Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Twenty-Seven

{image credit: flickr}

Oh my gawd, I am soon to be no longer in my "mid-twenties" but in my "late twenties," and well, quite frankly, that freaks me out. I've never been shy about aging, but this year, this birthday, things are different. For one, I'm starting over. A few months ago, I quit my job and my career as a lawyer and moved from my beloved Austin to this exciting/scary/ridiculously-expensive city to embark on a completely new life. What that life is I haven't quite yet figured out (adding to the "scary" factor), but I do know that it's different.

For another, I'm sick. After a morning of alternating shivers and fever-breaking sweats, I finally got out of bed around 1:30 p.m. because I "needed" to get out of the flat and find myself a birthday ensemble. Simply unable to bear the subway, I hopped into a cab and headed down to Broadway & Broome, to my beloved TopShop. After perusing each level of the store multiple times and quickly realizing that getting out of bed was not the best idea, I left and made my way up Broadway. After stopping briefly in Dean & Deluca to get some "freshly squeezed orange and mango juice" (that cost a mini fortune btw... that place is daylight robbery), I decided to pop into Forever 21 before calling it a day. Fluorescent lights, loud music, and annoying teenagers are not my idea of fun, but within minutes I found the perfect bday top: a super sequinned affair reminiscent of Studio 54 disco days that will go perfectly with my planned Sienna Miller "Alfie" hair (dear friend Ryan is giving me a blow-out!).

As for the birthday festivities, I've planned a downtown dinner at Otto (Mario Batali's inexpensive eatery) with 10 dear friends, old and new. Despite my decidedly enthusiastic attitude towards turning 27, I am nonetheless looking forward to an evening of good food and fun friends. My friend David will be playing photographer, which guarantees some fun photos will be posted on le blog very, very soon.

How do you handle birthdays and getting older? Do you openly embrace it or begrudgingly accept it? Or do you do what many women do and not age at all?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Believe me, I understand the birthday issue. I'm staring down the barrel at 30 in less then 3.5 months. Enjoy it though - you've got LIGHT YEARS till you hit 30. Plus, you're in NYC. Live it up!

PS: I hope you're feeling better! Happy b-day!

Micaela said...

27 is going to be BEAUTIFUL!!! (as beautiful as your Sienna Alfie hair will be!) you've already made some exciting scary changes and that is admirable.

getting older is not so scary since my fiance is 9 yrs older ;) ha but seriously, i LOVE birthdays (not just my own) so enjoy yours my sweet fellow Texan girl! xoxo

Carolyn said...

Hey Sweets! We need to meet in NYC for some celebrating!! I feel & look way better than I did at 27! Embrace your new year. I am loving that you treated yourself to a fabs new outfit and are going all Sienna with your hair! Rock it Girlfriend, you deserve too!! xoxo Cheers to you!!

Sarah said...

I hope you have a fabulous and fantastical birthday! You will love it and there is nothing wrong with being 27!

When I was 27 (a few months before 28), I started my new life--leaving my job, moving to NY state, PhD program, buying a house...it must be a 27 thing!

Have fun and enjoy every moment!

Leslie said...

27 will be a great year! I turn 30 in exactly 2 months and that is a scary birthday! Happy B-day!

ga said...

Omg I had the same feeling in March right before I turned 27...I'm in my late 20s! I'm old!

It's taken a few months but I'm not having panic attacks about it any more. In reality, I'm feeling more like myself now than I have in a few years.

Here's to being 27 :) happy birthday, love!

Danielle said...

I'm fine with aging. I'm 34 & still get carded for drinks and sometimes for R-rated movies (I kid you not). I'm wiser, more mature, & confident than I ever was in my late 20s. Have a fantastic birthday!!!

Unknown said...

you are not getting older...you are getting better! haha...that's what i keep telling myself anyways....working so far. anyways, happy, happy birthday and i MUST see a pic of you with your Sienna hair. her character in that movie is one of my favorites!

hope you get to feeling better :)

fresh365 said...

I GET it! I never thought once about birthdays, until I turned 29 in dec. Now I have spent the previous 8 months dreading having to leave my 20s! You still have a few more years until my big break-down. Enjoy and party hard ;)

Valerie @ City|Life|Eats said...

I am somewhere between openly embracing and begrudgingly accepting. The truth is, withe very passing year I am more at peace with life and me and who I am, and that's a huge positive. But on the other hand, I really hate the idea of aging, and I especially hate the fact it means my parents and other loved ones are aging too. My 27th birthday I was actually really distracted by having just started dating my now-husband and having just moved to New York permanently, so even though everything was in a state of flux, I was happy and distracted from my birthday angst. My 28th and 29th birthdays were hard though - I didn't feel like I was where I wanted to be professionally mainly - and I basically had one big giant panic attack in the weeks leading up to my 30th birthday. Then it took me like a year to accept being 30, so 31 was anti-climatic. Now I am trying to look at 32 later this year with more positive thoughts - because really, at the end of the day, I do feel more at peace and less restless every year, and that's big. Happy almost-birthday :)

Sallie Ann said...

I love birthdays, and since mine is on St. Patrick's Day, it's always a festive mood. However, since turning 40 I no longer think about how old I am. I actually realized I'd told a friend several times that I was a year younger than I actually am. I don't feel 42, but it doesn't matter...life is great, and I am a lot more than a number. I was older when I was 23.

Happy birthday, Sweet Girl! Take good care of yourself, keep your spirits high, and enjoy every minute. You are exactly where you need to be.

Sallie Ann

Monster Girl said...

I feel a little weird contributing as I'm only a lowly 22, but when I was meant to turn 20 the number freaked me out so for that entire year I just decided to be 19 twice and turn 21 at the end of it. Everyone else seemed intent on telling me I couldn't just decide how old I was, but whatever to them!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)

Revanche said...

At 26, I was freaked out about turning 27. At 27, I flat out just stopped remembering my age. I didn't feel ANY age at all! :)

See you soon!

Vanessa said...

Look, I turned 30 in April. I made a conscious decision to CELEBRATE it. You can't turn back the clock, so why fight it? And anyway, things really do just get better if you have a good attitude about life. You get smarter, more stylish, funnier, cooler as the years go by, trust me.
So for my 30th, I planed a trip to Paris with some friends, my boyfriend flew in from New York to meet us, and we had an AMAZING time! Sure, I had a five minute panic attack the morning of my birthday, but that was it. Now I don't feel like an age, I just feel like me.