{image by Kendall Stoy}
We're two days away from the start of The September Freeze, and as crazy as it sounds, I'm kind of excited! Sure, the no-spending thing will be hard, but I'm looking forward to challenging myself and getting a better handle on my spending. So far, 20 brave souls have agreed to take on the challenge, and I can't wait to see how each of us makes the challenge unique for our own lives. If you're participating and you haven't commented or emailed me that "you're in" make sure to do so, asap. Thursday, I will be posting a master list of participants with links to blogs so everyone can check in on you and your journey. And if you are still on the fence about the challenge, I say go for it! Dive in, take a risk, and learn something new about yourself and the way you spend. Its only 30 days...how bad can it be? :)
And for those of you who are participating, Thursdays are our days to officially post and check in with one another. I will likely post more often about my progress/tips/tricks/etc, but I think a once a week post is imperitive for reflecting and really engaging around this challenge. When you post, feel free to use The September Spending Freeze image (posted above) and link back to my blog so people can see a list of all the participants. This Thursday, I encourage everyone to post their rules for their challenge, remembering its all about making your own rules and making this challenge work for you!
So the official kickoff is less than 48 hours away. Bring it.
Me and the oh-so-official Dr. Davis! This day has been so long in the making, it felt totally surreal!
Matt getting his degree and his fancypants hood. PS: It's hard to believe we spend 6 years of our life working on these degrees, and all we get is an oversized piece of paper and a bad, blue velvet drapey hood :)
My favorite four people on the planet :)
Me and Miguel (aka Dr. Cano.) Neither Matt or I's grad school experience would have been half as fun without this guy!
Besties.
I love you both more than words and am so so proud of you! And I'm giving you a month to rub it in my face that you're doctors and I'm not. Then for the next 11 months, not a dang peep from you two!
After graduation we headed back to my parents for a graduation bash, complete with friends, family, neighbors, and of course, Texas BBQ!
What's a party without personalized napkins? :)
My best friend Steven and his boyfriend, Jesse, drove in from Austin for the occasion, and I'm so happy we were able to celebrate with them. They always keep us laughing, and we don't see them nearly enough!
Matt and his celebratory flamingos! My parents have the most fabulous group of neighbors, who take advantage of every reason to celebrate. Whenever someone has a big event, the flamingos "mysteriously" arrive in the yard. This time they were accompanied by some fabulous sidewalk chalking, courtesy of the little girls next door.
Saturday night, after a day of thrifting, lounging, and BBQ leftovers, we headed down to Montrose to eat at 
After dinner we headed back for game night, a major event in my family. And though I am normally an Apples to Apples champion, I lost miserably. But with two new doctors at the table, I had to let them beat me :)
The winner of the box game, a crazy hilarious game my family plays at every holiday/special occasion.
Fabulous stairstep friends :)
A last picture of me and the graduate. The weekend was truly special, and I'm so grateful for all the people who made this celebration of Dr. Davis so very special. A big thanks to my parents, who hosted the party, made a million airport trips, and let all us grown up kids sprawl out all over the house all weekend :) A big congrats again to my sweet husband, Matt. What...did you really think I'd start referring to him 24/7 as Dr. Davis? Please, until I get those big initials next year, he can forget about it :)
Me and my not-so-little brother, Ryan. Though Matt and I only went to Lolla on Saturday, Ryan and Makenna braved the fest for all three days. Dedication!
Listening to Phantogram Saturday afternoon, just after the rain stopped. I hadn't heard of Phantogram before last weekend, and since Saturday, I've obsessively had them playing in my car, in my office, and in my room. They are insanely fabulous!
Our lineup for the day consisted of Phantogram, Black Lips, The Drums, Ellie Goulding (love!), Atmosphere, and Eminem.
If the crowd in front of us doesn't clue you in about the craziness of Lollapalooza, check out the crowd on the screen. And to realize they had 6 stages going at once...it definitely got a little crazy.
Our Lollapalooza crew. PS: please excuse my totally random and un-hip outfit. It was humid, hot as hell, and muddy in some places, which for me, translated to no effort left to attempt to look cute.
Pretty city.
Two of my favorite people in the whole wide world. They keep me loving life and laughing through most of it :)
Eminem might have been my favorite show of the day. Now, let me preface this by saying, I'm not the biggest Eminem fan in the world. He's a bit too angry and unfiltered for my taste. That being said, his show was pretty freaking awesome. It was one of his first shows back since he pulled off the scene a few years ago, and the energy was insane. He did new stuff mixed in with old stuff which had the crowd pretty crazy. This picture was taken right after he brought out Bruno Mars for "Lighters." Awe-some.
Not even 90,000 people crowded in Grant Park can distract from what a beautiful city Chicago is. A day spent in my fabulous city, listening to one-of-kind artists, with a few of my favorite people in the world...it doesn't get much better than that!