That time Rachelle turned 30

Wisdom, rosé, and brunch the next day

What is it about turning 30? It's kind of a big deal, right? Well my bestie Rachelle (Roach) is kind of a big deal in my world, and she turned 30 this weekend. So that's like a big deal squared. We threw a shindig for Roach in Chicago at our friends Jess & Rob's adorable apartment and had an absolute blast — and ingested an insane amount of food (shout out to Rob the Burger Master!) and rosé.

Then there was Madame Zandra, AKA Barb Meyer, Chicagoland tarot reader extraordinaire, who we hired as a birthday surprise. Barb's a chatty one. She doesn't (and I quote) "do dead people." She told more than one of us things like "you need to compromise" and "tick tick" — in reference to our biological clocks. We smiled and nodded and chuckled and then said "but actually, she wasn't wrong about anything..." And then Barb snapped a timed picture with the whole gang so her mystical presence can live on in photographic infamy. 

After reeling over everything that was Barb, there was a game, banana cake, and piling on the bed. Typical. Finally there was also sleep. In the morning, cue coffee and more cake before heading off to Jam n' Honey — a magical breakfast joint with jumbo jars of Nutella on every table as a standard condiment. Somebody get me Science on the phone — I have proof of Heaven! Genuine reaction below:

To walk off brunch (and the pre-brunch cake), we bummed around some shops in Jess & Rob's neighborhood (which, by the way, is #goals). I could have spent all day in this one store called Art Effect. It had giftables, cards, dishes, kitchen goodies, fun clothes and jewelry, and Chicago merch, too. Drool. It's probably a good thing I don't live within walking distance to such a wondrous place. 

During our little jaunt back to Jess & Rob's apartment, we also passed the above window. In which: A cat was dozing in a cardboard box lid next to a fallen toy dinosaur and a scotch tape note saying "Welcome to Jurassic Park." Doesn't get much better than that. 

But now I'll leave you with something we heard about what happens in your thirties — and all you thirty-somethings can tell me if it's true: In your thirties, you can finally just say no. Discuss. And offer up all your other wisdom in the comments please! There's a whole string of 30th birthdays still to come this year, and we need all the advice we can get.