Thirty-One-Derful #1

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Dress: Gift, vintage woven

Wedges: Novo suede & rattan

Bag: Vera May vinyl

Cuff: Gift, silver & agate stone (from India)

Cuff: Gift, silver Ganesh

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Finally posting pictures from my "Thirty-One-Derful" birthday celebration dinner at iThai Restaurant on Saturday night. It is safe to say that I was extremely cuffed to be able to bust out this ah-mazing vintage dress - a gift from a dear friend's mother - that I had been saving for a special occasion for quite some time. Avid readers of this blog will know how much I love mixing patterns & basically this dress does it all for me, blending glittered gold spots & eclectic stripes to really make an impact... with the added bonus of making me appear taller, which as a 5 foot tall petite little "Gidget," is what I consider to be a fashion WIN! 

Below you can see close-ups of the dress' low v-neckline which serves to elongate my neck & show off my decolletage, the pleated, puffy sleeves that even out my slightly sloping shoulders & under-bust darts that create the illusion of more shape. 

To keep the look smart-casual & match the original era of the dress, black suede wedges with rattan heels were chosen, complete with thin leather ankle straps & to carry all my goodies, a funky vintage-style vinyl handbag in shades of black, silver, grey & gold.

Mixing metals was the order of the day, with statement silver jewellery pieces for contrast - a thick, rectangular cuff with multiple pieces of circular agate stone in a variety of colours & a thin, silver cuff with oversized elephant head depicting Ganesh, said to be the Indian god of good fortune, beginnings & remover of obstacles, associated with benevolence, intelligence & strength.

 Scroll down to check them out in detail:

"...I could make you happy, make your dreams come true; no there's nothing that I wouldn't do; go to the ends of the earth for you, to make you feel my love..."

Make You Feel My Love - Bob Dylan (1997)

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In addition to the pics of my outfit, here are a few of my gorgeous mother, Joanne, who gave me life 31 years ago... We didn't mean to be matchy-matchy but, you know, great minds & all...

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Keep scrolling to see some snippets from the evening, spent with my beloved family. Birthday celebrations don't get much better than that...

Beef & Cashew Stir-Fry

Duck & Mushroom Stir-Fry

Spicy Green Curry

Beef Massaman Curry

Yellow Chicken Curry

Enjoying my meal in the bustling restaurant...

Thank goodness for the appallingly-named "doggie bags," as the food was both delicious & plentiful... & wonderful for lunch the next day.

Finishing the night off right with a fabulous Tea Fusion milk tea with tapioca "pearls"

Loving the rapidly cooling Autumn evening weather that has FINALLY found us here in the Sunshine State, particularly when wearing this amazing woven poncho...

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