Another Year Younger!

It was my birthday on Saturday.

Feels like yesterday when I was writing my "farewell to my 20s" post and here we are again. First of all, let me start by saying that I had an amazing birthday mainly because I was surrounded by loved ones- the people that have been there for me from day one. As you grow older the distinction between the words "acquaintance" and "friends" becomes quite clear. I am very blessed for the people in my life. The amount of true friends I have may be a handful but the quality is beyond this world. 

Saturday's itinerary consisted of the following: Brunch with close friends and my amazing sister, dinner with parents, and a spontaneous evening party with my best friend (which turned out the be a blast).

Brunch was once again at Sarabeth. Last time I went there was for my birthday last year and the food & ambiance was as good as I remember! {note: this place can be a bit overpriced which is something I am not sure I previously mentioned but for special occasions is completely worth it}. We went to the upper east side location:

My craving for pancakes was 110% satisfied:

Mango Mimosa!

Afternoon celebration at my parents house! My mom made me a delicious carrot cake + cheesecake (she knows me too well):

Dinner with my parents & grandma at Olive Garden. This is my mom's favorite restaurant and a new location recently opened by my apartment so we decided to try it out. It may not be the healthiest food in the world but everyone enjoyed their dish! I don't think you can go wrong with unlimited bread sticks and salad :). Plus the waiter allowed us to try some delicious wine while we waited which was a nice touch. 

Post dinner my best friend and I met a few other people at a local lounge. It was the highlight of my evening and a perfect ending to a birthday filled with love. <3

I got some pretty amazing gifts as well: very generous gift cards from my dad and grandma, a gorgeous purse from my mom, hot winter boots from my sister, and a Bath and Body Works package from my best friend.

...All of that plus gorgeous roses from my parents and more flowers from a neighbor that is like family to us. I got my favorite type of roses which is a combination of red, pink & white. Love how they opened up in my apartment. I placed them by the window:

And that's all folks! Another year younger, another year more knowledgeable, and another year blessed and loving life. Upcoming post regarding a list of a few of the things I learned during the last year and my aspirations and goals for whats to come! Stay tuned!

Thank you for reading!

Tell me, what are your favorite kind of flowers? What do you enjoy the most on your birthday?

Love,
Mabelle

*Birthday Highlights*

Just had a chance to sit down and share some of the highlights of my wonderful 30^th bday.

First of all, as planned—I took off from work and it felt amazing not to wake up rushing to catch the bus/train. Oddly enough, I woke up at the crack up dawn without an ounce of sleepiness in me (most of the time around that time I am usually dying of exhaustion). I think that’s when I fully understood the phrase “Cant keep calm, is my Birthday!!!”.

I had a light breakfast (had brunch plans for later on that day) and then went to get my hair done-- which usually only happens for special occasions. After my hair appointment I met up with my best friend and we took the train towards the city.

She chose an amazing brunch spot called Sanabeth.

 

The atmosphere was amazing and the food was beyond delicious. I cant wait to go back and try some more of their breakfast/brunch items. We also had a couple of mimosas to celebrate. I could have not asked for a better way to start my birthday. My best friend really went all out with this! Love you Christina!!

 

After a nice brunch and a few hours of conversation about our past, present, and all of our amazing goals for the future we headed our separate ways. It was also her brother in law birthday so she had some other plans that day. I had to head back to my parents house to continue the celebration! Before leaving the city I did a little shopping at H&M (which had so many cute clothes, by the way) and then headed towards to the subway back uptown.

Let me just say one thing: The love I have for my family is beyond words. Those are the people that have been there for me 24/7/365 and whom I can always count on. I had a low key/super amazing birthday dinner, received gorgeous flowers, and then was surprised with the coolest birthday gift I gotten to date: An IPad!!! I know I may be late to the ‘IPad’ world but I could not be more excited. It is something I’ve wanted for a while.

Below are some birthday pics for your viewing pleasure:

 Birthday Flowers:

Make a Wish:

My Lovely Sister and I:

 

 

Thank you for reading! Hope you all have an amazing and super fun Halloween and be safe!

Tell me, what was your favorite birthday gift ever?