Velvet Gold + Birthday Musings
Happy Sunday everyone, I hope that your day is going well and that you are recharging yourself before the week begins again. This a few days belated-- but I just turned 27! I sometimes still catch myself thinking that I'm only 24 or some similar age... But now I'm on the very fast track towards 30! And, of course, the older you get, the more time seems to fly by (which I'm sure is directly related becoming busier and busier with never-ending "adulting" activities).
Sometimes I catch myself thinking: How am I going to get everything I want done before I settle down with a family in the near future? (A haunting question I think many millennials ask themselves these days.) The answer: I can't control everything in my life and I should spend more of my time thanking God for my blessings than wishing I had more of everything. While I have a long way to go, I would like to think that the past year has made me just a little wiser than the last. Since my last birthday, I think I have learned many valuable lessons-- such as slowly learning to accept what is beyond my control, worrying less, and discerning the difference between things I can fix and things that I cannot.
By trusting more completely in God (something I'm still learning how to do everyday), I have found myself being released from many worries and painful situations that normally would have held me down for much longer. Although this life will never be perfect, I try to give daily thanks to God for the amazing things with which He has blessed me.
Speaking of blessings, I wanted to list some of the highlights from my past year:
- Travelling to Miami and the Caribbean (Haiti, Cozumel, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica) last February for my birthday, which was an amazing time for me to refresh myself and reconnect with my hubby.
- Trusting in God to leave my last job for my new one. While no workplace is perfect, I still count myself blessed that I was given this opportunity to continue growing and enjoy a better work-life balance.
- Travelling on two hiking trips with my besties: Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon and Jasper, Alberta (Canadian Rockies). While both trips were relatively inexpensive, they were utterly priceless in terms of the quality time we spent together and the gorgeous views we experienced while hiking and snowshoeing.
- Continuing to grow deeper in love with my husband and stronger in our marriage. I thank God constantly for the support, love, care, humour, and comfort that my hubby injects into my life on a daily basis.
- Celebrating our second wedding anniversary in gorgeous Tofino-- we had our anniversary dinner at Chesterman beach and enjoyed a sunset stroll at the beach after our meal.
- Travelling to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia in late October. I fell in love with Australia's vibrant culture and gorgeous natural landscapes. As well, I got to reconnect with an old friend and meet a family member on my husband's side.
- On the same trip to Australia, my hubby and I also visited the beautiful land of New Zealand's North Island. In the process, I fulfilled my childhood dream of seeing Hobbiton with my own eyes (I am an enormous, lifelong fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.)
- Continuing to develop and grow from the relationships I have with both old and new friends. Without these wonderful human beings, I wouldn't have had hours of heart-to-heart conversations and wise counsel about matters important to my heart.
- Enjoying a most wonderful trip to Cancun, Mexico with a total of four couples-- we enjoyed six days of laughter, relaxation, good foods, silly games, and the sun-filled days spent at the beautiful beach.
- In terms of my health, I have enjoyed quite a long spree of sick-free days since changing jobs-- I haven't fallen sick in at least 7-8 months (which is probably because I am in contact with the public monumentally less nowadays and have a regular work schedule, which helps me to sleep better). My workplace also allows me to use the building gym for free, which has resulted in my going there pretty much everyday (which has helped my strength and cardio improve greatly). Recently, I also overhauled and improved my eating habits in a sustainable way that I'm certain will have lasting positive effects on my general health.
While there are countless other blessings I also experienced over the past year, these are the ones I can recall at the top of my head (and I feel like I can confidently say that it's already a pretty good list)!
Dress + Shoes // Zara
Bag // Chloé
Ring // Tiffany & Co.
Regarding this outfit, I took advantage of Zara's very generous Boxing Day/End of the Season sales to buy too many new additions to my wardrobe, including this lovely velvet dress (I will undoubtedly need to clear out my closet very soon in order for everything to somewhat fit in). While I like the way this dress looks, it is unfortunately made out of an itchy material and I would only be able to withstand wearing it for shorter periods of time. Furthermore, I treated myself to this lovely little Chloé crossbody bag for my birthday-- I love its relatively simple design, very light blush colour, and convenient size.
I also have saved another Zara item for my upcoming birthday dinner party next weekend-- I promise to post my outfit with all of the details when I can.
Anyways, thank you to all of my lovely readers for reading this post and continuing to share my life journey on this platform!
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