Christmas Cheer

Ever since I was a distant thought in my parents’ mind, my family has been spending the Christmas holiday in New Jersey. Even though I was born in Atlanta (#piedmontbaby), my parents are from neighboring New Jersey towns where most of our extended …

High School Friends – Quantity over Quality

I don’t stay in touch with many people from high school. I’m lucky enough to have met the majority of my lifelong best friends in college and afterwards when I really had grown into my own. A lot of people from my hometown moved back after college and are still running around with the same folks – which is certainly fun to follow on Facebook – but it just wasn’t the path for me. I was excited to experience new places and start a new adventures – in fact I’m shocked that I only lived in one place (Atlanta) before settling down a bit.

However, I met my oldest and dearest friend Tony in high school, and I can’t tell you how much his friendship means to me. We have been close and loyal friends through SO many life stages together (many we don’t speak of in mixed company…), and it’s nice to have someone who knows and understands your journey from the beginning. 

While I don’t have many friends who’ve known me while wearing braces, I count myself lucky to have him – and I think the expression quality over quantity has never been more relevant.

He recently moved out to Seattle, which is amazing since my big brother and his wife are also out there, and I absolutely love visiting them and their darling dog Tahoma – such a pretty lady.

I got to visit Tony last week and it was SO amazing to see how he is thriving in his new West Coast home. He has lived all over the country, but it seems like Seattle is a perfect fit for him and his little family of three.

I don’t get to see Tony as much as I would like to, but it doesn’t make our friendship any less strong. Because, when you’ve known someone for as long as we have, you’ve already forgiven a multitude of sins and love each other unconditionally. We just pick up where we left off, which usually involved brunch and a cocktail, and keep making memories. 

Cheers to my long distance best friend on his birthday. Love you, Toe!

Thirty Things

I turn the Big 3-0 tomorrow, and I’m feeling all reflective and nostalgic on the first three decades of my life. Well, maybe most reflective on the last 10 years, given that these have been the most life-changing to date! I am …

Recipe for Happiness – Mine is Simple

I met a friend for margaritas and cheese dip recently (which is not worthy of a blog post since I do that several times a week without fail) and we got to talking about our recipes for happiness. To be …