I made a promise to myself before I turned thirty-five, that I would celebrate my birthday as a new beginning of life! You know, new year, new me, lets have a PAAAARTY! So at thirty-five I started a few new traditions. I created a “must have” birthday list. The list is so simple that it may not seem meaningful to you, but to me it is everything!

My “must have” birthday list:

Weekend Getaway with my Husband (our wedding anniversary is three days after my birthday so why not celebrate together).
A PORTRAIT SESSION to document my journey in life.
And CAKE, because I like cake.

That’s it! Short and simple, yet everything to me because during this week, I chose to plan everything exactly the way I wanted it and I enjoyed every minute of it! I didn’t have to wait on anyone to surprise me or do it for me, it was already done. I went into it with all expectations on living how I wanted to live!

That was thirty-five!

LET 👏 ME 👏 TELL 👏 YOU 👏 ABOUT THIRTY-SIX!

OTR II - If you are a true fan, you already know the deal (4th Bey experience)
Gumbo, alligator, and daiquiris
Cotton Candy Macrons (favorite treat, new flavor, and im still looking for cake)
Trolly Rides (case sitting at the street car stop having a conversation with my guy is so romantic)
Panniedraws in public (concert attire was the bomb.com)
Dancing until my feet hurt
Laughing because I can
Long walks holding hands with my man (gosh I’m really a hopeless romantic)

Honey child it’s been 6 days since I turned thirty-six and I have already made an executive decision that I am turning my birthday into a lifestyle! I want to travel, eat good, (insert erotic action verb) to my husband everywhere we go and capture the journey through photo along the way.

The past 7 days I have lived my best life, doing what I want, when I wanted, and with whom I wanted to be with. I absolutely have no regrets. I literally walked into thirty-six years old excited to make my mark in this journey of life. My mission is to inspire others to take charge of their life and do the same.

Life is an experience, I want to be intentional with my experiences, try new things and embrace the humps along the way! This week, I did exactly that!

MY HUMPS: My new car died in the flood last week, the insurance company says they are more than likely going to total it out.

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I WAITED TO GET THAT CAR? I really didn’t need something to happen to it two days before vacation.

I AIN’T worried about it this time though, insurance covers the rental. I’ve learned life is not about the material possessions, it’s about the value of accepting the things you can’t change and embracing the moments that are right in front of you! That rental better not be a mini van though! HAHA