The Allen's: 30th Birthday

Today marked my official 30th birthday so I decided to take Starbucks up on their offer for a free cup-of-Joe this morning. I indulged myself in a grande carmel machiato. I don't think I've ordered one of those since high school, but hey it was free and I figure calories don't count on your birthday!
Next, I got spoiled by my boss (who drew my name at the start of the year) who brought the office eclairs and milk! My favorite breakfast ever! We had a mid-morning brunch, I opened gifts and enjoyed hanging out with my co-workers.

Next came a special deliver of flowers and yummy desserts from the House of Flowers. Everyone was shocked, as was I, wondering who they could be from. Turns out my Panhellenic girls ordered them for me! It was serioulsy one of the sweetest, most thoughtful things I received all day!

My main gift for my 30th birthday is the ring pictured below. It needs a little back story though. My great aunt was such a special and unique lady. Because my grandmother lived far away, my aunt Bebe filled that role for me. She came to all of my school functions, she picked me up from school and babysat me and my brother often. She was a widow and had no children and so to a certain extent, I think we filled a special place in her life. In return, I esteem her greatly and hold tightly to the memories I have of her. Because of that relationship and my love of antique rings, I have always admired her wedding ring.

When Grayson and I were engaged and looking for a wedding band to fit my engagement ring, we couldn't find anything that we both loved. We were at Kube's jewelers in Fort Worth one afternoon looking at their antique bands and he made me a deal. He said I could buy the band we were looking at and keep it for the rest of my life OR I could use my great aunt's wedding band, which fit my engagement ring perfectly, and then get something else at our five year anniversary. Well, I smartly took the deal, hoping we would get something else later on. Well, as our 5 year anniversary came and went, I wondered if we would follow through on our deal. I

had already mentioned to my mom how much I loved Aunt Bebe's ring and she promised me that on my 30th birthday, she would let me "inherit" it. Well, true to her word, my mom and dad had the ring fitted to my ring size and now I have moved over my original wedding band to fit the set.

Grayson and I found something we both really like for a new wedding band and are satisfied with the way all the jewelry re-arranging worked out. Clearly, I'm a sentimental person and knowing that I have my great aunt's ring in connection with my original wedding band, really means a lot to me. This 30th birthday gift is something I will never forget!

Lastly, one of my high school besties delivered her baby today so now I share a birthday with her. It will be so fun to celebrate with them in the future.