{my little sister}

I've already talked about this on Facebook & Twitter, but what's another form of social media, right? ;)

It's my little sister's 8th birthday today. She's technically my half-sister, as we only share a dad, but she's never felt like a "half." None of my half-siblings do. In my eyes, they're all whole to me.

I'm not going to say her name on here, but use a nickname she goes by...Squig.

I was 13 when Squig was born, & Dylan & I were sooooooo excited to finally have a little sister. I say "finally" because we had to wait through three brothers to get her ;)  {We love our brothers, don't get us wrong, but nothing compares to a little girl.}

My stepmom was due June 8th, and Squig had yet to arrive. Needless to say, we were all getting impatient. We just wanted to find out if she was a boy or girl! We went over to my dads house & played outside with my brothers while my stepmom went to the doctor. While we were outside, we got a call saying, "We're headed to the hospital!"

::cue freak-out::

My stepmom's best friend picked Dyl & I up & we headed straight there. We hung out for a few hours until they said "it's time." We stood right outside the door {behind the curtain} until we heard the most exciting words ever: "IT'S A GIRL!!"

We then ran up & down the hallway yelling "It's a girl!" "Oh my god we have a little sister!" "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" All of the nurses chimed in & shouted with us. It was the best feeling ever.

Squig was, believe it or not, born on 6/8/04, at 6:08, and weighed 6lbs8oz. We figured it was a sign that she was going to do great things in life. And there's no doubt that she is one little lucky lady.

We held her when she was only minutes old, & even got to choose her name. {Although my dad tried to pull the old, "Actually, we decided to name her Fiona...instead of the name you picked." I think we started to cry.}

Squig is seriously the best. She's totally cute, absolutely beautiful, & so talented. She's already rocking the ballet shoes & advancing wonderfully in dance. She is so sassy & truly runs the household.

Last weekend in Jamaica was the first time I saw her as a "grown-up" kid. We were leaving the pool to go back to our room, & I noticed she didn't have shoes on or with her.

I said, "Squig, where are your shoes?"

She answered, "Um, I dont know. I think they're over by the chair. Or maybe Mom has them."'

Me: "Well, I want to make sure. Can you go ask your mom if she has them?"

Squig turned to me, obviously unaffected by the misplacement of her flip-flops & said, "You know what, Liv? Just don't worry about it. It's no big deal." Complete with a flick of her hand, as if she was 21 & waving away a glass of wine. I assured her I wasn't worried ;)

I love going to college in the same city where she lives, because I get to see her quite often during the year. But when I'm home during the summer, like I am now, I miss her terribly. We're planning a girls only trip for later this summer that I'm so excited about.

I was always worried the age difference would make it hard to have a close relationship with her, but it's quite the opposite. I can see she looks up to Dylan & I, & so I'm constantly trying to be a good role model for her. I hope I am. She's my favorite person to photograph & shop for, & I can't wait to see what a lovely young women she'll turn into. I love her more & more every time I see her. She was definitely worth the wait!

{fashion friday will be up sometime tomorrow}

{schär pizza crust}

Quick post this morning, since I'm a busy bee today.

A few weeks ago I tried Schär's pizza crust for the first time. In the past, I've only had frozen crusts from Whole Foods {like Glutino, Udi's, or Amy's}.

I'm not the biggest fan of Schär's; their pasta is good, but all their bread isn't soft. A lot of their bread products require baking before you eat them, which is a drag. I love homemade pizza, so I was excited to try this.

My sister & I made simple margarita pizzas with fresh grated mozzarella, tomato sauce, and some pieces of grilled chicken.

Here they are before we put them on the oven:

We felt pretty legit with the pizza blocks. I don't have an after picture because there was a minor catastrophe. {I don't think my sister is over it yet, lol.} Let's just say I fumbled a bit while taking the pizzas out and Dylan's pizza ended up on the oven door. She still swears her pizza tasted like "oven door." :P

But they were delicious! I'm definitely going to get these again. I want to make BBQ chicken pizza with it :)

To my Celiac chicks out there...have you tried Schär's crust? What are your favorite gluten-free pizza recipes? Share please!

