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Recap Blog: Cheers to 32!

August 13, 2024      16 Comments

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Cheers to 32 Cover

Grateful to be able to share another birthday adventure with you, friends!

 

While I don’t make a big deal out of my birthday, this one was particularly reflective for me. A lot has happened in the past year, a lot of it not being great as far as my mom having a couple of surgeries, loved ones passing away, just all the things.

 

I’m reminded just how much I have to be thankful for and that each day is a gift, including reaching another birthday. Sadly, many people don’t have that luxury today.

 

I had a really fun birthday! I spent it with Kyle and then I had a separate dinner with my parents to celebrate, plus some fun gifts along the way also from some super sweet people in my life. So I thought I’d put this little post together and share it with you all, it’s hard to believe it’s been a little over a month since my birthday already!

 

A Trip to Animal Farm

 

rose hill

My husband decided to surprise me with a trip to a local animal farm for my birthday! I love animals so much and am probably a little embarrassing, I get just as excited as a child about being up close to them. The morning started off with my favorite iced toasted marshmallow cold brew latte (so perfect in my Javasok!).

 

I just realized I didn’t share my birthday last year, but my mom broke her hip a couple of weeks beforehand on Kyle’s birthday of all days, so we were both just focused on getting her better. In case you missed it, you can see my birthday adventure a couple of years back though – you’ll also see that Kyle likes to see my anxiety run wild and never tell me where we are going at first, haha!

 

Cheers to 32Cheers to 32 Birds

It was such a cute place and we were greeted by the sweetest woman when we entered the building. First up, we saw the birds and there were just so many of them comfortably hanging on these lines they had draped across the room.

 

We got some food to feed the barn animals and it was so fun! They were all adorable and wanted our attention, of course because they all wanted some food! Honestly it was a little gross just because all of them were like slobbery and it was getting on my hands, but it was worth it and to pet them all!

 

Birthday Adventures

Cheers to 32 Animals

It was so funny because as we got out of the barn and started seeing the other animals, we had this cute little goat following us. He kept jumping on Kyle’s leg and it was adorable! If I had a farm, I’d want these types of goats! The lemurs were absolutely precious and probably my favorite out of the whole trip. We ordered some pizza when we got home and curled up for the afternoon, it was so hot outside and I was dunzo for the rest of the day.

 

Sweet Birthday Gifts

 

I had some fun birthday gifts to open afterwards thanks to my best friend Stephanie and Carrie from Curly Crafty Mom! I actually opened Carrie’s a little early because she was going on a Disney cruise, and I wanted to let her know what I thought before she left! Speaking of which, she has her three-part series posted so be sure to check those out with this link!

 

Carrie's gift

She got me this CatLadyBox for my birthday and it was so much fun! I loved the little tiki-beach theme and it even had a t-shirt in it! You can see a couple of cat toys in there too, Draino and Pepper loved playing with them! I truly appreciated this super sweet box and so thankful for our friendship!

 

Stephanie’s box was coffee-themed and so fun! Can you tell both of these ladies know me well? Cats and coffee!

 

Birthday GiftsCoffee Gnomes

I love these cute little coffee gnomes, aren’t they adorable? Please forgive my hot mess express of cords! I forgot to get them in the other photo above.

 

Birthday Adventures - PIN

That’s a wrap on my birthday adventure for 32, sweet friends! Hope you enjoyed this little post. I truly appreciate each and every one of you for being here with me and for all the sweet birthday messages I got! 🙂

 

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Comments

  1. Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom says

    August 13, 2024 at 7:54 PM

    I don’t think you sent me what Stephanie got you this year, but THOSE GNOMES are so CUTE!!! Baha, I had to chuckle that we both had you covered with cats plus coffee! LOL! That animal farm is so cute!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 11:56 AM

      Haha, they are so adorable and yes, cats and coffee are just the best!! I really enjoyed the animal farm and could definitely go back at some point!

      Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    August 14, 2024 at 5:10 AM

    Hope you had a great birthday! Looks like a fun day!!

    Jennifer
    https://curatedbyjennifer.com

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 11:57 AM

      Thanks so much Jennifer, it really was a great birthday! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Laura says

    August 14, 2024 at 7:22 AM

    Yay for August birthdays! I love that your sweet hubby surprised you that way. So adorable! Glad you had a good day to celebrate!

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 11:58 AM

      It was really sweet of him and while my anxiety doesn’t always like to cooperate with surprises, I did pretty well that day, ha ha!

      Reply
  4. Jill says

    August 15, 2024 at 6:54 AM

    Happy Birthday Ashley! I act like a little kid around animals too and it sounds like you had a perfect day! Love those little coffee gnomes!

    Jill – Doused in Pink

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 12:09 PM

      Aww thanks Jill!! Love that we both get excited with animals and the coffee gnomes still make me smile when I glance at them!

      Reply
  5. Doris says

    August 15, 2024 at 6:22 PM

    Your birthday sounds like a perfect mix of joy and reflection. I’m so glad you had a special day with loved ones and adorable animals!

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 12:11 PM

      Thank you so very much Doris, that was a wonderful way to sum it up and I really enjoyed it!

      Reply
  6. Lindsay @ Lindsay's Sweet World says

    August 17, 2024 at 10:41 AM

    Happy happy birthday, Ashley! It looks like you made the most of your day! I can’t get over that little baby goat following you around. I looooveeee goats, especially tiny ones. So cute! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 12:13 PM

      Thanks so much Lindsay!! Ahh, so excited that you also love those sweet little goats, I just feel they are adorable!! It was so precious following us around, it really loved Kyle, haha.

      Reply
  7. Julia Rees says

    August 25, 2024 at 2:06 PM

    Happy belated birthday, Ashley🎉 ✨
    It looks like you had a fun day at the animal farm.
    Julia x
    https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 12:14 PM

      Aww, thanks so much my friend, it truly was a really great day! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Alyssa says

    September 10, 2024 at 9:59 PM

    Happy Birthday! There’s nothing like a fun day with sweet animals.

    Reply
    • Make Life Marvelous says

      September 24, 2024 at 12:14 PM

      Thank you SO much Alyssa, it was such a fun day! Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

      Reply

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I'm Ashley, the one-woman village behind this little blog! Living in my thirties era and happily married to my soul mate. Forever missing our rescue cats that crossed the rainbow bridge, Draino and Pepper. I’m obsessed with grabbing iced coffee, watching court cases, check marking my to-do list, fresh air, cozy blankets, helping others, and saying ‘I love you’ before every goodbye.

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