in Vegas or not, but surely you must as I thought of you during it.

Notice Mikey's stint as a brunette, lol

~Right after my birthday I found out I was pregnant....we were super happy. Every single one of my friends (and of course my family) have always known how badly I want kids. I mean, I know I was wild and crazy, drinking all the time, when I first got to Vegas; I know I've shopped like I'd never run out of money, but I've done everything that I've done because I wasn't a mother yet - because I was only responsible for me. Believe me when I say that if ever I could have traded my lifestyle for being a mom, I'd have done it in a second...I really wanted to be a young mommy. Go figure, the more you want them, the longer you get to wait. I believe in "everything happens for a reason" and I trust in God, that clearly I'll have them when I'm supposed to. Unfortunately I've had more than one miscarriage, and it's really the hardest thing a girl can go through. Harder than divorce, for me. To feel like you have something you've always wanted and you treat your body like there's something in there, caring for it, talking to it, floating on clouds, only to find out a week or so later that it just didn't attach itself the way it was supposed to...I remember conversations with older people, telling them how bad I wanted kids when I was younger; they'd always tell me to "wait" and "live a little"...I've come to think that maybe God is making me live a little, see things, before I have them. Even if I feel like I've done plenty of living. So, I don't know what else to do but be positive and trust that it's for a reason beyond my comprehension. While I wouldn't wish a miscarriage or the inability to have kids on my worst enemy, it's always been a comfort me for to know that I've got friends that share my experiences; it gives shoulders of hope to lean on when one of us has ended up pregnant after years of failed attempts and it simply gives us someone to talk to who can relate. I've since prayed my heart out that I please not ever get pregnant again if I'm going to experience another heartbreak with loss. I want the next time I'm pregnant to result in a baby Roni or Mikey running around.

So, after I miscarried, naturally I was a disaster. Sad. Crying. Quiet. I wanted the presence of a baby in the house in some form; I wanted to hold something cute and tiny. So I asked Mikey if we could go look at puppies. One look at Bowie and I wanted him to come home with us. He made me happy....and then once I'd gotten over my sad state, I was like "OMG why did I make us get another dog?!" Haha :) Oh, Bowie, he can be a carpet-ruining, new recliner chewing, clueless little ball of fur, but I love him, and every now and then I look at him and remember how much I needed him when we got him. 

~April: I took a crack at being a hair and [crazy] makeup model + runway for the super fabulous & famous hairstylist, Oribe. The show was held at the Palms Hotel & Casino. I did it with my friend Brandi and we had a blast. I found out just how shy I really am and how big of a bust it would have been to fulfill a child dream of becoming a model. Definitely not for me! But the $100 worth of free Oribe hair products & $100 cash was a nice payment for 8 hours of work/play. 

me & Oribe! 

~July: I was starting to out-process the military. My 2nd enlistment in the Air Force was coming to an end. We had our going away party and said goodbye to some of the best people we'd ever known. I cried A LOT. The military brought so many things to my life. Discipline. Responsibility. Travel. Change. But best of all, friendship...family. It was such a fun ride and I'm so glad I did it. I spent almost 8 years of my life wearing a uniform that represented something that will forever make me proud when I look back on it. 

Two quotes that I remember using in association with looking at all these pictures of our goodbye:

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."-if anyone knows who said this, please let me know. I can't seem to remember or find it. 

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."- Henry David Thoreau

~August: We left Vegas and did a loooong road trip. We went from Vegas to Texas, Texas to North Carolina, North Carolina to Jersey. The whole thing took about 3 weeks as we stayed with both our mothers along the way. 

~October: We'd been living in Jersey for all of two months and already I was sad almost everyday without having friends around. I decided to fly to Tennessee for two weeks and have some girl time with Paige. 

Also this month, one of my best girlfriends from Vegas, Laura, came to Jersey to spend Halloween with us. 

~November: Chappie came out to visit me in Jersey! 

~December: Jen came out to visit me! I hadn't seen her in 5, almost 6 years by this time! It was Christmas time in NY and we had so much fun running around 5th Ave and Rockefeller Center, dancing with Santa in the street. 

2010 had so many tear inducing moments, it was such an emotional year all around, but a great one nonetheless. 

Hooray for blogging before midnight! Just think, y'all only have to read one more novel by yours truly. :) 

Love,

Roni

Let's Rewind 10 years: pt. 8

2009. So much happened.
~I turned 25! I remember actually being off work this day, so I slept in, woke up, and took silly pictures...because I couldn't believe I was 25. 

~March 7th: After roughly 10 months of dating, Mikey asked me to marry him. Wee! We were on our way to see the Tyler Perry play, The Marriage Counselor, and he went the opposite direction of the Strip. I was like, "where the hell are we going, our play starts in an hour?!" And he was like, "Oh, I thought it would be romantic to get some pictures in the desert, near the area where we first cuddled." (We had first cuddled on the side of the road one night, in the very beginning of our relationship. I was driving and I didn't want to drop him off yet, so I pulled over, turned off my car, we reclined our seats and listened to music with my sun roof open...looking up at the sky and talking. Then he asked me to hop over and just lay on him. *nothing happened* We cuddled, and that was the night.) So, we get to the location and get out of the car. He sets up the timer on my camera to capture some shots of us. But it was surprisingly chilly that day, for Vegas weather, and I was already bitching about wanting to get back in the car. Typical me. He says, "Just a couple more shots and we'll leave." So I put on a smile while he runs back to set the timer & multiple shot option, and then he pulls the ring out and says his little spiel. I was so impressed with how well he planned the proposal and thought to use the timer on the camera. He knows how important capturing happy moments are to me, and now we'll always have this photo to look at, in addition to having the memory itself. 

