It's Me, KP

A Book About Thirty

I've decided to take a brand new approach to an album for my 30th year.  2012 Project Life will still be about photos + words and small bits of memorabilia.  But last year I attempted to put together a quasi-Project Life album of every single paper I touched... and it's pretty much all sitting in a box on top of my bookcase.  Someday I'll get it all together.  But I knew that this year I had to streamline the process or I'd be up the same creek.  And sans paddle.

I started carrying around a Moleskine notebook - the large size that's big enough to hold postcards, photos, and a lot of my incessant ramblings.  Inside goes business cards, little bits of menus, and journaling.  Things that people say that I want to remember, notes about where I've been or what I've eaten, and my own thoughts.  Which mainly consist of plans to take over the world and how to get a date for Friday night.  Basically I've traded in my childhood Snoopy diary for a Moleskine.

I'm loving this system so far.  It's been easy to get things down and in.  I can stay on top of it - which right now is the most important thing to me.  When I was traveling I worked on it while I was in hotel rooms and the photo above is from the Delta Sky Lounge, where the girl next to me was quite entertained bugged by the fact I had hogged a whole side table just to glue things into a notebook.

I've gotten a lot of questions on Instagram about the white date stamp, which is actually just a rolling phrase stamp.  It'll be available at Studio Calico this month but is also here on Amazon and at Modcloth.  I find myself wanting to stamp "I'm not here right now" more than a normal person should.  Or more than a daughter should, as verified today by a "where are you?" email from my dad.

Momofuku Fried Chicken for Eight

I went from not wanting a birthday party to having about eight different celebrations.  Go big or go home apparently became the theme for my 30th birthday.  And that turned out to be the best way to celebrate.

For my dinner in NYC, I had an idea simmering for a long time on what I wanted to do.  The fried chicken dinner at Momofuku Noodle Bar.  If there's anyone who knows how to party with food, it's David Chang - am I right?  You have to work their crazy reservation system but I was determined and ran the gauntlet to score seats for eight... Amanda, Missy, Julie, Leigh Erin, Alice, Jodi, and Rachel. 

As I was going around introducing everyone it was so funny to say that I've met most of them online in someway - Flickr, blogging, Twitter.  They are all so talented, successful, smart, funny - and love to eat.  Which I have learned is a big requirement to be friends with me.  In case you haven't noticed.

Dinner included one southern style fried chicken and one Korean style fried chicken, pancakes and greens, veggies, and sauces.  Plus you can't go to Noodle Bar without starting with pork buns.  You just simply can't.

And man, it was good.  Better than good, it was great.  We enjoyed a variety of desserts with the cake truffles and (surprisingly) the right on trend neon pink beet lime soft serve being crowd pleasers.

The best part for me was having these lovely friends all at one table.  They've each heard snippets about each other and it was so enjoyable for me to have them meeting and chatting with each other.  Integration is fun.

Momofuku means "lucky peach" in Japanese and I don't think it could have been more fitting for my party full of fried chicken, seven amazing ladies, and celebrating thirty in my city.

Full

I turned thirty on Friday. Yes, it actually happened.  Surprised, aren't you?  I would like to say that I was prepared, went out the night before, had a fun time, then I woke up and celebrated.  The truth is I had a really hard time.  Thirty found me Thursday night in lots of tears.  I just was not ready for it to be here.

Then I woke up and celebrated.  All out celebrated.

I flew to Chicago in the morning and that alone made me happy.  Amanda and Chloe flew from New York to join me in Chicago for a big birthday dinner... and when I arrived at the restaurant, Sarah was there to surprise me.  We had a hell of a night, which deserves its own blog post.

But sitting at that dinner with my best friends who had all traveled miles to be with me made my heart swell up and burst. Have you ever felt like that?  So happy that you feel this heaviness in your chest and your heart is like the cartoon version of the Grinch when his heart grew three sizes. 

I felt that all weekend long as we celebrated with a ton of good food... and had an endless amount of fun. Friends from all different paths of life - my best friend from high school, best New York friends, old Chicago friends, new Chicago friends, my besties, friends of friends that I've gotten to know, scrapbook friends.  The party finally came to a conclusion tonight with a fantastic dinner with my New York girlfriends.  Rachel joked that it was like my wedding, and it completely has been, all these people coming together connected by just me. 

All of the celebrations taught me one important lesson about my twenties... I must have done something very right in that decade to become friends with so many kind, generous, wonderful, fun, caring people. 

Tell Me...

I've heard over and over again (and from very reliable sources, I'd like to add) that my 30's will be the best time of my life.  Oh yeah, give me some of that please.  I love the excitement that everyone has about this decade of life.  It's making the anticipation bubble and build inside me.

So - because I adore reading your comments about this big birthday - I want to crowdsource some more.  What advice do you want to share for a single, still-feels-so-very-young, someone about to leave her twenties behind? What was the best thing about turning thirty?

I'm already smiling as I type this in anticipation of your comments. 

Where Would You Go?

Today was spent on the beach in Miami - catching some sun and enjoying (the heavy) breeze.  Amy joined me this afternoon and we lounged for a while.  So nice, so nice.  I love being in my happy place. 

It reminded me of the birthday I spent hiding out here... and how tempted I was to do the same for my 30th in a few weeks.  A different trip has been planned instead.  And I'm very excited.

But it got me thinking and I'd love to post another question to get you to share your experiences turning thirty.  Where would you have celebrated it if you could have chosen anywhere in the world?