Twenty Eight

Well, it happened again. Another year has passed. I'm 100% officially and undeniably in my late twenties.

I was holding on to mid-twenties for as long as I could. But 28? Now, that's a solid round up to 30.

I exercised just ten minutes longer than I normally do the other day and almost died. 

DEAR GOD, IS THIS WHAT 28 FEELS LIKE? How old am I? Is this the rest of my life?!

But, I quickly realized, No, Lindsay. This is not 28. This is called "you ate Easter candy for breakfast and need to not be such a wimp."

Ah yes, moment of clarity. Now that's 28. I'm becoming wise in my old age.

The first smart decision I made as a 28-year-old was to celebrate this new year with all my favorites - good girlfriends, arts & crafts, sangria and an over-sized sombrero. 

We kicked off the evening at All Fired Up in Cleveland Park where, not only can you paint pottery, but you can bring your own wine and snacks. Wine and crafts? This was made for me. After much deliberation on what to paint - including several attempts to try to get someone in our group to paint the Wolverine bank - we loaded up our paint palettes, filled our glasses and got to work. 


Kelly had to come late so she served as "art consultant," googling images and inspiring creativity.

The most practical pieces for me would've been either the mug or the water pitcher. So, clearly I painted the "ceramic crinkled Solo cup" because that's apparently a thing. Plus, who can mess up a Solo cup? 

Me, I can. 

My first step was obviously to paint the outside red. I next covered the inside in sparkle speckle paint...you know, to class things up a bit. I then got stressed that I couldn't think of a design for the outside so I wrote "Cheers!" in cursive puff paint. My inspiration? The wine glass sitting in front of me that also said "Cheers!" Genius, Lindsay. Where was that 28-year-old wisdom during craft time? Better question, where was my art consultant, Kelly? Truth is, she was googling "fish eye" after my sister asked how one would paint a fish eye. Spoiler alert, it looks a lot like any other kind of eye. 

Ceramic crinkled Solo cup in progress. Champagne in progress. Also pictured, Cheers wine glasses.

Overall, I'd say we all did a pretty solid job (Cheers decor aside). Melissa painted a spoon rest, Liz, a water dish for her cat and Anna, a mug. I'm excited to go pick everything up next week and see how they all turned out. I also look forward to my ceramic Solo cup gathering dust on the shelf because who wants to use a dish that's not dishwasher-safe? Ironically, perhaps the Wolverine bank would've been the most practical choice. 

For once, I'm not to blame for the blurry photo. 

After craft/happy hour we went across the street to Alero (which you may remember from my move-in day a year ago). 

Before we were even all seated at the table, Art Consultant Extraordinaire Kelly, made sure a pitcher of sangria was on the way. You know how I feel about sangria. Alero is my typical sangria watering hole for, not only is the sangria delicious, but the restaurant is a block from where I live. Obviously, a perfect spot for a birthday celebration. 

Soon after the sangria arrived, guacamole and queso quickly followed. As usual, the food was delicious...at least I think it was. I don't actually recall eating my "tacos juarez" because I was too immersed in the wonderful dinner conversation which, at one point, involved reading aloud online dating profiles. I'm also pretty sure there was a dinner timeout for everyone at the table to "facebook friend" everyone else. Birthdays - bringing people together!

Now, I'd seen the sombreros hanging on the wall and much like me with the tambourine at La Boum Brunch, my new short-term goal was to have one of those on my head by the end of the night. 

Once again, as you may have noticed in the first picture of this post, this blog proves that dreams do come true. 

Demon eyes, as usual. The older gentleman on my lab is the waiter who jumped in the picture. He wasn't our waiter, just another waiter...we think. 

The sombrero was delivered to me via clapping waiters who also brought a piece of cake and a round of shots (just what we needed). They may have also been singing but I don't recall because all my senses were focused on that giant hat. Melissa could neither confirm nor deny if there was singing either. 

Everyone gets to wear the sombrero.

Thanks to Anna, that hat is now sitting in my apartment, covering three-quarters of my coffee table. On our way out I was trying to figure out if/where I had to return the massive straw accessory when Anna swooped in with her Spanish and said, "She wants to keep it like a present! Can she keep it like a present?!" Surprisingly, there isn't much sombrero storage in a studio apartment so while it seemed awesome to get to keep it that night, I'm now trying to determine which of my friends has the next birthday so I can ceremoniously hand it off.

I'm so glad I got to spend my birthday (er, day after) with good friends and good food. I think 28 will be the best year yet - even if it does round up to 30. 

Thanks to my sister for organizing the celebration! LYLAS. 

P.S. Guys, I have to do a totally unrelated p.s. because I want to tell you about my new obsession but I can't do a whole dedicated post on it because it will look like a paid advertisement which would be lame. And, since this is my birthday post, I can do whatever I want. It's my party and I'll endorse products if I want to! Once again, a thank you goes to my sister who introduced me to Stitch Fix, an online personal styling website.

Also, full disclosure, that link above is my personal referral link so I get credit if you sign up. Ugh, I'm everything I hate in a blogger. 

Unlike my sister, I actually enjoy shopping so was not interested in some rando picking out clothes for me. Then Melissa got such cute clothes that I got really jealous. New clothes and mail are two of my favorite things. I wanted a Stitch Fix and I wanted it NOW. After filling out an extensive style profile and linking to my Pinterest, Twitter, etc. for my "stylist" to see, I ordered my first fix. You pay a $20 styling fee which can go towards your purchase, should you choose to buy any of the  five items they send you. If you don't like any of the items, you forfeit your styling fee. It's worth the gamble. Live dangerously, friends. 

Below is a picture of my fix. I purchased the black dress at the bottom which has pretty pleated details not captured on an iphone. Heads up, if you're one of the five couples I know getting married this year, you'll probably see my fix dress in person. Anyways, that is all. I already have my second fix ordered. There's a chance I'm developing an addiction. Oh, whatever, I can quit any time I want, you guys. 

I loved all my items except that floral tank top which just wasn't my thing. These are also all options that fell into the "the cheaper the better" price category.