Thursday Moda #113: My Annual Blog Birthday Party - Pastel Girly Ruffles.

MY  ANNUAL  BLOG  BIRTHDAY  PARTY.

As I am typing this out, I am reminding myself that in less than 24 hours I will be a year older and hopefully a year wiser, a year brighter, a year prettier, a year happier and a year healthier too. The past year of my life has been a little difficult to tell you the truth. The words 'struggle', 'sadness', 'loneliness', 'anger', 'tears', 'mistakes', 'glass half-empty' and more have made up some of the darkest days and nights I have left behind. But, I have continuously reminded myself and still do today that: God is good and life isn't so bad, after all. I have my good health, I have my sanity, I have a great family, I have a job that pays my bills and most importantly I have a beautiful, smart and super loving little girl that I get to call my daughter. And of course I have many material things but in retrospect those mean nothing compared to my health and my daughter's. So see, I am trying to see the light at the very end of the 37th year of my life. And it was a long, dark tunnel of a year, especially in the last 6 months or so. In my raw, humble and always realistic opinion, I am typing all of this and thinking of the past, the now and the future. And this is just part one of a two-part series all about birthday reflections and birthday celebrations too.

Which brings me to the style aspect of today's very special and very honest "Thursday Moda" post. Every year that I have been blogging, since I became a mom in 2013, I thought it would be fun to have a Style-themed Blog Birthday Party on my blog, including other fashionistas and blogging friends. It started in 2013 like I said (with a 3-month old baby at the time) and this is the 6th year of this fun birthday tradition. When I first started it in 2013 as a beginner blogger, I invited my closest 5-6 blogging buddies who came to visit, read and comment my blog on a daily basis. Over the last 3 years this fun party has grown and it has become a two-day celebration. This year I am joined by another two dozen fashionistas who I am lucky to call my friends and who are all super stylish to boot. A lot of these ladies have been celebrating my birthday with me on the blog other years too and I am very glad and flattered to see them return. All I asked is for them to style a dress or a skirt and send me a little blurb/paragraph about their outfits. No one disappointed as seriously everyone looks great! What I love is that everyone stayed true to their style!

 PASTEL  GIRLY  RUFFLES.

For my own birthday, as my first outfit I selected this Gorgeous Pastel Girly Ruffles Little Dress. It is in the palest pink color with leafy flowers in silver. But the most striking part perhaps is the Hi-Lo Flutter Sleeves and Little Cream Lace adorning the ruffle on the skirt part. This Silky Beautiful Dress by Loft went so well with my Faux Suede Mauve Bow Slide Sandals, the Nude Crossbody Envelope Bag and those Blush Pink Statement Feather Earrings. After all these pastel girly ruffles feel like feathers on me. The Millennial Pink Matte Sunglasses also matched so well. I did decide to go for a bright fuchsia lip though. I wore this outfit just a few days ago, on our first very warm day of this Spring (it was only in the 60s actually but after 7 months of Winter and very low temps it felt like 90 degrees). The dress, the earrings (also by Loft), the bag and the mules (which are both by Target) are all new-ish. However they were either purchased in March or via returns, reward money and coupons in April which was a no-spend/no-shopping month for me. I love, love how pretty this dress is and how sweet, soft and girly this whole pale pink/silver/mauve/nude palette of monochrome pastels looks! I would definitely wear this lovely outfit for a Birthday Brunch or Lunch or a day of shopping and treating myself for my birthday! It is so me and it is dressy and festive without being in your face party-like. Now, you have to stay tuned tomorrow for my second outfit I have chosen for my Birthday this year. That one is totally colorful, quite sexy rather than soft and more femme fatale than girly! There will also be another dozen ladies joining me again and I promise you they look superb! Meanwhile check out today's fashionistas who are celebrating my birthday with me, starting with...

One of my first and oldest blogging friends, since before I was even a mother and she is a girl mamma herself now - AMY from Amy's Fashion Blog. Her 6-month old AliAndra is beautiful. And fun fact: Amy used to live in Michigan, too.

"Hello everyone, I’m Amy. I Blog over at Amy’s Fashion Blog. I’m a new mom to a 6 month old baby girl. Since becoming a mom my fashion sense has changed and I’m learning how to dress my new body type. You will find my everyday casual outfits on my blog. Happy Birthday Ada!"

She is the blogger who does it all and always smiles while doing so. She has great family, decoration, organization and craft posts, too (aside fashion). Thank you for joining me CARRIE from Curly Crafty Mom.

"Hi! I am Carrie over at Curly Crafty Mom where I talk about fashion, DIY/crafts and decor, fitness and more! I was so excited when Ada invited me to join her for her birthday celebration. I've been blogging friends with Ada for several years and we even exchanged surprise packages in the mail once, which was a lot of fun. Happy Birthday, Ada! The outfit I am wearing today is inspired by an upcoming trip to Cancun that I'll be going on with my husband later this month. When I saw the orange floral print, it made me think of a sunset. In fact, I'm planning on wearing this fun jumpsuit (my first jumpsuit!) on our vacation for our sunset dinner. I can't wait! Thanks Ada for having me!"

