Photo Shoot Friday: I'm too hungover to think of something clever

Hey friends! Sorry for the late post today! Last night was my birthday party at Los Feliz in the Lower East Side, and it was off the HIN-GES, y'all. For realsy reals. Pics are a bit blurry, per the usual, but not for much longer!!!

Liza and I got there a bit early, which of course started making me anxious about when people would arrive. I know most people show up to parties (even their own) late, but I'm just not cool like that. Los Feliz is an awesome place to have a party--I highly recommend it! The atmosphere was really cool and there was plenty of room. It's fairly new--I hope people don't start discovering it because then it will get crowded and pretentious, and those are two things I just do not deal with.

Just as I was about to reassure the bartender that "people would be coming any second," Logan walked in. Phew! He's like a foot taller than me and always feels the need to slump down to my level in pictures. Look how cute he is with his messy hair (that's messy for Logan) and hoodie.

Cupcakes! I always get embarrassed when people sing Happy Birthday to me--I don't know why? I guess that's normal. My boyfriend got the purple ones for FnF. Represent. I didn't pimp my blog as much as I had planned though because I was too busy having fun!

I always feel the need to thug it out when I take pics with my friend Matt. I hadn't seen him in a while, so it was good to catch up. Of course though, you never get to talk to people as much as you'd like to on your birthday because you have to bounce around to everyone, which kinda stinks. I forgot exactly everything we talked about, but I do recall Matt telling me he went to the Lovely Bones premiere the other night. (Helllo Mark Wahlberg! So jeals). He gave me a full review of the movie, but I don't remember that either. Oh well, I know I'm going to see it regardless!

The best surprise of the night was my friend Dan showing up! He's so much fun. He convinced me to ditch the boring Pinot Grigio I was drinking and switch to mojitos. Umm, I guess I know who I should blame my headache on! Actually, my friend Kathleen surprised me too, which I was equally excited about. She's a pal from my last job (where I got the axe), so it was great catching up. And by "catching up" I mean gossiping.

Jenn, Nancy and Melissa: The Asian Invasion! So hot. Umm, Melissa, I'm having total hair envy right now just looking at this picture. I tried to hate you, but I can't--you're just too darn nice. (Hot and nice? Bitch. I kid, I kid). PS. Nance went to the Lovely Bones premiere too and actually MET Marky Mark. She said he was sooo sweet. Sigh

Here I am with Tiffany. She gave me the most thoughtful present. It was a book called Blessings, which is a compilation of personal essays written by a bunch of talented writers. I haven't started it yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be inspirational. Can't wait to start it--thanks, Tiff! (What I loved even more was the wrapping it came in--magazine covers! It was so cool!)

My friend (and FnF reader), Mary Allen, is such a trooper. She broke her foot and is on crutches, but still made it to my party and stayed until the very end!

The drunker I got, the more blog promoting I did. I put these FnF labels on my face and then stuck them on other people and beer bottles and..well, just about everything in the bar. I offered cupcakes to strangers and told them the only payment I needed was for them to check out the blog. (Hey people, you better be reading--those were some damn good cupcakes!)

I had such a fun night--thank you EVERYONE for coming! I'm not going to get all mushy and shit because that's not my style, but I really am so appreciative for all my friends who came. It means A LOT! Ok, enough of that. Now how should I deal with this hangover???

Poppin' Bottles with Models

I don't remember the last time I went clubbing in New York, but we hit up a few clubs in Columbus to celebrate our birthday. I'm not really down with that scene—especially when the DJ is playing nonstop techno or is ruining every good song by spinning it into a funky fresh remix—but, we had a good time. 

Here we are, the Triple Threat, giving a shot at our best club pose. Foster's is the best, but that's only 'cause he's had the most practice. ;)

This poor girl was wiggedy wasted, y'all. Tore up from tha floor up. It was only about 11pm, and she kept falling over and trying to take a nap right in the middle of the club. Damn.

And of course, there were plenty of tricked out hoes on the scene. It's kind of a shame because a lot of them were pretty, but it's hard to see under a pound of makeup. Our group definitely stood out. I was surprised when a guy approached me and asked for my number. In a panic, I gave him Liza's—whoopsie! Sorry, Lize!

