Happy Birthday, Trisha!

Seriously? It's JULY already?! WHERE.. is this year going? Hahh..

I always know it's July when I hop on Facebook and am quickly reminded by the newsfeed that July 1 is the birthday of my former roomie Trisha and of course her twin, Laura.

former roomies @ the doebler wedding!

happy birthday, girls!

July is HERE! Let's make it a great one!

 

xo | cmd

Happy 30, ROE Girls!

I always wondered what it would've been like to be a twin. Sometimes that thought scares me, because that would've meant the world would have two of me to handle. Haha. Other times, I think it would be hilarious and fun, since the majority of the twins I know prove twindom to be just that. Or, it could be just that the twins I know are all beautiful people, inside and out, so they make the whole shebang look that much better. Either way....

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

- to my former roommate Trisha, and her twin sister, Laura. Today they are the big 3-0, and I wish them both the best of the best for their birthday! (:

adorable, right??
l: i think it's laura, then trisha?... and on the r: trisha & laura (:

birthday memoirs!
b: trisha & catie
f: jacinda. laura. cori

I remember when Catie and I joined the Roe family for a birthday celebration for these two ladies a few years back; we decided we'd tell everyone we were also twins and see if they believed us. [I'm kidding; we didn't, and it wouldn't take more than a snail to recognize that clearly we aren't.] Anyway, happy birthday to these two beautiful girlies and wishes for many, many more!

The only thing about which I'm not sure I'm crazy when it comes to the Roe birthdays is the fact that it marks the first day of JULY, which means it's time for me to do my annual peek back at the first half of the year, and consequently wonder where in the heck it all went. I know I'm not alone. Haha. This year certainly has made its way without lag and while it seemed like it would be a daunting one at the beginning, there was a certain shine to it that I saw early on... I'm convinced the last half will be amazing.

Something else I found for the day that I thought was fitting for both a Monday, the first day of July, monumental birthdays, whatever.... [borrowed this from searchquotes...]


happy ________ ! [july! birthday! life!]

This is going to be a great week for a multitude of reasons... including [but most certainly not limited to:] Sydni being with me all week, Ali & Co. visiting this weekend, a holiday [=shortened work week!], possible camping trip with Becky, maaaaybe having a visit from Rob, fireworks, gosh.. list could go on. I am blessed, and you are too, whether you can see it now or not.

"Wait for the Lord; Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -Ps 27:14

Here's the the second half of the year.. Happy JULY!

xo | cmd

Cincinnati & Cegg's Birthday Bonanza!

Good news: We made good on our word to get that early start we discussed yesterday... haha. We were up out of bed on full-fledged loading mode at 3:30, had the bags in the car, Sydni in the carseat, the dog fed and watered and ourselves dressed in something one step above total hobo status.... and on the road by 4:00....... A.M. Yeah.

true story. we were driving....

Oh, and did I mention it was foggy?? Just a little though : /

fog. as in.... can't see 6+ feet in front of you fog. in the dark. no good :(

Luckily, it started to burn off some once the dawn broke through, and by the time we hit Milford, there was no trace of any upside down sky [Sydni reference]. We took care of the necessary business there and decided it was off to meet up with Catie & Andy in West Chester for Rob's first taste of IKEA.  



ky! [circa..2008]



We stopped first at the SW in Loveland to say hi to Ky - it's been a while and I was glad he got to meet Rob, and we were able to do a speed-version of catching up in the 10 minutes we were there. [I'll see ya soon, Ky-O!]

It was off then to West Chester, on the opposite side of Cincy, to the big, bad, ever-wallet-draining IKEA. Oh, and Catie & Andy, too ;)

HELLO.... IKEA!

[I've missed you.......]

ohhh... ikea... haha

I learned some new things today from IKEA. They have tarp bags they sell near the checkout lines that 1) look much smaller than they are, and are deceivingly sturdy, and 2) can easily house an adult woman up to at least ... my weight. I am pretty sure I could've fit Catie in there with me. Just sayin'.


same bag... haha. thanks, ikea (:

IKEA run completed, we made a break for lunch at the Dingle House across the street. Not extraordinary, but not awful, either. 

dingle house irish pub | west chester, ohio

We were fed, we were soothed by some retail, and we were sleepy from going nonstop since 3:30 this morning. Erego, insert nap................ here. (:

.... and napping....
.......... still napping.......

