fuckin' FORTY: Part III

After the whirlwind party, we walked around the shops at East End before heading back to the AirBNB. We were all pooped and I know I just needed a minute to veg out. I wish we had had enough time for a nap but unfortunately that wasn't in the cards since Erin and I had a tattoo appointment in a couple hours. So we wound down, took a breather, and I plopped my overheated body on the incredibly cool terrazzo floor.  That shit felt so GOOD. I totally understand why animals sprawl out on cold hard surfaces. Catch me down on the ground with the pets all summer.

I didn't want anyone feeling beholden to my schedule therefore Katie and Angela went about their day of shops and tattoos. Erin, Hayley, and I continued to take a beat in between activities and then headed over to some of the shops on Corrine Dr. that I have taken Erin to before and knew Hayley would also love. Erin was cracking me up every time she said "Jelly Furtado" as slang for being jealous and then the first fucking record I spot when we walk into Park Ave. CDs was Nelly Furtado herself. Ha!

We all wanted a lil something of sustenance so we dropped in the Chick-fil-a where we all got kids meals. Nothing like a kids meal on your 40th birthday! Erin took our "toys" and came back with ice cream cones for all of us. I had no idea you could trade them in. I'm picking ice cream every damn time. And it was a hot steamy gross summer day so those ice creams HIT THE SPOT. From there we went just down the road for our tattoo appointment. Erin needed to get her swan touched up and she added a cute little frame around it which really elevated it to new heights. We also both got little bow tattoos. Two bows for two boos. Erin mentioned it months ago wherein I immediately gave her a hard time about third time being the charm. We've tried this whole matching tattoo thing twice before and it didn't pan out but I'm happy I can confirm third time was indeed the charm. Ha! It's a subtle lil nod to Taylor's Invisible String tying two people together. We both almost got Lake Eola fountain tattoos but we didn't want Cat to rush so we are planning those when she comes back in November. 

We had a bit of time to kill before meeting Dustin for dinner so we headed to Honey House Vintage. Erin had asked weeks ahead of her coming that I take her there and take her there I did. Actually Hayley took us there because she was driving the Eve 6. We all perused the cute lil shop and Hayley and I made sure to snag Mayor Lulu stickers. We even went to The Falcon, Mayor Lulu's go-to spot, but spot him we did not. We did however get to see his new mural! If you're not following him on IG yet, here you go. 

We headed over to The Monroe to meet up with Dustin for dinner. It was the perfect end to a crazy ass but fulfilling day. The girls and I all shared General Tso Cauli, BBQ Rainbow Carrots, and one of their famous fried chicken meals and it was perfect! We had a lazy night and were early to bed. As overwhelming as it all was it also filled me with so much joy that so many of my people got to be with me on my birthday. Again, thank you to each and every person who was part of it in any way, shape, or form. 

I appreciate you. I appreciate your time. I appreciate our friendship.

Yinz are real ones.

 

I took Erin to the airport long before the sun was even up the following day. We left a little later than planned and the airport drop-off was inching along. I don't know if I've ever seen it that bad. I was worried she'd miss her flight but thankfully all went fine and she made it back to Texas. 

I got back to the AirBNB and Hayley and I cleaned and loaded everything into our cars before heading out to breakfast at East End. She mentioned seeing a burrito place the day prior. She got a coffee, I got a freshly squeezed OJ, and we shared the best fucking breakfast burrito of our lives. Papi's slapped! I can't wait to take Dustin, if he can manage to get up early enough. Ok, let's be real I will probably have to go grab them to-go and come back with them for him to ever enjoy. I also saw that they cater so next morning meeting at the office I will definitely be recommending them. We did a drive-by of our Grandad's old house/neighborhood before going our separate ways. 

I came home with so much food, prezzies, and love. I had to put everything right away because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to relax. I can only handle chaos in very short bouts. Then it was time for a fucking nap. I slept hard-hard. Like a good 3 hours and even then I was like not really wanting to get up. Unfortunately, I had to drop my car off yet again at the dealership (which was a whole other fucking ordeal that I don't have the energy to get into but will say everything is fixed and I'm autonomous once more!). That evening I sat in my bed and opened all of the cards, read all the words, and felt even more of the love.