The Happiest of Birthdays

Today is an extra special day. Today my little sister turns 22.

Banan on her 21st

22 years ago I woke up, couldn't find my parents, and freaked out until I saw my grandpa sleeping on the sofa. At that point I realized that I was a big sister. The one that would be the role model, the helper & the boss.

Cole & Banan 1989

To say that I've enjoyed having a sister is an understatement. I've loved playing house, sharing clothes & staying up late giggling. The hair pulling, fighting over the bathroom & name calling has helped make me who I am and the mark that Banan has made on my heart will be there long after grow up and have families of our own.

Cole & Banan 2011

Today is the day to celebrate the girl that has gone from my (sometimes) willing playmate to the person I fought with most to one of my favorite people to spend hours upon hours laughing with.

Cole & Banan 2010

Banan, I am so proud of you and so incredibly thankful for our relationship. I know we have had our ups & downs but I am so excited to have the relationship we have now and can't wait to see it develop further.

Cole & Banan 2011

You are a loving soul, a good teacher, & I am so excited to continue to see you develop into the woman you are becoming. Thank you for 22 years of memories and love, and above all, thank you for no longer pulling my hair, I was getting pretty tired of it.

Sister, sister

Yesterday I got a text from my little sis, Banan. She had spotted some dresses from the local boutique and wanted to take advantage of their 25% off sale.

The only problem was that she's 3 hours away. Banan sent me pictures of the dresses she liked, asked me to go to the store, try them on & let her know what I thought. I rushed downtown after work pulled tons of dresses & started trying them on like a mad woman.

Yeah, I know, I'm hot when I get off work

I called Banan, we settled on which dresses she wanted (2 & 3), which dress I wanted (4), walked to the cash register and handed my phone to the cashier so Banan could give her credit card info over the phone. As I stood there waiting the cashier grabbed my dress & rang it up too, Banan bought it for me because I had gone through the hassle of getting her dresses.

I left the shop feeling totally overwhelmed with how wonderful having a sister is.

Banan & me circa 1990

Banan & I fought like cats & dogs as children but as we've matured we've become close friends. Having a friend that I can rely on no matter what, one that knows my background, quirks & what I'm all about is rare and to have that person be my little sister is delightful.

I was left hoping that everyone would experience what having a sister is like, having someone to fight over clothes with but also having someone that knows your style & is your size and can pop into a store to buy you a dress. 

Even though they can be a royal pain in the butt sometimes sisters are meant to have your back, hold your hand & tell you that all is right in the world and I'm beyond thankful that I've got the little sister I do.

So tell me, do you have a sister you love?

The Happiest of Birthdays

Today is Banan's 21st birthday. A day that we have all been waiting for and a day that seemed to come much quicker than it should have.

Banan, I'm so proud to be your sister. You are such a caring person and it has been so much fun to get to know you as an adult and not just as the children we were. It seems like just yesterday that I came down the stairs to find our grandpa there because Mom & Dad were at the hospital having you. I was, and still am, so happy to be an older sister and I could not have asked for a better younger sister.

Me with my new baby sister

I know that we have had more than our fair share of fights but I am glad we have made it past that to be friends.

Banan & me at BFF Beth's wedding

You are such a determined, beautiful girl and have grown into a wonderful person. The little girl that used to suck her thumb still shines through in your stubbornness but the beautiful woman you are turning into shines through in everything you do.

Chicago 2009

I know you will always be there for me and I will always be there for you. We have grown to be the type of sisters that I always hoped we would be.

Christmas 2009

I am so lucky to be able to see you grow into the beautiful young woman you are and can't wait to see you continue to grow into a wonderful adult.

Banan & me 2008

You are a great friend & sister. I love you, Banan.

Banan & me 1990

Now let's go have a beer baby sister!

How I Spent My Monday/Weekend

Since my parents are enjoying themselves in Florida I was the boss at the restaurant on Saturday. Sunday I went to Indianapolis to spend some time with Banan and go to her sorority's banquet.

Even though we only got to see each other for 13 hours we did some fun sista stuff.

We ate good food (we ate a lot):

Yummy peach yogurt with strawberries, blueberries, mango & coconut

I'm not quite sure why but we went and saw Hot Tub Time Machine (and ate a lot of popcorn)

We shopped (we shopped A LOT!):

We both got super cute dresses from H & M.

I got some black heels since Edie pants chewed up my other pair.

I got a book of Charley Harper postcards that I plan to hang in our bathroom.

I finally got myself a knit headband (am I only supposed to wear this in the winter?)

I was really excited to go to my favorite antique mall

but unfortunately I didn't find anything...booo

Our best stop was Broadripple Vintage, we're planning on doing half of our engagement pictures in normal clothes (like this) and we'll do the other half dress in 1940s style clothing.

I picked up some sweet paisley suspenders for Jus.

And the perfect dress for me to wear!

(I swear, make the most awkward faces in pictures, I need to work on this before our engagement pictures)

Did you do anything fun this weekend? What's your favorite thing to do with your sister?

100 Photos: Day 94

I love today because I get to spend it with Banan eating pizza al fresco & shopping our little hearts out.

100 Photos: Day 49

Banana came home for the weekend. I'm pretty excited to get some sister time.