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.
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:
- When life is busy, I still need to take time for the things I love.
- Only surround yourself with people who lift you up, and not bring you down.
- Being a good friend means being more present.
- Less social media and more time in the now. I’m guilty of it — I spend way too much time on my phone.
- 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
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
Happy Birthday! What a beautiful picture! I hope your day was as beautiful!
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
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
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
Happy Birthday Vanessa!! You are so beautiful. I’m in love with your dress.
Have a nice day
xoxo ♥ Nissi
http://www.nissimendes.ch
Instagram // Bloglovin
Happy belated birthday Vanessa! And love your self-reflections ?
Mich x
michhosephblog.wordpress.com
Happy birthday to you, Vanessa! Hope you’ll have a great year ahead of you!!! xx
http://www.thedanieloriginals.com
Happy belated birthday babe! You have achieved so much over the past year, you should be so proud of yourself!
http://www.duchessoffashion.co.uk
Happy Belated Birthday, Vanessa. I hope you had an amazing day.
http://www.mydailywear.co.uk
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!!!
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
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
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
Happy belated birthday! Love your outfit!
~Samantha
http://goldcoastgirlblog.com
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
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! 😉
Happy Birthday Vanessa! You look beautiful & I love the crown. Hope you had a wonderful Bday!
xO – Steph
http://www.urbanblonde.com
Happy Birthday my friend! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on life. I am so glad we have connected through our blogs. Can’t wait to see what this new year brings you. XO
http://www.kathrineeldridge.com
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
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
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
Happy Birthday, Vanessa
& I like the way you celebrate/think-truly, I can relate to all your life ideologies.
Have the happiest of days….
Katelyn
http://www.theyellowspectacles.com
Happy birthday gorgeous! To many more!
XoXo,
Tamara – LoveofMode.com
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
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
Happy Birthday darling! You look beautiful.
xo, Maryam
http://www.glamandposh.com
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
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
Happy belated birthday! I love your reflections!
http://thecourtneydiaries.com
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
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
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
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
this is so beautiful!! i hope you had a wonderful birthday, Vanessa!
cute & little
kileen
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
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
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
Happy Birthday beautiful Vanessa, hope it was everything you could ask for
Filipa xxx
PlayingWithApparel.com | Instagram
Wow you look amazing!!!!
—————————
http://fashionelja.pl
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
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
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
You look beautiful
http://www.mademoiselleperrier.com/
Happy Birthday beautiful. You look amazing as always.
Nina
http://www.ninasstyleblog.com
Beautiful!!! Love the lace dress! Happy Birthday- what a great thing to do on your special day!
Holly
http://www.teachmestyle.com
Happy birthday darling, you look amazing too.
http://www.tessyonyia.com
Happy Birthday, Vanessa!! Stunning shots!
Adi xx
http://www.fancycorrectitude.com
http://www.instagram.com/fancycorrectitude
Love your outfit here! I also enjoy coffee sitting by myself
http://www.2016ahandbagreplica.com
Oh gorgeous Love the look
http://www.2016handbagsmyshop.com
That’s a great way of seeing it
http://www.2016handbagnew.com
Me encanta el look! Sigue disfrutando de Barcelona guapa!!
http://www.goyardbageshops.com
This is such a gorgeous post, you look so stunning. Best wishes to you gorgeous!
My Vogue Style | http://www.myvoguestyle.com
Happy Birthday Vanessa! A gorgeous dress and beautiful post! We should cherish and celebrate every day
Hope your week is amazing!
http://Leftbankgirl.blogspot.com
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
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
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
so cool, love it!!! 🙂
Hadasah | http://www.styletolove.com
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
Happy belated birthday, V! Wishing you all the best.
xo
http://www.foxmystyle.com // Skincare Blog Philippines
Good day!
Wonderful photo! I love that dress! Hope you had an amazing birthday! =)
– Cielo
Mermaid in Heels
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
Happy birthday again V! Hope you had a wonderful time with your husband and son! You look so beautiful in this dress!
http://violettedaily.com/
Happy birthday! Lovely outfit, the dress is so cute! X Minale
http://minaleme.blogspot.be/
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
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
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
Lovely outfits… Liked it.
http://tipsoye.com/
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
Happy Bday (I love your lace dress too) !!
xoxo
Ale
New post: http://fashionteenagerss.jimdo.com/2016/08/02/off-the-shoulder-vertical-stripes/
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
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
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
Happy birthday, beautiful! Birthdays are the perfect time to reflect indeed. I’m trying to enjoy the now too. 🙂
You look amazing and divine as always.
http://missymayification.blogspot.co.uk
Amen, sister- we’ve got to celebrate life! Wishing you a happy, happy birthday!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
Ahhhh happy birthday gorgeous!! I hope you day was full of love and many blessings!! <3
xx Olivia
http://www.hellooliviablog.com
Happy Belated Vanessa!
Wishing you all the best, in business and in life 🙂
xx
Lauren
http://www.shoesandashimi.com
Lovely photos as always and very good advice. Happy belated Birthday, Vanessa!:)
~Krisztina
http://www.krisztinawilliams.com
Happy Bday <3
Kisses, DadieB. ~
dadiebradshaw.com
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
Happy birthday beautiful girl! I loved reading your reflections and wish you the best year yet. Xo
Heidi || Wishes & Reality
Muchas felicidades Vanessa, un abrazo preciosa. Estas muy guapa. Besos
You look gorgeous V!
Sounds like you had a great birthday!
Best wishes always!
Hoping to meet you soon 🙂
XO
Aimara
http://www.waysofstyle.com
Love love the dress!
http://www.2016louisvuittonbagsshop.com
Looks like your summer is pretty sweet!
http://www.2016handbagushops.com
I like that you like it ! thank you very much for stopping by and write your opinon . A kiss , beautiful
http://www.fashionewodaily.com
Qué mono el bikini! Me encanta!!!!
http://www.myhandbagsnshow.com
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
I couldn’t agree with you more, Vanessa! You look stunning in that lace dress! Hope you had a wonderful birthday!
XO Jenn
http://www.jennsemble.com
You have the best outlook on life. I so admire your attitude and approach to living! Happy belated birthday!
Hailey
http://www.themiddlecloset.com
Very beautiful the edges so finished, you look great!
http://www.louisevuittonline.com
You look just beautiful! Love your romper!
http://www.designerhandbagstyles.com
Amazing outfit! You look stunning!
http://www.handbagsenewshow.com
You look superbly gorgeous!
http://www.newsuhandbag.com
Pero que guapa! Un look genial!
http://www.tophandbagishow.com
Such a cute outfit as usual gorgeous!
http://www.ahandbagishow.com
So beautiful! You are flawless, friend.
http://www.louisevuittonhandbag.com
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/
Happy birthday! Amazing thoughts! Thank you for sharing!
OMG… 1) you are an angel 2) your birthday perspective is amazing 3) love you and so proud to see how far you’ve come!
https://dayinmydreams.com/
You look just beautiful!You look stunning!