A really stupid idea.

I woke up at 6:45 this morning. For three reasons:

1. Partially because I was hungry. 

It's Sunday, so obviously Chick-Fil-A sounded delicious.

Nothing like a good Kim Jong-un/North Korea joke, am I right? Super tasteful.

2. Partially because Taylor was taking up 83% of the bed.

GET MARRIED THEY SAID. IT'LL BE FUN THEY SAID.

3. And partially because my throbbing feet were making it impossible to sleep. 

So let's rewind. Because you know sometimes I like to start at the end and work backwards.

Friday was good for the following reasons:

DONUTS, CUPCAKES, & HAPPY HOUR. I didn't take a picture of any of that, but, it was obviously a really healthy day for me.

I had a night to myself, so I chose to spend it cleaning, being best friends with my kindle, watching Legally Blonde, and going to bed at 9pm. #bestnightever

HAHAHAHA. That's funny. For so, so, many reasons.

Saturday morning I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn. What's sad about this is the fact that this was sleeping in an HOUR later than my usual wake up time. Feel sorry for me please. 

Was it worth it? Yes. Because OMG.

We knocked out a friggin' hot 11 miles with solid negative splits and that makes me happy. 

It also helps me justify this. 

Although, when the words "strawberry shmear" are involved, no reason is really needed.

After that I soaked up the rest of my day by taking a three hour nap. 

Haha, no SERIOUSLY, that happened.

The napping was completely necessary because I had to rest up for a CRAZY fun night ahead. 

Because these two got hitched!

UGH. They are so pretty it hurts my eyes. 

Jordan and Morgan are our soulmates and best couple friends. Taylor lived with Jordan all through college and after up until the day we got married. Morgan is his better half and over the past five years the four of us have gotten into lots of adventures/trouble and we love them to PIECES. Their wedding was BEYOND gorgeous. I tried to keep my shit together and cry like a lady. 

(Michael Scott = LADY.)

But it always comes across more like this. 

I am biased, but this guy was definitely my favorite groomsman. 

He poses so well you'd think he was normal. Then you see this, and you think, HMM. Perhaps not.

I also got to hitch a ride and hang out with THIS lovely lady and long-time roommate. 

(Sydney, not a day goes by that I don't consider trading Taylor for you. I miss your clean kitchen.)

Anyways, the wedding was perfect. And their cake was STUNNING. 

I wish I'd remembered to have a piece. 

However I was too busy appreciating the wine/bustin' a move to do so. 

Okay, so back to my stupid idea. Remember how earlier that same day I ran 11 miles? Remember how it was like 400 degrees? Remember how I wore my week old shoes? Remember how I came home with new blisters? And then do you also remember the part where I proceeded to dress up for a wedding and put on 5 inch wedges? Yeah. That was brilliant. 

Y'all. When I am at a wedding, something supernatural happens. 

A song comes on, an urge overwhelms me, and I HAVE TO DANCE. 

I CANT HELP IT. 

The result? Four hours of non-stop dancing. With anyone who would have me. Mostly Sydney, and sometimes Taylor. Well, not completely non-stop. I did take breaks to refill my wine glass and hit up the photo booth. With my husband. And his hulk hand. 

Anyways, I'm still recovering. It will probably be a week or two before I can walk normally again. 

But the wobble and cha-cha slide are ALWAYS worth it. 

LOVE&HUGS,

Nat 

  

Calories don't count on your birthday? Oh please let it be true.

Well it's come and it's gone, and I spent the ENTIRE weekend celebrating. Which means there was a lot of Mexican food, beer, presents, and perhaps a little bit of cake. Or a lot a bit of cake. 

I know. Priorities, right?

Friday night my husband (sorry, still weird) decided that the first few hours of the weekend would be best spent at Happy Hour at Blue Sushi. I couldn't agree more. I jetted straight out of work at 5 and the party began with a little bit of spicy edamame. This shit makes put regular edamame to shame. Honestly, if ever given the option, always choose spicy. And always choose beer. 

Blue's happy hour is awesome, a TON of their rolls are $5, so we ordered big. 

And I ate until I nearly puked, as is the American way. 

And one of my personal favorites, the Eden roll, tempura sweet potato, asparagus, avocado, and sun dried tomato with a little olive oil. Oh my godness. Delicious. 

After Happy Hour Taylor and I stayed up late (-ish. Anything after 10pm is LATE y'all) watching Zodiac and now I'm scarred for life. 

Saturday morning I met up with Brittany to attempt to get our run in before the sun came up and cooked us mid-run. We met on the trails at 6:30. It was already 75 degrees and 93% humidity, and it was BRUTAL. The first five miles out were so hard I wanted to die, but luckily, the last five back felt really good. We had a nice breeze that helped with some of the crazy humidity. I'm so glad I wasn't running alone, because I'm pretty sure I would've called it quits after about ten minutes. Running buddies are the BEST. We got our 10 miles in at a 9:18 pace. 

It was so hot  and humid, that by the time we finished, my ponytail was SOAKED.  

And the sun didn't even make an appearance. HELLO Texas summers.

