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Hi blog friends! It’s certainly been awhile. April has been a busy month…lots of weekend trips, work events, birthdays, celebrations and holidays. I’ve been very glad to share many of these moments with friends and family, so I’ll give you a quick update of what I’ve been doing this month:

The first weekend in April, we celebrated my little cousin’s 21^st birthday in Philadelphia. She’s the last of my cousins to turn 21, so we were so happy to share such an exciting day with her. The next day was Easter Sunday, and it was so nice to celebrate at church with my family. THEN, after Easter lunch, my cousin’s boyfriend of ten years proposed in front of the whole family! Such a beautiful and joyous occasion, and how perfect to begin the next phase of their lives on Easter. I’m sure we have many months of planning, shopping and celebrating ahead of us!

The next weekend, I celebrated my 25^th birthday with M in Pittsburgh. Actually, I spent almost seven days in Pittsburgh due to a work conference the following week, so I was so glad to spend so much time with M and see so many friends. I’m a little bit wary of my birthday, so I think I was a little grouchy on my actual birthday, but the rest of the weekend was perfect and super fun.

This past weekend I visited one of my college friends in Philadelphia. Even though I’m from Pittsburgh, I’ve been so pleasantly surprised with how much fun the city of Philly is. So many good restaurants and cute streets…and it was great to catch up with an old friend. I also got to see my newly engaged cousins, and we spent at least three hours on Sunday afternoon planning the perfect wedding bouquet. I think her fiancé was glad I was there. J

This week I’m catching up at work and heading to Pittsburgh this weekend to help M move. I’ve never spent so much time in my car, but it’s certainly worth it to spend quality time with family and friends. I’m hoping May is a little calmer, and I’m really looking forward to life hopefully slowing down this summer. M and I booked a relaxing, romantic vacation, so August sure can’t come soon enough.

To more frequent updates,

Lia

Weekend.

I was hoping for a beautiful first weekend of April in Pittsburgh, but the weather turned out to be cold, rainy and cloudy. I’m not sure why I was surprised—that’s typical for a Pittsburgh spring weekend. But, somehow, it’s just a little bit more depressing when there isn’t sunshine. However, even though it’s still chilly in Washington this morning, the sky is amazingly blue and the sun is coming in my window behind my desk. I’ll take it.

Anyway, it was a fun weekend in Pittsburgh. I needed to renew my PA license, which is probably just another sign that I haven’t fully committed to living in Virginia. I got pedicures with my “little sister”, during which the technician asked if she was my daughter. Come on…she’s 11 and African American! Really?

M and I went to one of my favorite childhood restaurants for dinner on Saturday night. It looked a little tired, but it brought back so many fun memories. I’m sure I annoyed him with stories that began “this one time…” Then we watched “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” which I think is the only movie we’ve watched in recent history that we both actually stayed awake for and enjoyed.

Sunday we went to church with my parents and had lunch at their house. My dad also helped me clean out my car. If you are someone who has been in my car recently, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve vacuumed all of the old french fries off the floor and wiped the sticky mess out of the cupholders. For the amount of driving I do (for work and back and forth to Pittsburgh), my poor car really takes a beating, both inside and out.

I’m really looking forward to this week. I’m taking a few days off work mid-week because my momma is coming to visit me! I can’t wait to see her and take a little mini-vacation. Then, I’m heading to Philadelphia on Friday for the Easter weekend and the 21^st birthday celebration of my youngest cousin. It’s going to be a family week and weekend, and I can’t wait!

To family and hoping for more spring-like weather,

Lia