Birthday Girl

Birthday Girl_White Lace Dress_Chicwish_The Outfit_What Would V Wear_2

Over the weekend I celebrated my Birthday, and as always I like to self-reflect on my special day: Where I am in my life, and where I want to be. Continue reading to learn more..

SHOP MY LOOK



Even though I don’t celebrate my birthday’s per se, I do believe that one should celebrate life each and every day! It’s a blessing to be alive; life should never be taken for granted. This year, my birthday came without any real fanfare except for my husband and son who surprised me with pink roses and kisses.

I am blessed to be remembered by you, and my close friends as well who went out of their way to text me, send me cards, and called me.

Birthday Girl_White Lace Dress_Chicwish_The Outfit_What Would V Wear

Spiritually, August 6th was a day of reflection; with reflection comes both gifts and challenges.  I truly believe that in order to grow, we sometimes need to reflect. As I’m looking back at my life I must admit that I am pretty darn happy and proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve learned that reaching for your dreams takes work, hard work. Work that doesn’t always come easy but it’s absolutely worth it!

Below are some of my birthday reflections:

  1. When life is busy, I still need to take time for the things I love.
  2. Only surround yourself with people who lift you up, and not bring you down.
  3. Being a good friend means being more present.
  4. Less social media and more time in the now. I’m guilty of it — I spend way too much time on my phone.
  5. Moving through my short-comings is humbling, but also necessary.

Do you have any self-reflections on your birthday?! If so, please let me know by commenting below, and thanks so much reading! I love you all very much!

SHOP MY LOOK


DRESS c/o | FLOWER CROWN


 

 

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100 Comments

  1. August 8, 2016 / 1:07 AM

    I couldn’t agree with you more, Vanessa! Each and everyday should be cherished and celebrated. I hope you had a lovely birthday and have a wonderful year ahead! BTW: This dress is gorgeous!

    xo, Jennifer
    http://www.publicistinpearls.com

  2. August 8, 2016 / 1:32 AM

    Happy Birthday! What a beautiful picture! I hope your day was as beautiful!

  3. August 8, 2016 / 1:40 AM

    Oh Vanessa, you are just an inspiring person, so incredible, humble and amazing. I love the reflections. You are a truly beautiful person <3

    http://styledbys.ca

  4. August 8, 2016 / 2:02 AM

    happy birthday! You look so stunning and cosy in those looks and the place looks beautiful!

    would you like to follow each other on google friend connect and google plus? If you follow me,
    I will follow you back after it. ^^
    http://www.tomntins.com

  5. August 8, 2016 / 2:29 AM

    Happy birthday Vanessa! I hope you had a wonderful day – you look gorgeous in this dress!
    I agree that we should celebrate life every day and make time for the things and people we love! I am also sometimes guilty of spending too much time on social media and not enough time enjoying the moment with my friends and family!
    Julia x
    http://www.thevelvetrunway.com

  6. August 8, 2016 / 2:41 AM

    Happy belated birthday Vanessa! And love your self-reflections ?

    Mich x
    michhosephblog.wordpress.com

  7. Andrea Nine
    August 8, 2016 / 6:17 AM

    Most Beautiful Birthday girl inside and out!! Love your reflections and your love of life!!! You radiate beauty and I hope your day was special as you are so very special indeed!!! Belated Birthday Hugs coming your way!!!

  8. August 8, 2016 / 7:43 AM

    Happy Birthday, sweet Vanessa! Love that you take this time to reflect and you should definitely be proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Appreciate you sharing your learnings, too. Number 2 is one I am constantly having to remind myself of. Hope you have a wonderful day. xx

    Audrey Adair-Keene | http://www.happilyaudrey.com

  9. August 8, 2016 / 7:45 AM

    oh vanessa, although I love celebrating my birthday (but I pretend to be 19 years old since ages ;)) ) I couldn’t agree more..life is such a wonderful gift and we all should apprecciate it 🙂 I just can say it again: wishing you a wonderful belated birthday and I hope and wish that all your wishes may come true and all of your efforts <3 You look incredible beautiful in this dress and I think the roses just match perfectly together with this lace details 🙂 such a wonderful, enchanting look <3 you look like a fairy <3
    http://www.youtube.com/c/MissLovelyAttitude
    http://lovelyattitude.com

  10. August 8, 2016 / 8:56 AM

    I 100% agree with you!! My birthday is on christmas and I haven’t gotten gifts since I was 13 so I usually only care about spending time with family and making memories. This was such a great post thank you for sharing!

