My Mom's 60th Birthday Present

My mom's 60th birthday was yesterday and one of her presents were letters from her friends and family (I also chipped in to buy her a heated seat massager). Early last month, I wrote up an email and sent it to everyone she knew (family, friends, coworkers) saying that her birthday was coming up and that I would love for people to send in letters saying what they love about her and including a favorite memory they have of her. Slowly but surely the letters and cards started trickling in! 

This idea all started when I saw two blog posts (one from Nothing But Bonfires and one from Inchmark) three years ago and I knew I wanted to do it for my mom's birthday. The only problem was I didn't want to do it for any birthday, I wanted it to be special, a milestone. So I waited three years for her 60th birthday. I guess I'm a very patient person. Haha!

While I didn't get 60 letters like I wanted (I got 40), it's not the number of letters that counts, but the thought behind them and the fact that everyone was so eager and happy to write my mom a letter saying how much they love her. 

As of writing this, I haven't given her the letters yet, but I'm sure she'll love them. Who wouldn't want letters and cards from people saying how much they love you, right? You can see a few of the letters and photographs that people sent in below. 

What do you think of this idea?

What do you do for your parent's birthdays?

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Inspiration: Father's Day

Happy almost Father's Day! I have no idea what I'm getting my dad this year. My dad's a simple guy, so we usually end up getting him a Dunkin Donuts gift card (he's kind of obsessed), but since he's currently building a deck in the backyard, my brothers and I will probably get him a gift card to Home Depot, plus a pack of his favorite tea (we're not big alcohol drinkers). 

(via Pillow Thought, Of Things Pretty, Britta Nickel, Zulily, Britta Nickel, {similar card}, Sassy Deals & Britta Nickel)

What are you getting your dad for Father's Day?

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Inspiration: Mother's Day

Mother's Day is this Sunday! When I saw that Corina from Cocorrina was selling her amazing concrete prism necklaces on her Etsy shop for buy one get one free, I knew I had to get it. I've always loved her jewelry, but didn't get anything until now. I got a silver-edged one for me and a gold-edged one for my mom. She loves unique jewelry, so I think she'll be happy with her gift. 

What are you getting your mom for Mother's Day?

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(via 1, Lily and Val, Sortature, Behance, Dalloway Place, Britta Nickel, A Cup of Jo & Penny Chic.)

A Photo Every Hour

I've always wanted to do this one photo every hour challenge. I think it's an interesting idea to document one day of your life, and then once it's done you can see how it compares to the other days. 

Another reason I wanted to do it was to see if I could really remember to take a picture every hour. I'm glad I didn't forget to bring a camera out with me since the day I decided to do the challenge was this past Saturday, and I had a bunch of errands to run. If you're curious, here's what a lazy kind of Saturday looks like for me. (I usually do some blog stuff on Saturday's as well, but on this particular day I was caught up, which equals more lounging around on my part.)

9:00 am -- Wake up and take my gummy vitamins

10:00 am -- Trying on more Warby Parker frames before I return them

11:00 am -- Looking through some coupons 

12:00 pm -- Eating some egg drop soup for an early lunch

1:00 pm -- Returning a book to the library

I didn't pick up anything new since I have so many at home I need to read

2:00 pm -- Picking up a frame for a DIY project

3:00 pm -- Afternoon Starbucks pick me up

 4:00 pm -- I put together a quick DIY of movie and concert tickets

and other things I want to remember

 5:00 pm -- Relaxation time! Watching an episode of Veronica Mars!

6:00 pm -- Finished reading Jane Bussmann's A Journey to the Dark Heart 

of Nameless Unspeakable Evil (review to come soon)

7:00 pm -- Munching on a turkey, cheese, and spinach sandwich with salt-less chips

 8:00 pm -- Quick bathroom break and then back to watching Veronica Mars

9:00 pm -- Post-shower

 10:00 pm -- Ben and I watch as Leo runs people over in a video game 

and then laugh like a crazy person

11:00 pm -- Sitting on my bed and checking Instagram

Instagram is seriously my addiction

12:00 am -- Reading the beginning of Cress by Marissa Meyer

before eventually going to sleep

What do you think of the photo challenge?
What are you doing this weekend?

