37th Birthday Weekend, Day 1

My 37th birthday is Monday, October 16! But I like to stretch birthdays out for as long as possible. A Monday birthday is a perfect excuse for a birthday weekend with parties and awesome food every day! On Saturday, I started my 3-day birthday celebration with a fun day with friends, food, and booze. I'll share those pics tonight, and then I'll catch y'all up on days 2 and 3 over the next couple days.

My BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew came up to Memphis from Little Rock on Saturday afternoon for my birthday party. Sheridan and I have been besties since eighth grade, and I'm so glad we live close enough to see each other every few months. We had a little time to kill, and Crosstown Concourse — the amazing building where I work — has only been open a few months, so I wanted to take them on a tour. Plus, it was around lunch time, so we started with snacks from Mama Gaia, the all-veg, organic restaurant inside Concourse.

I ran 16 miles on Saturday morning, before they arrived, and I was famished. But I knew I also needed to save room for birthday dinner (which was only a few hours away), so I went with a light snack — the Cena Petitzza with vegan cheese and mushrooms.

After lunch, I gave Sheridan and Drew a tour of this awesome, repurposed 14-story building. Here are Sheridan and I in front of artist Kevin Bongang's mural, a temporary piece that wraps around the Crosstown theater (which is still under construction).

We ended our tour at Next Door American Eatery, also inside Concourse, for beers! 

From there, we walked across the street to Crosstown Arts for a couple of art openings, one of which was for this awesome mural depicting local artist Michael Roy. It was painted by a visiting artist, Patrick Kane McGregor. Both artists posed in front of the mural for us.

We goofed around a bit.

And took a photo in front of the I Love Memphis mural.

And then it was time for dinner! I made birthday plans at Blue Nile with a bunch of friends.

I started with a Tofu Skewer appetizer.

And I went with the Veggie Platter for my main entree. I love Ethiopian food SO MUCH. So very much.

After dinner, we moved the party to Railgarten — a fun outdoor bar that's pretty much like hanging out in someone's giant backyard. They were having their Oktoberfest celebration, so the place was especially packed. We took some pics. I drank wine from a can (classy). We hula-hooped. And we chilled by the bonfire. Perfect night.

More birthday pics coming tomorrow!