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“If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely”
-Roald Dahl
Happy Friday!! Extra emphasis on the exclamation point because tomorrow is my birthday!! I am turning 34…… wow. I keep forgetting my age as I still think I am in my late 20’s. Crazy to think that I am this old. However I did get carded last weekend at a restaurant because the waitress thought I was under 21…. I can’t complain, not too shabby for ole Mags. Anyway, my life is completely different than I ever thought it would be at this age. If you had asked me when I was younger, and even in college, where I would be at 34 I would say: married, 2-3 kids, probably a stay-at-home mom or a dance teacher, living in my hometown. And there is nothing wrong with that scenario. I would definitely be happy in that scenario. But God had other plans for me. Instead I am childless, not married, living in NYC, and owning my own business. I have to count my blessing but I do get upset sometimes as I do want to get married and have kids. I then have to remind myself to have patience, when God decides it is my time it will happen for me. Instead I am choosing to enjoy my life, cherish who is in my life and the moments I have with people I love, enjoy my successes and failures, enjoy this time I have here in New York (if for some reason I ever decide to leave). Enjoy what God has given me, because I do live a pretty blessed life, not perfect, but blessed. Nevertheless I am still going to celebrate my birthday– I am a carpe diem; eat ice cream and drink champagne all day type of birthday gal. I do not need a big blow out, just firmly believe in treat yourself on your birthday!
Since it’s my birthday this weekend my sister is in town to celebrate! I am really excited she is going to be here as we have not hung out just the two of us in a very long time. Not since I moved back to New York 3 years ago. When I moved back she had a baby and also lived in Georgia (she nows lives back in Ohio). When I would visit her in Georgia or go home for the holidays/ weekends, our time together was spent mostly with other family members or with my niece. I can’t complain, I am obsessed with my niece so anytime spent with her is more than welcomed, if not wanted. But my alone time with my sister has taken a backseat to other life happenings. I am excited for it to be just the two of us like it used to be! We have nothing major planned. The only thing we have on the agenda is to go to my favorite bar at some point this weekend.Marie’s Crisis is this very small piano bar in West Village that only plays show tunes. I’ve been warming up my vocal chords and listening to every broadway song ever created. I’ll be the one who sounds like a fog horn compared to the other people at the bar. I describe it as the place where broadway rejects go. Those who came to New York to be on broadway but never made it. Everyone who goes there seems to be a professional singer. Then there are those of us who can’t sing, like me, and still belt out All That Jazz. Going to be a great weekend!
Last weekend my parents were in town for an early birthday celebration. They have a wedding to attend tomorrow on my actual birthday so they visited me a weekend early. We had so much fun being tourist! Friday night we went to our first ever Yankee’s game. I am not the biggest fan of baseball, I don’t hate it but it’s not something I would ever watch on TV (unless the Cubs are back in the World Series– my dad is from Chicago). Still I had fun at the game and wouldn’t mind going back! Saturday we got up bright and early to hop on a boat that took us to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We got tickets to go up into the crown of the Statue of Liberty. It’s around 195 steps to get to the top. I semi have a fear of heights. Not enough to stop me from doing things from high up above (like drink on a rooftop), but I do get anxiety. The stairway up to the crown is very small and claustrophobic, but it was worth the experience. Pretty cool to say I have been in the crown of the Statue of Liberty– bucket list item for sure! Ellis Island was another bucket list item. It’s a strange feeling being there. There is a sense of hope and sadness. Sadness for those who died from disease there, and some may say what they went through to get into America was wrong. I can’t say what is right or wrong. I think they did what they thought was right at the time. I don’t think any of it was horror but more anxiety driven. These immigrants are in a new country, fear of being turned away, and going through days worth of testing. I am sure it was scary. On the other hand it’s all hopeful. They are about to embark on a new life, a fresh start here. I wouldn’t be here if my ancestors didn’t come to America from England and France. At Ellis Island they have a memorial in the garden of all of the names of the people who went through– we took pictures of those who have last names within our family tree. My mom is really into figuring out our family history, so I am sure she is all over these names and trying to see who we are related to, if we are.
This week has been bittersweet. It’s my birthday week but there was much sadness. Unfortunately my family dog passed away early Tuesday morning. Well technically it’s my sisters dog, but Lexi has been in our family for 14 years. We all felt as if she was our own. My family dog Gabbie passed away 8 years ago (on the exact date of when Lexi passed.. freaky I know), and my parents never got a new dog. Lexi was our dog after that. When I would come home for the holidays or the weekends we would cuddle in the lazy-boy together. She would let me cradle her like a baby and made me give her massages. I loved her so much. My family is very sad. I still have moments of when I burst into tears… hell I am crying just writing this. She was a wonderful dog and my heart completely breaks for my sister and brother-in-law. And my niece who is only 2 years old; she keeps asking for Lexi. Losing a pet is never easy. I am happy my sister will be here this weekend so I can help cheer her up and keep her mind off of things.
Tuesday night I was suppose to go to the grand opening of the new Coco J’Adore restaurant in West Village. But with Lexi passing away that morning, I couldn’t bring myself to go. I had been crying all day and didn’t feel like mingling with people. The only other event I had this past week was a meeting with Jill Stuart Beauty. The showroom looks lovely, decorated with pearls and florals. The packing is also beautiful!! Very elegant, something I would want to display on my vanity.
Besides the celebrations and family loss, not much else went on this week. I finished reading Where’d You Go, Bernadette. As mentioned before I saw a private screening of the movie before it came out and LOVED IT. It was enjoyable, cute, funny, and relatable. I can’t believe what I am about to say but I liked the movie better than the book. Not that I didn’t enjoy the book, I really liked it. However, there are, obviously, a few differences between the two and I liked the story that was told in the movie. I do not want to give away spoilers away, so I can’t really explain what I like best about the movie compared to the book. What I will say is that the movie has a happier ending– and I prefer happy endings over anything. So the movie wins out for having a happier ending (the book ends on a happy note as well I should include).
Hope you have a wonderful weekend xo
Taylor Swift dropped her new album today…… Happy Birthday to meeee!! (I forgot that you existed and lover on repeat!)
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