The entire last five miles of our run, Brittany and I were obsessively chatting about all the cravings we get during hot summer runs. She wanted a Gatorade slush and some watermelon, and I wanted a cup of Sonic ice, and like a million apples. So after we finished, that is EXACTLY what I got. 

And then I was happy. Sweaty, but happy. 

After I'd fulfilled my weird post-run cravings, I headed home, showered, and got ready to meet my family for a little birthday lunch. We got there a little early and I somehow manipulated Taylor into letting me do some birthday shopping. Don't ask questions, just go with it. 

After depleting my bank account, we headed over to On The Border for lunch with my family.

And PRESENTS!

I also feel that it is my duty to inform you all that between the hours of 10am and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, OTB has $2 mimosas. YOU ARE WELCOME.

This salad is basically my new favorite thing. Chicken, corn, pico, bacon, and fried avocado. 

ALL my favorite words.  

Then when we got back home, Taylor had a little surprise for me. 

I would just like you to all know that the wedding cake cupcake in the below picture is the greatest cupcake I've ever had in my life. I stand by that. Unless you'd like to bring me cupcakes and we can have a taste test. That I can absolutely be persuaded to change my mind. Actually, yeah, this cupcake taste test sounds like a really good idea. PEOPLE OF DFW, send me your cupcakes, and I will review them - FOR FREE! Do not pass an opportunity like this up. 

Saturday evening, it was time for MORE Mexican food. Honestly, I have no idea how I don’t bleed salsa. It is senseless. Anyways, after a good nap, we headed over to El Fenix for dinner with all of my favorite people.

And after dinner it was time for drinks and more ridiculousness.
Since it was my birthday, let’s just say, I got silly.

And thank GOD this is the only picture evidence that survived that evening.

Hahahahahaha, you'd totally think I had my shit together, right? WRONG. But Sydney is pretty.

After a VERY late night on Saturday (I’m talking, staying out shockingly close to the hour I wake during the week) I woke up feeling like a rock star. Kidding. Unless this is what rock stars look like.

Sunglasses. Because, you know, SUNLIGHT.

Luckily, my husband finds my irresponsibility totally charming, so he brought me home a Whataburger taquito to aid in my recovery. And that, right there, is why you get married. 

Hangover Helper to the rescue! It’s like Hamburger Helper, but BETTER. 

That evening, (after some hard core napping) Taylor decided he liked me enough to give me my birthday presents. This is actually a pretty big deal because, he’s a firm believer in not getting any presents or over-the-top attention until your ACTUAL DATE OF BIRTH. Not a minute before, not a minute after. I know, it’s like, WHO THE HELL DID I MARRY?? So yeah, BIG deal. And he did not disappoint. He loaded me up with some new running gear! New shoes, cute shorts, and he finally upgraded my bumper magnet from 13.1 to 26.2. Only 3 months late. NBD.

Monday morning I woke up at 4:30am to Taylor whispering, “It’s your birthday!” real creepy and sweet like. He’s NICE. Then after getting in a short run, I headed off to work, where I was greeted with presents, and most importantly BAGELS.

After working through the morning, I took a off the rest of the day and headed to a birthday lunch with some sweet coworkers.

After that it was time for best friend birthday date. Yes, it’s a thing. We are really good at it. We spent a couple hours working on the upcoming blog launch (GET EXCITED!) and then did some afternoon shopping.

After shopping, we headed over to Rodeo Goat for happy hour and a healthy hamburger dinner. 

Cause that’s my style, ya know?

Firefly moonshine + tang = MOONTANG. 

It tasted like my childhood, spiked. So yeah, it was pretty good.

CHEESE FRIES.

After Taylor got off work, he met us up there, because he heard something about burgers and beer and he felt like he probably had time for that. And,  because he’s a genius, he also brought cake.

I've only been to Rodeo Goat a handful of times, but so far, my FAVORITE burger is the Whiskey Burger. It's got whiskey cheddar, bourbon-candied bacon (pause for reaction), blackberry compote, and whole grain mustard. IT IS INCREDIBLE. The sweetness of the blackberry compote will rock your world. 

Seriously, CALL ME. We'll go to Rodeo Goat. I'm available always.

Ok y’all, here’s the truth. About 6:15, I got TIRED. I was over dinner. I really wanted to cut my cake. And nothing sounded better to me than going home, ripping off my bra, throwing on the yoga pants, and planting my birthday ass on the couch with some HIMYM reruns. But Allison and Taylor were all, “No! You’re no fun! Have another beer! It’s your birthday!” And my thoughts were, “BACK OFF BITCHES IT’S MY BIRTHDAY AND I’LL CUT THE CAKE AND TAKE A NAP IF I WANT TO.” 

Yeah...

They were getting on my nerves and I was about to off them both, grab the keys, and head home to enjoy my last few birthday hours bra-less, and in peace. But just as I was about to tell them this…

SURPRISE!!

Turns out, Allison had texted everyone and had them meet up with us at Rodeo Goat after work! It was such a nice birthday treat to be able to see all these pretty girls mid-week. They showered me with gifts and we gabbed and were ridiculous, which are basically the two things I am really good at.

THESE PEOPLE ARE MY FAVORITE.

Really though? Great birthday. Thanks a million for all the birthday wishes. You guys are the BEST.

LOVE&HUGS,

Nat