5 YEAR YOUTUBE ANNIVERSARY!!!

Hello and Happy Friday, Loves!
So today as I was getting ready to meet up with my sister-in-law for a fun little spa day and lunch, I texted one of my friends to tell her happy birthday. I then realized not only was it her birthday, but that today is also my 5 year YouTube anniversary!!!
And my face looked like this...

I would seriously never remember that exact date if it were just any random day, but since it falls on her birthday, I always remember it! It was really a surreal feeling. I absolutely cannot believe it has been that long.
When I uploaded my first video, I had no idea it would become what it has. This fun hobby of mine has turned into so much more for me. It's truly changed my life. YOU guys have truly changed my life.

This post feels very "giveaway-ish", but there's none of that going on here. Just little ol' me saying thanks.  I'll try to do something like that soon- But most of you guys know my philosophy on giveaways and how they really work. To me, they're not really that big of a "thank you" for you guys. They really just drive more traffic to my videos or blog. So I don't do it for that reason. I really like doing things that will actually benefit you guys. Unfortunately, giveaways only benefit maybe 5 of you (at the most) out of almost 700 THOUSAND subscribers.  Which lets just be honest... You guys know if I could give you guys one of everything I ever talk about in videos each and every time, I totally would and it would make me the happiest ever. But that isn't really possible...haha  That's basically why I rarely do those.

So I just wanted to say thank you. Nothing fancy or showy, just simply, thank you. Thank you for all of your support and kind words, all of the comments that brighten my day and have brought me more joy, smiles, and laughter than you will ever know.

You guys are awesome and basically rock my world.

The day I turned 29 for the first time...

So some of you may already know that my birthday was a few days ago.
Before I get this post rollin' I've got to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who sent along sweet birthday messages to me. It made me feel so warm n' fuzzy inside! :)
Truthfully, It was probably one of the most relaxing days I've had in quite some time.  I decided to take the day "off".  However, when you do what I do (blogging/YouTube) on the internet, you never truly have a day off. While it's great that I can make my own hours, I'm usually checking my channel, comments, posts, filming, editing, planning, emailing, communicating with companies I'm collaborating with, etc.  Weekends, late at night... all throughout the day, basically. It's truly more work than when I taught full-time (and was in school full-time). Wasn't meaning to get into all that, but that's what happens when I blog sometimes. Whatever comes into my mind sometimes just comes out onto the page.
I LOVE what I do, though. I always have loved the quote, "Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life." So true.

Anyway, my point is, while I was taking the day "off" (not really), I decided to go to our neighborhood pool for the first time. I felt like I was on vacation and the weather was absolutely beautiful.

While I was there, I got a message from a friend telling me the sad news about Talia's passing. It absolutely broke my heart. The rest of the time I was there, I remembered happy memories about our few brief moments we actually were able to spend together when we met at IMATS in LA this past January. She was seriously larger than life. Her personality and positivity were so huge that you didn't really notice she was just a small child. It's so unbelievable what she went through battling cancer at such a young age when kids shouldn't have to worry about life's heavier things like that.  When I was talking to her, I never even thought about that, though. She was so happy and sweet and I had so much fun talking to her, even for just a little while.

While thinking about what she endured, it's so inspiring to see how she handled it and turned it into something positive. Reaching out to so many people, bringing so much awareness to childhood cancer, and touching so many people's lives through YouTube.  We're seriously so blessed to have gotten to know her, even if only through the internet.  She'll always have a special place in my heart.

After the pool, with a heavy heart, I headed back to our house and did some cleaning.  

House cleaning. I know, birthday awesomeness.

I got ready for dinner, Brad came home from work, and we headed out to one of my favorite spots, Stoney River.

As we headed out the door, Brad gave me one of my birthday gifts...

It's by Michael Kors. It's bright gold. It has a chunky chain link band. I'm in love with it!  I had really been wanting a new and fun watch. This one is the perfect mix of being fun, classic, and stylish. 

This is us heading out the door...

Isn't he presh? I've got to make him crash my out-the-door ootd pics more often. ;)

Here's a better shot of my outfit.

details:

Ted Baker Dress, Target shoes, Michael Kors watch, cuffs from thecurrentcustom.com, Louis Vuitton Lumineuse PM

You may remember this dress from my post about my recent trip to New York.  It's so comfortable! I knew it had to be my birthday dress. :)

So off we went to Stoney River... Here's a few shots of our delicious noms.

This salad was unbelievably good. Sort of like a "caprese" salad, but with the little peas and fried onions (which Brad mostly ate), it was amazing.

 This was my meal. A filet mignon with mashed sweet potato casserole. These sweet potatoes are basically my favorite thing ever.

 This was Brad's. His steak was crazy huge with some yummy mashed potatoes with shallots. Delish as well.

And finally, Stoney River is awesome and brings you free chocolate cake on your birthday. It was yummy and fudge-y and delicious.

When we got home, Brad gave me the sweetest birthday card ever and these little Kate Spade elephant salt and pepper shakers.

Crazy cute, right?  They look perfect on our kitchen table.

Crappy iPhone pic, but they still look presh.
We then spent a relaxing night at home and watched The Big Lebowski... lol. I can't help it, it's one of my favorites.

So again, thank you all for making my day extra special! I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

How I Packed for New York!

Hey everyone!
So some of you who follow me on Instagram probably know already that this past weekend I took a quick trip to New York City to shot something special for Shape Magazine. It was such an awesome experience!! Although I already posted a few photos from the trip on Instagram, here are some of those and a few more...

Some gorgeous shots of the city from the top of the Empire State Building...

The last day we visited Ground Zero and saw the new towers built near the World Trade Center site. The tower below is the same one lit in red, white, and blue above. 

We got the opportunity to speak with a few New York City Police Officers near the area who were SO nice and hospitable. We could have talked to them and asked them questions all day and they probably would have been glad to. All of the "true" New-Yorkers we met were some of the nicest people ever.

SO while I was packing last week, I thought it would be the perfect time to film a little packing "how-to" video. Or at least how I did it for this particular trip. So check out my (very long) video below to see  some of my best packing tips and all the things I brought along!