Birthday Weekend!

Yes, indeed, my little chickens! The merrymaker turns 25 years of age this weekend.  Sunday, to be exact.  // Cue Dies Irae \\ Here's a quick throwback to the last monumental four birthdays of my twenties.

A quarter of a century of laughter, friends, family, and fun.  Four (legal) years of margarita consumption and over a million karaoke songs under my belt.  Sure... not all of 20's life goals have been crossed off my inner to-do list, but I have had way more fun than I deserve.  The past year had brought on a mountain-load of hard times and losses, but every day was made easier by the amazing support system I have in my life.  So, have a margarita in my honor this weekend and turn up some country music really loud... call a friend and tell them you love them. And hey, I think we can all agree that a new driver's license picture was the best birthday gift I could possibly receive.

Princesses & Birthdays

"Are you a princess?" I said, and she said, "I am much more than a princess, but you do not have a word for it here yet on earth." -Brian Andreas

Somebody's 23!!!!! (and yes, that is a Travis Tritt birthday cake.  She was a unique child.) HAPPY birthday little baby princess. I can't believe the little sister is going to be 23, that means I am getting old! But really. Sarah I am so proud of the beautiful, brunette little lady you have become. You make me happy because you are always yourself, and you are not afraid to speak your mind. You love people for who they are, and you want the best for them.  You are caring and sweet and you love my little black dog alllllmost as much as I do.  Once upon a time, you were drawing pictures of  the both of us on your self portraits, and jumping naked on the trampoline as a toddler....  and now you are getting married this summer!  You are silly in the best of ways and I love being your sister.  I hope you have the merriest day ever.  I love you more than meat loves salt.

Fashionable Weaponry

Last post from the past today, I promise.  This is my birthday dress! One of my close friends works at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, and she snagged me a sweet deal on staying in the lap of luxury the night of my 24th birthday!  We went to the sunset happy hour on the rooftop (very very windy), then to dinner and more revelry before retiring on to the cloud that is a 5 star hotel's bed.
Best birthday in a while, to say the least.And yes, the necklace doubles as a weapon.

 dress, spiked necklace: dots | shoes: american eagle | clutch: navoh | bracelet: dots/boutique

Do you ever fall in LOVE with a song and then life passes by (like 1.5 years) and then the song plays... BOOM! You are taken right back to the time when the song was new, the feelings were fresh, and the beauty is still there like no time has passed.  I'm not alone, right?!  I am so blessed that it happened to me today while rocking some shuffle on my laptop this morning.  I had to put said song on repeat and just let it all happen (and sing louddd.)
And no, I am not going to share the song :)

Birthday Traditions

Birthday tradition! Or at least now that I have done it twice, it is a tradition!Last year, I took my birthday pictures in front of this same mural!I wore this outfit during the day on my birthday to run errands, get my free birthday drink from Starbucks, and drink lots of champagne in my hotel room.Best birth(DAY) ever! Stay tuned for evening pictures...

{top: marshalls | shorts: DOTS | sandals: payless | necklace: F21 | sunglasses: MK}

 Precious birthday gifts at work

 free birthday drink at starbucks!

Surprise birthday breakfast from my sweet sister.

Birthday Break!

Hello good chickens, I am taking today and most of the weekend, and probably Monday off in celebration of my birthday (Saturday!!!!)  See you next week.CHEERS!photo via

Wishful Wednesday

Wish wish wish... for all of the following.Did I mention that my birthday is one MONTH from today? Oh ha ha...

 How adorable are these chevron earrings? Gimme gimme.

 Love the words.

 An organized closet = a happy merrymaker.

 How awesome would it be to turn my millions of Instagram pics in to filmstrips?! Love it.

The perfect summer sandal.  Meeeeow!

What are you wishing for this wonderful Wednesday?

I want all of the above and a day at the pool with a mango margarita!

I'm a simple girl, really... :)

casino style

:: Please insert "i've been busy, not getting dressed, staying in my pajamas, i work in shorts and a t-shirt" excuse variation of you choice here ::
Okay, good... Now that's over and we can move on.This past Saturday was my lovely sister-in-law's birthday and we planned a last minute rescheduling trip to Tunica, MS! It's just about an hour away from us, and a Southern Vegas style atmosphere.If you're ever in the area, you should visit... Lots of fun.
Women in my family, whether by blood or by law, love to dress up! And we took the occasion very seriously and put on some duds to rock the casino floors.(Plus, you enter in free drinks & video poker and I could never leave.)

at the casinos, with the bday girl

To honor her birthday, I wore the hairpiece we wore in her wedding to my brother.

