{ Mr. Reed turns 30 }

 ___  happy 30th birthday ! ___

The Birthday Boy:

Today is my husband's 30th Birthday.  We started the celebrations last weekend and will continue to celebrate tonight and all weekend with a few surprises sprinkled in here & there!  I love this man for so many reasons, but today, in honor of his 30th Birthday I'll list { always making lists...I warned you. } the . . .

top 30 reasons I love him. 

1. He loves Jesus with all of his heart
2. He makes coffee for us every single morning. Side Note: he never even drank coffee before we were married !
3. He H A N D writes me letters { clearly he's the better half ! }
4. He's a die hard {understatement} Blazer fan.  We're talking, he wears a Blazer jersey (at home, when watching games) and faithfully watches every single game.  {And when he's not watching a game, he's reading about the Blazers online.}
5. He's a natural born people pleaser
6. He's very competitive & confident, yet humble
7. He gets really loud when he talks about something he's passionate about
8. He's a very loyal friend & family member
9. He's not flashy & could care less about material things 
10. He's the  b e s t  listener & an awesome communicator
11. He's so incredibly smart, but not a know-it-all
12. He has a strong sense of justice & he's always doing/fighting/standing up for what's right
13. He loves to  t-r-a-v-e-l
14. He's an awesome cook & makes breakfast with me every saturday morning
15.  He's very patient { especially with me, when I'm stubborn -allthetime- }
16. He's a very hard worker, good at what he does, and a great provider
17. He might have has more clothes & shoes than I do { and he always lets me borrow his clothes to lounge or work out in }
18. He's the most genuine, down to earth guy you will ever meet
19. He rocks a suit ridiculously well { and everything else he wears too! }
20. He's a great big brother, a wonderful son, & a fun uncle
21. He's got a sensitive side he's not afraid to show
22.  He's my absolute best friend, number one fan, & he's always got my back
23. He likes his food undercooked, I like mine OVERcooked, he drives slow like a grandpa, I drive fast like a speed demon, he is the oldest of 4, I am the youngest of 4, he always listens to 95.5 talk radio, I hate talk radio, he loves meat, I'm a vegetarian, he craves everything salty, I crave everything sweet, he likes his covers tucked in tight, I have to have at least one (if not two) feet out of the covers, and yet, we are a match made in heaven
24. He twitches { a lot } when he falls asleep
25. He lets me wants me to cut his hair
26. He's a bit of a hoarder ;)
27. He's very sentimental & loves traditions
28. He has big, buff arms
29. He's hilarious & always makes me laugh
30. He'd rather not make plans & be spontaneous
31. Because clearly 30 reasons is not nearly enough to cover everything I love about him

H a p p y  B i r t h d a y  B a b e !

{ so thankful }

First, meet my sister Beth, her husband Aaron, and their kids (from left) Tatum, Jack, Claire & Luke.  If you haven't met Beth let me just tell you she's THE sweetest, BEAUTIFUL, most down to earth, g e n e r o u s, and loving person you will ever meet.  Besides being an amazing mom to these four kiddies, an awesome wifey, a loving & supportive friend, a phenomenal makeup artist, she is also such a thoughtful, loyal, and wonderful sister. 

Let me explain...

First, (er second) meet Jack: 

Jack is Beth's 3rd youngest and he's a big 3 year old.  He spent the night with us this week and here he's giving me his best "CHEESE" smile!  I absolutely love & adore this kid.  We had such a blast with him.

When Beth dropped him off, she surprised me with my FAVORITE meal ever:

 { Salem Roll }

  Deep fried sushi with delicious barbecue and some kind of chipotle sauce drizzled all over it.  She also brought me all of these:

These are two bins full of tiny little boy clothes that my nephews have outgrown (sad!).

Keep in mind, this is in addition to the car loads of other toys/clothes she's already passed down.  And for the record, no, I'm not expecting!  Just collecting things for when that day comes!

Here are a couple more pics of Jack:

Here he's playing Foosball with his Uncle Adam.

Here he's watching Despicable Me {cute movie!} with Adam & me.

Here he's enjoying a sucker in the bath {works great, no sticky mess!} playing with his new cars he picked out!

I was so sad when Jack Jack {our nickname for him} had to leave.  We don't get to have our nieces & nephews one-on-one very often, so I love it when we do!  When Beth came to pick Jack Jack up, she brought in three bags with presents "just because."  Can you believe her?!  I can't!  I told her she's crazy.  Here's what was in those three bags:

She happened to see my blog entry about my wishlist {here}.

Within 5 minutes of reading it, she had already found half the things at thrift stores, or seen things on Craigslist, etc.  She's THE BEST bargain shopper. 

Anyways, as if the bins of kids clothes, and delicious meal weren't enough, the stinker went and bought this darling denim jacket from Gap, adorable blazer from Nordstrom, and super cute Jessica Simpson cat eye glasses.  She spoiled me.  For no reason.

Who is this girl?!  Best part?  She got the jacket at Value Village (thrift store), the blazer from St. Vincents (thrift store) and the glasses at Ross Dress for Less. 

Beth, you're crazy & I love you!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!

PS.  Bring Jack Jack over for another slumber party & please have more kids.  Please?

{ girls night out : good company + great music }

A couple weeks ago I went with my Sister Beth & friend Kristen to sushi & a concert.  We went to listen to Beth's friend & neighbor, Joy, perform at the Ike Box downtown.  This girl has an amazing voice & we had so much fun. 

You have to listen to this song, here. 

