Over the Hill at 26

Monday is possibly the worst day to have a birthday - especially when you have

a big girl job.

Not only is Monday a sucky day for a birthday, but 26 is like the most

annoying/useless birthday. So really the two deserved each other.

Thankfully I have a husband and friends who take over

the planning of sucky days for me.

The day began with work :D

Thankfully I work with some pretty awesome people

who understand my love of Giraffes and the color yellow. 

When I arrived at work I was showered with lavish yellow, giraffey gifts.

My friends know me well...

After work I drove home, got fancy, and Ricky drove

us to Flemings. Ricky even paid for valet - SHMANCY!

The hostess led us to a cute little table that 

was decorated for my special occasion.

Even though it was a Monday and I had work the next morning, I decided 

to drink the night away - it was my birthday for goodness sakes.

I started the evening off with a French 75 and told the 

server to keep them coming - you only turn 26 once!

I vowed that 26 would be a new and different year, so I started off

the year by ordering an appetizer completely out of 

my comfort zone - the Pan Crisp Pork Belly.

Made with creamy goat cheese grits and
dark cherry and sweet onion chutney

Even though the pork was a little fatty, I really enjoyed this dish. 

I may not order it again at Flemings, but I am

glad I tried it and I would totally try it again somewhere else.

Ricky stayed in his comfort zone and ordered the french onion soup - which of course

was fantastic.

For my entree I ordered the Small Plate of the Certified Angus Beef Hangar

Steak.

I will order this EVERY time I go back to Flemings. 

It was small but filling, and it came with a tasty slaw side.

Ricky and I ordered a side of onion rings to share.

These onion rings came straight from heaven themselves.

They where the perfect balance between crispy and soft, the 

breading was to die for, and the dip was mouth watering. 

I would highly suggest trying these if you go to 

Flemings, but I warn you, it will ruin all other 

onion rings for you...

Ricky ordered the 12 oz Filet for dinner and it was awesome, even though 

the plate decor was lacking.

Don't judge this book by its cover!

For desert we wanted to try something a little different.

Flemings is known for its

Lava Cake that you have to reserve ahead of time (which 

we have tried before)

but this time we wanted to try the desert with the 

melted chocolate, the toasted marshmallow, and the 

crispy graham cracker.

Dassss Right! We ordered the deconstructed Smores (which are no longer

on the menu).

I was feeling so adventurous that I even told the server to bring

out a good wine to pair this desert with.

He brought out a delectable white ice wine that paired beautifully

with the desert.

After devouring the desert, the server brought the check along with 

a $25 giftcard and a homemade box of chocolates.

Dress - Francesca's , Shoes & Purse - Prada

After dinner we headed home to call it a night....

It was a Monday ya know!

Thankfully my birthday did not end there! That weekend 

I visited Tampa with a few friends :)

Time for Tea!

Saturday, around two, Stephanie and I headed to Mount Dora for some good ole fashioned 

British tea and crumpets. 

We had heard good things about a tea room called Windsor Rose and decided to give 

it a shot.

We ended up in a cute little town on the water filled with shops, restaurants,
and tea houses.

When we walked in we were immediately greeted by a lovely lady in white apron and given the choice of a scenic window seat or a seat by the queen.

It was a hard choice, but we chose the window seat.

Once seated, we were able to look over the selection of teas and pastries.

High Tea Menu.

I decided on the Marlborough - Tea for One and Stephanie had the 

English Cream Tea which came with a scone.

I had the Rose Tea - which was fantastic! 

I loved the cake, the pastry, and most of the sandwiches. Next time I think 

I will order the Queen Mary Tea for One.

Stephanie and I had never tried clotted cream before, so 

we were very excited to see it came with the 

scone!

Once we had finished our tea, the owner showed us around, explained, 

the artwork on the wall, let Stephanie pick out a new hat, and

took as many pictures of us as we wanted!

After bidding farewell, we set out to explore a little more of the

town before heading home.

Outfit Hacks: How to Make the Crop Top Work Appropriate

The trendy thing to be wearing right now is a crop top and I LOVE IT. 

But what I don’t love about the crop top is that I can only wear it on a night out on the town or maybe when I’m out shopping. 

I’m not Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift, so I can’t wear a crop top to work (no matter how bad I want to).

With money being scarce I (and you) can’t afford to have outfits that we can only wear out drinking. 

So I came up with a clever way to bring the crop top to work ;)

Choose a strappy dress that you would normally have to wear a jacket with and 

put the crop top over it.

Crop tops go best with empire waist dresses, strappy dresses, and strapless dresses.

Friday Night Festivities

Friday was one of my best friend's 25th birthday!!!

We have been planning the quarter of a century

festivities for months now!

The onlyyyyy thing I didn't have planned for the night was my outfit.

A shower and five outfit changes later, I was ready for dinner.

We decided that dinner at Hillstone was a MUST.

The food is fabulous, the drinks are to die for, 

and the scenery is magical.

(Menu)

After pictures on the lake 

(which were a little hard to take because of the beautiful sunset)

we sat down for dinner and drinks. Sorry, I was too busy being wined

and dined to take pics!

After dinner we went back to Steph's house for 

champagne and cake! 

After birthday wishes and drinks we called for an Uber and set out on the town.

I would be lying if I said that the night didn't get a littttttle crazy.

After a night of fun and dancing we all headed back to our 

little boxes for a night's rest.

ONLY TO WAKE UP TO CAKE CAKE CAKE!