Guess What?

It's My Birthday! 

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Yep. I'm officially a quarter of a century. Hard to believe. 

Here's hoping that today is a little better than last year. 

Cocktail Hour: Birthday Cake Martini

Before we get to the main event, I wanted to let y'all know I'm filling in for Christa over at Significance or Nothing today. As a fellow Southern gal trying to make her way through the political craziness that is Capital Hill I kind of love her.  Come visit me!


Now, we all know I love cocktail hour, so when I saw Nicole's is hosting a week long linkup aptly named Cocktail Week (it's a #hashtag so start using it like crazy, go) I knew I'd use it as an excuse to have some playtime at the bar. The one in my house that is.

Someone around these parts has a birthday coming up (like tomorrow, eek!) So I wanted to treat myself to something sinfully delicious that I'd normally never touch. My personal drinking rule is I don't drink cocktails if I can't sorta see through it (with a few notable exceptions i.e. red wine and frozen margaritas) Generally all those milky syrupy sinfully sweet cocktails just leave me with a killer headache the next day.

But one every now and again is okay, right? And let me tell you, this is just about the best possible exception to the rule 

Birthday Cake Martini

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Adapted from A Beautiful Mess

Ingredients

• 1 oz Amaretto
• 1.5 oz Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka
• .5 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqour
• 1 oz Heavy Cream
• Sprinkles
• Frosting

Directions

First rim your fanciest martini glass in frosting. Then dip that deliciousness in a plate full of sprinkles to make the cutest glass you've ever seen. Next up combine all the remaining ingredients. Shake to combine and carefully pour into your fancy glass. 

Seriously, I'm re-evaluating my life for not drinking with this whipped cream vodka sooner. It is SO good. Go get you some right now. Vodka Diet Cokes will never be the same. 

Please go link up your favorite Cocktail with Nicole on Probably Polka Dots. She's one of my blog bff's and just generally awesome so you need to stalk her like I do. 

A Little White Dress

After living in the South for 25 years I can tell you, we have some strange traditions. One that I've never really understood is the unwritten rule that girls wear white dresses to graduation. I suppose it's somewhere along the lines of a cotillion or coming out of sorts... so it kind of makes sense, right?

Well I have quite a few friends graduating school in a few short weeks, so if any of you out there are on the hunt for the perfect little white dress I've pulled a few gorgeous options for you! 

Pearl About Town Dress, ModCloth

This dress is "currently unavailable" on ModCloth, but I love it so much I had to share anyways. Any southern girl who loves pearls is probably gasping somewhere at the perfection that is this dress. I need to come up with an excuse to wear this. Anyone getting married this year? Please wear this to a rehearsal dinner for me? k. Thanks. 

White Spot Jacquard Dress, Dorothy Perkins

I love the subtle polka dot of this dress, and I think this cut is flattering for just about everyone. Graduations are definitely a time to be on the more conservative side, so I love the high neckline, but the fit and flare keeps it current and attractive.  Plus it's on sale. You've got to love that. 

 9 & Co. Shift Dress, JCP

This dress is super classic, but the subtle wave pattern adds a bit of visual interest. I personally can't pull of shift dresses, but I love how effortless they look. Add some pearls, and you're the picture of southern perfection.

Brocade Peplum Dress, Ark and Co, Piperlime

I love peplum and this dress is just so perfect it really doesn't require much at all. 

Scattered embellished skater dress, Dorothy Perkins

Personally, this is the route I would go. The embellished silver studs across the top provide the perfect visual interest, making it not your average white dress. To me it feels slightly edgy, but it sparkles too so what more could you ask for? 

So, are you graduating this year? If so, what are you wearing? 

Friday's Fancies: Pop of Neon

I'm not going to lie. I've not been the biggest fan of the neon trend. While my personal style is pretty colorful, neon just strikes me as a bit abrasive. Needless to say when I saw this week's topic I made it my mission to find a neon look I would actually wear.

When I came across this dress, I knew this was it.

Jessica Simpson shift dress, $175 / Double breasted trench coat, $990 / Giuseppe Zanotti heels / Blue Nile peridot jewelry / Reeds Jewelers

While this isn't exactly the most affordable look I've ever put together, I absolutely love it! So how do you feel about neon? How have you managed to work it in to your style? I need some help!