I made it to 30 and I could not be any more ecstatic than what I feel at the moment! I am sure this sounds silly to some of you that may feel getting older is a complete and utter drag, BUT I feel different. I have always felt age is a beautiful thing. Age is time and time is wisdom. Not to mention, you are only as old as you feel and if you feel damn good than why not let it shine to the world?! (My Abuela does a very good job at this).
This birthday called for a major celebration. Not only do I feel I have so much to be thankful for but I was ready to say goodbye to my twenties and all that came with it. SO, a couple months back during one of Caitlin and I's daily gchat convos, we decided to start a tradition. Once a year we are going to meet some where and vacation together. We decided what better time to start this tradition than when we both turned 30! It wasn't a hard decision at all... We both had New Orleans on our bucket list so New Orleans it was!
Cait and I met at the airport and the moment I stepped off the plane the sound of Jazz music blasting in the airport made my heart race with excitement. We literally got to the hotel dropped our suitcases off in our room and began exploring New Orleans.
First stop:
The Old Coffee Pot (established in 1894).
The waitress suggested we try their famous Pralines Coffee drink with Bailey's Irish Creme. YUMMY. Found out shortly after homemade Pralines is a traditional Creole Candy and there were Praline Stores everywhere!
Our next stop was to find the "creepiest" looking tarot card reader on the street and have our palms read. Mission accomplished. Our guy had about 5 teeth left in his mouth and was more dead on with our readings than we even expected haha. I wasn't sure if I should take a picture so I didn't. Here are some more pics on the way to our reading though...
It was such a fresh breath of air having people look us in the face and say "hello, how are you?" Every where we walked this was the case and we loved it! We also loved the cute voodoo dolls (not the scary old school ones) and the masks were fantastic!
On our walk back to our hotel we got semi harassed to have our shoes shined. Cait was smart enough to jump out of the way when the man on the side walk bent over to put what I called "GOO" on her boots. Me on the other hand was way to tired to jump therefor by the time I looked down, I already had the GOO (aka dish soap) on my boots. At least I got to sit for a hot minute...
Dinner was next up on the list but we showed up before the place opened so the kind chef putting the menu up outside the restaurant told us to go to Hotel Monteleone for a drink and come back. We had no idea how much history the hotel had until we went on our tour the following day. We heard the words "Spinning Bar" and were sold. I grabbed this paragraph and photo off their website so you can better understand the FABULOUSNESS of this hotel...
Hotel Monteleone is one of the last, great family-owned hotels in
America, having been operated by four generations of the Monteleone
family over the past century. When it was founded in 1886, Royal Street,
on which it sits, was the most fashionable and elegant street in the
city. The hotel’s famed grandfather clock still chimes in the lobby,
surrounded by glittering chandeliers, polished marble floors and
gleaming brass appointments. The legendary Carousel Bar still revolves
every fifteen minutes and the elegant Queen Anne Ballroom still hosts
fashionable parties and memorable events. Numerous authors, including
William Faulkner, Eudora Welty and Truman Capote were frequent visitors
and the hotel has often appeared as a setting in American fiction,
prompting the Friends of Libraries USA to designate Hotel Monteleone a
Literary Landmark.
As you probably just read, the bar revolves because it is a Carousel Bar. Not going to lie, it took me a solid 20 min before I got used to it. I tried taking a picture of the art on the wall because it was absolutely TO DIE FOR. This is the best pic I got and it doesn't even come close to doing it justice. The pearls and the clothing was 3-dimensional it was amazing.
Day One ended with dinner at a place called Red Gravy. Home made pasta
and a glass of wine was exactly what we needed.We found this building
with the cutest sayings on the windows on our walk back to the hotel.
Okay, so the weather Friday was MUCH different than the day we arrived. A cold front hit the South (just our luck) and holy moly it was cold! Yet our hearts were set on beignets at Cafe Du Monde (established in 1862). We gave one another pep talks before stepping outside saying "We got this. We lived in NY and it can't be as bad at their cold." WE> WERE> WRONG. It was the kind of cold where we didn't talk to each other on our walk there because our face hurt so bad. But we made it and our prize was well worth it.
