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Beginning of Birthday Weekend
The biggest surprise of my birthday was that no one sent me T-Swift’s most appropriate song, “22,” on my birthday yesterday.
No we did not dress up like hipsters, nor did we have breakfast at midnight. But we keep dancing like we’re twenty-two-oooh-oohhhhh. ;)
My birthday was on a Thursday, so I actually have an entire birthday weekend ahead of me. As soon as I press ‘publish’ I will be grabbing my swim suit and suitcase to head to sunnier lands.
First of all, I planned on spending an extended birthday celebration with family and friends for the weekend. So I didn’t have any elaborate plans on my birthday. Several friends were working, and I still had class and my internship from 8am-5pm. We opted for a late-night downtown adventure instead of a birthday dinner at a restaurant. I didn’t mind at all, I still had this lovely plate and a sparkle-tini on the side:
Sushi is my favorite, and I was excited to see salmon wrapped in brown rice!
A little before 10pm, Kerri came over with a beautifully-wrapped present. She opened with, “I’m so freaking proud of this present, I feel like Martha Stewart.” Intrigue! Apparently she had gone through my DIY board on Pinterest to find a decorative craft that I would like. She picked a candle holder; she made me two of these candles encompassed in ‘local’ sticks with baby pinecones and delicious smelling candles. I love candles! And these are too pretty to burn! I love the fact that she made it and I love the fact that it’s a little piece of Flagstaff. I did have to laugh out loud, though, trying to picture her on campus pulling sticks off of trees while people walked by. :)
The night was just getting started! First, we opted to try The Wine Loft for the first time. We’d heard about this cute, upstairs wine bar with tons of games. That is more my style.
The bar itself was adorable, dark lighting with thousands of bottles of wine and chalkboard menus – perfect ambiance for a wine loft. One problem……there was only one other person in the huge space. The bartender. Why so empty on a Thursday night? Having the bar to ourselves was a little fun and a little awkward. We each picked out a glass of something light and pretty. Rose’ for me, bubbly for Kerri, and Pinot Grigio for Bri. Next, time to pick out a game. We’d never heard of 70% of them and didn’t feel like concentrating on Monopoly or Scrabble so we picked the perfect classy wine bar activity…..Cards Against Humanity.
This game is hilarious! And racy. Some of the cards made us blush reading out loud in front of the bartender. And a little too far for the content I want on this website so moving right along….
We ended up staying and playing until The Wine Loft closed but we weren’t ready to go home yet. After all, we had dressed up (a rare event for some college students) and no one else had really seen us! The second we walked in to the next bar, we looked at each other with non-verbal agreement then walked right back out. Blegh, it smelled like canola oil and smoke and no one was on the dance floor. We walked by a couple other bars but honestly, the “club” thing is not our scene so we went to our old stand-by. The country bar. We found a booth and a menu to find a birthday dessert!
I left our table for a few minutes, and in my absence a guy asked my friends if he could buy me a drink. They eagerly informed him that it was my birthday. When I returned, he sent me over a pineapple rum drink and I’m only including this detail in the blog post because that has never happened. I was flattered, but also a little confused because he and his friends left the bar just a few minutes later….
Next the bartender came back with our banana pudding and 3 spoons, topped with a little pink candle :) He also refused to bring us a check. See, people at the country bar are just so dang sweet.
We walked around downtown a little bit more, contemplating whether or not to go in anywhere else but I think we all agreed that the night had been so much fun that we would just cap it off right there.
Birthday song would have to go to Don’t Say Goodnight by Hot Chelle Ray because when it came on the radio for the first time ever as we pulled up to our apartment last night, we had a little parking lot dance party. Love my silly best friends :)
Aboslutely too perfect to sum up my night.
See you here again tomorrow! <3
By 22, you should…..
Remember when we were in middle school and it was “cute” to play dumb? (Actually I think some people mistakenly believe it still is.) That one TV show, The Simple Life, revolved around Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The girls would ask what Wal Mart was and we would laugh at their adorable stupidity. Then this trend took off and instantly a nation of girls thought it was funny and adorable to play the airhead role. Granted at 13, we make many questionable decisions (gaucho pants, blue tinted sunglasses, bangs, etc.) But I would hope that by 22 we would start to realize that ignorance or idiocy (feigned or not) has long lost its place in our character.
Next month I will celebrate my 22nd birthday (refrain from any T-Swift reference please.) And then its just a couple short months until I’m a college graduate. A full-on “grown up.” There are certain things a self-sufficient member of society ought to be able to do.
- Budget. And by budget, I mean prioritize purchasing necessities over random splurges. If you habitually pick up a coffee or a latte but can’t seem to afford your own paper towels or shampoo…it’s time to reevaluate. In a couple months, you will be done with college (or maybe you already are). You can no longer use the excuse ‘broke college student’. If you’re broke, it’s because you don’t know how to budget or prioritize. No one likes that one friend who’s constantly mooching off their stuff, asking for favors and never offering anything in return.
- Paint your own nails. I’m still working on this one! I was spoiled growing up, and I didn’t start painting my own nails until freshman year of college. Manicured hands make a difference in your overall appearance though, so I’ll stick with the pale colors for now ;)
- Iron your clothes. None of my friends even own an iron, and judging by the wrinkled polo’s and mussed crop tops, I would say neither does the rest of campus. (It should also be stated that leggings are not pants, and ironing said leggings will not make them pants.) Ironing your clothes is important for your appearance; wrinkles look sloppy. You can’t get away with the sloppy look outside of Sociology 101.
- End the texting games. I know a girl who is on her phone 24/7, yet she has a strict rule that she can’t text back within 5-10 minutes. She says it makes you look too eager. WTH? Sounds like a big waste of 5 minutes every time you want to respond to someone. You’re too old for senseless time-frame rules.
- Stop showing up late on purpose. Fear of being the first one there…guess what, if everyone showed up on time it wouldn’t matter! Showing up half an hour late acting like you had something more important is an insult. Constantly running behind means you are lazy or just can’t manage time. Either way, you’re too old for this.
- RSVP. So here’s a scenario: a friend invites you to her house for movie night in 2 days. You’re waiting for something better to come along so you don’t answer her until a couple hours before the movie starts. Um, invite rescinded! People who extend invitations, no matter how casual, deserve a legitimate response. Constantly keeping plans ‘tentative’ while holding out for something better is selfish. Stop that.
- Own a vacuum. By now you are living away from your parents, or getting ready to. Whether you share an apartment, rent a condo, whatever….being a grown up means owning grown-up things like a vacuum. Should probably also have non-plastic dishes and a bed frame by now.
- Talk on the phone. In an age where teacher’s tweet the class, younger generations have a fear of speaking on the phone. It’s unnatural and all to personal for us. There is something so charming about having a landline phone and personally calling up a friend just to talk about the day. We should do this more.
- Learn how to follow a recipe. (No the instructions on the mac n’ cheese box don’t count.) A lot of college meals consist of cheap pastas, frozen boxes or leftovers. Taking the time to cook an actual meal will be well worth it when you graduate and become a real self-sufficient adult who gets their nutrients and all that good stuff ;)
So that’s my list. Did I forget anything? Do you agree?
