29 November 2007

Celebrating and being celebrated!

It's been a wonderful two weeks. It all began on November 16th with a surprise 30th berfday party pour moi, which included my parents, many dear friends, and an amazing gift: a beautiful blue & white cruiser bike with an "S" on the seat for "Stine" (well, the S is really for Schwinn, but whatever)! I love it! Most of all, I felt loved and honored, which was the best gift a girl could ask for.

The fun continued on to Thanksgiving/my actual birthday and then the ritual of decorating for Christmas! Here are some photo highlights...

First, the surprise party.





After the party, a bunch of people came back to Casa de Bailey where we sat around the firepit in the backyard and talked until 3am. For some weird reason, I still awoke the next morning at an early hour and made my way to the kitchen as I dodged bodies scattered all around the house under mounds of blankets. We gave a wake-up call and decided that brunch was in order. After all, Tara Leigh was staying over, and we know how important brunch is to New Yorkers! Bodies started rustling, doors started opening and closing, and soon enough we were all ready. So we headed to one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas: Breadwinners in Uptown. Our friend Paul generously treated us, too! The food and coffee were scrumptious, and we even saw a woman eating with her toes at the next table over. Seriously.

For some reason, this photo makes me look like I just had Botox. Haha! I know I just turned 30, but I swear I didn't!!!


Random cute hubby pic:


Here I am showcasing a few birthday gifts...an amazing apron from Anthropologie and the book, Eat Pray Love: A Woman's Search For Everything Across Italy, India, & Indonesia from Victoria, and a cute dandelion tee from Amy! Also notice my new favorite pair of footwear, these amazing slippers from Target. I want to wear them everywhere. I tried riding my bike with them and wearing them to bed, but Steven wouldn't let me. Darnit.


On Thanksgiving, we were visited for the third year in a row by our dear friends Chris & Julie Bennett. Here, Julie and I are being domestic and about to go on a sugar binge with freshly baked Yummy Cookies:


...and how could a single holiday go by without the lips face???


A few days later, we spent some family time decorating the tree at my brother's house with my nieces. Here's Ashley with her favorite ornament, the ballerina of course!


We all think my brother looks exactly like Mr. Incredible. What do you think?


My cute mom & sister-in-law...


And each of the girls with their Aunt Stine...



Ashley thought I was turning 13 on my birthday, by the way. 17 years off, but I'll take it! I still feel 13 on the inside, especially when I'm riding my new bike!

Back at the Bailey residence, we decided to spontaneously paint our front livingroom on Saturday! Justin & Autumn helped us, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It's the perfect brown called "Chocolate Sparkle".



Here's the view from the Chocolate Sparkle room into the Warm Glow livingroom that I posted before...


Then it was time to decorate for A Bailey Christmas!






9 comments:

Shawna said...

ooohhh - love the new color and your cozy new home all decorated. isn't it great to be celebrated!? :) so glad it was a special time for you.

Unknown said...

oh my goodness...i have that same bike stine! mine is from the flea market - so it's older and the seat was replaced with a solid white...but it's the exact same color and still has the basket... i LOVE it!
happy belated birthday!...it looks like it was a great one :)

Kristian and Katy said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!
looks like your past couple weeks have been amazing. Im so glad you had such a special birthday. your bike is awesome. love your chocolate room, and your christmas decor, and your anthropologie apron.

glad you are well :)
~katy

jenni said...

I love your bike! And I LOVE that brown color - next time I come over we have to sit in the brown room. :)

A California girl... said...

Oh Christine, well done, well done...the brown is so dramatic and bold. I love it with the green.

Looks like the past few weeks have been full of warm fuzzies for you :)

TLC said...

It was SO great to get to share your special birthday with you!! Thanks for letting me be a part of it, and a big thanks to Stephen and Susan for organizing!

Additionally:

- I LOVE the color of the front living room!
- The pic of the tree in the mirror is GORGEOUS!
- Your brother IS Mr. Incredible. And also, Mr Baseball.
- I'm so glad you didn't mention that Tara Leigh was a PAIN to be with on Sunday morning, and you focused on the fact that she was appreciative of getting to go to brunch with you and your friends, even if she did a poor job of conveying that exact emotion. :)

I love you!!!
~TLC:)

P.S. Can you send me Paul's email address? I want to use one of his quotes on the back of the new book!!

Unknown said...

everything looks AMAZING!! i can't wait to see it myself! oh - and does the chocolate room have an endless supply of chocolate? b/c i think that would definitely be a worthwhile edition. very thematic.

i should bring my anthropologie apron to our cooking lesson and we can be cool & trendy cooks together! :)

Ange said...

I love you, Christine.

Can't wait to celebrate your birthday in our special way. I've been missing you a lot lately....I always do around this time of the year.

I'm looking forward to seeing you more than you know!

Glad you had a wonderful birthday. Love the decorations :-)

Robyn Jones Clark said...

Happy Late Birthday, cause i'm always late doing that! It looks like your 30th was as great as mine! i think 30 is my year! Your Christmas decorations are awesome! i'm decorating tonight... it will be nice to make it all cozy and christmasy....