Melody's Charleston Birthday: Part 2

The second day of our Charleston birthday adventure was spent shopping and enjoying the fabulous, King Street! I've been to Charleston two other times, but never had a chance to soak up King Street in all its glory! This was it!

Our first stop, and the only one that really mattered to me was Kate Spade! I was in heaven!

The store was gorgeous and just as fabulous as I had imagined! I'm fairly sure I could have stayed in there all day long!

At the Impeccable Pig, one of my other favorite stops, I picked up another Lily and Laura bracelet to go with the pair that Katy and Kaitlyn gave me for my birthday! These things are so addicting and I just love them!

Posing in front of this Princess sign was a must for these three Princess Family members!

As a gift for my birthday, Marcia & Don gave me tokens for 6 free cupcakes from Cupcake Down South on King Street. Talk about the perfect gift for a sweets lover like me! After shopping most of the morning and having lunch, we headed straight to Cupcake Down South to pick out our delicious cupcakes!

There were so many fun flavors to choose from!

We ended up with three "tuxedo" cupcakes (chocolate with white icing), one vanilla and one pumpkin! They all looked so good.

These beauties weren't something you could eat/enjoy standing up, so we walked to a nearby park just a few blocks away to sit down.

 

That night after getting back to the condo, it was time to get ready for my big birthday dinner! We brainstormed a few ideas, but decided to try a place called Bocci's Italian Restaurant. I've never been much for Italian food, but that night I was craving pasta and it didn't disappoint!

Here I am in my official 23rd birthday dress! My Mom and I fell in love with this dress in April, and knew it would be perfect!

I'm wearing the Lilly Pulitzer Lowe Dress in the Pop! print, a J.Crew inspired necklace, my Pop! bangle, two Lily and Laura bracelets and a Lilly Pulitzer clutch. This is my favorite birthday outfit by far!

Again, we made sure to take lots of pictures!

Alex and Me in our lovely Lilly!

 Right before going to dinner, the girls put a candle in one of my birthday cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to me. I felt so so special!

 We arrived at the restaurant just in time for our reservation. The food (and my $9 glass of champagne) hit the spot!

 That night, we made our way to three different bars in downtown Charleston. My favorite was a rooftop bar called Stars!

I have always wanted to go on a destination birthday trip, and this year everything fell into place to make my dream a reality. I am so thankful for Katy, Kaitlyn, Danielle and Alex for making this trip so fabulous, and to Marcia, for giving us a beautiful/safe place to stay! I already can't wait for my next trip to beautiful Charleston. You can read Danielle's review of the birthday weekend here.

Being 23 never felt so good!

Just in case you missed it, here's Melody's Charleston Birthday: Part 1 

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My 23rd Birthday Invitations!

With my 23rd birthday just around the corner, I've had all kinds of super fun birthday crafts and projects in the works! One of them happens to be my birthday invitations, which ended up being more like birthday packages!

I have always loved buying invitations, so this year was no different. After seeing these cute bridesmaids boxes on Pinterest, I couldn't help but use them as inspiration. With the unofficial theme of my birthday weekend in Charleston being "Champagne & Shopping," I knew a variation of this package would be absolutely perfect!

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First, I needed an actual invitation! 

I searched high and low for the perfect invites, but ended up going to one of my favorite websites, Etsy! I love that Etsy offers one of a kind products to fit any event or celebration. When I couldn't make up my mind, my Mom (with her fabulous taste) came to the rescue, and picked out the perfect ones!

Let me introduce you to the Etsy shop, Birdie Says Caw Caw and its owner, Sharon!

I fell in love with Sharon's Lilly Pulitzer You Gotta Regatta inspired invitations, but wanted to make it a little more me! With my favorite Lilly print being Pop, why not use that on my birthday invitations?!

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I immediately messaged Sharon to see if she was up for the challenge, and heard back from her that day! We worked together until the invitation was absolutely perfect and ready to print.

I am in love with how they turned out!

 

Our course, the real version won't have that pink box in the center. This invitation is the perfect mix of preppy and party, and that monogram is to-die for! The next morning, we were off to Staples to have them printed.

Next, I needed something to put in my packages! 

After getting the invitations, Mama & I headed to Winston for a little birthday guest shopping spree. My favorite stop was the local wine store for mini champagne bottles! Though I was swooning over these cute little pink ones, at $22/bottle, we went for a more affordable option.

I also grabbed pink champagne glasses and some pink and white pinstriped straws from HomeGoods! 

I found these cute pink and purple containers at Michael's for $1.00 each. They were a little too plain, so I bought pink stickers and jewels to dress them up a bit.

I decided to put each girl's monogram on the outside of their container.

Everything fit perfectly inside, and gave my invitations that extra "something" they were needing!

On Monday night after my grad school class, I delivered these cuties to Danielle, Katy, and Kaitlyn! I hope they loved their invite packages as much as I loved putting them together. My friend Alex lives in Charleston, so I'll be bringing hers down when we go!

Only 8 more days until we're Charleston bound! 

Do you send birthday invitations?!

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Five on Friday: Birthday Edition!

Happy Friday Y'all! It's unreal how happy I am to see the weekend. With school, work, Convocation, and everything in between, I'm feeling lucky to have made it through these last few days! Today, I'm linking up with a four lovely ladies for Five on Friday!

[ONE]
As of today, we are exactly two weeks away from my 23rd birthday! That means there's only 14 days standing between me and a trip to beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I've bee to Charleston twice, but never really had time to explore and enjoy the city.