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Review: LoveCoups

I was recently contacted to try out LoveCoups and I love it! At LoveCoups, you can create your own love coupon book that is perfect for couples or to give to a loved one! There are so many things that I love about LoveCoups, so I thought I would list them out for you: 

• Your LoveCoups come as a bound book, so it's worth your money because you're actually getting a little love book.
• You can customize the characters, which is so cute because it's a little figure of you and your loved one on the actual LoveCoups.
• You can also customize the cover, the dedication, and the wording on the individual coupons.
• There are so many coupons to choose from -- over 200 coupons in 16 categories so you won't run out of coupons to pick.
• The pages are in full color, glossy, and are perforated so your loved one can redeem them.
• On the back of each coupon is a "Redeemed on:" circle so you can write down the date you spent that time together.
• There are also adult coupons for you and your partner. Oh la la la!
• Each LoveCoup has a flat rate cost of $24.95 with no extra cost per page. 

So perfect, right? Out of all the things listed, my favorite is the customizable characters. It was so much fun making two little figures -- one that looked like me and one that looked like mom, and then seeing them on all the LoveCoups. It's cute seeing my mom and I drinking coffee and my mom relaxing at a spa day on the love coupons. 

The only downside is that LoveCoups is garnered towards romantic couples, so in two of my coupons the characters are holding each other or holding hands, and my mom and I don't each other when we watch movies or hold hands when we take walks. Since everything else is customized, it would be great if there were two options for some of the coupons -- romantic and friendly. 

Other than that little detail, I really love LoveCoups and I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a fun Valentine's Day gift that can be used throughout the year!

LoveCoups | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google+

(My mom and I like to hold hands when we walk. Just kidding.)

Win your very own customized LoveCoups book!
This giveaway is open internationally!

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**This is a sponsored post. I received a free Love Coup in exchange for a review. 

All opinions are my own.**

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Life Lately

Some of these pictures are from around my birthday, but I figure it's never too late to show off fun pictures, especially if they remind me of my birthday, and who doesn't want to be reminded of that? During the last month, I got a ton of wonderful presents, went to the city a lot, drank lots of summer peach tea, and got new beauty products.

Jackie and I // Avra and I // My present to Avra (from JewelMint)

Wake up and smell the flowers! // Lunch at Alice's Tea Cup // Grand Central Terminal

Graffiti on Spring St. // New Lush products // Discovered a free library with Kristin

New nail polish // I want to look good in these bikinis! (via Target & ON) // Gift from Brittany

Love my new clothing from SearsStyle // July Glam Bag products // Gifts from Rachel

Have a great weekend!

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Life Lately

My last spring break ended last week, so now it's back to hitting the books, editing, reading, and writing what will hopefully be my last research paper ever. What are you doing this weekend?

 

 Hanging out with Jackie & Avra! // Neighbor's cat named Ninja!

 

 Deliciousness: fro-yo & homemade cake!

 

 In black and white // Running errands with my bros

 

 Starbucks is always a good idea // An outfit in pieces

 

Passover with my family // Me {from this post}

 

A sunny day // French macarons! {dark chocolate & passionfruit!}

So nice to get a thank you card from Rachel! // InstaThis wood print of my mom and I

I love The Night Circus so much! // Ugh. Writing poetry is hard.

 

Have a great weekend!
 

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New Buys: Hanukkah & Christmas Gifts!

I got lots of interesting goodies for Hanukkah and Christmas this year! I always get a weird but great assortment of things, especially from my dad, as well as money from my mom, aunt, and grandparents.

Quartz rock from Lauren

I bought The Pledge by Kimberly Derting & Benefit's Some Kind-A Gorgeous for myself

My dad got me tools, chocolate, and a red hooded jacket from Old Navy (not pictured)

Watch from my dad & necklaces bought at Charming Charlie from me to me

From The Limited via a Coming Unstitched giveaway
(I also got a beautiful emerald green necklace for my mom)

 Although technically not a Hanukkah gift, it's something my lovely friend
Rachel picked up for me while traveling in Europe!

What did you get for Hanukkah and/or Christmas?

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