The festivities for the birthday started a week before hand - Brian and I took a weekend trip to Vancouver to celebrate my arrested metabolism and his new job. I took no pictures of the event because it was too cold to hold a camera and I was too busy stuffing my face full of mussels at Chambar and having overpriced cocktails at the Bacchus lounge. I spent the rest of the week and my birthday sitting around the house, bottle of prosecco in hand and irritating the dog with baby talk. I also ate exactly three cupcakes in a 21 hour span, and watched Home Alone (how apt!) while the husband was off at some bigwig conference, leaving me at home to feel sorry for myself. A few days later, some friends took me out to watch 'Skyfall'. I avoided the heavy drinking/dancing/lavish dinner pitfall this year and made my transition into (genuine) adulthood.
So that's that. I received some really great and thoughtful gifts (all of which were much needed and pined after) - a hand-knitted scarf based on a BrooklynTweed pattern, a CdG wallet, some earrings from Mociun, the Blanca Monros Gomez seed ring, a beautifully illustrated special edition of Charles Dickens' 'Our Mutual Friend' and I bought myself a new camera lens. Speaking of which, Mociun's jewelry are so elegant and well-made, I understand now why she charges so much for them! And in the spirit of giving thanks, I just want to state for the record that I
In other news, I registered for a domain name (yay!) so please update your bookmarks to http://www.assembledhazardly.com. I also gave in to the call of networking heavily filtered camera phone pictures; if you're interested in a gazillion pictures of my dog, you can find them on Instagram.
Cheer up! It only gets better from here... trust me (although shifting excess weight gets harder... my boyfriend and I only eat soft cheeses on special occasions).
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
Haha! This comment made me literally LOL. Thanks for the good cheer.
DeleteAnd I was being 100% serious!
Deletehappy birthday Amanda! i'm not sure i know anyone who truly looks forward to turning the big 3-0 (myself included). we may all be our own worst critics, but this week i'm reminding myself of all the things to be thankful for.
ReplyDeletehappy thanksgiving! what are you doing?
Thanks, miss sophie! We're heading to Portland, OR for annual thanksgiving dinner. Maybe hit the sales at Frances May and Alder Co. when I'm there. Happy Thanksgiving to you too! May your day be entirely turkey-filled.
Deleteoh, happy belated birthday! such lovely gifts you received. funny, we're switching places -- i'm based in portland and am heading to seattle to visit family for thanksgiving. how long will you be here? <3
DeleteHi Joanna, I get back late Sunday! How about you? Are you planning to visit Totokaelo when you're in Seattle? Portland has so many more places that are up my alley. We're spending Saturday trawling Powell's and lunching at Clyde Common :-)
DeleteHappy birthday! I'm sure you can find a lot of things to cheer up in this season: cuddling up in a heavy plaid, drinking tea or hot chocolate, lighting scented candles...
ReplyDeleteI swear to you your thirties will be better than your twenties. Seriously. Only problem is that the decade only lasts 10 years. Kind of wish I could hang on to my thirties for an extra five...
ReplyDeletehttp://nomadic-d.blogspot.com
ditto, though I think she is clinically depressed. Treatment, or another opinion, will help. Don't wait.
DeleteThanks for your concern!
DeleteHappy birthday! At 32, I add my voice to the chorus that says life only gets better in your thirties. I feel much more confident and unaffected by stress as I get older. Hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving xx
ReplyDelete@Kali Yes, I plan to do just that... with spiked tea, thank you :-)
ReplyDelete@Nomadic D. You don't look a day older than 25, can't believe you're in your thirties!
@Thanks, Ammu. I'm not so much worried abou getting older as I am about not being able to achieve all these goals I set for myself. Thanks for being supportive. :-)
Happy birthday Amanda! I love those ear studs, and I think your birthday celebration sounds pretty amazing, whining aside! I can't wait to watch Home Alone again, but I have to wait until December as it makes me go into full on Christmas-mode as soon as I hear the opening credits ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, 'Home Alone' is one of my yearly guilty pleasures.
DeleteHappy birthday! Such lovely presents, very "you".
ReplyDeletePersonally, the thing that upsets me about growing older is the physical bits - I feel betrayed by my body when I find that I am longer as fit and hardy (and wrinkle free!) as I used to be.
On the other hand, I work with a lot of under 25s and their youth makes me feel the benefits of getting older - experience, a more measured temperament, and feeling less of a need to act cynical (to feign experience).
Happy holidays!