{dress: ROSS | shoes: NINE WEST | ring: TARGET | peacock clip: ETSY, gift}

The pictures are not that great, but I was bound and determined to get pics in before it got dark, hence too much flash and poor quality.  I got so many compliments on this dress at the various casinos we visited... it cost me something like $14.99 at Ross! I love the "cupcake" fold top part, I call it that anyway, I am sure there is a proper name.
I hope my readers liked this post, I found out over the weekend that I have a whole slew of readers (aka my extended family in AL...if you're reading now HEY Y'ALL!) I did not know about, and that makes me happy :) 

If you need an outfit fix, may I suggest you check out the Daily Dani, like daily?She is doing the 30 for 30 challenge and not only is she my BBFF (blogger best friend), she has the best outfits on the west coast. Go! Now!

hearts & stripes

I love my hometown.  One of the newest things to love is the huge I HEART MEMPHIS mural on the side of a building in Mid-town. (Memphians: It is behind Urban Outfitters)

It screamed at me as the perfect place to take my birthday outfit pics.

FABULOUS, YES?!I had a really great birthday celebration and even though half of my celebration didn't happen :(I will just have to plan another outing to which I will wear my second birthday dress :)I hope you guys had a marvelous Saturday and enjoy a glimpse of my birthday merrymaking.

The 23rd Annual B(ekah)Day

Here's to 23 being more fun than 22... with even love, laughter, and little moments to cherish...Thanks to all of you for being a reader, a friend, or a style consultant.oh, and i would like to take this time to say happy birthday to natalie portman and johnny depp, as well. just proof that many awesome people were born on the ninth of june.CHEERS!  :)

Pink Lipstick & Birthday Dresses

A couple months ago, I won a giveaway at one of my favorite blogs, Feminine Bravery.  I love her blog so much because she is NOT afraid of color and she knows I am not either, so she sent me a lovely shade of Lingerie Pink! Ooh-la-la!

I won the BEST shade of lipstick ever, and at the request of the giveaway-er I sent her pics of me wearing the lipstick!  Charlie, of Feminine Bravery, has all of the giveaway winners showcased on her blog with their pics.  Find the pics I sent in below and you can VOTE FOR ME on the sidebar of her blog, if you think I won the challenge!

Here's a little info on my outfit from the pictures:

I bought this dress two months ago, from ASOS, for my birthday dress.

And as I have mentioned--my birthday is THURSDAY!

So I wanted to share the pics I sent her on Matters of Merrymaking, too!

My birthday party is at the casinos, so I chose a flapper-esque dress and can't wait to show you the pictures after the soiree! (These pics were just a warm-up! Birthday dress rehearsal, if you will!)

dress: ASOS | shoes: payless | belt: dots | necklace: sister's | ring: gifted

I hope you liked them and please check out Feminine Bravery and the other lovely ladies who won the giveaway! Vote for who you think won the challenge :)

zesty crackers

Hey there, sunshine.

Matters of Merrymaking rules:

1. Cardigans are necessary for the workplace.

2. Ditch them as soon as you can.

3. Post pictures from last Thursday and try to fool everyone, because your sunburn is so embarrassing.

Today is my sister's 21st birthday!

*Happy Birthday Sarah!*

I can't believe my little shadow is twenty-one.

I remember when she used to follow me to school and cry when she had to go to her separate class last year in elementary school.

Hah, just kidding :)

 I will be working alllll day and then going straight to her house for a celebration!

For our family celebration, she wanted to go to a local Native American/Archaeology museum in town.

We had the best time ever, and it was really different and fun.

Silly sister.

(That is sister with her canvas I made her, pictures of the outside of the museum, and the card from me as well... Wow, I'm a good sister)

It is summertime weather here for sure.

I spent the weekend doing TONS of outdoor activites (including, but not limited to:)

patio lunches

getting sun (burnt) by the pool

local crawfish festival

margs and trivia at a local taco shop

visiting a archalogical museum with my family (where we learned to throw spears, weird, right?)

and cooking out on the patio, again.

I am so exhausted, I need a nap.

aaaaand some vitamin e for this wicked sunburn I am rocking.

I am so tired, I must be rambling.

Once the coffee and allergy meds kick in, I hope to make sense.

If you are wondering about the title of this post... I have no words.