~March 13th (it was a Friday): We got married. After 6 whole days of being engaged! We just couldn't wait. Plus, he was due to go on a deployment in April and we wanted to be married before he left. We said "I do" in a small civil service office in downtown Vegas. There were 5 people present: our moms, my sister, his mom's bff, and our friend Chryssi. Afterwards, we went out to our favorite restaurant. A Moroccan place called Marrakech. It was simple, but perfect. We were married. That was all we wanted.

~April: Mikey and I flew to Jersey to spend time with his dad before his deployment. It was the first time that I'd been up so far north. I saw New York City for the first time and fell in love with it in a whole new way. I had loved it since I was a kid, but seeing it in person was like...wow! My father-in-law booked us a night at the Trump Tower as a wedding present. It was an incredible stay. Every time we left our room, there was a new free gift on our kitchen table waiting for us! To include a champagne bottle with a congratulations note for the newlyweds...which we of course drank and didn't save as a memento. 

horse carriage through Central Park

Mikey deployed a couple weeks later and the next 4 months sucked. Deployments can be tough on a couple. You'll be so frustrated that you're apart, it makes you fight. And fighting a million miles away is the worst. You can't just call each other whenever you want to make up. And you can't hug or kiss. But Mikey being the sweetheart he is, mailed me bouquets of roses, tulips, orchids, etc. at least every three weeks while he was away. It always made me cry happy tears to see how romantic he was, even all the way in Iraq. 

~While he was gone I started running, for the first time in my life. Well, you get fitness tested once a year in the Air Force, and it includes a 1.5 mile run. So really, I ran once a year, and even that measly little run nearly killed me every time. Running was not something that came easy to me. I couldn't get my breathing down at first. But everyday after work I'd hit the track or the treadmill. I found that running helped reduce all the stress from Mikey's deployment and the new stress I was dealing with at work. I could only run the 1.5 miles at first, then soon I was doing 3 miles a day, and eventually, I was running 6 miles like nothing. I'd gotten my breathing down, learning that if I matched it with my feet, and my feet to my music, I could run for an hour at a time. I remember one day a sergeant in my squadron asked if I wanted to go on a run with him. I met him in front of the squadron and we ran...for 10 miles! He didn't tell me how long of a run he was going for, but I kept up the whole time and never stopped. I soon became someone that lots of people went to for running advice because I had been someone who never could do it, or thought I couldn't before. It was fun to help motivate people the way other runners had motivated me before I started. I was so proud of myself and I'd gotten back to my normal weight. Right now I've gone the longest without running since I started in 2009. It's been about 6 months! Eek! I really need to get back to it. I always felt the best when I was running. Toned. Healthy. Energetic. And I'd wanted to do a half marathon....I think I'll start training for that again. (I put that in here, because it seriously was a big deal in my life. I had never exercised before. With the exception of the three years that I put on alcohol & late-night-munchies-because-of-alcohol weight, I had always been thin, but far from being in shape. When there's something in life that you just never see as being achievable or possible for you, the moment that you find you can do it, or you are good at it, you tend to be extremely proud of yourself. Running was that for me.)

~August: The day he got back we booked two nights at the Palazzo Hotel on the Strip and continued our honeymoon. We'd drink champagne and lay out by the pool during the afternoon and hit up yummy restaurants at night. It ruled. We also both worked out while apart, so here we sported our new bods.

~September: We moved out of a house we shared with three other roommates (to include Chryssi) and got our own apartment. I guess we decided Danzig needed a little brother so we adopted Jaxon. While we played with him at the pet store, he romped around and made us laugh. I had the song, "Jackson" by Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash in my head the whole time so I named him, opting to spell it with an 'x'. Jaxon was the cutest little pup I ever saw. 

Those were the big things of my 25th year/2009. I hope y'all enjoyed all the pictures :)

As always, thank you for reading. 

Love,

Roni

the first dress I purchased from ModCloth

This would be it. It's pretty much a staple in my wardrobe. I wear it all the time. I'll show you, since this is its first appearance on the blog.
(I thought I had more pictures than this.) These were all taken on different days, but clearly I like wearing this dress with my orange-y/coral colored cardigan. I also love it with my teal cardi. I wanna try it with a solid tee underneath next time. It's such an easy, breezy dress to wear and feel comfortable in. I think that's why I grab for it so often. 

Left: Mikey's return from Iraq; Middle: flexing contest w/Slip; Right: leaving Las Vegas. Saying bye to Kipp & Jon

And here's how I wore it today. Nothin' crazy. 

Dress: ModCloth (2009)

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters

Tights: Target

Penny loafers: Old Navy

What's one of your go-to dresses or outfits? How do you style it differently each time that way it keeps feeling like a new piece?