Another birthday + a giveaway!

Necklaces: Kendra Scott "Amanda", Kendra Scott "Lizzie" | Bag: Charming Charlie "Fearless" studded satchel (c/o) | Kimono: The Fashion Lane (also sold here) | Dress: Joie (shop more black tank dresses here) | Ring: Kendra Scott "Kenny" | Sandals: Jimmy Choo "Alana" (other colors here) (shop more black dress sandals here)

Yep, it's my birthday! I can't believe this is the fourth one I've gotten to celebrate on the blog! Time flies! As I was putting together this post, I couldn't help but read back at my previous birthday posts to see what I wore and what I did. I gotta admit, I usually dread my birthday every year, but I really need to get over that. The last few birthdays have been absolutely amazing, and this year is no exception. We celebrated this weekend, and I'm writing this post ahead of time, so I'll have to share the day-of excitement in a later post. For now, let's talk about how we celebrated this past weekend!

Last week was a rough week for me. My schedule was all out of whack, I just started my Pilates challenge, and it was that time of the month for me. Lots going on and I think by the end of the week, I was just mentally and physically exhausted. After work on Friday, I just sat in my chair and cried. For no reason at all. I just felt sad. I do go through those emotional roller coasters the week before my period, but not usually the week after, so I was perplexed. I think a part of me also had birthday anxiety. I try not to build it up in my head because I'm always afraid I will be disappointed.

The husband is really patient with me and he tried his best to turn my weekend around. He knows what I like and he knew seafood would certainly help my mood. Our coworkers always talk about how great Peacemaker is, so without telling me where we were headed, he just started driving us there. Luckily, we were able to grab a seat without waiting and the food was amazing! We started with raw oysters and then he had a shrimp po boy, which he said was the best he's had in his life! I had the shrimp boil and it was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits. Speaking of spirits, they had this Bourbon Punch Slush that was amazing! I'm salivating thinking of it!

But that's not all! Saturday night he took me out for some ramen. I LOVE ramen and I've been hunting for a good restaurant out this way. We heard good things about Vista Ramen, but it looked like it had a pretty hefty wait when we were driving by so we decided to skip it. A quick Yelp search brought us to Midtown Sushi and Ramen where we were able to get in immediately without a wait. I tried the Hakata Ramen and he tried the Kimchi Ramen. It was everything I hoped for and more!

Naturally we couldn't go home without dessert. We were looking for a place that had awesome desserts as well as dessert cocktails. He found a place called Fountain on Locust. Holy amazing! They do serve food as well, so we'll have to go back for the full experience. We started with a couple of ice cream martinis and then each got our own dessert. I had the BEST pineapple inside out cake that was topped with caramel and Almond Joy coconut ice cream!! Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds. I could use some right about now!

If you'd like to reminisce about my past birthdays on the blog, I've compiled them all for you here! Plus it's fun to see the evolution of Caryl.

2013 (outfit here/ recap here) | 2014 | 2015 (outfit here/ recap here)

I'm already satisfied with how this birthday has gone, and as I write this, my actual birthday hasn't even arrived yet! I'll fill you in on all the details later, or you can follow along on Snapchat or Instagram stories (same handle for both - carylee07). Thanks for all your salutations! Hope you're having as good of a week as I am!

To help celebrate my birthday, I've teamed up with a group of amazing bloggers for a "Back to School" giveaway! The winner will receive a Macbook Air, a Kate Spade handbag, a notebook, planner, and water bottle! YES! It runs now through August 31st at midnight central time. Enter by completing at least one task on the Rafflecopter below. You do NOT have to complete all tasks to enter, though each task equals one entry, so you improve your chances of winning by completing multiple tasks. By following me on Facebook or Instagram, that automatically gives you two entries! Simply formalize your entry by inputting your information in the Rafflecopter below so we can contact you if you win! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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