Friday, September 9, 2016

I Turned 30 This Week & This Is How I Celebrated

That's right, the big 3-0! Happy birthday to me! This post is going to be a bit of a departure from all the recent product reviews; something more along the lines of 'A Week in Photos' series I once wanted to do on the blog so you could get to know me a little better on a personal level. As you may know from this ramble, or may have realized along the way, I don't post hauls here anymore. I know that 'What I Got for My Birthday' posts or videos are always click-worthy (and certainly a great way for the birthday person to look back on their special day), but I wanted to share something different instead: all the fun and extraordinary experiences I've had this week to celebrate the occasion. This is not to say that I haven't received (or bought for myself) any gifts - it's just to shift the focus a little bit from 'having' to 'doing'. I hope you enjoy!
On Labor Day (Monday), my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. In general, we're not big on anniversary presents but we like treating ourselves to a fun night out together. This year we've been going to quite a few concerts; not those crowd-packed dancing by the stage type rowdy affairs because we're much too introverted for that, but more of a 'seated at the table, enjoying cocktails/ snacks and listening to live music' type of events. So for our anniversary, we booked a table at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola to listen to Robin Eubanks & the Mass Line Big Band. We love going to jazz concerts but it just so happens that we've never seen a big band performance before, so it was a very memorable experience. We were seated right by the window (the venue is located in Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle) so we could also enjoy the view of the park and shimmering lights of the city in the distance. Since cocktails are out at the moment (I'm 8 months pregnant and Mr is taking antibiotics), we decided to order dinner, and I was very pleasantly surprised by my vegan 'risotto cake' entree. Even though the dish was a simple combination of rice and veggies, it packed a ton of flavor from heirloom tomato sauce and firm, lightly sauteed pieces of squash and green beans. If you're a fellow New Yorker - or visiting - and you like jazz music, I definitely recommend Dizzy's.
On Tuesday, I relaxed at home and tried not to get too caught up on my regular to-do list. I didn't do anything special, but I wanted to take some time to pamper myself in the evening. I redid my badly chipped manicure - I opted for a never before worn bottle of Zoya Toni, a dark blackberry plum shade. I love those vampy shades on the nails but then I sort of ruined the mani by applying an old and gloopy top coat, which now - 48 hours later - is still not completely hardened and causing bed sheet creases and the like. Lesson learnt; and needless to say the top coat went straight into the empties bag. In the evening, I took a soothing cool shower using some new products I recently ordered from Ulta (even though I still think body scrubs are not absolutely necessary in my routine, I really enjoy my repurchase of Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub), and applied a luxuriously hydrating face mask from Laneige (reviewed here). I currently tend to get very tired at night and can't get out of the bathroom fast enough before I fall asleep, but I really wanted to do a little something for myself and loved looking at my freshly polished nails.

On Wednesday (my actual birthday) I had a doctor's appointment in the morning to check up on the baby bean. You guys may think it was silly of me to go to the doctor on my birthday - I mean, people generally don't find doctor's visits very alluring - but I quite like going to my obstetrician. The entire office is friendly and efficient, but most of all, I get to hear baby's heartbeat and feel reassured that he's doing just fine in there. I also learnt that his head is very low now, so that's probably the reason right there why I have to get up every 2 hours at night for a trip to the bathroom, lol. On my way back, I stopped at a Sephora store to redeem my free birthday gift and have a little look around. I purchased Sephora brand Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes to pack in my hospital bag, and was seriously tempted by Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick, but decided to put it on my wishlist for the November VIB sale instead. My cashier that day was genuinely kind as well - we had a nice chat about Zoya polishes, and she assured me the make-up wipes were really good :)
On my walk home from the subway station, I went into Sugarcube Patisserie in Long Island City for a decadent sweet treat. I opted for their tasting menu of handmade gelato + pastry, and I ordered a small latte to balance out the sweetness. I've had their gelato before and thought it was excellent - this time I got hazelnut as well as mango & passionfruit sorbet - and the Middle Eastern-inspired cheesecake I chose for my pairing didn't disappoint either. I'd definitely recommend Sugarcube for a sweet treat if you're ever in the area; but mind you, the pairing is a very large dessert and I kinda wished I could share it with someone :)

