A Pandemic Birthday
My 42nd birthday was on June 13, and it was a little different from prior birthdays due to the pandemic. Honestly, I’m still doing okay with staying home aside from walks and a couple no-contact errands here and there. I fully acknowledge that it’s a privilege to be able to do so.
Typically for my birthday, we’ll go out for a nice dinner and drinks. DC’s restaurants with patios are open so technically we could have gone out. But I don’t feel ready to go out to a restaurant yet, even with fresh air and social distancing. So I had a stay-home birthday.
I did want to treat myself to breakfast in the morning, so I placed an online order from Bullfrog Bagels. I ordered from them once before during the pandemic, and they have an easy system that allows you to pick up without setting foot inside. So I got myself a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel and coffee, plus a baker’s dozen bagels to have on hand. The pickup process went smoothly (though I saw a couple cops waiting for their order without wearing masks…boooo…wear a freakin’ mask, people!!) and I came home and enjoyed my birthday breakfast. It’s a real treat to eat food prepared by someone else these days!
The weather was basically perfect on my birthday, so we had the windows open and a nice breeze flowing in. I used the Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask in the morning and painted my nails. Most of the day, I pretty much sat around responding to birthday texts and comments on social media…and played a lot of Animal Crossing New Horizons, which I am currently obsessed with!!
The little animal villagers in the game threw me a surprise birthday party, which honestly was the fucking cutest thing and totally made my day.
The villagers dressed up and gave me gifts and cupcakes and sang happy birthday, and I could not have been more thrilled. This is apparently what how you feel about a video game birthday celebration when you’ve been stuck at home for three months. 😛 It’s been days since my birthday and I haven’t taken off the birthday glasses one of the villagers gave my character because they’re so cute!
In the early evening we did a virtual hangout with my family, and then ordered in pizza from We, the Pizza. I had considered ordering from more of a fine dining-type establishment, maybe someplace we would have gone out for a special occasion. But I didn’t feel like trying to figure out where to order from, and pizza always makes me happy. I’m not that fancy when it comes to food. So we had a delicious pizza dinner, along with batch cocktails I had ordered from Beuchert’s Saloon the night before.
My NYC friends (most of whom now live in Cali) and I have been doing a weekly Saturday night Zoom. So since my birthday fell on a Saturday, we turned the week’s hangout into a birthday celebration. We had drinks and lots of fun! One of the silver linings about staying home has been catching up with friends a lot more regularly. I also did a fun birthday hang with a couple high school friends on Sunday night.
Of course I’d like to share my birthday gifts here. Back when Dermstore was having their 20% off summer sale, I sent my mom a list of skin care items I was interested in, along with some non-beauty things I’ve had my eye on. And she got them all! Thanks, Mom!
The Gifts
- Caudalie Beauty Elixir (bought a mini last summer and loved it!)
- Naturopathica Espresso Mud Body Scrub (last summer I got a facial at a spa that uses this brand, and I’ve been wanting to buy some of their products ever since)
- Local Eclectic Circuit Opal Earrings(I just love dainty jewelry)
- Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster (I’ve heard that this is a great Vitamin C)
- Naturopathica White Tea Antioxidant Mask
- Naturopathica Sweet Cherry Brightening Enzyme Mask
- Sephora’s birthday gift: Briogeo Revive & Repair Duo (I’m not that into hair care, but I wasn’t excited about the other gift options)
- Homesick Wyoming Candle (I’ve only been to Wyoming once, but this scent sounded amazing)
- Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck (still collecting more decks!)
- The Good Tarot (more decks!)
- Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels (the brand initially gifted me a 4-pack but I liked them enough to request more as a birthday gift)
- Not pictured: John got me a gift card to Orchids by Hausermann, so I can order some more orchids to grow in our greenhouse!!
Here’s a look at the cute earrings:
Pandemic aside, I had a wonderful start to my 42nd year. I’m feeling good and I appreciate all the birthday wishes on social media!
