Bits of Texas: Nathan's 1st Birthday!

In honor of tomorrow, the 25th, making my nephew another month older, I decided to share some heartwarming pictures from his first birthday party in June. I remember for months and months leading up to this big deal event, I'd gone over the emotion of it all it in my head and anticipated a show of water works; I'd cry just thinking about him turning a year old (!!) and how fast these last twelve months have gone by and how the three times I saw him last year were some of the most wonderful moments I'd ever experienced...but in the midst of being surrounded by such happy family members and friends, and Nathan making everyone laugh as we sang happy birthday to him, there was just no room for tears, not even the happy ones. Just smiles.

 My sissy ordered the cute Mickey Mouse treat boxes and personalized thank you cards from Etsy

She and I made all the Mickey-shaped rice crispy pops and cupcakes (+homemade frosting) together! 

 Not trying to be cute - whoever took the picture didn't give me a chance to swallow my food

 Siblings

 Mommy 

 Nathan's daddy

Brother's family (my neice, Makaila)

The following 2 [blurry] pics are screen shots from a 10 minute video Mikey took of the cake situation

Haha, he's like "What the hell just happened?!"

Oh, but he loved his smash cake. He was a beast! We are SO related. 

 "Hey! Bring that *bleeping* thing back!"

 Proud aunt & unckie to these two cutie pies <3

Sorry about the photo bomb. It was hard to select only a handful of my faves from a 200+ stash of happy stills.
Enjoy your weekend, pretties!

Bits of Texas: family

I hope y'all are having a relaxing Sunday and preparing yourselves for the rude awakening that is Monday morning.
Today I want to share some pictures from my [June] trip to Texas. I'm going to make this a little series 'cause I took so many photos. Since it's Sunday, and it's pretty common to associate Sundays with family time, this first theme of pictures will be as such.
My brother's girlfriend had a surprise photo shoot scheduled for Mikey and I to get aunt and uncle shots with our niece and nephew, Makaila & Nathan. It was the cutest thing ever! This is my favorite photo from that day.

Wonderful family photo ~ Nathan is miserable, mommy & daddy can't stop laughing

Play time with my mommy (and photo booth)

Bags under my eyes and a goofy face, but this was my first morning in town and I woke up to find Makaila in the house ~ mommy and I were babysitting her for the day (we look like twins, I think)

Getting to see this little bunny wake up from a nap 

Getting to be present for Makaila's dedication to the Lord

 

my brother & sissy

That's all for now. Mikey has a basketball game in twenty minutes! Have a lovely evening, y'all. For those fortunate enough to live near family...lucky y'all. :)

Texas: poolside

"cousins day" at my sister's pool

girls day with my oldest girlfriend in the world, Jack

summer nights. swimsuits & beers. the life. 

I head back to New Jersey tomorrow. It feels as though my trip went by incredibly fast, but when I look back on all these pictures (I took somewhere around 800) I realize I did so much in the last 3ish weeks. I saw everyone that my heart misses when I'm away from here. 

Oh, guess what? My cousin Mercedes, that I told y'all about two posts ago, is flying to Jersey with me tomorrow! She's going to spend a little over two weeks with Mikey and I. This will be the first time she's left Texas and I want her to have a memorable, and perhaps eye-opening experience. It's nice to go away for a while, then come back home and recognize -with almost new eyes- all that you appreciate about where you come from, what makes it special. Having "places visited" under your belt is also something of an accomplishment to look back on and cherish forever. I plan on showing her all my favorite New Jersey towns and of course, "The Big Apple." 

I'll be back on a normal posting & reading schedule this week. Have a lovely Tuesday, friends! 

cat lady & a day for fathers

I just had to buy this dress when I saw it at Zara a few days ago. Cat print and light weight summery dress?! Yes, please. 

You might notice I've been wearing these oxfords a whole lot lately. Not only do I absolutely love them since they go with everything, but I only brought two pairs of shoes to Texas. I try not to over pack anymore by working all my outfits around one pair of flats and one pair of heels. 

Texas skies are like no other.  

