What Did You Do Yesterday? #2
Except it's not a random day, it's my Birthday!
I Love Birthdays. It feels childish to admit this, and I spent a long time pretending I don’t, but I do. I love anything that represents growth, a new beginning, a clean slate. And I love the people in my life, so any chance to celebrate them or vice versa, I am a fan of. With a love of my birthday comes a great responsibility to myself, to make the day special, to plan an itinerary, to “make the most” of my birthday. In reality, I just need to be with the people who love me, and to feel special (it doesn’t take much).
9:00 AM: Woke up. My Oura ring suggests I didn’t sleep amazing last night, but I don’t care, I’m 27! I spent too long trying to pick out the perfect birthday outfit (in the end, I wore my favorite dress, which I wear probably once a week), had a short cry (duh), and finally I was out the door.
11:00 AM: It was humid and overcast, but not very hot. Definitely okay weather to walk around in, which I was pleased about. I made my way to Lisson Gallery, the first stop on my itinerary. I walked around the block trying to find the entrance, and finally did. The door was heavy, I looked like an idiot trying to open it, but finally I was blasted with air conditioning and art.
11:30 AM: Walking around the gallery, I felt inspired by the art I was seeing by the artist Leiko Ikemura. She makes art mostly surrounding girlhood and light— I adored this sculpture in particular and stood for awhile just staring at it. I was the only person in the gallery for a little, which was really peaceful. I also loved this series of mountainous paintings. A new favorite artist for sure.
12:00 PM: I met up with Milo at Ambrosia Cafe, and I paid $10 for an iced latte. It was a good latte, but damn! He gave me part of my present (lol at the wrapping paper) and we chatted for a little before heading back out. On our way out, I told him I received a birthday text from a friend saying, “Every time I see you I feel lucky” and a random stranger eavesdropping said, “What a nice thing to be told. I never get told that! Every time I walk into the room it’s like… pfft… this guy…” which gave me and Milo a good laugh.
12:35 PM: We walked to a couple places after the cafe, including the Karma archive book sale (underwhelming) and 192 Books, a new favorite bookstore of mine. Milo found a book about Gorky, this impressionist artist we both like, and he debated buying it, but it was $50. I left without buying anything too, but it was still a nice pit stop.
1:00 PM: We walked to Milo’s moms house— she lives in a beautiful apartment in Chelsea and I really love spending time with her. She ordered Sugarfish for lunch, and we hung out there for awhile, chatting and drinking and telling stories. She has a really infectious happy personality, very magnetic and I’m always in such a good mood when I’m around her!
3:45 PM: We left her apartment and walked around the neighborhood, stumbling upon this bookstore connected to a gallery (the name escapes me). I bought a book called Motion Sickness by Lynne Tillman, an author I’ve been curious about for awhile. The space itself was really beautiful, and the installation next door was cool to look at also.
3:55 PM: We walked around West Village, making our way to Paquita Tea Room. We stopped at a Salt and Straw and shared a kids’ cup of the chocolate babka flavor. Once we arrived at Paquita, the vibes in there were surprisingly hostile. Not only to us, but the workers were super rude to each other, and they told us we couldn’t sit in the store if we didn’t order food. Which made no sense to me because you’re a tea room… serving tea…and I am trying to buy tea…anyways.
Around this time, I had a small dip in my mood. I attribute it to the birthday blues, which happens every year without fail. I’m not sure why I get so sad on my birthday— I am excited to grow and get older and wiser! But I think change has always been hard for me, and birthdays do represent a small but significant change.
4:52 PM: Determined to turn my mood around, Milo took me to this bar where we sat outside and ordered a couple cocktails. We people watched, talked a little, and I was starting to feel better. Then, we left the bar to walk to our dinner reservation.
5:28 PM: On the way to the restaurant, we stopped by this fancy drugstore we both really like. There was a cat and a dog having a staring contest, and we watched. The owner of the dog was really friendly, and we chatted with him about the process of adopting a rescue.
6:00 PM: In good spirits and feeling significantly better, we pulled up to our dinner reservation at Soothr. They gave me a little birthday card (sweet) and we sat at a two seater in the corner. The vibe in Soothr is really lovely— busy and lively, but not too loud, and our server was a sweetheart. We ordered the shrimp curry and the chicken pad see ew (spicy!), both were delicious and filling. We shared a bottle of wine and our server gave us a free shot! I made Milo tell me the story of when we first met (I get to do this about twice a year on special occasions) which always makes me happy, and by the end of dinner, I was feeling drunk and goofy.
7:41 PM: We walked to Venerios and took the long way next to the park, sharing Airpods and playing The Who. I am really into this song, I especially love the ending. It was so sweet dancing on the side streets with Milo, feeling elated and tipsy and silly.
8:00 PM: Venerios with my friends. I am basically the luckiest girl in the world when it comes to the community I have in New York— my friends are kind and thoughtful and they all showed up for me and no one was phased when I cried because I was so overwhelmed with emotions (happy emotions!!!) The chocolate cake from Venerios is my favorite, and everyone ordered other cakes and desserts too. My friend Isabel came which is really special because she lives in Austin but was in town serendipitously during my birthday! After dessert, we all parted ways, and I went home, stomach and heart full. On our way to the train, these guys asked Milo for a lighter, and then they sang me Happy Birthday in the middle of the street and made me blow out the lighter.
I am rich with love in my life, and I really felt it on my birthday this year. Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes, I am filled with gratitude everyday. <3
Love this timeline format of everything you did on your birthday. Happy belated birthday! 27 is going to be amazing!!
i loved reading this!! happy birthday cammi <3