My dear, you're a peach

I wasn't going to do much for my birthday this year. With an international vacation looming at 6AM on Tuesday, I knew I was going to have to spend my birthday weekend packing and preparing. So I didn't want to take up too much time with an elaborate celebration like I did last year and the year before.

But my boyfriend went ahead and planned something anyway, so I had to invent an outfit worthy of the occasion. Fortunately I have a lot of never-worn fun clothes in my closet, so I assembled several potential outfits and waited to see which one would inspire me.

Obviously you're seeing the one I ultimately selected. I had originally thought it was a little too formal for the casual dinner we had planned, but your birthday is the one day a year when there's no such thing as being overdressed! I decided to run with it.

My first thoughts on this top (which I got as a hand-me-down last fall) were that tube tops aren't flattering on me, and I'd be best off just getting rid of it. But I was too tempted by its unique color, and the corset lacing in the back, which I can never resist. Plus, I had read somewhere that tube tops are supposed to be trendy this summer. I haven't seen much evidence of this claim, but it's a good enough excuse for me to wear one! This tube top reminds me of orange sherbet, and by pairing it with my milky ivory tulle skirt, I felt like I was channeling an orange creamsicle—a tasty and pretty way to celebrate a summer birthday!

The problem was that I didn't really have any good shoe options. Since orange and its analogues are underrepresented in my shoe collection, I decided the only viable color was off-white. Being 90 degrees outside, it would have been the perfect day for sandals, but alas, I don't have any off-white sandals either (I sense a shopping opportunity!), so my choices quickly narrowed down to my lace pumps—skewing the outfit even farther to the formal, but what other choice did I have? Except maybe gold? I tried on my gold strappy sandals—they imparted a more modern and casual vibe, but they also looked a bit...exotic. "We are going for a little more ladylike and a little less 'Queen of the Fairies,'" I told myself sternly. I set aside the gold shoes and continued looking for accessories.

The more I hunted for cream-colored jewelry, the more I began to despair at my choices—there were none! When I came across this mother-of-pearl butterfly necklace, pretty much the only thing in my collection that qualified as cream, I thought to myself that it certainly looked fairy-like, and suddenly I realized "Queen of the Fairies" was exactly the kind of aesthetic I wanted. What day but your birthday is better suited for indulging your fantasy fantasies?

I donned the butterfly necklace and the golden shoes and flopped onto the bed in exhaustion. My boyfriend who was reposing there commented, "You look like a peach!" His mind apparently went for the most literal interpretation of my predominant color, without grasping the nuances of my sherbet-hued fairy theme, but I wasn't about to argue with his lack of creativity. In fact, I realized, it presented the perfect opportunity for my obligatory OOTD photo—I could pose with my peach tree!

This is probably the best use I'm going to get out of the peach tree this summer, because, in spite of the multitude of fruits growing on its branches, every one of them seems to be infested with worms. I might not get a single edible peach out of this tree, but at least I can get a decent photo-op!