You Say It's Your Birthday?!

This birthday weekend turned out to be one of the most epic. So let's start out with Saturday morning shall we? I went out to brunch with my sister despite my extremely low appetite for food at the time. In just a few hours, I would be in the process of getting inked! The anticipation was killing me. I forced myself to eat enough so I wouldn't pass out (big no-no if you don't) and I was pretty much jumping out of my seat in excitement when it was time to head on over to the shop.

He sketched it out and I was speechless. It was perfect. He made some modifications and suggestions to contour the feathers to my body and I'm SO happy he made those comments. I walked in at 1p.m. and walked out at about 3:40p.m. It honestly didn't hurt THAT bad. I was expecting to be screaming obscenities throughout the whole time. Instead, I held steady and listened to "Stairway to Heaven." He finished the first phase which is in the photo on the left and then the second is the piece finished with color!

I couldn't be happier with it! His line work is just beyond amazing and I skipped on out of that shop a happy girl! As you can imagine, I Instagrammed the shit out of it (thanks to my sis for being my moral support and personal photographer). Josh was a good sport, checked in and nodded at it when I showed him. Haha.

Sunday was my official birthday and man oh man was I spoiled with happy birthday wishes and gifts. I got up really early (thanks to not being able to sleep on my back) and started my day out right with some coffee in my new favorite Starbucks mug.

The hubs then gave me the best card and gift...ever. The gift of many books that I can now knock off my list of must-reads! My mother-in-law even came by and personally delivered these gorgeous flowers! How spoiled am I?! 

Josh and I also had our hilarious first trip to Costco. We're now members and to say that we were overwhelmed would be an understatement. We didn't know whether to buy a new lamp or to get a case of wheat thins. One thing I recommend you do before stepping foot inside of a place like this...is EAT. Never go in hungry or else you'll end up getting a year's supply of hummus and steak to feed a small army or Kardashian. I mean seriously, who needs this many pickles?! Again, the Kardashians don't frequent our household.

We managed to escape with things we actually needed despite how much I wanted a Fitbit AND a case of 100 ice cream sandwiches. By the time we got home and binged on some more episodes of Friends on Netflix, it was time to get ready for dinner at Kyoto, the most amazing Hibachi grill place. 

I'm pretty sure I could skip out on eating for the next few days with how much I ate. But it was oh so good. My sister was so sweet and gave me the most gorgeous Anne Klein royal blue peacoat and yes...THIS. My sister knows me so well. 

My mom also made the best lemon cupcakes EVER. I promise you I didn't have two of those...THEY WERE SMALL OKAY?!

Between all the texts, cards, calls and visits, I am so beyond blessed with the best friends and family. I can't wait what to see what 27 has in store for me. 

However it didn't start off TOO well...I had to witness Kanye West perform with legendary Sir Paul McCartney...thanks Grammys...I've never felt such pain before. Now if you'll excuse me I have to wash my ears out with real Beatles music.

Inked

It's been the longest week of my life. Why? Because I can't WAIT for Saturday. Last weekend I finally decided to take the plunge and get my second tattoo that I've been dying to get for years. What stopped me? Who knows. But my birthday weekend is coming up and my scheduled appointment is on Saturday afternoon! The hubs isn't too happy about it since he doesn't understand why someone would want a tattoo to begin with, but he said that if I want it, he won't stop me. All aboard the happy train.

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This is what I'll be getting and on my rib cage. Oh and yes, I'm aware that this is one of the most painful spots to get a tattoo....*queue Sara Bareilles' "Brave."...

I'm planning on adding some dark purple into the feathers or maybe in the center. I wanted to get it in a spot where I can either show it off or cover it up for work. Being all professional is so boring sometimes. While I know it does bother the hubs that I'm getting it, I appreciate how he's still letting me be me. While he doesn't like tattoos, I feel like once I explained what getting this tattoo means to me it helped him understand a little more. (Although he still feels like a framed photo on a wall somewhere would work just fine). I'm taking a risk knowing that he's not sure how he'll feel about seeing it once I get it, but it's a risk I'll take. I'm not one to live my life full of "what ifs." If you want to do something, do it damnit.

Now for the big event on Saturday... I'm ecstatic knowing that I got the artist I wanted who is also the owner of the shop. I need to prep myself with a bottle of wine at my side. Once I met with the artist, he let me know that it would take about three to four hours. I'm sure those three to four hours will be the longest of my life. So what if it'll be 1p.m....this girl will be very unsober.

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In other news, some birthday presents have been happening...like these fur moto boots.

In case you haven't heard, Chicago is under a million feet of snow, so one can't have too many pairs of boots right now. I can't tell you how fun it was shoveling the driveway while a blizzard was still occurring outside (because it wasn't). Due to the snowdrift, half of the driveway was well under 5ft of snow. I'll be side-eyeing you all day long neighbor who has a snowblower and didn't offer to help a girl out...although I'll be taking advantage of every workout opportunity I can up until Saturday. I'll be out of commission for weeks, Pray to whatever God you worship that I make it through without passing out several times. Please God, give me Beyonce strength. Amen.