Let Them Eat Cake!, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

It was such an awesome feeling to wake up this morning, initially thinking it was Sunday, only to realize it was Saturday and I still had one more day left.

Yesterday I spent the entire day with my friend Lauren, her husband Jeff, and her mom tasting cake. Lots of cake.

Jeff and Lauren got married a year ago in a small ceremony and are having an intimate vow renewal reception for friends and family this coming fall. She has to call it a vow renewal since they technically already got married, but essentially it’s a wedding.

This by far has been the best wedding planning session I’ve been a part of. No trying on dresses, no parties to plan. So what’s my part in this whole deal? Eating cake!

Lauren and I share a deep and fervent love for baked goods so a few months ago, she asked if I would take part in the cake tasting. How could I deny such a request?

Still keeping my health goals in mind, I managed to eat only half of the already bite-sized pieces of each flavor we tried from both bakeries. And believe me, there was a lot of cake to try so it was still a significant amount of pastry I consumed. Nevertheless, I’m spending the rest of the weekend nursing my digestive system back to health.

Merry Christmas from Izzie, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

lol Hope you all had an awesome Christmas like mine and Izzie’s

Hello, Austin!, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

My road trip, although brief, was a lot of fun. The drive time gave me a few hours to reflect, listen to music I haven’t heard in a while, and catch up on my podcasts. My confidence in driving has improved a little more which is one of the most valuable takeaways from this whole trip.

I spent the weekend with my friends Jeff and Lauren and their two cats Nox and Ella. They live in the ground floor of what they like to call a “treehouse” duplex. It practically is a treehouse with a large tree of some sort growing out of their deck and into part of their apartment. Their landlord, who lives right above them, used to design interiors of ships and is very eco-conscious. In fact, he designed their 800 square foot apartment with smart, compact design in mind. It really was very cute.

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"You keep that top part clean, I’ll keep this bottom part clean, k?", originally uploaded by krisalis903.

Izzie is such a great helper in the kitchen. When I’m preparing food or cooking, she’s often a foot or two away staring intently at the floor to make sure not a drop of food stays on it for too long.

The photo is a testament to how good of a job she actually does.

Curled, originally uploaded by krisalis903.

My hair, by nature, is straight. Straight, straight, STRAIGHT.

Yet I always wished it was anything but.

It wasn’t up until my talented and courageous hair stylist suggested I get a perm that for the first time in years, I had curly hair. Not kinky curly, but lusciously wavy locks.

Tonight I had my hair permed again and now that it’s gotten longer, I love it even more than when I had it curled the first time. I used to think I’d go back to having straight hair, but honestly? I may have straightened my hair twice since I started getting it done this way. Other than that, I just wear it wavy or curly. And that’s how I prefer it now.