Finally, I have a chance to start catching you up-to-date on all the goings on!  May is always a super busy month with lots of birthday parties and celebrations.  I feel so frazzled lately trying to keep everything organized.  This is a picture heavy post of my birthday party fun, but I didn't really want to leave anything out.  First up - my outfit!!  I was told that I looked like a beautiful princess TWICE that day - once by a sweet little girl who was genuinely in awe of me and once by a sweet lady at Hallmark.  That made me feel super awesome!

The morning of my party, Sean and I actually ventured to Portland to attend Crafty Wonderland.  It is basically like Etsy, but in person.  There are so many crafty, fun, and quirky items to behold.  I still wanted to get plenty of wear from my tulle skirt, so I accessorized with a more "daytime tiara" instead of the bigger one you will see below. lol  This outfit came together a couple months ago, after I purchased the striped top from Lane Bryant the day before I started radiation.  It has some pretty rhinestone flowers on the shoulder, which helped spark the entire ensemble.

I LOVE tulle skirts and wanted one that was a bit more "poofy" for my birthday.  This pinky-violet shade caught my eye immediately!  It is lined, has pockets, and was just waiting to be mine. I bought my normal size in this based on a couple of other skirt purchases and it fit slightly snug, but not uncomfortably so.  There is a smocked elastic panel in the back that allows for a little more room.  I find that eShakti's actual size chart is a bit off base as far as measurements go.

The first skirt I purchased based on the size chart was a similar style, but a black poplin material.  According to the size chart, I needed to buy a size 32 skirt.  At the time, I was wearing a 26, but I was worried about the fit so I bought the 30.  I could have sized down to a 24 in that one.  This tulle skirt has a smaller elastic panel than the black skirt does, so I ordered a 24 instead of a 22 and, like I said, it fits well.

The shoes took a LOT of looking to find.  I can't say that they are super comfortable (NO support), but they are very pretty and fit my wide, size 11 feet the way I needed them too.  

Embellished Striped Top - Lane Bryant
Trinity Crinoline - eShakti (The best time to snatch one up seems to be February and March in preparation for wedding season.)
Nine West Sea Horse Sandals - 6PM
Day Time Tiara - eBay
Night Time Tiara - eBay



We rushed home and got everything set up for my party that evening.  I made sure to provide as many gluten-free options as I could so my GF homie and I didn't have to worry too much about what we wanted to eat versus what we could eat.  I made gluten-free brownies for my birthday cake and supplied a regular cake option as well.  There was plenty of typical party food, like crackers and cheese, chips and salsa, potato chips and dip.  Sean and I tried to supplement the party food with a gluten-free pasta veggie salad and homemade meatballs in BBQ sauce.  Yum yum!!


Aside from tassels and balloons, I kept the decor pretty simple.  I filmed a video tutorial for the tassels (because I made a TON of them) that will be featured in a future post.  A couple of nights prior to the party, I decided that adding some young Hailey photos would be fun.


I also demanded requested that all my wonderful guests take a photo with me. I missed a couple of people that came for the after party though. 


Presents and blowing out the candles:


As people slowly trickled out to relieve their sitters or what not, the party people and I pulled out Cards Against Humanity for the After Party Party!


It was such a fun day!  I was thrilled that so many people were able to hang out and celebrate.  It wasn't just a simple birthday celebration to me.  It was me celebrating my life, being alive after all this cancer crap.