halfway to 50

last monday was my 25th birthday. i was lucky enough to celebrate while i was on vacation in florida. bill woke me up to be the 1st to say "happy birthday." he came in and gave me a hug, and i rolled over and said, "uhhh halfway to fifty." ha! i am one of those people that thinks their birthday is the best holiday. i'm usually bouncing around all month long excited about it. reminding people of how close it is. this year it was different. i don't know if i was wrapped up in our vacation, or if the luster of my birthday is wearing off the older i get. either way, i had a great birthday, besides the rain and oil on the beach.

this is me with my fancy birthday cake my aunt made for me

there were two things i could think of as presents i wanted for my bday. so, that is what bill got me. well... sorta. i knew we would be in destin on my bday, and they have a fabulous outlet mall there. i looked up the stores and saw they had a Perfumania and a Le Creuset outlet store there. i am down to the last drop on all of my perfumes, so that was gift number one. a gift card to the perfumania store. i wanted to find something new, but they don't have the perfumes out where you can just sample yourself. you have to get them to spray it on a card for you. so, i just stuck with my old standby, Dolce and Gabanna Light Blue. Love it!

i did not receive a cast iron skillet as a wedding gift, nor have i gone out to purchase one in the 2 years we've been married. this is something that i've been wanting. and i've been eyeing all the lovely le creuset skillets and cookware. so this is my second gift. a gift card to the le creuset outlet store. i was able to pick out a cast iron skillet, a stockpot, trivet, potholder, and basting brush with my card!

these are my stockpot and skillet. love the cherry red!

now i just have to use them! come on over and i'll make ya some cornbread! ;)

overall, i had a wonderful birthday. i'm so thankful for all my gifts and how thoughtful everyone was. now this year needs to go really slow, because saying 26 really sounds old!