28 years of life seemed so freaking scary as I approached October of this year. I was a little nostalgic, a little delirious, a little scared, but A LOT thankful. After bringing in my actual birthday (October 11th) the day after Hurricane Michael hit Tallahassee, I had so much to be thankful for. I was healthy, alive, and didn’t lose a thing. SO many others were not as fortunate and seeing it changed my perspective. For me, knowing that my whole life could’ve been completely devastated had Michael’s route been different, I dropped the whole “I’m so old and I’m sad” act and thanked God for his blessings. Let’s celebrate BEING HERE and BEING ALIVE.

Birthdays are an obvious staple to who I am and I HAVE to go all out. But judging by the blog- who is really surprised? I have this ridiculously, loyal commitment to start every year of life with a grand celebration for my birthday… sometimes said celebration extends to the end of the month. BEETA PALOOZA!!!!!!!! Believe me, I make my own self sick sometimes.

But truly, did you really do it right, if there was no party or celebrating? I think not. And honestly,  it’s not just limited to myself. I enjoy birthdays for any and every one. I don’t care if I don’t know you, I want to celebrate your damn birthday, your dog’s birthday, your kids’ birthday, etc. Extra points if it’s a dress up party!

 

THE VIBE

I decided to forego the club and dressy dinner affair at the local, upscale restaurants/clubs and do something a little more laid back. I settled on a relaxed shindig at my parents house. This year’s theme- Bohemian Fiesta. I’m honestly debating on doing this once a year, from now on. It was THAT awesome.

I usually enjoy hosting parties indoors and focusing on all of those cute, DIY decorations that make people get all the feels. This year I had a very specific vision of how I wanted to celebrate and the “vibe” I was feeling. With the help of my dad, who built this amazing picnic-style table for us, I created a relaxed focal point for the gathering. We sat upon one of my dad’s Persian rugs and on top of pillows for extra comfort. It was the PERFECT way to sit around one another and visibly see each other to converse. The weather was absolutely flawless and no one craved to be inside. For us Floridians, this is damn near impossible with our hot and humid climate.

THE ICEBREAKER

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs, I have a very diverse and unique friend group. Every time we get together, I am so humbled when I see a group of ladies of different ages, backgrounds, interests, and views get along so well. I was near tears during my toast, thanking them for rocking with me all these years. However, it doesn’t hurt to have some activities for your guests to interact and meet. As an icebreaker, I thought making flower crowns would be dope and make us more “festive” for the theme. I picked up fresh flowers the morning of and each person made their crowns with wire and floral tape.  No one made their crown the same (technique or pattern-wise) and I think that is what I liked most. Even my not-so-crafty friends enjoyed this additive to the party. 

 

THE MENU

So the flower crowns brought out our inner Boho Queen- yasssssssssssssss! However, I am a firm believer that the best way to bring people together is with food and alcohol. Furthermore, you can’t have one without the other. I have spent hours stressing over preparing food for my brunches and parties, to the point I’ve damn near cancelled the party the night before. I wanted the food to be easy, bite size, delicious and did I mention EASY? I did NOT want to be cooking the entire night before and stressing hours up until the party. (Which actually ended up happening anyway when I decided to bake my own cake, but whatever.) This is where my mom and brother saved my life. She helped make mini quiches, buffalo chicken dip, and puff pastries while my brother helped arrange the cheese, veggie and meat boards. Everyone was full and the food held up through the hours of the party.

Thank you Asia, for taking pictures as I completely forgot to before we devoured it ❤

I went with a Rose and Champagne pairing for my beverages, because what Queen doesn’t drink both of those??? Mimosas are the key to a woman’s heart. Trader Joe’s made my surplus of wine so easy! Seriously, I would’ve bought more at the time for later, had I known the real deal I was getting. It’s totally fine though. When we ran out we just took shots of my vodka stash in the car. Should’ve been tequila but the good stuff never stays for long. 

 THE CAKE

I could’ve completely avoided any stress the day before my party, had I not let Pinterest get the best of me. I wanted to do a naked cake but I started browsing and came across a Easy Rainbow cake… this was the beginning of my demise. It only called for food coloring and yellow cake mix. Sounds easy enough right? HAIL NO. Hell to the naw, naw, NAW! My genius self did not even think that baking 12 layers of cake would be hours of time with only two cake pans. I’m literally cussing as I write this, remembering how much hell I went through. Three hours of baking and I had a bunch of thin cake patties. Nothing about this was easy or worth it. The cake wasn’t even iced and I had bags under my eyes. My dad tried to help ice it and started with Chocolate icing. (whyyyyyyyyyyyy though, Daddy??) So, we had one layer of chocolate icing and the rest vanilla. Everything to do with that cake was a hellish ordeal, yet comical for the books. Thus, word to wise: pay someone else to bake your cake; unless that is the only thing you’re making for the party or you’re Ina Garten. It was pretty delicious though, I’m not gonna lie. However, I will never click on a Pinterest post with “easy” in the description. Like, ever.

 

THE LOVE

Overall, the birthday was a complete success! I truly felt all the love from every direction, especially my family. From my dad building the table and setting up the picnic area to my brother and mom helping with the food, this was a joint effort and nothing I could solely take credit for. My vision came completely to life and I couldn’t have been more pleased or appreciative. LOVE made that happen.

I enjoy those moments in life that make you stop, take a deep breath, and just smile at the beauty around you. The little things that show you why getting up every day and persevering is important. As I sat around my closest friends and cheers with each of them, I was completely overwhelmed with love and positive energy. Life is so good, even at 28. This birthday was so special to me and I’ll never forget it.

Can’t wait for birthday 29! 

Love Always, 

Beeta xoxo