say it's her birthday.

so it's not all about me. january is the month for my lovely little sister's birthday too, but her gift was a little late in getting to her.

my husband bought her butters speakers, a.k.a. a "beatz buddy," in honor of her favorite "south park" character (sometimes i think they are more meant for each other than we are), but my original present of purple skinny jeans from gap unfortunately didn't work out.

to make up for it, i got her this rock & roll, blog-approved dress from h&m. it's pretty girly, but my influence definitely came through with the skull pattern.

what do you think? 

i think she's extra adorable. i also think we can expect more skulls in her fashion future.

say it's your birthday.

now that i'm over the age of 21, i no longer care much for my birthday. actually, that is probably only considered to be a half-truth, considering it may or may not have taken me until at least 25 to stop planning my own parties.

well, today is my birthday, and no, i'm not going to tell you which year. luckily, i have some way cool people in my life that made the day semi awesome. the "birthday suit" i got from urban outfitters helped a little too, mixing business with pleasure by adding spikes and color-blocking to an otherwise conservative collared, button-down dress. no pics yet, but i'm sure it'll show up on the blog soon enough. in the meantime, here's one of my instagram-inspired nail art courtesy of my new bff, van from tipsy spa.

back to those cool people i know. first, my man. probably the smartest guy i know...he sneaked a look at my pinterest page and purchased my latest obsession: these minty fresh, lace-up "troopa" boots by steve madden i found on zappos. (want your own? my green version is sold out, but the purple is a close second.)

barely over the excitement of my new boots - which, by the way, i plan on wearing every day i'm not working until the florida summer gets too hot - two of my lovely friends and coworkers also surprised me with gifts i can only assume are from francesca's collections at cityplace. love these goodies and the patterns: a wallet with colored bikes (that match my boots!) and a pretty lunch bag with little russian dolls.

they know me so well.

now i'm looking forward to a low-key happy hour at the wine dive on clematis street with my parents, little sis and of course, the guy who officially gets the title of the best gift-giver ever. after all, his past present resume does include a a sewing machine and lady gaga pit tickets.

p.s. i'm not yet 30, so your chances of guessing the correct age is one in four.