When I got home I had some PR packages waiting for me, and it just never gets old for me you guys - opening those up always feels like Christmas. But I satisfied myself with a quick peek and turned on the laptop to Skype with my parents, who wanted to wish me happy birthday 'in person'. In general, it was a day of long-distance video calls: later on I also FaceTimed with my brother, and then with my best friend late in the evening. I felt touched that they all remembered and wanted to chat on the day. I also received lots of birthday emails, and again really appreciated the thought - lots of people prefer now to write something quick on your Facebook wall and while that's nice, I don't really use Facebook anymore so I was doubly thankful a lot of people remembered that and chose to send an email instead. Other than that, I relaxed, watched some YouTube, and did a quick spot of blogging - I guess the latter was the most productive part of my day.
After my husband came back home from work in the late evening, he surprised me with an entire cake from one of my favorite French bakeries in the city, and he also bought 30 candles for me to blow out. I'm obviously not telling you my birthday wish - but I did manage to blow out all thirty in one go :) He also gave me a gift certificate to a nail salon in our neighborhood, which I was super happy to receive - while I still enjoy doing my own manis, at-home pedicures are nigh on impossible with my very large watermelon belly, and I would definitely like to squeeze one more in before I deliver. Apparently the certificate is also only part of the gift; he wanted to give me something while we're waiting for the other part to come in the mail. It's all very mysterious and I love the anticipation - it makes the present that much more exciting :)

Overall, I had a perfectly beautiful, peaceful and happy birthday. I felt pampered and cherished and even though we did not have some huge celebration, it was exactly how I wanted it. Early in the week, I also indulged in some online shopping: I ordered two make-up bags from Korean brands in incredibly cute patterns (I'll definitely show them to you once they get here, but as they're being shipped from South Korea, it will take a few weeks), and placed an order at The Body Shop for some bath and body products - I have been missing having their body butter in my stash, and I'm really unhappy with my current make-up remover so I got their Silky Cleansing Oil among other things. Oh - and I also bought lots of new knickers from Aerie. My current underwear is a state - and mostly too small to boot.

There you have it - I hope you enjoyed this glance into my birthday week. In case you're wondering if I feel any different or perhaps a little sad not to be 20-something anymore, than my answer would be no: I guess to me it doesn't feel like a milestone, it just feels like another date. I enjoyed my twenties, but I think my thirties are going to bring even better and bigger things; you know, what with the arrival of a new family member and taking on a whole new role in my life. Also thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday on Instagram/ Twitter - I never cease to appreciate your guys' support and kind words. Thank you for reading!

17 comments:

  1. Happy belated birthday!
    I also ruined my mani by a dried out top coat. Gotta fetch a new one today -.- I'm also having birthday this month

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  2. Sounded like your birthday was wonderful! Happy and wonderful start to your 30's! What a special time in the weeks anticipating your new little baby. <3

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  3. Happy belated birthday, Monika! I realized halfway through reading this post that I had a huge smile on my face because everything sounded so nice :) Your anniversary date sounds lovely and your at-home spa night already makes me feel more relaxed haha. It's actually not too common to find a genuinely friendly SA at Sephora so I'm happy you were able to get a good one! I actually dropped by Sephora today to use some of my Beauty Insider points and the lady helping me out was also super nice and down to earth :) The KVD liquid lipstick formula is awesome so I think you'll be very happy with it when you get it! Looking forward to hearing what your husband's top secret birthday gift part two is as well ;)

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  4. Happy belated birthday. It's great that you had a great week and I love the color of your dessert choice!

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  5. I never realized that so many of us were the same age! Looks like you had a wonderful birthday, Monika! We love experiences, as well. We've been trying to go to festivals and concerts, but like you guys, we're not very extroverted and stick to quieter events. We have a couple lined up for the next couple of weeks, but I'll have to check out that club for when we're in NYC!

