A Whole New Decade
As I mentioned in my new website announcement, I turned 40 yesterday! So I wanted to share a post recapping my wonderful 40th birthday.
As with my 39th birthday, I kicked off the day by going to Starbucks for my free birthday drink (an iced caramel macchiato). Back at home, I opened a gift from my in-laws: a $100 Sephora gift card! I’ll probably spend hours on the website deciding what to buy with it!
Then my husband gave me his gifts, including this SUPER adorable sea turtle card:
You know your husband totally gets you when he surprises you with a bunch of Supernatural-themed beauty products!! This is why John is my favorite person. I actually had NO idea any of these products existed so I was extra surprised. And the 5-pack of no-show socks are awesome…I just love silly socks. Unfortunately the store left the ink tag on them, so we need to figure out how to remove it without wrecking them. I am gonna have SO MUCH FUN playing around with all of this stuff!
Treat Yo Self
After John left for work I pampered myself with this Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask:
While I had the mask on, I started opening my birthday presents from my parents. My mom asks me for a list of gift ideas every year, so everything you see here is something I requested.
More Gifts
First I opened this gorgeous West Elm Marble + Brass Round Cheese Board:
I picked the cheese board out so that I could have a nice marble background for taking blog pics. I know the white marble thing is cliché by now, but I still think it’s beautiful so I’m going for it. 🙂
Then I opened this five-piece anti-aging sheet mask set from SokoGlam (referral link). My sheet mask stash was pretty depleted so I’ve been stocking up and can’t wait to try these out! I’m especially curious about the Neogen Knit Mask.
Next I opened this gorgeous rose gold labradorite ring from Moon Magic Jewelry. I started following the brand on Instagram awhile back and have been coveting their beautiful pieces, so now I have one of my very own.
My current Bullet Journal is filling up so I wanted to get a fresh one to have at the ready. This time I selected an official Bullet Journal-branded Leuchtturm1917 in the color Nordic Blue. Love it!
I also love Brooklyn Candle Studio’s products, so I requested this apothecary candle in the WILD scent. It smells amazing and the jar is so pretty. I love the vintage vibe of the label, too.
Sephora Time!
And of course I requested a bunch of beauty products from Sephora. I’ve heard great things about Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial so that was one of the first things I put on my list. It came with a mini Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil, which is great because I’m almost out of the slightly larger mini that I’ve been enjoying!
I was also curious about the Kiehl’s Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Mask so that made it onto my list as well. The new Kat Von D brow line had caught my eye(brows) so I included her Signature Brow Precision Pencil in Dark Brown on my list. However, I’ve recently soured on KVD now that she has come out as an anxi-vaxxer (UGH). I’ll use up her products that I already have, but I won’t be buying KVD in the future unless she changes her position.
Using facial SPF daily is part of my routine, but I rarely use lip products with SPF in them. That HAS to change! So I included the untinted Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15 on my list. I’ve purchased (and repurchased) the lip treatment in Honey, but I wanted to try a couple of the other shades. Turns out that the exact two shades I was eyeing are a part of the Pink Out Loud Lip Kit, so I asked for that! It came with the shades Bloom and Petal, plus a Sugar Lip Scrub.
One more gift from my parents came via email: a Starbucks gift card, which I will get plenty of use out of.
The Cutest Birthday Candy
I had to go to the post office in Union Station, so on the way out I stopped in at Sugarfina, a luxury candy boutique that recently opened inside the station. I had heard they sell rosé gummy bears and because it was my birthday I wanted to treat myself! So I picked up a box of sparkling rosé bears and a box of gummy ice cream cones. I signed up for their rewards program so I also got to pick out a taster pack (I chose dark chocolate marshmallow eggs). Sugarfina’s packaging is ADORABLE and the candy tastes great, too!
Drinks with a View + Indian Food
In the evening, John and I met up with another couple for drinks at Top of the Gate—the rooftop bar at the infamous Watergate Hotel.
One of our friends shares a birthday with me so we thought it would be fun to all celebrate together! We enjoyed a couple drinks on the roof and got to see the sun begin to set over the Potomic River:
Then we headed to dinner at Rasika, a very nice Indian restaurant in Penn Quarter. I had a really tasty artichoke and mushroom korma, while everyone else at our table got the vegetarian tasting menu. Tasting menu just aren’t for me; it’s so much food that I generally avoid them. I did taste a few bites of John’s dishes and they were all so good!
My 40th birthday ended up being a really wonderful day. It’s always so lovely to get so many phone calls, texts, and social media birthday wishes, so thank you to everyone for that!! Here’s to a fresh new decade. 🙂
