Today I celebrate my birthday. I’m into my 4th decade of life and I have to say, life is pretty good. I can’t complain! Does time fly? YES. We had a little chat about that earlier this week. Remember HERE?
So today we’re going to have some extra fun here. I’m sharing one of my ABSOLUTE favorite fancy drinks, the Birthday Cake Martini with you.
Get the recipe HERE where I first posted it on The OP Life. It’s SO good and SO tasty and I have a SECRET ingredient I add to it to make it BEYOND amazing. So be sure to check it out!
But I thought I’d also share some thoughts on getting older. After all, this is all about Living On Purpose, right?
So some thoughts from a 40-something.. some of Irene’s words of wisdom to my younger self and those of you younger peeps…
- Be kind. You never know what someone else is going through. It’s simple.
- Take care of yourself EARLY. Your body changes. In weird ways. Some things that change are BEYOND amazing. Other things …. not so much! Take care of yourself and get ahead of the aging game NOW.
- Wash your face before you go to bed. Sounds so simple right? Not so many people do it believe it or not. Laziness sets in. Just DO it.
- Lipstick, mascara. Always a good thing.
- A good bra. Save yourself thousands. Just sayin.
- The eyes DO begin to go. Just sayin. It sucks to start squinting because of the crows feet. #priorities. Readers are now in my bag.
- Wear BIG sunglasses if you can… to prevent those crows feet.
- Wear sunscreen on your hands. Believe it or not, our hands show our age. Next week I’m having skin cancer removed from one of them.
- Don’t take your loved ones for granted. I see how important family is now more than ever. Friends seem so important to us the younger we are. Don’t make the mistake of putting family aside for your friends. There will come a day when your family might not be there. Enjoy them while you have them.
- Along the same lines as #7, don’t be afraid to love and show affection. There is nothing better than to BE loved, so think about the person on the other side. If you feel it, SHOW it. If you know me in person, (which is why ALL of you NEED to get your cute little butts on Periscope so you can get to know me!) know that I’m SO affectionate. If I love you, you’ll KNOW it!
- People will be jealous. Whatever. Seriously. Let me say this. {minor rant here} If people have nothing better to do than to purposefully hurt you, gossip about you, be mean to you, they need to get a life. It’s nothing for you to stress over because just tell yourself THEY ARE LOSERS. If they have so much time to worry about what I’M DOING, clearly they need to get a job, some friends, a social life, or SOMETHING because they’ve got too much time on their hands to worry about me. I actually laugh at those people. Get a life. NEXT.
- Some stuff gets REALLY BETTER. Just sayin…… I’m going to leave it at that! {wink}
- Don’t spend more than you have. Keeping up with the Jones’ isn’t worth it. In the end, it’s all stuff. And seriously, who are the Jones’ anyways? Do they matter that much to you to put yourself into a financial crisis or put you in debt?
- Be cautious of people who try to be your friend all just to use you or get ahead. I call them FAKE friends. I’ve seen way too many of those. It’s hard to see them for their true colors in the beginning unfortunately, but those fake friends exist. If you ever get hurt or burned by them, all I can say is I’m sorry. Put them out of your life.
- Not everyone that’s close to you will support you. That’s ok. Move on.
- Invest in basics and classics that are timeless when it comes to your wardrobe and decor. You can add and subtract to it without spending lots of money and still have style.
- Invest in fabulous bags and shoes. That’s the good stuff. You can wear something from Target and throw on great bag and you look like a million bucks. OH…. and no fakes please. Too many beautiful no name bags that are ten times better than wearing a fake designer bag. That’s a HUGE no go.
- Don’t have regrets. Live. Love. Laugh. We have ONE shot at this life. No dress rehearsal. It is what we make it. You have a choice right? What do you choose?
- Smile. It feels good. It’s contagious. And besides, what’s the alternative?
- You can be fabulous at ANY age. I know some of you in your teens and twenties might look at a forty something year old as an old lady, but let me tell you, it will come before you blink. And guess what, you can be just as amazing in your 40’s as you are in your 30’s or 20’s. It’s your choice to be so. Embrace it with grace.
Thank you to the talented Emily Brashier, lifestyle photographer, for these beautiful pictures, taken at LivingInThe405.
So there you have it. Drinks plus advice to my younger self. Now, time to celebrate! CHEERS! Thank you to all of you who keep coming back to listen to what I have to share, for those of you who share my content on your social media, and just always for your love and support!
I love THIs, thanks for the advice! Your photos are absolutely gorgeous, and I want you rbed. Basically, I love everything about this post. (but, seriously, how can I make my bed look like yours? lol)
<3
Brianne
You Are rockin 40! Love your website and this blog. These pictures are beauTiful!
Xoxo,
Charlene
Thank you Charlene!!
xoxo
irene