Feeling extra known and loved lately

bday recap

Coming off the tails of birthday celebrations, I’m still reeling at all the ways people showered their love on me - whether it was through time, acts, gifts, or words. Time for a recap then??? Here we go:

Time

On the night of my birthday, Leon took us out to Jua, a Korean fine dining restaurant with a 7-course tasting menu. The restaurant was completely booked, which I found impressive for an early weekday night. A full and chatter-filled restaurant also makes a huge difference to the atmosphere and overall dining experience. The food was absolutely delicious, and my company was the sweetest.

Acts

Over that weekend, Leon surprised me by inviting our friends over for a dinner party. It was his turn to serve the prix fixe menu. Our five courses were: 1) scallop crudo, 2) salmon sashimi on perilla, 3) Berkshire pork belly bao, 4) mushroom + 72-hour short rib donabe, 5) matcha tiramisu. We also had panacea (lemon/honey/yuzu tequila) cocktails to drink, which were surprisingly strong. I beamed all night from the sheer effort and love that it took for Leon to prepare all of these dishes and dinner logistics, and from the distance traveled/time given by our friends who showed up.

Gifts

My family and friends KILLED it with gifts this year. I was honestly blown away when I received these personal tokens that made me feel so seen and known.

My friend Hannah got me the Dior lip glow oil in the rosewood shade. I freaked out when I took it out of the gift bag, because I was eyeing it at Sephora a few days prior, debating between getting the lip oil and its lip maximizer (gloss) counterpart, which has a much more subtle pigment. I ultimately got the gloss in the same shade, but still felt torn wondering if I should’ve gotten the oil - problem solved when Hannah somehow read my mind and got me this gift!! I’ve been addicted to using it ever since; I swipe it on at work and immediately feel more put together afterwards.

My sis-in-law, Paula, bought us tickets to a flower-arranging class in Chelsea. I’ve occasionally talked about styling flowers as a potential side gig, and it made my heart swell that Paula picked up on that and turned it into a gift. We had the best day and got to enjoy our finished work at home afterwards.

I acknowledge that I did not do a great job at capturing the above collection of goodies, but I was in a rush to text Elizabeth thank you, and also you can tell how quickly I took everything out because of how excited I was LOL. Every single thing that she chose had meaning to me: the grapefruit clip because I love grapefruit and have started to collect hair clips over the last couple years, the rose-scented vaseline because I have a serious attachment to lip balm and anything rose-scented, the strawberries & cream dark chocolate because I prefer dark to any other kind of chocolate and adore anything pink, and a face mask because sheet masks are always such a treat.

Remember this dress from this post I wrote in February?? My childhood friends got it for me as a group gift, and I was honestly stunned. It meant the world to me that they read my Substack and chose this dress for me, knowing that I would feel like an absolute ice princess in it. I can’t wait to wear it for a special occasion in the future!

This year, Leon upgraded my Macbook Air (my previous one was running so slow after its eventful tenure - it had been through grad school, post-grad fellowship, and wedding planning to name a few milestones) and my friends Kevin and Claire got me a Bellroy laptop sleeve in the Saltbush shade. I’ve been really enjoying the speed of my new device, and find the color of the sleeve gorgeous.

Words

After all the gifts have been given and the parties thrown, the cards are always the best parts of every birthday. Leon picked up the above Hambledon card for me from McNally Jackson, and wrote a sweet message inside. I’ve reread the words a couple times after receiving it, and they tug on my heartstrings every time.

Elizabeth chose this card from her favorite boutique, Homage, and wrote the most heartfelt note on both sides. I read it once to myself, laughing out loud a couple times (she knows what will crack me up!), and then a second time to Leon - pausing every other paragraph to stop myself from choking up (she also knows how to make me cry hahah).

Well, am I blessed or what? On my birthday this year, my mom reminded me that I have everything and everyone I need, and she is completely right. I am grateful for every single person God has placed in my life, and for all the love they so generously show me.