Thirty-six!

I'm 36 and it's honestly kind of weird. I mean on one hand, the biggest turning points (both good and bad) in my life have happened in my 30s and I'm a better person for those experiences. So that's obviously a really good thing. But there's something about seeing your age tip a bit closer to the 40s, which at one point seemed super far away, that makes you want to evaluate your life. Or maybe that's just me. (Which is entirely possible.)

My mood during my birthday week pretty much existed on two opposite spectrums: tons of fun with friends and feeling all the love but then also very contemplative about the present and past and wondering what's next for me. But for now, I'm going to focus on the positive and share what I've been up to during my birthday week!

I kicked off the celebrations with Alexa and Kristin! We went to Keki Modern Cakes to pick up their ube bouncy cake and cream puffs to take to Bryant Park. It was nice to just sit outside chatting while we basically demolished that cake! We all thought it would be too much for us but we underestimated just how delicious and fluffy it would be. I seriously wouldn't mind getting another one before summer ends. (Our photo is from the day after when we met up again to go to the Wicked Fox book launch at Books of Wonder. I couldn't get our park photo to fit in a square. #priorities)

On Thursday night, I met up with my childhood bestie to go to Mama Fina's House of Sisig. Sisig is my favorite Filipino dish and the best place to get it is Mama Fina's. My family has been ordering from their NJ location for years and when I heard they were opening up another restaurant in NYC, I knew I had to go. And even though it was a pain in the butt to get to (it's on 11th and Avenue A), it was absolutely worth it. I usually order the pork sisig but for a change, we got the squid sisig instead and omg, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Afterwards, we walked to Alphabet Scoop for ice cream which was the perfect way to cap the night.

On Friday night, I went to see the first preview of Moulin Rouge on Broadway with Alexa and DJ and I cannot think of a better way to have spent the night before my birthday. We bought these tickets nearly a year ago and not only was it well-worth the wait, but it exceeded all my expectations! I was obsessed with Moulin Rouge when the movie first came out and it was one of my favorites for years. Even though the story and theatrics of the movie seemed perfect for Broadway, I just wasn't sure if that same magic from the film could be captured on stage. My friends, I shouldn't have worried! From the moment the three of us walked into the theatre we just knew it would be amazing. The set was incredible and less than 20 minutes into it, I was already wondering when I could watch it again. The cast and music was amazing. I'm officially crushing on Aaron Tveit now. It was exactly the kind of spectacle you'd want Moulin Rouge to be and I'm so happy I got to share that night with Alexa and DJ. 

And then my actual birthday, June 29! I spent it with Carina indulging myself and it was exactly what I needed. We started off the day with massages at Bear Mountain Spa and then drove over to Woodbury Commons Outlet for some shopping. I ended up walking out with a new Kate Spade bag and three beautiful dresses from Banana Republic so your girl is very happy right now. But after spending the entire day walking around, I spent my night in my bed reading (I'm an old lady, you guys). 

Then to truly bring my week of celebrating to an end, I went out to lunch with my parents yesterday. We tend to always have these huge family outings so I treasure the moments when just the three of us spend time together.

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Thank you to everyone celebrated with me last week 

and messaged/texted/tweeted birthday wishes 💜