This super fashionable mama is originally from France. I discovered her blog less than a year ago but I love her French-inspired super chic style. Welcome CHRISTINE from Bon Chic Style.

"I love dressing up for a date night with my husband. This ruffle khaki skirt and off the shoulder top is sure to get hubby’s attention :-). I simply styled this outfit with a wide brown belt and a pair of Chanel-inspired slingbacks to give it a classic and chic flair. Happy Blog birthday Ada!”

JENNIE from A Pocketful of Polka Dots and I have collaborated many times in the last 2-3 years. I'd wear every outfit she wears (totally my style) despite her being a decade older than me, like today's fun outfit for example.

"Happiest of birthdays to you, sweet Ada! When it comes to celebrations I like to wear something fun and colorful. A pattern mix that also features a bit of sequins and a skirt that twirls is enough to make any girl feel festive on her special day!"

LAURA from I Do deClaire and myself were the first to do a series together, over 3 years ago. We are around the same age and our first children are daughters less than a month apart, plus I love her style and it is totally my cup of tea.

"I love to find a reason to dress up a bit. It makes any occasion feel more special. This dress is one I recently got and look forward to wearing at several special occasions this summer. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and fantastic year ahead Ada!"

LINDA from A Labour of Life reminded me that this is the 5th year she celebrates my birthday with me on both of our blogs. Fun fact: Linda is also the one lady I have collaborated the most with in 5 years. I love her outfit today - one of my favorites, I love olive green. Oh and she is the sweetest too and by the way, you have to join her linkup today, as well!

"Happy Birthday and this is my fifth Birthday celebration. I went back to the first Birthday that Ada invited me too and I was tempted to wear my Mad Max Maxi again, a timeless style but the fifth celebration together called for something a tad more special. This was a fun dress I picked up at Target last Fall but didn't get much opportunity to wear it over the Winter. Now that Spring has sprung I figured bare legs and shoulders would make their appearance. I Love the Floral detailing because there is something about pretty florals that make me think of the Birthday Gal. Paired with my Nine West booties I am ready to Par-Tay with Ada and Viv."

Always the kindest and with a sweet tongue, fellow toddler mom MAUREEN from Little Miss Casual joins my Birthday Party for the first time. I have only known her for a very little time but she is so kind and nice.

"I am a low maintenance outfit kind of girl because to me, comfort is king! I love clothes that are effortless and easy to wear and there’s no outfit easier than a t-shirt dress. Happy Birthday Ada! Wishing you a marvelous day and cheers to a spectacular year!"

NINA from A World of Dresses has two things in common with me which I love: she loves dresses and wears a lot of them and she loves to travel. She is currently an English teacher in Spain and I have loved all the past dress collaborations we have done in both of our blogs.

"Hello! My name is Nina and I'm the blogger behind A World of Dresses. I am an American expat living in Spain. I blog about fashion, travel, dresses and life overseas. Happy Birthday Ada!"

This sweet stay-at-home mommy to two little girls, RUTH from My Little Nest has such a versatile style that is also chic, casual, dressy at times, modern and admirable. The way she styles her clothes is so much fun and different.

"A denim jumper is a great spring piece in your wardrobe. It can be easily layered and styled for the weather. A pair of tights, ankle boots (or rain boots) and long sleeved t shirt make it great option for a cold rainy spring day. Styled by itself with a pair of strappy sandals and hat can make it cooler for a sunny day. This is one of the most versatile dresses that you could add to your wardrobe this season!"

You need more than a paragraph to describe SHELBEE from Shelbee on the Edge. Seriously, this woman is so unique and amazing. I bet most of you didn't even know her birth-name is Michelle. My friendship with this lady is so special and she knows it. Plus she has been a part of a ton of collaborations and many more to come I am sure.

"For my outfit celebrating your birthday, I chose a floral maxi dress from Torrid which I purchased with the intention of styling more like a kimono over jeans and a tank top.  And then I received a black lace trimmed knit sun dress from Rosegal that ended being not so flattering.  So I tried layering the two dresses together and it kind of ended up being a magical combination...perfect for a birthday celebration!  The maxi dress is really very maxi as it is quite long even on my 5'8" frame so I wore some super high heeled blush open toed booties with a matching floral embroidery detail.  I feel so ready for Spring and all of its celebrations in this outfit!"

Even-though I listed today's eleven beauties in alphabetical order, I must say that my most favorite outfit from today's post is hands down this one, by the lovely SUZY from Suzy Turner. Plus she is wearing red - my favorite color. But seriously her skirt, bag and shoes are fabulous and I want them! It is so fitting that I end this sea of outfits today with this particular one!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you so much for inviting me to take part."

Thank you beauties for making this tradition super fun, joyful and fashionable once again! Cheers with a Pinot Noir! Here is to another year of getting older and hopefully wiser!!

And to those of you who made it this far, thank you for reading. Thank you for always stopping by, commenting, praying for me lately, loving me, sending me positive thoughts, linking up with me every Thursday. Thank you for celebrating my birthday today on the eve of my birthdate (which is on May 4th)!! 

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