My 35th Birthday!

I turned 35 on Friday! I guess that makes me a real adult, since I now have to check off a new age bracket on surveys and stuff. And I'm legally able to run for president if want. But I don't feel old. I have very few responsibilities aside from work (which, after 13 years in the newspaper business, still feels more like fun than work) and a few bills. Oh, and I have, like, nine fur kids to take care of, but that's fun too.

Speaking of fur kids, check out this awesome tee that my friend Greg gave me for my birthday! It says CATARCHY!!!

I took a vacation day from work on my birthday because I don't believe in working on birthdays. So I slept in a bit, and then I went for a run in Overton Park on the Old Forest trails. After my run, I drove over to I Love Juice Bar for an Energizer essential oil shot (wild orange, peppermint, & coconut water) and a Berry Good Smoothie (blueberries, banana, cashews, lemon, and coconut milk).

A few hours later, I met my friend Monica at Imagine Vegan Cafe for a birthday lunch. I went with the Philly Cheezesteak and French Fries (with ranch for dippin').

I had to run a few errands, and then I headed home to binge-watch Lost until dinner time. At 7 p.m., Paul and I met up with my friends at Crazy Noodle for a birthday dinner!

I ordered my favorite menu item — Mandu Ramen. It's ramen with vegetable dumplings. So good!

Stephanie made my birthday cupcakes! They're Irish Cream Cupcakes — chocolate stout cake topped with whiskey buttercream, ganache, and caramel drizzle. So good! I had almost a dozen leftover (she made 24!), so I'm eating one in my PJs while I type this post.

After dinner, most of us went to the Rec Room, an arcade bar, for a couple hours. My friends are just the best! And they know how much I love presents (hey, no shame ... I'll admit it). So I got all this cool stuff — Catarchy shirt, sparkly miniskirt, kitty mug, cat lady car stickers, a unicorn in lederhosen Christmas ornament, wine, a sparkly skull wine stopper, some raw tomato chips, a dog bracelet, green earrings, an Amazon gift card, and a 5-pack of sticky rollers (that was from Stephanie, who knew how much a crazy cat lady like me needs those things!). Not pictured are my Pink Diva gift cards from Cassi and the Etsy gift card from Paul.

That was my actual birthday, but I got to celebrate again on Sunday with my parents. I drove to Jonesboro to have dinner with my parents and my grandmas. My mama made burgers, and I had this Black Bean Burger with Daiya Cheddar, French Fries, and Pasta Salad.

Instead of making cake (cause lord knows I have plenty of leftover cake), mama made this Apple Crumble Pizza, which I had with some So Delicious Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk ice cream. So light and delicious.

My parents got me a new MacBook Pro a few months ago as an early birthday gift since my old one was starting to crap out. And they gave me a deep freezer a few weeks ago, too. But today, I got a few smaller gifts from them — workout clothes, a cute gray sweater, and a Starbucks gift card. Plus, an "All Guests Must Be Approved By the Dog" doormat from my me-maw and money from granny.

Yay!! Such a fun (and delicious) birthday! Now I've got some Etsy and Amazon shopping to do!