    Sending you love
    Bella

    http://xoxobella.com

  11. August 8, 2016 / 9:10 AM

    I’m so glad you had a wonderful birthday, beautiful! I know I sent you a message on your Insta Story, but I want to say it again, Happy Birthday! I think it’s wise and very much needed to take the time, especially on a day that celebrates our own life, and reflect on our life as a whole and that particular year. My birthday is at the end of next month and I’ve been practicing reflection everyday, even more so after I began reading Joyce Meyer’s book, The Love Revolution. She’s one of my favorite Christian authors because she’s so genuine and real, easy to relate to. She mentioned how this book was one of her least popular ones because it has to do with truly showing love and investing ourselves in others and in today’s society, we’ve become so self centered. I’ve cried reading practically every page, at the statistics and info she’s shared about hurting people in the world. My personal goal is to be less self centered and purposefully look for ways to help and encourage others, regardless of what I’m experiencing in my own life. Thanks so much for sharing your personal reflections with us, you are such a beautiful and inspiring woman and may this year grant you many blessings to enjoy in good health and with plenty of love; sending much of it your way, my friend!

    XO,

    Jalisa
    http://www.thestylecontour.com

  12. August 8, 2016 / 9:33 AM

    Alles Gute zum Geburtstag liebe Vanessa! Wie immer siehst du wunderschön aus! Was für ein tolles Kleid!

    August is also my birthday month, and it is always a time for reflection. I used to never celebrate my birthday but as I’m getting older I realize how important it is to celebrate life, be thankful for all the good, and think about what changes we can make.

    Have a wonderful week! And don’t forget, we should really celebrate the entire birthday month! 😉

  13. August 8, 2016 / 10:19 AM

    Happy belated bday gorgeous! Celebrating life in general is the way to do it, the birthday is 1 of 365 days which leaves 364 days to be celebrated equally as much as when you turn one year older! Xx

    http://www.thefashionfolks.com

  14. August 8, 2016 / 10:24 AM

    Oh, my dear V., I didn’t know it was your birthday, but knowing it now, I will remember it next year! It also explain lots of things, since I like astrology! And nothing disappointing – only great qualities! So please, allow me to wish you, even with a 2-day delay, all the best for your new year, health, prosperity, friendship, family around, luck, love, all the best things in the world, you deserve them! You are a blessed soul and I am very glad we “met”! Pink roses are my favorite flowers, so glad to see them here and that you received them! I liked this approach, to reflect on the birthday. I don’t do this on my birthday, but I shall start it and will think of you! You are right about everything – hard work takes us far, more time out of the web… I loved your post! Hope you have a very beautiful week! Many hugs, dear V.!
    DenisesPlanet.com

  15. August 8, 2016 / 10:51 AM

    Very well said, Vanessa! I agree with you 100%! I hope you have the best birthday and a wonderful Monday!
    xo, Lily
    Beauty With Lily

  16. Tamara
    August 8, 2016 / 11:21 AM

    Happy birthday gorgeous! To many more!

    XoXo,

    Tamara – LoveofMode.com

  17. August 8, 2016 / 11:33 AM

    A very happy (belated) birthday to you!! I couldn’t agree with you more, it’s so important to be present and cherish each day! Have a great week!
    xx
    Laura
    http://www.sequinsatbreakfast.com

  18. August 8, 2016 / 11:37 AM

    Happy Birthday beautiful!! It sounds like a great way to spend your day. I always love reflecting on the past year and all of the changes that have been made. You look stunning!

    xo Bryn
    http://www.waketonroad.com

  19. August 8, 2016 / 11:48 AM

    Happy belated birthday, lovely. You look wonderful in this lace dress, and I like how retro these images look. In my family we usually celebrate birthdays the whole week, that’s what I always do. haha.
    FASHION TALES

  20. August 8, 2016 / 11:59 AM

    Happy birthday love!! It sounds like you had some great reflections. Thank you so much for sharing all of those! I love the social media one. So hard, but so incredibly important!

    xo,
    Sara Kate Styling

  21. August 8, 2016 / 12:48 PM

    Personally the reflections of my birthday entails how far I’ve come, the goals I need to achieve and worrying about my increase in age because the number don’t lie,lol! Happy belated birthday my dear, may everything that you wished for come true. You look so beautiful in that and the flowers!
    http://www.fashionstylemogul.com