Dress: Zara//Shoes: Endless//Bag: ModCloth

I wore this for Father's Day lunch with my entire family yesterday. We celebrated my brother, step dad, grandpa, uncles, and soon-to-be-brother in law. All wonderful fathers, grandfathers, and a great-grandfather. 

my grandpa

my niece, Makaila

my parents with their grandbabies

sister's family

brother's family

Hope y'all are having a lovely week! And a HUGE thank you for all the sweet and thoughtful comments. They make my day! Also, if you wanna keep in touch via Instagram (I update it almost daily), you can find me there under my blog name.  :)

keeping promises

Most of y'all that have been following my blog for even a few months know that I joined the military when I was eighteen. That was ten years ago this coming November. I initially signed up for a four year enlistment. At the time, my cousin Mercedes was eight years old, and naturally, really sad that I'd be leaving and only coming back to Texas for visits. But she (and I) thought I'd be home at the end of those first four years, so she wasn't worried about me ever missing her high school graduation. Well, the four years flew by, and not knowing where I wanted to go with my life at twenty-two years old, I signed up for four more years. I remember Mercedes, then twelve years old, being so bummed that I wouldn't be coming back like originally planned. In my second enlistment I met Mikey, who is now my husband. Together we decided to get out of the military after our enlistments had been fulfilled and go to college. Although, upon officially breaking my ties with the service, I didn't go back to Texas; I headed to New Jersey, where we currently reside. Getting older and realizing that my plans to permanently come back to Texas had likely changed, Mercedes thereafter only asked that I'd make it to her high school graduation. In fact, she had always made it clear that seeing her walk the stage was something I had to be present for. I repeatedly said I wouldn't miss it, but somewhere along the way, I'd honestly forgotten about my promise. It just so happened that on this trip, I flew in the day before Mercedes' graduation and I got to sit in the stands and shout (like a maniac) many congratulations to her. Even though it had slipped my memory to be there, I feel it was just meant to be. I'm the only one in our entire family who doesn't live in San Antonio, so it's always incredibly heartwarming for me to make it to events that my family gathers so joyously for. 

me, my sister & her awesome fiance

my nephew & my cousin

Mercedes, or "Mercy", as I call her

The pics I took of the rest of my family are blurry. Here are my uncles, aunts, cousin, & my mommy.

I had four slices of this cake. No shame. 

I hope y'all are enjoying this lovely Friday. Have a happy and beautiful weekend with the people you love! (I'll keep trying to post/read your blogs as I get internet service.) <3

Hello, Texas

Howdy, y'all!

I'm at my sister's apartment right now borrowing wifi. I really don't have internet capabilities at all when I'm at my mom's so I wanted to take this opportunity to get in a post and read some blogs. I hope all is well with y'all!

Here are pictures from last Thursday when I flew into my home state. 

How cute/perfect is this shirt to wear while traveling?!
shirt, bag: ModCloth//shoes: Endless

Saying "buh bye" to my hunnie bunnie at Newark airport. 

1. Wine buzz on the plane 2. My nephew was so excited to see me
3. Sister & I eating tacos (YUM) 4. Enjoying a Mexican treat, chamoyada

Upon my arrival into San Antonio, my sissy, her fiance Gilbert, and my nephew Nathan took me to get some real Mexican food. (New Jersey fails so hard at it.) 

I had been craving one of these finely shaven ice treats (in a variety of flavors) that Mexican people love dousing with chili powder and something called Chamoy. It's a brilliantly delicious concoction of sour, salty, spicy and sweet. It's an acquired taste for some, but I've been eating it since I was a child. 

 For dinner, I craved more Mexican food so Gilby hooked us up, even adding a sugary, refreshing pitcher of Kool-Aid. My first day in town consisted of a five hour food coma; it was magical. 

I do wish Mikey could have come with me to Texas, as we always come together; however, he is currently enrolled in summer school. On the bright side, he'll be flying into Texas on the weekend of our nephew Nathaniel's first birthday party! That's pretty much why I'm here for three weeks - I wanted to spend plenty of time with Nathan leading up to his big milestone of a birthday, and of course, I wanted quality time with my four month old niece, Makaila. I try and take advantage of family time as much as I can, when I can. 

Have a lovely week, y'all!
<3 Roni

**Up until a week ago there had been a little set back with one of the sites I'm purchasing from (for my giveaway), but it finally got squared away (I think) and I've already begun purchasing more pretty, whimsical items that are all going into the gift box that will be part of my giveaway. Official deets to follow when I get back from Texas. Didn't want y'all thinking I forgot about it.**