[TWO]
With a birthday comes all types of fun craft projects! Below are the cute personalized buckets that I made for the four girls that will be joining me in Charleston for my birthday weekend. Normally, I give out paper invitations, but this year, I wanted to try something a little more special. Each container will hold a birthday invitation, as well as some other cute items that I picked up for the weekend.

 

[THREE]

Last night, I had Sweet Frog with Marcia & Don (my second family,) and received my very first birthday present! Yes, two weeks early! They were so excited to give it to me that they couldn't stand to wait! I have been lusting over this Lilly Pulitzer Pop bangle, ever since it came out last spring. To be honest, I'd never seen one in person until last night! It will go perfectly with my other Pop items!

 

[FOUR]

While I'm at home this weekend, my cousin Courtney and I are having a birthday-themed photo shoot! Not only am I excited to get dressed up and pose with cupcakes and candles, but later I get to use them in a fabulous birthday post on Sweet Like a Song. Courtney is also the person that took my Fourth of July outfit post photos, and did an absolutely fabulous job. I can't wait to work with her again!

 [FIVE]
Recently, I've been buying quite a few things on Etsy. I love how Etsy always has items that are different, unique and something you probably weren't expecting to ever find! Here are two of my most-recent Etsy purchases, that I can't wait to get!

J.CREW Inspired Color Mix Statement Necklace

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Handmade Gold Tinsel Stir Sticks

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It's going to be a great mail day, when I come home to find these two cuties! I also picked up my birthday invitations on Etsy this year!

 

Have five things you'd like to share? Link-up and let us know!

 

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My 23rd Birthday Wish List!

It's hard to believe that it's already September, and my 23rd birthday is just around the corner! It seems like just yesterday that I was turning 21 and then 22 years old. Something tells me that 23 is going to be a fabulous year!

A birthday wish list is one of my favorite things to put together each year. Though the types of items you're lusting over may change, the idea of making a list of things you'd like to have is still the same. I started making birthday wish lists a few years ago, when my family let me know that I was a tad difficult to buy for, and continue to do it now!

My 23rd Birthday Wish List!

Kate Spade Call to Action Tote

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A wish list of mine wouldn't be complete without something from Kate Spade. I have a bit of an obsession, and my birthday is the perfect time to add to my growing KS collection! When I saw this tote, it was love at first sight! Since it was a bit pricey at nearly $200, I decided to wait to buy it. Now that the bag has made its way from Kate Spade to Ebay, the price tag is much more reasonable. If I don't receive this for my birthday, I'll probably buy it for myself, because it's just that fabulous!

Anything in the Lilly Pulitzer "Pop" Print

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I have mentioned time and again how much I love this Lilly Print. Its mix of pastel colors, balloons, and pretty dresses, makes it my favorite print of all. Though I already own a few Pop items, I would love to add the Murfee scarf or bangle to my collection!

Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Running Watch

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This is a watch that I've been looking into for a while, and think I would really enjoy. With the amount of races that I participate in, and the running that I do on my own, having something like this to measure how far I've gone would be so so nice. It comes in a variety of bright, fun colors, and I love them all!

Surprise me!

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If one of the three things above don't fit your fancy, I have a lot of trips planned in the next few months, and I'd love to have something that I can use on one of those, funds or otherwise!

Since I will be spending my 23rd birthday in Charleston this year (cue confetti and cheering,) I'm even more excited than normal! I can't wait for a weekend of shopping and champagne because I'm sure there will a lot of both! My friends and I will be using the hashtag #melodyscharlestonbirthday, so you can follow along with all of the birthday shenanigans on Instagram and Twitter!

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Five on Friday!

Happy Friday, Y'all & Hooray for the weekend!

Today, I'm linking up with April of A. Liz Adventures for another fun 5 on Friday post!

Have five things you'd love to share? Link up and let us know!

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1. Lilly Pulitzer Pop Print: 

I've talked about it many times, but I am plum crazy about the Lilly "Pop" print! I love all Lilly patterns, but I can already tell this print in particular is going to be an all-time favorite. Last week, I came across the Shoreline Tote in Pop, and scooped it right up, and for a steal! Talk about the best

day ever!

2. New Lip Color: 

If you've never used Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter, you're missing out! Revlon Lip Butter is the perfect mix of lipstick color with lip gloss coverage. Read my full review here!

It comes in a ton of fun colors, and can be picked up just about anywhere! This week, I bought the new "Sorbet" shade, and I'm just crazy about it!

3. It's almost the Fourth!

Here we are just one week from the Fourth of July, and I can't wait! I've picked out the cutest red, white and blue outfits, had alterations done (you'll be hearing about those soon,) and even had a little pre-Fourth of July photo shoot! I'm head over heels for these photos, and I can't wait for you to see them!!!

4. Retail Therapy! 

Last night, right after work, I went shopping at the Tanger Outlets and Old Navy with my friend Danielle! We had so much fun trying on all kinds of crazy clothes that we'd never thought we'd buy!...Or at least I did! Ann Taylor Loft had a BOGO free sale on their shorts, so I couldn't help indulging in that! I also got the black top I'm wearing above for $7.00!

I have wanted a fedora for so long! After a lot of trying on, and some convincing on Danielle's part, I went home with this cute $8.00 one from Old Navy! What do you think? Can I pull it off?

5. Dinner & a Movie!
Tonight, some of my co-workers and I are having dinner at Outback and then going to see the new movie The Heat. To be honest, I'm not sure what it's about, but I'm so excited to spend some time with my favorite work friends away from the office!

What are your 5 on Friday this week?!

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As always, Have a Sweet Day