Thank you for all the birthday wishes!
On Friday, June 3, I turned 25 – yikes. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I feel so old and college feels like it was ages ago. On the other hand, I also feel like a baby and don’t know anything about anything. On yet another (third?) hand, I am very proud of what I’ve accomplished in my 25 years of life. When I was little, I thought by 25 I would have a white picket fence house and I am very far away from that. I feel like this is the start of my quarter-life crisis but hoping that it won’t last long and I can have a quarter-life come up instead! Also, the idea that I’m (hopefully) going to live another 70 or so years is so crazy.
To celebrate my birthday, I took the day off from work. I only had dinner scheduled until I started planning things the night before. Every few years, my birthday falls on the same day as National Donut Day, so I started my birthday day at 8:45 am and drove to Sidecar Donuts to get my free birthday donut. The June seasonal donuts were strawberry, my favorite fruit! I chose the seasonal strawberries and cream donut and brought it home to eat. It was really good, not too sweet or sticky.
If you know me, you know that Costco is one of my favorite places. I drove to the Marina Del Rey location and braved the gas line. It turns out that Costco gas prices are only 15 cents cheaper than the gas station near my apartment, so I will not be driving an hour for Costco gas. I went into Costco and had a little shopping spree and bought new black-out curtains, skorts, olive oil, hemp seed, skorts, gummy vitamins, and more.
Then, I drove to Pico Robertson and headed to Sideshow Books. I think there were a million books in there. The store was overflowing with used books, with boxes of books stacked on the ground, so it was hard to walk around. There are general sections somewhat organized alphabetically by author, but it was truly a treasure hunt. The prices of the books were written in pencil on the inside cover of each book. Most were $6-$10, with the newer popular books at $12.50. I found six books to donate to my favorite Little Free Library near my apartment because I’ve taken eight books and have only put in three. The man who was working there, I believe he was the owner, seemed like an eccentric man, and he had read most of the books I was buying.
From there, it was a short walk to Starbucks where I got the Impossible breakfast sandwich as my birthday treat. I had never tried it before and the taste and texture of the patty were just like a Starbucks sausage patty. I do want to try the chai frappucino one day but I already had a donut for breakfast, so I was trying to make good choices ya know?
I walked back to my car and drove it up a few blocks and then walked to Health Within Wellness Center for my first-ever facial. The facialist’s name was Nina and she was really cool to talk to. She used some lights and mud masks. All products she uses are all-natural and my skin felt hydrated and soft afterward.
After driving home, I unpacked my car with all my purchases, put up my new curtains, and Facetimed my sister. She sent me some powders from a Black female-owned lifestyle and wellness shop called Golde to make some golden milk and healthy hot chocolate. Then, I left for dinner.
I always pass Nic’s on Beverly on my runs and it always has a cool mural on the outside. It’s a vegan restaurant, so my friend and past co-worker, Helene, weren’t quite sure what to expect. The back patio was super cute and all the food we saw on the other tables looked delicious. We over-ordered and could not believe that all the food was dairy and meat-free!! It was all so good, I’d recommend the crispy rice and the balsamic ricotta pizza! The tikka masala was also great, still so confused by how they made the fake chicken. Although it is pretty expensive, it was the best vegan food I’ve had in Los Angeles. Helene was also the sweetest and got me SK’s Donuts, but I was way too stuffed to try one.
When I got home, my parents called, and then I did laundry because that’s what 25-year-olds do on Friday nights right?? All in all, a solid birthday back in LA.
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