  22. August 8, 2016 / 1:16 PM

    Happy belated birthday, Vanessa! You’re such an amazing blogger, and I’m so glad we’ve gotten to “meet” each other through blogging. <3

    Blessings,
    Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com

  23. christine jordan
    August 8, 2016 / 1:41 PM

    I agree we are going to going through life glued to our phones instead of seeing it through out eyes first, im guilty of it too but recognizing it is half the battle. You are aware. Beautiful photo shoot and happy birthday to a lovely lady

  24. August 8, 2016 / 2:25 PM

    Happy birthday Vanessa! I hope you had a lovely day with your family. And I can’t wait to see what the new year brings for you?
    I couldn’t agree more with you, life is a gift and should be celebrated everyday. It’s funny my birthday is next week and I find myself reflecting on the past couple of years and how much my life has changed. Being in my late 30’s I’ve realized how quickly life can pass you by and how important it is to be present in the “now”. And take time to really enjoy those moments with your loved ones.
    Hope you have a great week ahead.

    xo, Jackie
    stylemydreams.com

  25. August 8, 2016 / 2:53 PM

    this is so beautiful!! i hope you had a wonderful birthday, Vanessa!

    cute & little
    kileen

  26. August 8, 2016 / 3:14 PM

    Great you find time to self reflect! Lovely that Kingsley and your husband surprised you that way. I spend so much time in my head these days and I’m trying to look beyond that…at the moment I’m still struggling to balance my 1.5 jobs so I guess I’d like to do that better and develop more skills…tsigh..Xx

  27. Amy Arnold
    August 8, 2016 / 3:29 PM

    Happy late birthday beautiful! I often reflect at key times in the year too, and definitely did this past birthday when I turned 30. I agree, it’s nice to take some time to appreciate blessings and look at life from the big picture. I love your reflections. I am guilty of too much time on my phone too. Love the lace dress!

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

  28. August 8, 2016 / 3:35 PM

    Happy belated birthday Vanessa! The older I get, the more I reflect on my life so that I can appreciate all the things I have accomplished as well as the things I hope to accomplish. Plus, I love birthday celebration, and the older I get, the more I celebrate. Beautiful dress and stunning pictures
    http://www.comfycozyup.com

  29. August 8, 2016 / 4:33 PM

    These are all great points, especially less social media and more time in the now (guilty!). Hope you had a great birthday, these photos are gorgeous!!

    Jamie
    http://www.treatsandtrendsblog.com

  30. August 8, 2016 / 4:43 PM

    You look absolutely stunning in that white lace dress! I totally agree that it’s a good time to take a step back and focus on yourself on your birthday. Hope you had a good one!

    http://www.mariannyc.com

  31. August 8, 2016 / 9:15 PM

    That is the absolute most perfect way to spend your birthday. I’m so inspired by you Vanessa, thank you for being so open! Happy birthday love and may you achieve all your aspirations this year. Hugs, Kait
    http://www.makeminemaroon.com

  32. Sister tales
    August 8, 2016 / 9:56 PM

    Happy birthday to you, you beautiful young being! I am also an August baby myself so I will be celebrating towards the end of the month. I don’t know why but during my birthdays I usually sit there and think “wow I’m this old and I still haven’t done this and that” instead I think I’m gonna take a different approach, more like yours this year and stop taking this life for granted. Thanks for the inspiration girly!
    Xoxo, Indre

    http://www.sistertalessite.com

  33. August 8, 2016 / 9:57 PM

    Happy Belated Birthday, Vanessa! You look so, so beautiful! That is incredibly sweet that your family surprised you with pink roses (also my favourite – am I biased? lol)! I love this post! 🙂 Great points you’ve listed. Your 5th point is especially a really wonderful one. Those shortcomings humble us, but make us strive for it harder. When we achieve what we want, we appreciate the achievement so much more. 🙂

    I hope you had a beautiful one, and the most incredible year ahead of you yet!

    Xo,
    Miki
    http://mikialamode.com

  34. August 8, 2016 / 11:06 PM

    Wishing you a very happy birthday Vanessa!! I hope you had a wonderful birthday! 🙂 You look absolutely beautiful. Loved reading your birthday reflections. I can totally relate to them. Especially spending more time on the social media. I want to change that. Thank you so much for sharing! You are so inspiring! <3 <3

  35. August 9, 2016 / 12:30 AM

    Wonderful photo! I love that dress! Hope you had an amazing birthday! =)

    – Cielo
    Mermaid in Heels

  36. August 9, 2016 / 12:34 AM

    Such a beautiful thing to stop and take a moment on your Birthday to reflect on where you are in life. Your reflections sound similar to mine too! Looking gorgeous in this crochet dress!
    Ps. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
    x Emily
    http://shedoes.com.au

  37. August 9, 2016 / 3:36 AM

    Aren’t you the most stunning birthday girl! Very deep self reflections as well. I also hope to spend less time on social media but it’s definitely hard hehe. Happy birthday again and I hope the new year brings you extra happiness and success!