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    1. I think you'd really like this place - there's another venue we've been going to closer to home in Brooklyn, it's called Manhattan Inn. I don't know if they have anything lined up for when you're going to be in the city but if they do, it's a really nice ambiance.

      On that note, I wish we could meet up with you guys when you're in NYC, but it seems like just around the time of my due date :( Last time you visited we were abroad - it seems we have a bit of a bad timing, lol.

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  6. Happy belated birthday and anniversary! Chill, self-pampering birthdays are the best ones, in my opinion. I'll be turning 30 in a year and two months and am hoping that by the time I get there, it won't feel like a big deal at all.

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    1. Hahah, seems like we're all fellow introverts, lol - would much rather eat cake by ourselves at home then go out partying :D

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  7. Sounds like a wonderful week, Monika!! Happy Birthday and my best wishes to you and the new family to come.
    Ah! The coconut wipes & hospital bag remind me of a story: I don't know if I've shared with you this but the best thing (for me) after delivering (apart from having a nice shower) was to have a picture taken along with the newborn, the first picture of my new family! I thought it was kitschy, but looking back, it was the most wonderful thing during my stay in the hospital. The hospital that I stayed in has a photographer that comes in (thus my apprehension, you know, sort of like if you are going to a touristy place, they tried to take your picture with the monuments and try to get you to buy it after, ugh!). Turned out, she was wonderful, gentle, and I cherished the pictures that she took forever (sadly, she has since moved on to a different state otherwise I'd book her again for family pictures).
    O.k. moral of the story is: don't forget to pack something decent and a bit of makeup (which I didn't, but the Tod was delivered early), and if you can afford it, arrange to have a picture taken, even if it is by a family member/nurse in the hospital.

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    1. Claire, thank you so much for the wishes and sharing your story! We did the hospital tour about two weeks ago and I know there is in fact a photographer 'in residence', although I usually feel a bit awkward with strangers taking my photographs so I think I'll just ask my husband to pack our camera after I'm moved to the post-partum floor. Is it wrong of me that I am in fact thinking of a few make-up products to pack with me? I just think having the option to put something on would make me feel a lot more human. I remember that during my other hospital stays, as soon as I could wash my hair and put on something else other than pajamas, I already felt a 100 times better even if I was still in pain. Thank you for sharing!!! <3

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    2. Do not underestimate the power of makeup!! We all know it, you especially need it after labor/delivery. You never know how your labor going to go: my friends went on epidural and got puffy from the IV fluids (cooling eyemask would probably do well here), in my case, I was 100% dilated by the time I got to triage so no time for anything (I wish I would have packed my bag a lot sooner, AND bring some makeup). In any case, yes, pack it up, maybe even pack more than you think you need because there is no sense of going back home to get more once you are in hospital.

      It makes sense to have your husband pack the camera, but in my experience, both of you will be exhausted. A family member will also help greatly -- even the nurses will gladly help, I found. Wishing you good delivery & speedy recovery!

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  8. Happy belated! Your birthday sounds lovely - like my kind of day, though maybe minus the OB visit. I work in a hospital and spend enough time talking to doctors!

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  9. It reminded me yet again how young so many of you are! I'm thinking I'm getting too old to be a blogger. Hahaha! I loved my 20s, so care free and so much fun. My 30s has been amazing, with so many new experiences and growth, and I can't wait for my 40s in a couple of years!
    I hope your 30s will give you another meaning of life, in the very best of ways!

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  10. Happy belated birthday Monika! Your celebrations sounded so elegant and relaxing, I would love to have a chilled out enjoyable birthday like that too. Those sugarcube desserts look so amazing, wow!

    I think you're right, your 30's will be amazing with the arrival of little bean - I couldn't think of a better gift!! xxx

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  11. Happy belated birthday! It looks like you had a wonderful day and have a similarly wonderful year ahead. :)

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