My 39th Birthday!

Yesterday — October 16 — was my birthday! I'm officially one year away from my 40s!! Here's my obligatory birthday selfie, wearing the adorable unicorn horn my co-worker Terri gave me on Tuesday (the day before my birthday).

I always take my birthday off work, so on Tuesday, my co-workers surprised me with a Vegan Birthday Cake from Muddy's Bake Shop! I love my co-workers soooo much, and this made me very, very happy.

It was a yummy yellow cake with chocolate frosting! By the afternoon, everyone in the office had devoured most of the cake so I snuck one last slice and put it in some tupperware to take home and enjoy on my actual birthday.

On Wednesday (my birthday), I stayed home from work, slept in, and then headed out for a 5-mile run in my new Hoka Challengers — my birthday gift from Paul. I've always run in Brooks (aside from a year spent in Nikes), so Hokas are totally new to me, and I love them. So much support for my fragile little feet.

After my run, I made a big ole brunch for myself and enjoyed it while watching The Wire (I'm working my way through the show on Netflix disc, old school-style). I made a Tofu Omelet from Hooked on Plants, stuffed with roasted broccoli, Chao cheese, sauteed garlic, spinach, and carrots, topped with cashew holladaise sauce (also from Hooked on Plants). Side of air-fried taters.

No birthday brunch is complete without a mimosa. Cassi had given me a case of these single-serve champagne bottles about a year ago, and I thought they were all gone. But then I found one last bottle!

I had to run out east for an errand later in the day, so I figured that was the perfect time to stop by my favorite place in Memphis — Crystal Shrine Grotto. It's a man-made cave inside Memorial Park Cemetery that's filled with five tons (!!!) of quartz crystals. It also has lots of Jesus-y Bible sculptures, but I just ignore that part and soak up the powerful quartz energy. The cave and sculptures were built in part by Mexican artist Dionicio Rodriguez in 1935, but the project was finished in 1955, after his death. The whole place feels like it belongs in The Dark Crystal!

This giant rose quartz outside the cave is my fave though. I always spend a few minutes with this stone when I visit the Grotto.

For dinner, I had plans to meet up with friends at Midtown Crossing Grill — the vegan-friendly pizza point in my neighborhood. I was so excited that so many of my friends were able to come!!

Started with a dirty vodka martini.

I'd been craving pizza, so I ordered the Herbivore Pizza with roasted garlic oil, tomato sauce, peppers, and pickled eggplant, subbing the vegan cheese for dairy cheese. It also usually has arugula, but I'm not really a fan so I left that off.

Overall, a lovely way to spend the first day of the last year of my 30s!!