I have always been the type of person who likes to make my birthday special, no matter how “boring” the year I’m turning. I try to take a few days off to either go somewhere fun or relax and rejuvenate staycation style. This year I got to do a little bit of both and it has been just delightful. I thought I’d share with you how I celebrated and maybe give you a few ideas on how to treat yourself on your special day!
OCTOBER 27 (MY BIRTHDAY)
Of course my birthday came on the busiest work week of the year as my old store was closing and we were relocating to our new one. Don’t be mistaken, that didn’t mean my whole store got the week off while movers came in and did all of the heavy lifting. We were the movers and it was A LOT of work. But a beautiful new store is nothing to complain about and is certainly the gift that keeps on giving.
I still took the day off and slept in (I had gotten up at 5am for the past three days so it was a welcome luxury), enjoyed a cup of coffee, showered and headed off for a day of pampering.
My first stop was Starbucks for another coffee (I have a caffeine addiction, I’m aware) and a birthday cake pop because I had to. Any excuse for sugar, am I right?
Then I headed to my favorite salon to get a pedicure. The She She Nail Salon in West Portal is not necessarily my favorite because it has my nickname in its title but it definitely doesn’t hurt. They have this $30 pedicure that is to die for and involves a 10 minute foot massage so I was obviously hitting that up. When I arrived the salon was completely empty because I guess pedis are not high priority for most people on rainy Thursday afternoons. I definitely lucked out considering whenever they scrub underneath my feet I squirm and giggle uncontrollably and usually have the attention of every customer in the salon. I can’t take me anywhere.
Later that afternoon I went to Dry Bar near Union Square and got a blowout for the first time and I have to say it lived up to all the hype. I added on a “floater” which is a scalp massage (can you sense a theme here?) and drank champagne while the hairdresser actually made my hair look like it had been brushed (and tousled, oh la la!). They also were playing “Something Borrowed” which is a mediocre chick flick and one of my favorite books so I had ample entertainment. I “casually” mentioned it was my birthday and my champagne glass stayed full my entire stay! Nothing better than catching a sweet buzz on a Thursday by yourself, am I right?
That buzz might have been the reason I waltzed down the street after and did a little damage at MAC and Sephora. What can I say? Some people drunk dial, I drunk shop.
I got home and finished packing for my weekend trip to LA, obviously bringing my Disneyland backpack as my main accessory.
Although I had the day off I still had a store meeting to attend that evening as we were opening the new store the next morning and because I was missing that I wanted to be there to celebrate with my team. Plus I assumed there would be cake so…yeah.
I wore this gorgeous black velvet bustier we just got in (it’s available online, click the link!) and these fabulous vertical striped high waisted trousers that are my new obsession. I didn’t think I would be able to pull them off since I’m short but while heels they are everything. I topped it off with my metallic bomber jacket and my birthday outfit was complete!
My team spoiled me with cake, balloons and gifts which made my birthday even more special. Seeing this gorgeous new store that we had all worked so hard to set up over the past week was an amazing gift and made me so proud and happy!
After the meeting I met up with my cousin, brothers and my roommate at Cha Cha Cha in the mission and we had sangria, delicious food and a lot of laughs. So many that I even forgot to take a picture. Oh well, that’s how you know it was a good time.
OCTOBER 28
The next day I was up bright and early catching a Lyft to the airport to start my weekend getaway to LA. My best friend moved there over a year ago (lame) and my other best friend moved to Seattle a year ago (they hate me, it’s fine) so I thought my birthday was the perfect excuse to reunite! Plus I wanted to go to Disneyland, obviously.
We got a late lunch (LA traffic is a beast) and then decided to keep it low key with a wine night and sleepover just like we use to do on the reg when we all lived in the same city. We picked up several bottles of wine at BevMo and then headed to Carissa’s apartment. There was a lot of singing along to “All I Do Is Win” involved which was equal parts embarrassing and awesome.
We spent the night dying laughing, telling ridiculous stories and exclaiming “I miss this so much!” every few minutes. It was so overdue. Wine was spilled on Carissa’s carpet which was inevitable, hysterical boy stories were exchanged (that is still a thing no matter how old you get) and as always I went to bed first while the other two harassed me for it. Just like old times.
OCTOBER 29
We all piled into Carissa’s car and headed for Anaheim and were way more excited than what is probably considered age appropriate to be going to Disneyland. I just don’t get people who think it’s boring or who don’t have a desire to go. It’s Disneyland.
We spent a good amount of the day waiting in lines which is to be expected, but it didn’t even matter because it just gave us more time to catch up. We hit up the Pizza Port which is my personal favorite dining experience in Disneyland (I’m a simple girl) and I got to ride the Tower of Terror (my fave) for the last time before it closes at the beginning of the new year.
That night we rallied and after a few hours of perfecting our costumes and makeup (it’s a process) we went out in Pasadena to celebrate Halloweekend. Going hard drinking after a day of going hard at Disneyland is NOT easy. Needless to say when 2am rolled around we were ready to call it a night. Well, first I ate the caramel apple I got from Disneyland and had saved for my late night snack which let me tell you was the best decision of my entire life. So good. I was Medusa (note: that is snakeskin on my neck, nothing to be concerned about!) and had an alarming amount of people ask what that was. Yikes.
OCTOBER 30
The next day we got brunch and had to say our goodbyes which is always the worst. Reuniting just reminded me of how much I miss my friends but that’s part of life. People get older and move on and choose different paths. The good news is ours will still always cross at some point.
NOVEMBER 1
Today was my last and best birthday gift, which was the one I got for myself. I treated myself to a massage and facial at my favorite spa in the city, the Rosewater Skin Care Spa on Union St. It is literally heaven. The decor makes you feel like you’re at someone’s chic and cozy cottage and Mira, the woman who worked on me today, is so warm and welcoming. I went all out and got a peppermint scalp massage and foot massage too which was too good to describe. Obviously I am not unique in my opinion, but to me there is nothing more relaxing than a massage. I would pick this over any other way to celebrate my birthday. I will definitely be back next year (and probably a few times before then).
How do you like to treat yourself? Tell me in the comments!
Xoxo
She