As for the rest of the day there was no way we were going to spend another minute in the rain and wind. So we took a 3-hour city tour in a warm shuttle bus. One of the best things we could have done.
*** Freezing Faces***
We saw the damage from Katrina (absolutely heart braking to see) and the cemetery that has been in multiple movies
(Double Jeopardy being one of them)
It was an extremely informative tour and I felt very lucky to have the shuttle driver that we had. Later on that night we once again decided to brave the cold and headed out to the Jazz Restaurants. I took some videos as I knew it would be hard to put into words the talent we saw that night.
Our last day came and we wanted no part in any more cold. Although the Sun was shining it was not warm and we spent most of the morning running around the city buying things we saw the first day we were there. Once we were done we spent the day back at our hotel shoving Pizza and wine in our mouths and napped. It was absolutely wonderful. After we got our second wind, we went out to dinner trying. Let me tell you, trying to find a place that didn't serve "fried food or Seafood" was not an easy task. Then we walked Bourbon Street (yikes not the cleanest) and spent two hours trying to find a restaurant that wasn't packed and that served dessert haha. We walked out butts off that night but the evening itself turned out to be a lot of fun. We shopped and people watched and passed the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral that we both loved so very much.
This is a picture of the back side
I woke up on Sunday and it was FINALLY my Birthday! Woowoo! Unfortunately, it was also the same day I had to say goodbye to my friend :( but I was ready to go home to warmer weather and my Sedona. I am still a kid when it comes to opening up my birthday presents and blowing out candles and I still tear up every time I read my birthday cards from my family and friends.
This year I had 2 wishes... those I cannot share though or they won't come true :)
Okay people. Here it is. 20 things I learned in my 20's
1) Challenge your comfort zone and all that is normal when you graduate high school. Move out of state to a place that will allow you to grow as a person. Experience being a college student.
2) Never stop listening to your intuition. Whether it's about people, places, situations etc. You're smarter than you some times give yourself credit for.
3) Dancing never gets old. Dance in your room, at a bar, in your car. It will always make you feel good and will bring an instant smile to your face.
4) Always say I Love You to those that matter and say it often; you never know when their last day on earth might be.
5) Listen to the advice your Mom gives you. She was in your shoes at some point and will be right 99.9% of the time.
6) People are who they are. Let them go if they don't make you or your life better.
7) It's okay to hold on to your first cell phone # because it reminds you of who you were when that first cell phone was bought.
8) Adopt a dog. They will love you so hard especially when you need it the most.
9) Don't be afraid to say I am sorry. It is okay to be wrong or make a mistake and realize it.
10) Cherish your family & friendships. They are the most precious things in the world.
11) Go after your goals. Sounds cliche but if your heart and head is set on something IT CAN HAPPEN.
12) Buy expensive shoes. It is not worth the pain your poor feet experience to save a couple dollars.
13) Never stop taking pictures. It is the only thing that will be left behind for future generations to remember you by.
14) Walk and walk often. It's not only therapeutic but it allows for you to see things you may miss otherwise from driving.
15) Find the time and $$$ to treat your body to something lovely such as: a pedi, facial, massage or all the above :). Your body works hard daily for you. Pamper yourself every once and awhile to say thank you.
16) Be comfortable with where you are in life. Therefore don't get caught up with where everyone elses life is at. Your life path is YOURS for a reason.
17) It's okay to secretly be proud of yourself for holding a clean driving record aka NO ticket.
18) Having Ice Cream for a meal is totally okay.
19) Wearing a fabulous dress does wonders for the soul.
20) There is no need to weigh yourself...Use the way you feel and your jeans as your scale..
Here I am on my first official day as a 30 year old! Cheers!!!
