My 34th Flag Day fell on a Friday this year which is pretty perfect. I took the day off work just so I could self-care it up. I got a pedicure (ahh) and went shopping (oooh) for the first half of the day. It was so nice just to have a chill day with myself. In between all of my fun I got texts and phone calls from everyone I love. I'm not a person who loves a ton of attention but my face lit up more and more with each person that reached out to me. My mom told me I was born at 2:30 pm which fell right in the middle of As The World Turns. Born during one soap and named after a character on another. Do Gen Z-ers even know what a soap opera is? I'd bet money they don't. Another confirmation of my "old age". No, I'm not old but I technically fall in the mid-30s category now which is a little weird. I'm not one to freak out over age and all of that but I do totally get when a 50 year old says "I feel like I'm 22." because yeah I may be 34 but I don't feel it. Maybe we all just have these preconceived notions about how we are "supposed" to feel, who we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to have accomplished at certain ages. I'm just so thankful for this little life of mine and all those who are apart of it no matter how small or big a role.
Dustin and I went out to an early dinner (we like to hit up restaurants when the 65 and older crowd is there). We came home and I took a nap (on purpose) and Dustin took one accidentally. I could not have asked for a more perfect chill birthday.
Dustin and I went out to an early dinner (we like to hit up restaurants when the 65 and older crowd is there). We came home and I took a nap (on purpose) and Dustin took one accidentally. I could not have asked for a more perfect chill birthday.
So I had this epiphany about creating little goodie bags for those who were coming to my birthday festivities the following day. Katie was like "um YOU'RE the one supposed to be getting presents". I mean, yeah, I suppose but I really like showing my people how much I appreciate them. And in this particular case I appreciated everyone who gave up a Saturday night to spend it with this total straight edge mid-30s nerd.
One side of the bags had a Taylor Swift lyric and the other side had a cat with a different MFM sticker quote. Basically all things I love wrapped up in one. The bags were totally random but I included a thank you note, some temporary tattoos, Flag Day inspired sunglasses, a sweet treat, and a mixed fucking CD that was titled "FUCK YOUR SPOTIFY PLAYLIST". Ha!
The first stop of the night was Ollie's Public House located right next to my alma mater. Talk about a weird full circle kind of moment. Long gone are the days I was sneaking off campus to go to McDonalds, actually long gone are the original buildings...but I digress. High school truly seems like several lifetimes ago. I mean, look at me now, all "grown up" and shit.
We ate, some people drank, and we all rocked out to the live musician who sang all 90s songs which I totally appreciated. I opened all of my gifts and got the coolest shit: Post Malone enamel pin, T-Swift earrings, a new plant baby, a cat shaped picture frame, political postcards, etc. My friends are kind of the best.
The next stop on the Ashley party train was ice-cream! I had driven by The Soda Fountain the last time I got my hair cut down the road and made a mental note to check it out at some point. Across the street is this beautiful Orlando/Florida inspired mural that we all just HAD to take photos in front of because as Mr. Kate would say - WHY NOT? None of us knew what we were doing and all just winged some poses to make it look like we were some kind of professional content person of the inter web. And to be honest think we all killed it.
I'd like to interrupt my own blog to talk about the jumpsuit/romper situation you see me in below. I got it at Old Navy and tried it on as a joke. Like I thought this is cute but there's no way i can pull it off but i'll try it on because WHY NOT. I put it on and kind of felt amazing in it. Then Katie facetimed me while in the dressing room and she convinced me to go for it. It's totally not something I usually wear (because I don't have the body to usually pull it off not ever because I don't want to). The print is bright and girly and totally has TS7 vibes. It shows a bit of cleavage even! Who even am I?! It felt like pajamas the whole night mixed with a little swamp crotch (thanks a lot Florida heat and humidity you wretched cunt). I loved how easy it was to move around that I just keep squatting like I was in a boyband photoshoot. WHATEVS. Now back to your regularly scheduled birthday blog post.
The final stop of the night was to Ivanhoe Brewing.
But Ashley, you don't even drink. Why would you go to a brewery?
BECAUSE I CAN AND WANTED TO.
BECAUSE I CAN AND WANTED TO.
I had been here once before for my book club and loved the atmosphere and big tables (great for playing games on which was the main reason I chose this place). We could all play games and those that wanted to drink could enjoy that as well. I figured it was a win-win. And it was.
We played a new-to-us game called For The Girls that is a mix of a lot of different things like Truth or Dare, speed rounds, and Never Have I Ever. It was pretty fun! We also played Cards Against Humanity for a bit. Lots of laughs were had and embarrassing texts to a couple mothers. A dare is a dare, right?
We all met the SWEETEST dog. She was so friendly we all wanted to take her home but thankfully she already has a very loving family. We actually came across several dogs over the course of the evening and I have zero complaints. ZERO. More dogs, everywhere.
The night was just as I had hoped it would be - easy going, inappropriate, and filled with cackles (you know that laugh that is so hard that your head flings back and gives you a double chin but you don't care because you're having too much fun? THAT.)
Thanks ladies. You're all a good time.
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