THE PERKS OF A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY

Some birthdays tend to bring more celebrations than others. That\’s not to say every other birthday is not worth celebrating, but as you get older little fan fare is given to those- a cake, a dinner, maybe some friends over. Then there are the BIG birthdays- 15 (if you\’re Hispanic), 16, 21, 30, 40, etc.- the ones that take it up a notch and give you an extra boost to celebrate and get extra hashtag blessed.

I\’m vintage 1981, baby! I recently turned 40, and was actually excited to commemorate and celebrate with family and friends! I was overwhelmed with gratefulness and happiness, which of course, every year of life is the best gift ever, but this year was different That\’s the beauty of a milestone birthday- go big or go home baby!

In my case, it’s Austin or bust.

Here\’s another perk of a milestone birthday- all your super busy friends with kids or no kids (including myself) who always have a reason or excuse to opt out of plans or really don\’t have any time, all of a sudden com together in glorious unison to plan a 40th birthday celebration trip, without those excuses. Praise be. It was a quick and affirmative, \”oh yeah, this is happening. Let\’s book now,\” and that\’s exactly how it went. Six high school best friends voted on Air B&Bs, booked flights, bought sanitizing wipes and personalized face masks, and maybe a pair of cowboy boots and are ready to go tomorrow to the great state of Texas, where all we plan to do is eat, drink, play board games, karaoke, and bat watch. No kids, no husbands, no work. Nada.

We were originally headed to Palm Springs in early March, but as we got closer to the date, California was on lockdown and it didn\’t seem like anything was going to lift. As much as our plans include a lot of relaxing in the rental house, we also wanted to explore restaurants, shops, and hiking trips at Joshua Tree. We made the choice to switch the locations and maybe opt for something a little closer to all of us on the East Coast. We threw around different options- Florida Panhandle, Virginia, Charleston, then Austin was mentioned and it was a no brainer!

We got brunches and lunches booked, a wine tour with a bbq lunch waiting for us, and a private chef birthday dinner at the house to celebrate all our 40th birthdays! You might even see the return of a Funfetti Penis Cake.

As you get older and schedules get busier, traveling with your best friends doesn\’t always happen and doesn\’t always line up, and for some magical reason, it did. After a year of being apart, of seeing each other less than usual, of countless whats app messages, we will all soon be able to hug each other, dance, laugh, probably pee in our pants bc we all have weak bladders, but more importantly, just enjoy time with one another. Did I mention that we are all vaccinated?! Yay science- because that extra peace of mind is the extra birthday gift we all needed!

Make sure to follow along on my Austin adventures and if the stories or posts aren\’t coming along as quickly as you are used to seeing, its because I don\’t want to waste a minute of not being present with five of my favorite people in the world.

Have a great weekend everyone!

In style,

Kathy