the little things: the 30th birthday

Ok friends. Buckle up, because today’s post is going to be a long one. (Like, maybe pack a snack, tell your mom you’ll  be home after dark, kind of long). But it was absolutely necessary because this month’s round of Little Things just so happens to be about Ben’s insanely amazing celebration of my 30th birthday, which I did my best to document through my iPhone. So let’s get celebrating!

 

The Little Things: October 2017

It began at 5:30 am, which generally speaking is not a time of day I like to see. But this particular 5:30 am I was awoken to a card (which was amazingly Fantastic Mr. Fox themed) and Ben’s directions to get out of bed and get dressed. And nothing gets me out of bed faster than the promise of a surprise ; ) We had been in Chicago for a wedding, and were supposed to be going to the Chicago Science Museum before flying home that day, but all he would tell me was that we wouldn’t be visiting the museum any more. So after an Uber trip and a train ride, I found myself at the airport. Not headed home to Florida, but to New York. (Cue Surprise #1)

We arrived in the city to one of the swankiest hotel rooms I’d ever stepped foot in. Not only because of the gorgeous decor but because of the amazing view (we literally could have done nothing but laid in bed and watched the lights of Times Square and I would have been a happy camper). But after dropping off our bags we headed out, and quickly found ourselves in line for surprise #2, a taping of the Colbert Show! It was tons of fun to see all of the behind the scenes workings of the set, and we got to see a few celebrity interviews (including Sterling K. Brown from This is Us, which we just started watching and love!)

After the taping we headed to the hotel to change before heading to dinner, and we arrived to surprise #3, a magical birthday cake that has just appeared in the room.

 With wine. It was PERFECT. 

But what I didn’t know was that everything that had happened so far would pale in comparison to what the rest of the night held. After grabbing dinner at Joe’s Shanghai (because soup dumplings are our FAVE) I was totally ready to go back to the hotel and get to bed…thirty year olds need their beauty sleep! But instead Ben told me we had one more stop, and we hopped on a Brooklyn bound train.

Which brings us to surprise #4, which just so happens to be my most favorite birthday surprise. We walked into a place called Royal Palms, which was part bar and part super trendy shuffleboard court, to a ton of decorations and balloons and what I thought was just a few friends + family who live in the city. But instead was greeted by so many favorite faces, including three of my siblings who had flown all the way to NY to surprise me.

 And, friends, this was no ordinary birthday party I was being thrown. This was a perfectly detailed, amazing in every way, Wes Anderson themed birthday party. Complete with costumes so on point they had me laughing all through the night. It was the kind of night where you look around and can’t help but feel so special to be loved by so many amazing people, and is one that still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.

The very next morning we woke up a little later than planned (due to the aforementioned birthday party) feeling a little more sluggish than planned (again, birthday party ; ) but that didn’t stop us from heading out to surprise #5, a private Hamilton themed tour all around the actual locations and history that inspired the musical. A tour that was only made *that* much better by the fact that we were wearing our super amazingly weird, matching shirts we scored from Royal Palms the night before ; )

I was in total nerd heaven, and the 3 hours went by far too quickly The next stop ( I know….there was MORE) also known at surprise #6, was to the float tank spa. If you haven’t heard of float tanks they are basically sensory deprivation pods that people use for relaxation, where you float in water so salty it effortlessly holds your body as you lay in the darkness. It was the strangest feeling and was something I definitely recommend everyone try once, especially if you’re like me and have a hard time going a single second without thinking a million thoughts. (This part was not so well documented, because NUDITY.) After the float tank we headed back to the hotel, where Ben surprised me with tickets for Evan Hansen as I dried my hair. (Cue  surprise #7).

This brought on full, 30 going on 3 year old style, couldn’t contain myself from jumping on the bed, child-like excitement. AHH! This show had been on my bucket list for EVER, and I was so excited to get to see it! We both cried through the tough bits and resisted the urge to sing along to our favorite songs, and couldn’t have loved it any more.

And after one last night in the city, we found ourselves at our very last morning, which involved heading to a famous NYC diner Ben had picked for us and lounging in Bryant Park with coffee. It felt like the perfect ending to a seriously perfect, over-the-top, oh-so-appreciated celebration. But as we were walking back to the hotel to grab our bags and fly out, Ben hugged the right side of the sidewalk. And then pulled me through a random doorway with him. And then proceeded to get out tickets. We were now in another theater. (Cue surprise #8). Our trip wasn’t ending with a coffee date, but by seeing “The Play That Goes Wrong” on Broadway, which was so insanely funny we have been recommending it to everyone we have seen since then. If you’re going to be in New York any time soon you absolutely MUST go!

And just like that, the birthday celebration I hadn’t been expecting, the ultimate surprise full of the most unthinkably amazing activities came to a close, and we found ourselves back at the airport headed back home to Florida and the beginning of wedding season. Even as I type all of this I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to live it, not just because of all the amazing activities, but because I’m somehow lucky enough to be loved by a man who thinks my birthday is worthy of so many surprises.