Many of you asked what turning thirty was like for me, so I paused my painting project (yes, I finally put paint on a previously untouched bathroom wall!) to share. Monday was a really lovely day. So far, thirty suits me fine — I don’t feel a day over 29. My theory is birthdays rarely feel like a dramatic change because I wake up feeling the same as the day before. Major life events (graduation, marriage, a baby) make me feel older, but birthdays are just fun excuses to eat too much dessert. Which I absolutely did. Here’s how the day went.
I woke up to a kitchen that looked like a giant present.
John had strung ribbons around everything like the prettiest spider web I’ve ever seen.
Is he a man or what? I love a partner who isn’t afraid to embrace a little ribbon madness in the name of birthday celebrations.
John also surprised me with my favorite childhood comfort food: pastina. The box doesn’t actually say “pastina,” but that’s what my Italian mom called those tiny pasta stars. You cook them, add butter, milk, and salt, and it feels like a warm treat from childhood. He remembered I loved it and picked some up — so sweet.
It was Clara’s first time trying it, and she absolutely loved it. That’s my girl.
We worked most of the day, then decided to unplug a few hours early (5:30!) and head to Stony Point, the outdoor walking mall here in Richmond. John had a clever plan: since we’re often too full for dessert after dinner, we’d have dessert first so we’d definitely have room. He told me to pick any restaurant I wanted, and the evening turned into a lighthearted tour of dessert menus as I read and picked the most tempting option.
We settled on a trio of strawberry cheesecake, brownie, and a gooey cookie topped with caramel from Champs. At the same time we both laughed because the dessert bowls looked like the rotating chairs from The Voice. I may have spun one around while singing “This is the Voice.” The waiter might have noticed. So, mature and dignified I am not — at least not on this birthday.
We popped into Anthropologie, which I always love for the creative displays and design ideas (check out the burlap upholstery webbing they used to create a woven backdrop in the photo below).
But the real star is my kiddo in the foreground — how cute is she? Clara sang “Happy Birthday” to me about seventeen times that day, and continued with encore performances the next couple days, which made me grin every time.
John gave me a card full of sweet words and Clara’s adorable scribbles, plus a copy of The Happiness Project. I’m already digging it — the opening chapter about simplifying had me itching to get organized. So don’t be surprised if you see some cleaning, basket-hunting, and organizing energy around here soon, along with our ongoing landscaping, bathroom, and deck plans.
He also surprised me with a sweet ceramic elephant box (full disclosure: I’d sent him a wink and a hint about it) and a gift card for a massage at my favorite spa. He usually gets me one for Mother’s Day, and apparently he’s upgraded it to a semi-annual treat — perfect timing since my shoulders are still sore from laying cork flooring.
After we tucked Clara in, instead of jumping into a DIY project or editing photos, John cooked my favorite dinner: Jamie Oliver’s chicken and leek stroganoff. It sounds odd, but it’s incredible. We ate outside on the patio with candles, listening to the wind and keeping a baby monitor nearby. It was cozy and perfect.
Over dinner we reminisced about how much we love this house and debated whether we love it as much as our first house — our first love, our first baby, so many memories. The verdict: it’s a tie. We’ll always cherish that first home where we married in the backyard and brought Clara home, but this house has grown so warm and cozy to us, too. Talking about projects we want to do to show our house some love made us even more excited about living here.
All in all, my thirtieth birthday was wonderful. I’m grateful for my husband, my little bean, and our pup for making me feel special, and for all of you who sent lovely birthday wishes. I get sentimental sometimes, but I truly appreciate sharing my home, this birthday, and my everyday DIY life with you.