Hee, thanks for the subtle jab! :-P Hopefully I am MUCH less cynical now that I am approaching 30. Happy Holidays to you too, Miss Lin!
DeleteHappy 30th. I turned thirty a few months ago and it's felt odd at times, the number carries a weight for me I didn't initially realize I'd placed on it, but it feels good nevertheless. I haven't commented here before, but I enjoy your blog and have come to appreciate investing in and caring for quality clothing, in part, because of it. I bought a seed ring from BMG years ago when she had an etsy shop, and it remains one of the most subtly gorgeous things I own. Hasn't left my finger since I first put it on. Anyway, congrats on the domain name. While it's a bit off-putting when you call yourself broke, especially because you make your purchases so public (though it's your blog and your prerogative), I wanted to finally comment to say I really appreciate your insights and writing.
ReplyDeleteHi Bianca, thanks for commenting and helping me put things into perpective! I just wanted to point out that a lot of the items I mentioned above were gifts - I personally have not had an income for over six months. As I pointed out before, I sponge off other people. Perhaps this warrants another post in itself.
Deletehappy birthday! I hope you had a wonderful time, your gifts are lovely :) the earrings and ring are absolutely beautiful - so pretty. I'll definitely be adding a delicate ring like that to my wishlist.
ReplyDeletewhat did you think of Skyfall? funnily enough it was my partner's 30th last week and we also celebrated by seeing the new Bond :)
p.s. your dog is so so cute, I can't get over it!
Thank you! I thought 'Skyfall' was okay... I'm more of a fan of the old-school James Bond where he was more fun and less of a brooding, emo hero . And also, what's up with drinking Heineken instead of martinis? That being said, I love the whole part in Scotland. Probably shouldn't give anymore away.
DeleteWhat my dog has in cuteness is negated by rascaliness.
aw happy birthday! i feel your pain, i'm nearly there and in a same general state of affairs. I was thinking about making a bucket list or something or making a list of films that will make me feel good about entering the 30 yo club. So far, I only found 'Whip It' with drew barrymore. Oh well! Could be worse ;) x
ReplyDeletemoira
happy birthday AND happy thanksgiving! doubly whammy. i adore your presents - they are so thoughtful. i watched skyfall too; im so blown away by the visuals. the fact that you got a domain name makes me want to get one too! but im not a professional blogger though so i wouldn't know how to justify my wanting to get one... ><
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday. The thirties are a good time. I remember them fondly - speaking as someone now in their forties. The bonus of getting older is the wisdom and the ability to stand back and take a retrospective look at everything. The downside is the body - somehow, everything seems to want to do something different to what I want it to do! And I agree with Lin - working with younger people always makes you appreciate what you don't need to prove any more. You become much happier with yourself (apart from the wrinkles) and gain an inner confidence. Enjoy your thirties.
ReplyDeletewelcome to your 30s. it gets better, although i still lack a real job. i love my graying hair--probably my favorite part.
ReplyDeletethe scotland part of 'skyfall' was beautiful.
@moira That sounds like a really good idea, I'll see if I can come up with a list this weekend. How about the new Greta Gerwig 'Lola Versus'? It's about a 29 year old single mom turning 30... I heard it's not very good, but should be interesting,
ReplyDelete@Joy I'm not a professional blogger either (considering I'm writing one post a month!) but there's something strangely satisfying about something that you can call yours! I figured that at $10 a year, it's something I can definitely afford!
@Sue Thanks for visiting! I just recently discovered your blog via CCC. Thanks for the advice, I'm trying to be less cynical about a lot of things.
@Erica Oh, Scotland was by far the best part about the 'Bond' movies. You finished your PhD, and if I ever do that maybe I'll be much less mopey.
haha i just looked at the trailer, never heard of that one before, i'll give it a try, only i hope she's not all of a sudden happy at the end because she finds a great boyfriend because that would be kind of oversimplifying... and not very helping in our case! x
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! My 30th birthday was a non-event. Was too busy working and never told a soul. However, I'm about to leave my 30s but it has been a wild ride. What a fabulous journey you'll have ahead of you. The good, the bad and the character building ones :P
ReplyDeletep.s. I think we're normally more critical and harder on ourselves than on others.
Happy Birthday Amanda! 30 is so young...they say it's the "end of adolescence." We live in a youth-obsessed culture. I know people who were producing some of their greatest works of art well past 90. Don't fall prey to obsessing about age. I find older people so beautiful. And, for the record, I'm 43, and still feel very young, despite my 1.5-year-old who makes it hard to get my beauty sleep. Keep the great blog posts coming :)
ReplyDelete