Hey blog hey,
My birthday celebration this year was by far one of my favorites, although I thought being in the pandemic and away from my friends in NY that it would be different. My heart is warm from all of the love! I spent the day in the house in Atlanta, but from getting makeup done, to having a picnic, to a themed dinner- it was so special. I also was happy to patronize so many black-owned businesses.
It’s safe to say I hadn’t been fully dolled up since 2019. I got my makeup done by Valencia of Polished Faces and she came to my house. My hair was done by Ena Styles. I had it blown out and curled during the day then wet the Burmese curly hair to its natural state for dinner. The bundles are from DHair Boutique which is my favorite hair brand that I’ve been wearing religiously since 2016.
Black-owned makeup artist Black-owned hair stylist Black-owned bundles

For the daytime, I wore a yellow jumpsuit by the black-owned Andrea Iyamah. I loved the warm shade and the drama. If you subscribe to their email you can get 10% off. I really want to be conscious about supporting more black-owned businesses. To top it off, I made a headband from a piece of trimming from Hobby Lobby and attached it with hair clips. My shoes are braided mules from Mango that have become an “it” shoe with the à la Bottega vibe. I had to sign up for an “in stock” email alert and snagged them in a temporary sale. A picnic calls for a hat and I found this one in the ASOS sale. It’s sold out, but I’m sharing a similar one below.

LINKS:
Black- owned Yellow jumpsuit White Mules Similar Hat

PICNIC

Picnics have become a go-to for quarantine celebrations. I thoroughly enjoyed having a picnic at the house with my siblings. I found a checkered blanket from TJ Maxx, and used wood boards, a gold tray, and a blingy champagne bucket from Z Gallerie for the aesthetic. I filled my charcuterie boards with my favorite cheeses, light bites and cookies. I also added some faux white blooms. For a personalized touch, I ordered this custom champagne glass ( $10) that had my name in a blue iridescent calligraphy. To capture the moments, I made a photo wall with silver fabric from Hobby Lobby and a “Happy Birthday Amaris” sign from Etsy. It was a blast! LINKS:
Personalized glass Personalized banner

BIRTHDAY DINNER

My sissy, Ann Marie, is an event planner on the side. She told me she would throw me a dinner. I was thinking we’d reuse some of the items from her bridal shower last year, but I was blown away with a white rose theme. Personalized touches of my blog photos and a menu sealed the decor. The pearl like accents on the cake and the white flower on top was so beautiful. The cake topper is from one of my favorite Etsy shops- they’re in Bulgaria and make acrylic items for the low. I was so pleased that we used black-owned vendors in Atlanta for the blooms and catering. I’ve never had a Birthday dinner quite as personalized! 💛 LINKS: AMA Experience
Cake Black-owned catering Black-owned flowers Cake topper

For the dinner, I wore this green off-the-shoulder dress that I found in the Revolve sale for $31‼️ It was actually a backup to an Oh Polly dress that didn’t arrive on time. It was meant to be for me to wear this dress because it matched the surprise theme so well. My shoes are from Amina Muaddi, I’d been searching for a pair in my size with their signature heel for a bit. I fortunately found this glittery pair on Farfetch and there was a discount code. ( I try and buy everything with a discount code and then get cash-back with Rakuten) 🙌🏾. These are sold out but I’ll link to what they have. LINKS:
Green dress Amina Muaddi Shoes

Who would have thought spending the day in the house would turn out to be one of my best Birthdays! 💛💛