20 Things You Don’t Know About Me

Dress: Striped Linen Dress, also in indigo & grey | Vest: Military Trench Vest, similar here | Bag: Escapade Bag, also love this backpack & this | Shoes: Modern Loafers, love this pair & this pair | Sunnies: Sunglasses | Bracelets: Fiji & Linear Bracelets | Necklace: Crescent Necklace

Happy Wednesday! Today is extra special for me because it’s my 30th birthday. Thirty used to seem ancient to me when I was 21, but here I am, 30 years old and feeling, well, pretty young. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big birthday celebration kind of girl, but since it’s 30, I figured we should probably celebrate a little bit!

Today, I convinced Jess, Shaheen, Emily and Kelly (oh, and Emma & Jo!) to play hooky from work and go out to lunch at one of my favorite spots in West Loop, De Cero. Sorry Kelly, I know you hate cilantro, but I’m really happy you’re coming! After that, I’m not really sure! If the weather holds up, I’m thinking that spending my afternoon at the pool sounds pretty relaxing! It’s not often that I give myself a day off and while it’s so tempting for me to pull out my computer and work on stuff, I’m leaving my laptop at home and allowing myself a day off!

Rob and I are celebrating later this week, just the two of us, which is always my favorite! Neither of us like all the attention on us, so a casual and intimate birthday celebration is absolutely perfect!

In honor of my 30th birthday, I thought I’d share some fun facts about me that you don’t already know (well, maybe some of you know them!)—enjoy!

1. I’ve broken my left wrist twice. The cause? Rollerblading—each time! I know this makes me sound like a bad skater, but I think it was more due to the fact that I lived in my rollerblades from elementary school through middle school.
2. When my sister Katherine was born, I was four years old. When we brought her home from the hospital, I started sucking my thumb, sleeping in my doll crib and asked when we were going to return her. Thankfully we didn’t, she’s one of my best friends now!
3. The only birthday that I remember feeling older was when I turned six or seven (I can’t remember now). I had a dalmatian themed party and remember stopping on the jungle gym thinking that I actually felt older, haha!
4. My freshman year my roommate hung out with Rob’s fraternity. One night she came back & said, “I really think you’d like Rob Staky”. We didn’t meet for another year, but she was spot on!
5. When I was a kid, I stepped on a sea urchin at the beach. Surprise, surprise-it hurts really bad!
6. I was an expert tree climber as a kid & surprisingly never fell.








7. At one point in my life I decided I really wanted to become a cheesemaker. I even tried my hand at it a few times. Ironically, I’m now very sensitive to dairy & rarely eat it.
8. My high school volleyball team went to state and placed 2nd.
9. I used to be an incredibly picky eater, seriously, I wouldn’t even put lettuce on my sandwiches. That all changed freshman year and I’m so happy I outgrew that one!
10. I once snuck out of my house in high school by climbing out the window of our 2-story house and scaling the wall. Turns out my tree-climbing skills came in handy later in life too. I did get caught and grounded though, ha!
11. Despite sharing a lot about my life on the internet, I’m actually pretty shy.
12. We’ve been lucky to travel a fair amount and out of all the places I’ve visited, Copenhagen & Costa Rica are two of my favorites.
13. I’m a certified open water diver, but admittedly am very panicky on the surface of the water. Once I’m a few feet under, I’m totally fine!
14. The first blog I had was a food blog called My Culinary Quest. It’s also the blog that I started teaching myself web development. I had no idea that it would turn into a business!





15. I grew up with cats and had never had a dog until Oliver—best decision EVER.
16. When in doubt, I grab anything striped from my closet. It’s more fun than a plain shirt and always classic. This striped dress is a new favorite and is only $58 (yes, seriously!)—more favorites right here:

17. Someday I really hope to have a big backyard where I can plant a big vegetable garden. I’d love be able to eat food that I grew myself. Right now, we’re sticking with homegrown herbs like mint and basil—small space problems.
18. I actually have two younger sisters—Katherine & Caroline. Katherine and her husband, Powell, live in Atlanta and Caroline lives in Knoxville and just got her graduate degree—welcome to the real world!
19. I cry really easily, and not just at sad things. Usually happy, or touching moments make me cry the most. I’m sure you can imagine how much I cried on our wedding day—all happy tears of course!
20. Rob and I knew each other for a little over three years before he actually asked me on our first date. It was sushi. I’m so glad that I’m a patient person!

Now I’m off to enjoy my totally free day! If you want to see what we’re up to today, follow along on Insta Stories!