    Tina
    http://www.justatinabit.com

  38. August 9, 2016 / 3:39 AM

    Hope you had a gorgeous Birthday with your family. You look stunning in these pics and you have such a great attitude to life. Abbey xxx

  39. August 9, 2016 / 5:00 AM

    Happy birthday beautiful, and yes to being more present. That’s a struggle that is so common nowadays. Mine would be to practice happiness because it really is like a muscle that we need to train.

    xo
    PinkSole

  40. Marta
    August 9, 2016 / 7:18 AM

    Hi Vanessa, so glad that you had a nice low-key birthday with your family, those are always the best ones!! You are so ethereal in these pics, beautiful shots as usual!! I also love these birthday reflections and couldn’t agree more with you especially #2 & 3. Have a wonderful and blessed day my friend! Lots of love your way!
    Marta
    http://www.sweatersstripesandsweets.com

  41. August 9, 2016 / 8:13 AM

    Have an even more blessed and fab year ahead V!!!

    I’m excited to start a two-peat collaboration with Los Angeles-based brand TOBI this week at the blog via a sexy outfit – come check it out & lemme know what you think!

    Happy Tuesday!

    Rebecca
    http://www.redtagchiclosangeles.com

  42. August 9, 2016 / 9:48 AM

    Happy birthday my dear friend!! wishing you all the best and success! You are a beautiful person who makes this world a whole lot brighter!!
    XO JNESS
    : JenessaSheffield.com

  43. August 9, 2016 / 9:59 AM

    What great reflections and your outfit is just stunning! My birthday’s around the corner and sitting for to reflect is such a good thing to do! Happy Birthday Beautiful!

    Amanda

    ASparklingStickyStyle.com

  44. August 9, 2016 / 11:01 AM

    Amen, sister- we’ve got to celebrate life! Wishing you a happy, happy birthday!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

  45. August 9, 2016 / 1:57 PM

    Happy Bday <3

    Kisses, DadieB. ~
    dadiebradshaw.com

  46. August 9, 2016 / 2:26 PM

    Aaw happy birthday Vanessa! I love your words, being grateful for life is just the most important thing ever. And we should appreciate ourselves a bit more not only on our birthdays 🙂
    You look absolutely wonderful in this outfit – this lace dress is so pretty!
    xx, Carmen – http://www.carmitive.com

  47. Heidi
    August 9, 2016 / 2:38 PM

    Happy birthday beautiful girl! I loved reading your reflections and wish you the best year yet. Xo

    Heidi || Wishes & Reality

  48. August 9, 2016 / 2:41 PM

    Muchas felicidades Vanessa, un abrazo preciosa. Estas muy guapa. Besos

  49. August 9, 2016 / 8:49 PM

    Hi love. It’s been a while since I last visited your blog, but am glad I came back on the opportune post. Happy belated birthday doll, I wish you many more blissful years. Your statement about Life being a gift hits close to home for me. It’s something that I don’t take for granted anymore. Thank you for emphasizing that. Am so happy for you Vanessa, keep slaying and making those dreams come true.

    Kisses, Linet.

    http://pearlsprettyskin.blogspot.co.ke/2016/08/losing-ivy-marie.html

  50. Hailey
    August 9, 2016 / 9:36 PM

    You have the best outlook on life. I so admire your attitude and approach to living! Happy belated birthday!

    Hailey
    http://www.themiddlecloset.com

  51. August 10, 2016 / 3:38 PM

    You are stunning doll! In loooove with your outfit and these photos are so beautiful! Happy belated birthday you are such an amazing person inside and out and I am so thankful to have you in my life. 🙂 My birthday is October 2nd and I’m sure I’ll be reflecting on the year and all the amazing people in it!
    http://lifestylefinesse.com/3182-2/

  52. August 11, 2016 / 2:08 AM

    Happy birthday! Amazing thoughts! Thank you for sharing!

  53. October 17, 2018 / 6:52 AM

    You look just beautiful!You look stunning!

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