A BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER.

it all started after i saw emma. autumn de wilde’s adaptation of emma had me swooning over pastels, manners and 19th century pin curls. after leaving the theater, i decided (while walking to the parking lot) that i was going to celebrate my birthday like a jane austen heroine… i was going to have an emma themed picnic in the park! there was to be tea, socializing and croquet! i was deep into planning this picnic (i bought the croquet set) when COVID-19 took over. as the precautions for this virus became essential, my birthday picnic would have to wait. so i put a pin in my pinterest board and began social distancing.

my vision…

this was going to be a birthday that i’d never forget. it would be the birthday i celebrated without my twin, the birthday where everyone had to stay 6 feet apart and the birthday where i couldn’t get toilet paper… so to make the most of my quarantined birthday, i asked some friends if they wanted to join me for a virtual tea party on my birthday. the plan was to get dressed up (to go nowhere), drink tea and socialize (virtually).

last sunday, i woke up to a picnic in my living room that my sister and brother-in-law had put together for my birthday. yes, i cried. they had stayed up all night baking and staging an emma themed picnic. the conroys had gifted me with a fortnum & mason picnic hamper filled with all the goodies to make for a proper picnic and tea party. my heart nearly exploded. i can’t begin to explain how grateful i am to everyone who made this birthday one that i would never forget, despite everything.

“it is such a happiness when good people get together- and they always do.”

Miss Bates
Emma, Volume 2, Chapter 3

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TRADITIONS & TEA

this past sunday i posted a picture of myself and my two dearest friends and captioned it “18 years and counting”. 18 YEARS! 18 years of friendship, laughter and some embarrassing stories… but 18 years of life together. i don’t know if it’s because of oprah’s golden globes speech or because it’s my time of the month (not sorry) but 18 years is giving me ALL the feels…feeling extremely grateful in particular.

every year during the holidays we get together to exchange gifts, it’s been our tradition for as long as i can remember. each year is a little different but more or less the same. we’re tasked with trying to chat, open presents and consume all the cheese and wine within a respectable amount of time. this year was particularly different… it was the last year with just us three. next year will be momma kenna, auntie taylor, auntie kenzie and baby easton! i have spent a lot of time with these two over the years; with their families, in their home and both of them in mine and i can’t believe all of the things that we’ve done together but i especially can’t wait for all that we will do in the future. xx

something i get from my mom is her love of wrapping and decorating… and her freckles. sometimes i forget that people need to be able to open their presents rather than just stare at my beautiful creation. bless kenna and her patience, this bow was no easy feat.

the night before our get together, i was at disneyland with the fam and saw this adorable “baby’s first christmas” ornament. i had to get it for momma kenna.

 

A BRIDAL SHOWER

this past weekend, i threw my sister her bridal shower. this was my first task as the maid of honor and i was ready to throw down! i read all the wedding forums the internet had to offer-the horror stories, words of advice and a lot of penis shaped foods…it was exhausting and quite daunting. lucky for me (and courtney) we have some seriously amazing people in our lives that were willing to help put on this special day. it was great to see everyone come together and show their love for the beautiful bride. you can check out all the details of the final product below! #CheerstotheConroys