I don't know where I was expecting to be at in life by age 23, but I think it was at a minimum a lot hotter and richer than I am right now. Hindsight 20/20 I probably should've set some tangible goals for myself along the way, but never too late to start haha..right? right??? I have no direction in life currently so if anyone has any ideas for me - send them over. Still kinda at that point in life when people ask me where I want to go with my career and I genuinely don't know how to respond. I want to be successful! In something! It'd be nice to have some sort of purpose in life but I'm unwilling to have a child anytime soon so, gonna have to go another route there. The older I get the scarier it is that my mom was married by 22 and gave birth to me at age 28. On my personal list of "things I want to accomplish by the time I'm 30," birthing a child is nowhere to be seen. Honestly, I just want to get my driver's license. Maybe try laser hair removal on my legs again. Cry less and wear sunscreen everyday. Figure out how to invest or something, idk. Pipe dream, I would like to be a stylist or just rich enough to dress the way I want to. I'm trying to think of some noble pursuit but I've got nothing right now. I'm not funny enough to be on SNL but sometimes I watch SNL and its like, they're also not funny enough to be on SNL....so maybe we could work something out? I like cooking and I like clothes and past that I have no hobbies. My Jordan year should probably be the year of me getting a fucking hobby that doesn't make me fat or poor.
All that being said, things are looking up this year. Twenty-two sucked butt BUT I had to do a lot of growing up very quickly & I think I'm a better person now for it. I had to make quite a few major life decisions pretty rapidly and I'm happy with where I've ended up. I love my job, I love Boston, my friends are starting to move in to the city, Rob and I are moving in together in July, I've always been close with my parents but I think our relationship is better than ever, and at the end of the day I'm in a much, much better place than I was at this time last year. Last year was a trial year and I think the upcoming year will be good in terms of getting my shit together. I have hope that 23 is going to be a good year! By this time next year I want to have an idea of where I would like my career to go, my driver's license, knowledge of investing, and enough disposable income to really start investing in a solid blogging platform. I'd also like to be hot. Small, tangible goals.
Twenty-three is off to a good start. I got to spend the day with my mom on Friday! I don't get to see her very often so I was soooo happy that she came down to visit. We have done pretty much the same thing for my birthday every year since I was 12 years old & its so cute that neither one of us grew out of it. We usually stay at the Taj, but this year we mixed it up and stayed at the newly renovated Kimpton Nine Zero on Tremont St. We're big Kimpton fans & when we were checking hotel availability, the Nine Zero upgraded us to a penthouse (sign up for rewards, people!!) because it was for my birthday! We figured it'd be fun to mix it up & as long as we had access to hot chocolate and bathrobes, we were happy anywhere. We had so much fun and the hotel was beautiful! Definitely recommend checking it out if you're visiting Boston! Though the full itinerary has changed throughout the years, my mom and I always do a walk through the Gardens and spend the day on Newbury St. for my birthday. The staples of our trip are always cupcakes, Lilly Pulitzer, Ralph Lauren, and Stephanie's in that order. Georgetown Cupcakes broke my damn heart this year and ran out of GF cupcakes, so I just ate the frosting off of 3 of them. In public. With a spoon. I haven't shopped at Lilly in awhile, but I'm so glad we went in. I'm at crunch time with finding a dress for 2 weddings this summer, and I found a dress for both within a half hour. I didn't love Lilly's stuff for awhile there, but I got the most adorable dress for a wedding down the Cape. I'll definitely make a post on them this week! I'm not sure I'll wear the other dress in San Diego, but it's so pretty that I'm sure I'll wear it all summer!
Ralph Lauren is my mom's favorite store of all time & I think at this point maybe the only store my mom dresses from. She's so cute whenever she's in there, she looks like a little model. My girl was wearing a SHOULDER SWEATER. I love the Ralph Lauren on Newbury St. Even if I don't buy anything, it's so beautiful and always great design inspo. I'm hoping to have our new bedroom done with that sable/navy/white color palette - its so pretty and relaxing. I want to move into Ralph Lauren. We unfortunately didn't make it into Stephanie's this time around, but the gluten allergy doesn't really work with their menu anymore. We're going to have to find a new go-to on Newbury this summer which is totally fine with me, because that just means I get to eat more.
Rob met my mom and I at the hotel and we went to Davio's for dinner. It was my first time there since developing my aforementioned gluten allergy and let me just say - it did not disappoint. I'll write a full review on it later on, but just know that Davio's is probably my favorite gluten-free dining experience I've had. They gave me gluten free popovers. Gluten free bread before a gluten free meal is a game changer that I was not prepared for. That has only ever happened to me once before and when I tell you I put those down in about 9 seconds - 9 seconds might be an overestimate. I never get to have Rob and my mom with me at the same time, so that was great. I love those little moments when you're just genuinely happy to be sitting in the presence of your favorite people and nothing else matters. That was really special to me.
We had a super fun girl's night later that culminated with us wearing spa masks on our faces, feet, hair, and hands while trying to eat a cheese plate. My nirvana tbh. Finally got a good night's sleep that I'm not sure was a product of the comfy bed or a food coma, but we woke up, did brunch with Rob the next morning, and had ourselves a time. I'm hoping now that Rob and I will have our own place, it'll be easier for her to come down and visit! She's such a fun person and I was so happy to have her for my birthday/Mother's Day. I love her so much.
Despite the shitty weather the next day, Rob brought me to get beautiful flowers, gluten free cupcakes in chestnut hill because EVEN THE NEXT DAY I COULDN'T EAT THE GF CUPCAKES AT GEORGETOWN - GEORGETOWN IS DEAD TO ME, a big ole' bottle of Veuve Rose, and way more margarita mix than I needed. We went to the MFA, one of my favorite places in Boston, and then to Lolita where I threw up from eating flour tortillas. Sad. Idk if I have told all of you this but Rob is the sweetest person ever and I'm so lucky to have him in my life. I was kinda bumming because none of my friends were going to be around for my birthday but Rob made it so special. Going to be a big time detox week. Bought me a box of Joe Joe's (my favorite lil gluten free Oreo knock-offs from Trader Joe's) and I ate the whole thing. I'm okay. Things are fine. I have to be skinny for a wedding in less than a month lol its all good I'm okay.
I really liked my outfit I wore the day I was out with my mom, mostly because my shirt was flowy and I got a lot of dirty looks from older women. The year is 2003 and I'll wear a denim skirt with high heels if I damn well please, Tish. I've linked everything below the picture!
Top: Sold out, Free People (similar here)
Skirt: Last summer, Madewell (similar here)
Bralette: Free People
Heels: Yaro Ankle Strap Sandal in Cork, Sam Edelman (SO COMFY. I walked in them all day).
Sunglasses: Nordstrom (similar here )
Hope you guys are having a good Monday! Thank you for all of the birthday wishes! Another year closer to my impending quarter-life crisis!