happy 29th & 1 month birthday, amy!!

we celebrated amy's 29th plus 1 month birthday this weekend!!  amy & ogden were out of town on her actual birthday & everyone has been crazy busy over the last month, so this was our first chance to celebrate.  &, really, everyone should celebrate their birthday as long as possible!

saturday was filled with a beautiful day at the pool, a tasty mexican dinner with ridiculous amounts of chips & salsa, & a fun evening on the patio.  it was so great to relax with our friends & have a fun day in birmy.  hobgoods & potters, you were certainly missed!  but we look forward to two more parties in the next month.  love summer.

happy short week, friends!

love love,
kjp.

a happy summer friday!!

happy friday, y'all!!   blakey & i are super excited about this weekend - it is our first free weekend since april.  that's pretty huge.  we get to spend a relaxing saturday at the pool.  rest, sun, & a weekend together.  we certainly couldn't ask for more.

 {strawberry donuts with real strawberries

& a strawberry glaze}

friday night while blakey works, i am going to plan our fourth of july meal.  pretty excited about that too.  i am pretty sure my favorite pioneer woman's dr pepper pulled pork with going to be involved.  it's tradition.  & it's delicious.  we'll see what else joins the menu.

 {glazed honey poppyseed donuts}

on sunday, i think i'm going to cook!  i have no idea what yet. but it sounds like a lovely activity for my newfound day of rest sunday.  

 {23 lbs of powdered sugar used in one day.

that's impressive even for me.}

{lemon sunshine bars with a lemon glaze}

we hope you & yours have a lovely weekend!

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - an ice cream date.

i have been a little under the weather over the last few days - it might be a cold or might just be pesky alabama allergies.  either way, it has not been the most fun thing ever.  so earlier this week, blakey took me to get ice cream for dinner to soothe my sore throat & tired eyes!  he found an adorable little sweets place with ice cream & snow cones, so i could get whatever i wanted.  he's so darn cute.

i went with a delicious two-scoop ice cream cone with coffee ice cream & peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream.  yum!  & blakey shared his watermelon snow cone too.  he's the best.  we enjoyed our treats in the back of blake's car, so tanky could join in the fun.

thankful for date nights with my sweet sweet husband.

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,
kjp.

my little brother is married!

my little brother is married!!  to a beautiful, gorgeous woman, both inside & out.  ally truly is a joy to be around & brings out the super fun man in brent.  we are incredibly excited for the beginning of their very fun life together as husband & wife.  so without further ado, introducing mr & mrs brentalan!!

the wedding & reception were held at the gorgeous farmer's market in oklahoma city.  i love the historic beauty of the building with the modern touches.  the sparkly lights & white lanterns, the crackly brick walls, & the fabulous view of downtown okc...

 {the devon tour is so tall.  ridiculously tall.}

as soon as brent saw his bride walking down the isle, the tears formed into his eyes.  i've never seen brent cry {ok ok, maybe as a very small child when i stole his racecars or beat him at nintendo}, so it was amazing to see the joy & true feelings in his face.

my bro-in-law, benny boo, officiated the ceremony.  the words were sincere & whitty & loving & perfectly brent & ally. 

& the reception was crazy fun!!  our family favorite band, ij ganem band, played the night away.  we danced, we laughed, & we celebrated the wonderful couple.  so much fun.

the one & only amy cakes made the stunning wedding cakes!  all five of them!  amy cakes is pretty much the best cake maker ever.  she made my wedding cake {here} & makes my favorite cake in the entire world - amy cake's lemon cake.  oh, i love that cake.

 {the five cakes & the best man & maid of honor speeches}

 {the new mr & mrs taking a little dance break}

{my dad & my sisters!}

{& my little mini-me!
miss siena,
my 11 year old, much prettier than i, niece}

{the cutest little nine month old in the world:
mr malcolm man}

{the vandaveer family of 3!}

{so happy to see you, ashley & ryan!!
harvey loft reunion!!}

a gorgeous wedding, a fantastic reception, & a wonderful evening with our family & friends.  a perfect night to for brent & ally to get married.  congratulations, mr & mrs stanley!!

love love,

kjp.

happy summer solstice!!

happy summer solstice, y'all!  julie & dad - i win!!!  we can totally celebrate my win this afternoon.  how about a day in the sun, poolside, with the cutest nine month old in the world?  deal.

{update: my dad won.  i thought the three o'clock post would do it, but, alas, he swooped in with the midnight calling.  well played, dad.  well played.}

 {yes, that's right.

sweet cornbread donuts with a honey glaze.

delish.}

super excited to see many of my family & friends this weekend.  super excited to hold my little malcolm man & watch him crawl & see those adorable cheeks.  oh my goodness. 

 {super soft nutella cookies

with housemade nutella!}

oh!  since i missed {read: didn't feel like typing up a blog post} thankful thursday yesterday: our sweet & wonderful neighbors went to san fransisco this past weekend to run a half-marathon, visit family, & enjoy sonoma.  while they were gone, i watered their garden a couple of times.  it rained two days, so, really, i didn't do much at all.  but cassie & davis are the so great that they brought us a bottle of wine from their favorite sonoma winery!  so thankful for awesome neighbors.  & thankful for a delicious bottle of wine.

happy friday, y'all!  & i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,
kjp.

honoring you, chiefs.

we've celebrated & sent off an incredible class of doctors.  they've been great friends & dinner double dates. they've been fun at happy hour & the pool.  & they've certainly been mentors & teachers & leaders to blakey in residency.

blakey & i are so incredibly happy to be sending dr jared roberts & his wife to our oklaHOMEa!  we so look forward to continuing our friendship with them, watching their beautiful children grow, & seeing them thrive as a couple & as a family & as a doctor in norman.  so so happy for y'all!

of course, my favorite resident party partner in crime, ashley, was there to celebrate with us!

cocktails, dinner, awards, dancing, friends, & so much fun! it was a fabulous party.  & oh yeah!  blakey won an award!  he was awarded the best resident research day award.  so so proud of him.  he worked so hard on that research project... that he had been stressing about for three years.  he did so well.  & it is so finished.  thank God.

a fantastic send-off for a fantastic group of doctors.  congratulations, chiefs!

love love,

kjp.