All in all, it was a fun night. Sometimes it's good to step out of your box a little, although I'll be perfectly happy if I don't make it back into a club until next Thanksgiving. What's your going out style: Clubs or bars?

How old are you? And how old do you FEEL?

Mark's birthday celebration yesterday was a lot of fun. The afternoon drinks turned into nighttime drinks, which inevitably turned into morning drinks. I was a little worried about how the cake would taste, and while wasn't amazing (I realized I got the wrong kind of pears, oops!), I definitely think it added a nice touch to the evening. 

So yeah, it's not the prettiest looking cake either. The chocolate chips gravitated towards the middle—I have no idea why. Even though Mark turned 33, he told everyone it was his 26th birthday. More power to him—everyone was certainly acting younger than they were anyway!

Here I am with the birthday boy. It was nice hanging out with all my boyfriend's friends—especially since I told you in this post that I really have been missing guy camaraderie lately. 

I'm turning 29 in a few weeks, but I certainly don't feel it. (Or look it, right?!)  Age ain't nuthin' but a  number, mmm hmm. I feel like a different age for different aspects of my life:

-Physically, I feel 28. My knees crack a little more than they used to, but yoga has fixed my sore left hip. I'm feelin' a'ight. 

-Financially, 23. Living paycheck to paycheck is not fun—I can't believe I've been doing it for six years. Ughhh.

-When I party until 4am, and wake up at 2pm with five different stamps on my hand, feeling like my head might explode, I feel 19. When will I grow up?

-50, when I'm home relaxing on my couch on a Friday night with a movie and popcorn. Waking up Saturday mornings without a hangover is the best. 

-Everyone my age seems to have a raging biological clock except for me. In this regard, I feel 18. I'm still selfish and confused—I can't be responsible for anyone else yet!

You get the point. Tell me: How old are you and how old do you FEEL?

Birthday Recap

Even though I had very limited funds to do anything extravagant for Luke's birthday, it was a total success! (He said it was his best one yet, but I don't know about that.)

We started the night by going to a private performance by a new Capitol recording artist, Priscilla Renea. I admit, I was lured to the event by the promise of free alcohol and food, and I'm so glad I went. Priscilla was amazing and so cute too! See for yourself: 

                                                 

My apologies for the poor video quality and for cutting it off way too early. I had a hard time recording it over a girl's head that kept getting in my view, and then my camera ran out of memory! Anyway, I'd say Priscilla is a mix of Lauryn Hill, Regina Spektor and Erykah Badu all rolled into one. I loved her voice and how relatable her songs were. Later in the night she busted out her guitar—Luke was just as impressed as I was!

Next we headed to an Italian restaurant called Pepe Giallo for dinner. We sat in the back garden area—it was so cool! 

The atmosphere was low-key, and the food was good and cheap—just how I like it! While we sipped/chugged (jk!) our wine—white for me, red for Luke—we shared a simple, but yummy caesar salad. I don't remember the last time I had one!

I ordered the lemon chicken and broccoli for my entree and Luke got the pesto ravioli. Both were delish! 

 

 If I had to be nit-picky, I'd say my dish was a bit on the oily side. I need to start telling waiters to ask the chefs to go light on the oil. (Is that super-annoying??)

This wasn't one of those ravioli dishes where you finished still feeling hungry, wishing you had gotten something else. It was just right. We were actually quite full, but of course we made room for dessert! Here's Luke with a slice of flour-less chocolate birthday cake. Now you see it...

 

...and now you don't!

We left one bite to make us feel like we had at least a little self-control, but there wasn't much willpower or control happening in this situation—it was SO good. Question for you health experts (Rain, you reading?): What exactly does flour-less cake mean? It sounds healthy, but from the taste of this one, I don't think that's the case! I would just look it up, but I'm feeling lazy at the moment ;)

Oh and here is a pic of me in my new shoes. Aren't they hot? The heels are pretty high, but they actually weren't too hard to walk in. I love them!

 Last night was one of those moments when I looked around and thought, I love this city. New York's energy makes the simplest things so much fun. What a great night!

Tell me: What city do you live in? And what do you love most about it?