{wishful wednesday}

1. Gym Bag

I've been using random old bags {of my sister's} as my gym bag every day. 

I need something like this:

{source}

2. A Massage

Yes please.

{source}

3. A gluten-free cinnamon bun

I've only had two of these in the past 4 years, since I never find them. 

I hope this picture is making everyone's mouths water.

{source}

4. A Time Turner

Like in Harry Potter.
I really want to go back in time & change some things.

I also want to go back & live more "in the moment" on specific days.
Don't we all?

What's on your list? Tell me!

{jamaica recap}

Hello all!

I had a lovely time in Jamaica this past weekend. Like I said yesterday, I took lots of pictures. Let's start from the beginning.

After an easy traveling day, we arrived at the resort & headed straight to the pool. It was SO.HUMID. & all we wanted to do was submerge ourselves in water.

That night was the rehearsal dinner/welcome party. There were only 56 guests, {& my family of 8 was a huge chunk of that}, & because we're friends with both the bride & groom, we knew most of the people there. Fun, right? :)

The dinner was set up outside, & although the humidity & mosquitoes were not so fun, the rest of the night was really relaxing & wonderful. Perfect way to start the trip.

I took this picture once we arrived, hence the tilted chairs.

I loved the palms on the tables!

After dinner, they had a fire show. This guy literally poured alcohol on himself & ran a torch up his torso. He also drank alcohol & spit into a flame. Craziness.

This was the night I wore my new jumpsuit! I got lots of compliments on it. Here's my sister & I after the dinner.

{i'm not great at the "sexy pout"}

  

Funny twin story. We were asked no less than 100 times if we were twins. Actually, most people asked, "Are you related?" Uh, yes.

Mid-way through the trip, a wedding guest we didn't know came up to us & said, "I know this is really weird to ask, but are you two sisters or twins?"  We answered twins. She fist-pumped the air & yelled, "Yes! I win!"

Yup. People were taking bets if we were twins or not. WITH MONEY. We should've gotten a cut. Don't you agree?
The next day was a lot  of this:

After lounging all day, we got ready for the wedding.

Here's what I wore:

And my sister:

I totally want to show a picture of my younger brothers because they looked ADORABLE. But to protect their privacy, I won't. Just picture three boys in seersucker. Melt.

I also dropped in on the bride when she was getting ready. {I'd show how gorgeous she looked from the front, but I don't feel comfortable without her permission.}

Just married!

The ceremony was outside, about 50 yards from the ocean. It was a gorgeous night, but hot :)

The dinner was on the outdoor patio. The tables were set beautifully.

Simple, but lovely. White roses were everywhere.

Oh, & the flower girl was my darling little sister. She rocked the job.

My sister & I sang their first dance song & it went really well! The bride & groom were very happy, & the guests loved it. All in all, a successful performance :)

{Although it was a bit of a nightmare leading up to it. Our sound check was supposed to be at 4:00pm, three hours before the dinner. We showed up & nothing was set up. ::insert quiet freak-out:: We had to wait until thirty minutes {!!!} before the dinner to run through it. Talk about stressful. They also messed up the order & brought me a little dinky keyboard instead of a full one. It also didn't have a pedal. It was sort of a mess, but we made it through with stride.}

I would show the video, but I have yet to see it. Maybe in another post...

We danced the night away & fell asleep hard. The next day we beached it, went snorkeling, & relaxed. I don't have many pictures from that day because the humidity kept fogging over my camera lens :(

Sunday was a day of travel, & now I'm happily home! It was a fun weekend, but I was ready to get back to my everyday routine.

And that's it! I took lots more wedding photos, but again, I don't want to post without their permission.

Now I'm off to work...paradise had to end some time! ;)

{i'm baaack}



{the sunset the night of the wedding}

Jamaica was a blast, the wedding was so beautiful, and the weather was hot hot hot.

I took 578 pictures in 4 days. I wish I was kidding.

I'll do a full recap tomorrow, but for now I have to work all day, go to the gym, write 4 essays, and try not to lose my mind! ;)

Have a lively Monday!