27 in NYC!

Last week I celebrated my 27th birthday here in NYC! It was such a fun celebration; I did the exact same thing that I did last year for my birthday. I really feel like I've cracked the code on how to have a fabulous mid-week birthday in the city that feels really special, even if it's only a Wednesday.

25th Birthday Recap!

I turned 25 last Sunday, and had the loveliest weekend celebrating with some of my favorite people! My dad was kind enough to plan a special weekend for my birthday and flew out to New York to celebrate with me, Joe, and my aunt & uncle. We spent the weekend in the Hamptons and then came back to the city on Sunday for the Yankees vs. Red Sox game!

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I am a big birthday person. I really, really like having special plans for my birthday, and that usually includes seeing people I love or traveling somewhere special. My birthday weekend this year was absolutely wonderful and I've been feeling just so happy and lucky ever since. Let's recap the weekend!

My Delusional Birthday Wishlist / Gift Guide

My 25th birthday is this weekend and I thought it might be fun to make a delusional/unrealistic wishlist and put it out into the world!

In my family, my parents have made milestone birthdays really special. As a Leo, it's something I do not take for granted and means so, so much to me. In exchange, we don't really do birthday presents, and I love it that way! I have more than everything I need in life and really all I want every year is to spend time with the people that I don't get to see enough now that I'm an adult.

A few favorite birthdays were: my 18th birthday when my dad surprised me with a sunset sailboat ride in Maine, my 20th birthday (my golden birthday) when my dad took me to Palm Beach for a weekend, and my 21st birthday when my mom took me to Napa for a week of wine tasting. 

This year, I am turning 25, and I'm looking forward to spending the weekend in the Hamptons with my dad, aunt and uncle, and Joe! I feel so grateful for them and the fun experiences they've given me! In exchange, as I mentioned, we don't really do physical gifts, so this list is completely just for fun!

Also - I already own a few of the items on this list and absolutely love them, so I thought this could be a fun mini-gift guide if there's anyone fabulous in your life with a birthday coming up.

This Week's Top 10: It's my birthday!

1. Wow... what a week. This work week was definitely in my top 3 of the most stressful/busy/overwhelming weeks yet. I've never been so eager for the end of the week, and because it's my birthday today, that feeling was especially strong!! I don't have any crazy plans this year, just dinner tonight with a few friends, and then going to the Yankees game tomorrow, which I am really looking forward to. LOL, I got a manicure last night and I can barely type.

2. I treated myself to this adorable workout set as a birthday present to myself!! Can't wait for it to come. I don't have any matching sets and it pains me every time I go for a walk, so this was definitely justified, haha.

3. What is happening in Afghanistan is devastating. I can't imagine how Afghan women are feeling right now. This article is really insightful and shares how you can help. I have also heard about the organizationn Women for Afghan Women (WAW). 

Birthday in Sonoma: Recap

Welcome to part two of my California trip recaps! After San Francisco (recap here!) we spent two days in Sonoma, two days in Napa, and then our last day back in San Francisco.

21!

20 years ago today with my mom, lol

I'm officially 21!! I'll be spending the day at a few different wineries in Sonoma with my mom and enjoying my first sips ;) We had an amazing weekend in San Francisco and arrived in Sonoma yesterday; I can't wait to share photos of our trip once we get back! Tomorrow we head to Napa for a few days for more wine and exploring!

xoxo

Part II: Birthday in Palm Beach RECAP

Welcome to Part II of my Palm Beach birthday recap! Today I am sharing everything I did on my actual birthday, which was the 20th. Turning 20 on my 20th made this year extra special (golden!) and the day was perfect from start to finish.

My Golden Birthday + 20 Facts About Me

with my mom, celebrating my first birthday

I can't believe today I am officially "in my twenties" and it's my golden birthday!!! Usually birthdays aren't a big deal for me, but because this is my golden birthday and it marks a new decade, it just feels extra special. I am currently in Palm Beach celebrating with my dad who planned a surprise for tonight that I cannot wait for! The last time he planned a surprise it was a private sailboat ride during sunset around Boothbay Harbor, Maine when I went with him, my brother, and my boyfriend for my 18th birthday. To this day, that is probably my favorite memory of my whole life. Soo... I guess you could say I have high expectations! I thought it would be fun to share 20 random facts about me, because, why not? Enjoy!