Refreshed. Success!
It was dinner time; we geared up for the evening and made our way over to start the night off with dinner at Amelia Street with the Luers. Jen made her way over by the end of the meal, so that was fun, and we stuffed ourselves with some deeeelicious food before digging into the real party of the evening. 

amelia street | downtown cincinnati, ohio

Next stop: Lackman & Neon's. I was finally reunited with my old roommate Trisha; Catie actually lived with us for a short time as well. She's engaged to Adam now, and it was downright awesome to see both of them and hang out as a group for the night. 

roommate reunion: circa 2008 & 2013 | love these gals!

Nader is back now from Jordan, too, so we coerced him into making a stateside appearance. He brought Keith along, and Daggy eventually filtered into that, too. 

look at those familiar faces! :) :) :)
[[ & welcome home, nader! ]]

We rounded out the night at Below Zero, caught a cab back instead of forcing our tired feet into any more city street trudging [all ... 4 blocks of it, don't judge...], ate some pineapple & jelly beans [jealous? hah], and are calling it a night. 

Oh, and yeah, this is backdated. I don't care. (:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AGAIN... CATIE!!! I LOVE YOU!
[Tomorrow's EASTER!]

xo | cmd

Sunday | Scrumptious Eats. Sweatshirts. Springrove.

[back-o dated-o, folks.]

I found myself back at Taste of Belgium this morning. What can I say - it's pretty stinkin' amazing. I headed there to find Catie, Ladd & Ryan, and we again made with it putting back some delicious food. Confession: This was my first time [ever] going for the whole chicken & waffles thing. I went out on a limb at Catie's advising, and if I think of it later, I'll thank her for it. haha.


deeeeeeeeee...lish.

Breakfast out of the way, we ventured over to Mica 12, a corner boutique in which coincidentally my last roommate Trisha now works on weekends. It's a grassroots sorta store [lots of local artisan product & gear], and just has that feel to it that makes you wanna stick around for a while.


ohio roots! | mica 12

So I did. Long enough to snag an Ohio Roots hoodie. With which I am now obsessed. Dangit.

I decided it was time to get over to Becky's; if you don't know who that is, she's my friend that originally served as my first college RA. She's pretty much awesome, and we made quick plans to do some light urban hiking up to Spring Grove. That was after a run at Findlay Market. That's another place I love. Let's be honest: Of course I went camera crazy.


corkscrew pine | spring grove cemetary | cincinnati

I'm here at Becky's finishing up some last minute things before I hit the road back to IL. It's been a great weekend, and I am ever thankful for the friends I have here. Much love for this city & its people. ♥

See you soon!

xo | cmd

Twin Bdays | Deacon Meetings | Volleyball

It has been a DAY!

First off, it's the first day of JULY [holy cow, already??]. More importantly, it's the birthday of a dear friend of mine, who happens to be my old roommate, who also happens to be a twin. Yay, double birthdays! I still remember when she couldn't quite cooerce her duo partner to get a tattoo on their 25th birthday [heh], but I know they are celebrating in style today.

roomies ♥

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to my former roomie TRISHA & her twinnie LAURA!!

These two are ADORABLE. HBD!! ♥



i told you they were adorable, didn't i??
trisha & laura

Here in IL, the Dills did Sunday in our own style: church and a deacon's meeting afterwards. We got an early start and stopped by for a special breakfast out with little miss; she just insisted on dancing with Daddy in the parking lot before we drove over to church. She's been on a Disney kick lately [parents, nod your heads... you know], so she made it clear that Daddy was Beast and she was Belle for their little sache out on the pavement.

beast & belle.... & beauty brands outside bread co. ;)

Like I mentioned, we had a deacon's meeting immediately after church; Joe is being considered as the next potential staff member, perhaps at a limited capacity for now, but ultimately with the goal of Associate/Assistant Pastor. We met at Bandana's [because if we're gonna eat, we're gonna EAT] to discuss things, and left with the decision resting in the hands of the current board of deacons. We'll hear the final verdict here soon, but we are okay with whatever timing God's gonna lay on this one. (:



syd @ bandana's

The kids had fun, too. Very funny ;)



loralye's rendition of the dills fam ;) hehehe.. notice joe!

After quite an eventful morning, we took advantage of some down time with family-wide naps and lounging around before Joe took off with Sydni to Jarod's to help Alex & his dad move the bathtub out of the house. I'm telling you, that place will be whipped into shape before we know it; they're doing a great job! I got ready to head to volleyball, and made my way over to Clayton without a hitch. It was great seeing the SM folks again and laughing myself stupid by the end of the evening. Good times.



SMMU volleyball time!

these people... haha.. love 'em. post vball @ bw3

Yeeeeeks, it's late. I've gotta be up bright and early for work tomorrow, so I'm gonna bid this one adieu.

Hasta mañana (:

xo | cmd