This is the type of song that gets stuck in your head & you are suddenly addicted to it, listening to it on repeat, singing it in the shower, etc.  She reminds me a lot of Regina Spektor...only better.  AND she writes her own lyrics. 
Need I say more? 

Here are a couple pics of our girls night.



 { Joy is the one singing, in the middle }



 { Kristen & Beth }



Here's the link again in case you missed it:

"Yours" by joy quarles

Listen to it!  You'll be glad you did.  Turns out, she's also hilarious, & a great writer.

Check out her blog here & prepare for a gut wrenching good laugh.

There's no cd to purchase (hoping this changes!) but you can be sure I'll update you all if she does come out with a cd.

 { Also until then, you can enjoy my not-so-good-singing Joy's songs in the shower, honey ;) }



{ breaking news, to me }

Bachelor News:



First and foremost, meet the new Bachelorette {coming May 23rd} Ashley Hebert:



{ my vote: better as brunette }



{ read the full article here }

Did anyone see the after-the-final-rose ceremony? 

Did anyone else think it was extremely awkward/uncomfortable to watch?

Here is Chantal's new beau, Jeff Razore:

{ Read all about him here }

Baby Boom News:

Victoria {Posh} & David Beckham are having a girl

Jessica Alba is pregnant

Kate Hudson is pregnant

Selma Blair is pregnant

Natalie Portman is pregnant (ope, duh!)

Alyssa Milano is having a boy

Rachel Zoe is having a boy

Here are a few pics of adorable celeb moms/kids/families {courtesy of people.com}:

{ via }

 

Other Crazy News:

• JT & Jessica Biel broke up (new news to me!)

{hmmmm....read more about these two here}

• Tomorrow night is the March Madness draft which means my husband will have all his friends over. {kind of a big deal, folks}
• Turns out, Saturday is National corn dog day & we will be having some friends over - more on this hilarious holiday later
• Gerald Wallace is starting in place of Marcus Camby tonight {Blazer talk}

Style News:

BREAKING NEWS:  { this just in } I can't keep up with the newest trends or fashion.  I have serious respect for those who can.  I just try and pick a few key things and if they work with my body type, then try them.  That said, here are a few things I think would be worth investing in...{honey, are you reading???} Or maybe these were last season's trends?  Again, I can't keep up...

{ via }

I want this one:

Arden B Submilation Smocked Maxi Dress, $58

Or and this one:

Amie maxi dress, Jcrew, $98



{ Cat eye sunglasses }

{ via }

{ she always looks cute }

Lastly:

{ via }

 

That's all for the new news {to me}.

More on my wishlist later...

{ Bachelor finale }

Tonight is a BiG night in the Reed household (and millions of other homes too).
First we will celebrate our friend Nate's 30th Birthday { Happy Birthday Nate!} then we will snuggle up with the fire on because...

Tonight is the season finale of The Bachelor.  According to ABC.com, 71% of people think Brad (the bachelor) will choose Emily, the southern belle with an adorable accent. 

Meet Emily:

{ emily }

Just in case you couldn't tell, Emily is perfect.  Nobody's perfect, but Emily doesn't have any flaws.  So, there's that.  She also dresses so cute, carries herself very lady-like (credit her pageant days to that.  But, I will say, I've wondered if she wears veneers?  Anyone else wondered that?), and has an adorable daughter named Ricky (named after her fiance, who died right before she found out she was pregnant - can you say sympathy vote?!).   If you watch the show, you already knew that {if you don't watch the show, you're crazy!}.  Here are some of my favorite outfits Emily's rocked:



{ via }

 Dress - Forever21 (but sold out, thanks a lot Em!)

Shoes - Christian Louboutin Staratata Platform Sandals, only $1045.00 {!!!} 

Body - I don't know what it cost to have a body like hers, but I'd also like that.

{ via }

Shirt – Cute denim shirt 

or here: Urban version, similar shirt

Necklace –  Turquoise Necklace

Shorts – Cut off's - J Brand

Boots - Mantel Boot

{ via }  { via }

Sassy little shirt dress- available at Macy's

            { via }  

  

The floral romper is sold out at Forever21 {I'm seeing a trend here...} but Target has some SUPER cute ones too:

Cute Rompers from Target

Long Drapey Vest

photo { via }

Dress: Cute Blue Dress
I would like this to wear on our one year anniversary - so cute!

And lastly, for her polished look, check out the nails:

{ via }

{ via }

Emily is obviously the fan favorite {and my favorite}.  BUT, I do think she's a little too good for Brad {and I think he knows it}.  I kind of think Brad might pick the other runner up...

Meet Chantal:

{ via }

Did you see the episode where Brad went to meet her family?  Um, did you see her HOUSE?!

{ via }

This episode we saw a few clips of her parent's mansion, which prompted my husband {he will probably kill me for this} to look up just exactly what Chantal's mommy & daddy do for a living.

Turns out, her dad owns O'Brien auto group {hence the last name & the mansion}

and he used to play for the Seattle Seahawks.

I think Chantal won a few points there since Mr. Reed is a big Seahawks fan.

I have no idea who is going to win, but I think Brad will be persecuted {it's ok, he's used to that from when he was on the Bachelor before and dumped both girls in the season finale} if he doesn't pick Emily.  However, I think that him and Chantal are better suited for each other.

Then, Emily can become the next Bachelorette!

Regardless of whether or not you're a Bachelor fan, tune in tonight {ABC, feel free to compensate me for this major shout-out} to see the following:

#1 Who Brad picks

#2 How adorable Emily is

#3 How dramatic & hilarious Chris Harrison {the host} is

xx