17

This year's birthday is kind of a funny one. I grew up never having my birthday during the school year, and then for the past two years of high school it happened to be on the second or third day of school. However, this time around, today is "check-in" day at my school, and this is the same as it was freshman year. It's funny to me that I'll be 17 today when I know there are a few girls in the junior class that are already 17 (I'm seriously super young for my grade!) and I'm just now getting to see an R-rated movie legally when half my friends will be able to vote in a matter of months! 

I celebrated with my dad in Rhode Island after a fun day in Block Island (more on my trip to come) on Tuesday with my favorite banana ice cream from Brickley's in Narragansett for dessert. I got home around midnight last night from the airport and today I have our team's first field hockey game of the season (beyond excited to be playing varsity this year!!) in the evening. To me, 17 isn't too special of a birthday, but of course it's always a fun day of the year for me and I'm grateful for every year I get to enjoy and tuck under my belt. 16 was fabulous, and I can only wish that 17 is half as fun! Perhaps senior year and beginning college will top my junior prom and driver's license, but we will just have to wait and see :)

xoxo

16

{double 8 today}

Today is my sixteenth birthday! I'm so thankful for all of the birthday wishes I've gotten over social media already, even though the big day hasn't really been until today! I know a lot of people thought it was Saturday because of my party, but my actual birthday is today, I just thought it would be nice to have my 16th birthday party on August 16th... get it?

This month has been crazy; I've celebrated my birthday probably five times already so today will just be the last hurrah! I have field hockey practice until 6:30, so I won't be able to do a lot of celebrating tonight, but I'm ok with that since I've done so much in general.

I have my driver's test at 8:20, which I literally just realized is ironic because my birthday is 8/20! Don't count on me passing, I happen to have a bad streak when it comes to luck and although I consider myself a fairly good driver, that doesn't mean I'll pass my test! Wish me luck, however!

xoxo

Birthday Party Recap

Hello, everyone! Today is my first day of school, and I'm glad I finished off the summer on a positive note by hosting my 16th birthday party on Saturday. I asked for your help with what to wear a few weeks ago {here}, and I did order the dress that had the most votes {this one here}, but I ended up changing my venue and I needed a much more casual outfit for the party. I decided to go with an all-white look and neutral sandals and naturally wavy hair! I was really happy with my outfit, and you can see the entire look from my instagram {here}

I had a rooftop party at one of the most delicious restaurants in the cutest section of downtown called the Third Ward. Think great food, cool stores (Anthropologie, little boutiques), and interesting people watching. I curated a custom menu and the salmon salad was definitely the most popular meal of choice! One of my favorites, too!

I hosted 10 girls for the lunch/late brunch at 2 PM, but I invited 14 (I think?). Four of my closest friends actually couldn't make it for sports tournaments. In fact, I had a field hockey tournament that day too that I skipped!

It was a very Kate Spade filled party! My friends know me so well ;)

The bakery botched my cake... I wanted it completely plain on the outside with a lavender monogram and they went overboard. Not going to lie, I was near tears when I saw it (it was kind of horrendous), however, it was very delicious, which is all that really matters! It was a lemon cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting.

Hydrangeas for the table, of course! I also gave the cutest caramel apples as the party favor!

I matched with my mom which I thought was so fun. The party was a great success all thanks to her!

Wish me luck on my first day of school!

xoxo

My Birthday Party Invitations

If you follow me on Instagram (thanks for helping me hit 2000!), then you probably saw my snap of my birthday party invitations. Hands down the question I get asked the most about my blog is who designed my website... I actually designed it myself because I have this secret love for graphic designing. Although I don't think I would pursue a career in it (I'm not that good), I'm creative and capable enough to tickle my own fancy every once in a while.

I designed my party invites myself, and I'm super happy with the way they turned out. I chose pink and orange as the two main colors because they are some of my favorites and they compliment a lot. The process was something like...

Picking and designing a monogram with the Mark & Graham Monogram Maker

Pasting this image into Photoshop where I was able to size the white space around the monogram and add a border.

Copy and paste this image into Microsoft Word where I added the text and break line.

***

It was a super easy process; I hope this gives you a little inspiration to play around and get creative with your graphic design skills!
xoxo

What Should I Wear To My Birthday Party?

With my birthday coming up in less than a month and my party just around the corner, I've been keeping busy sending out invites and trying to decide what to wear. It definitely helps knowing I have plenty of stylish readers who can help me decide on an outfit! I picked out a few dresses below and I would love your feedback on which dress I should pick! (A special shoutout to Summer Wind for giving me a few options!)

Please help a sister out and comment below! Dress 1, 2, or 3? {Click the black icons to be taken to the product!}

xoxo