Birthday Shenanigans

I love birthdays. It doesn't matter whose birthday it is - I love them all! This past Friday was my 24th birthday, which was slightly weird for me. You know how when you're young, 24 seems so old and adulty? It's kind of funny to compare our mental pictures of what certain ages should look and feel like, and then how they really are. It was a wonderful birthday, though, and I spent it with some of my favorite people.

I started my day with lunch and pedicures with my mom and two of my best girlfriends, Mandi and Jen. We went to Sticky Rice to eat, and I ordered my usual. It was my birthday and the mock chicken szechuan is my favorite - I didn't want to be adventurous. The food was great, but the service was kind of slow. Not cool, guys.

After that, we headed over to Juste B in Locust Point, Baltimore's first and only organic nail salon. Juste B is an amazing alternative to conventional nail places. The environment was clean, fresh, and free of the harsh chemical smell that screams "HI YOU'VE JUST ENTERED A NAIL SALON." The staff was great, too! They were friendly, fun (and funny), and engaging. They even surprised me with a cupcake!

When Mom, Mandi, and I returned home, I was greeted with an amazing chocolate cake my mom baked for me. She made a double recipe for chocolate cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. She used just a bit of almond extract (I normally do just vanilla extract) and oh my the almond extract was such a yummy addition. I definitely recommend it!

That evening, I went dancing! It was the first time I've seen a lot of my work friends since summer started. I had so much fun despite the fact that it was 100 degrees.

The peanut butter to my jelly. The Birdman to my Lil Wayne.

My best friends from work, Jen and Sabrina!

Admittedly, I needed a bit of recovery on Saturday morning. Mandi and I spent too much of our day catching up on True Blood. We eventually dragged ourselves out to dinner at Papermoon Diner.

I ordered Life on the Pita, my favorite! The hummus is always a little different, but always yummy. And the pita bread! I don't know what they do to it, maybe lace it with crack, but the pita bread is the best I have ever had anywhere. It's always so soft and warm and delicious and I can't ever not eat all of it.

Later that night, Jen's band played a gig not far from my house. I may or may not have indulged in too much gin, but I had a wicked good time. 

My aunt brought these goofy glasses.

I'm with the band.

This summarizes the rest of my evening.

Despite (another) rough morning, Dakota and I made it over to Jen's on Sunday afternoon for a low-key cookout. Jen's puppy Dexter was recently fixed, so we had to put play dates on a temporary hold. I thought Dakota and Dexter were going to explode with excitement when they saw each other. And we made a new friend, Bailey the insanely adorable boxer.

Thanks to my wonderful mommy, my amazing friends, and some gosh darn cute puppies for the best birthday!