Happy Birthday To Me!

I love my birthday the same now as I did when I was little. It's a reason for the day to be mostly about me. It's an excuse to party. It's a reason to buy myself gifts and receive gifts from others. I love gifts. And cards. And cake. I love cake. 

This year, I will be turning 29, and to celebrate, I'm doing two things. First, on my actual birthday, Thursday, June 14th, I'm having a shabu-shabu dinner with some friends and family at a restaurant in my neighborhood. It's my most favorite thing to eat in Korea, so it'll the perfect end to my low-key birthday celebration, due to having to wake up early the following day for work. Then, on Saturday, I'm taking myself to Gwangju to have a delicious Italian dinner followed by some rockstar partying with some friends. 

Because it's my last birthday of my 20s, I wanted to do the big celebration invitation with a 1920s theme. I love the romanticism of the 1920s and all the glamorous, vintage evening gowns and roaring good times that are portrayed to have gone along with it, so I fashioned an invitation in 1920s style. 

If you remember from last year's birthday blog, I wanted a few items I couldn't have. Well, things are different this year.  

That's a real bottle of Disaronno right there in front of my microwave, right next to a fudge brownie mix, followed by real chocolate chip cookie mix, and a bottle of Moscato d'Asti wine on the right. And don't miss that can of real, Made in the USA Pringles back there, next to a birthday card from my wonderful and beautiful grandmother and a new-home welcome card from my mom and dad. Oh, and the lipton tea bags. Can't forget those. The grits missed out on the photo op, but I've got a bag in the fridge as well as a bag in the cupboard. And really, we also can't forget the guitar and the four-to-five-sizes-smaller semi-new clothes in the closet from my recent trip home. Oh yea, and this past Monday I found two dollars on the ground in a coffee shop, and also received a gift from a co-worker of chocolate and energy drinks in the bi-weekly secret-mentor gift exchange at work.

I believe in karma, and I've been quite fortunate. Here's paying it forward.

And here's to this year.

Happy Birthday To Me!