Dirty 30 is Grown Sexy: Dallas 30th Birthday Weekend

Recently, I celebrated turning into a new decade of life, yes the big 3-0! I didn't really know what to expect or how to feel. Some people say its awful, while some people say its the best decade in life.  I guess I'll start off saying I was a bit disappointed that my hubby wasn't here to celebrate with me.  So many of my friends have had crazy exciting 30th birthdays to Vegas, New York, or even just surprise parties.  I had a brief poor me moment, you know the whole "woe is me, my husband is deployed so he can't throw me an awesome birthday, and I live in Oklahoma so what the heck is cool to do around here" moment.  But, then I put my big girl panties on and just remembered that this is a new season of life with new changes and challenges.

I decided in February to go to Nashville with some of my Indy girls, Lauren, Allie, and Jodie.  So I decided this was a prime opportunity to start the 30 festivities!!  Lauren and Allie both have February birthdays and were turning 31, while I was pre-celebrating my 30th! I was a little worried because it was going to be a short weekend trip, but can I tell you that Nashville can show you a good time in 1 day or night let alone a weekend!  We went down to Broadway each night and heard amazing Country music! Saturday night we got to hear Brad Paisley at Bridgestone perform and his opener was Chris Young!! There is something about fun people and great music that just make it impossible to not have a good time.  Here are some fun pictures from the weekend of us ladies pretending we could still be party monsters!

Then came birthday month!! While Ryan wasn't here to do something crazy for me, he put some friends in charge of making sure I had a great time.  We decided to take a small group of of JAG ladies and go down to Dallas for a weekend. I was really happy that we were able to do this considering only one other friend is kid-less. These ladies really worked their schedules around to be able to come down and celebrate with me, and for that I am sincerely grateful!

If you know me, you know I love food. So most of the weekend revolved around good food and drinks. I found a Groupon for The Adolphus Hotel in Downtown Dallas for about $100 a night for a suite! Since we had 6 girls, we needed more space and this hotel seriously rocked!!! Some people say it's haunted:) however, we did have any ghost encounters while we were staying there.  This hotel is made famous by the famous people that have stayed there including JFK and The Queen of England!

When we first arrived to the hotel, we checked in and popped a bottle of champagne.  We started getting dolled up with Natalie's crazy amounts of makeup and all of our accessories that we brought with us! It is so much fun getting ready with friends! It takes me back to my Chi-Omega days with everyone getting ready to go out at night! SO-MUCH-FUN! 

Soon after, we met up at a SCRUMPTIOUS restaurant called Fireside Pies in Knox/Henderson. Jennie and I had seen this place when we were in Dallas for our Spin Certification course and wanted to try it. This was one of the best places we went to by far!! Delicious food for sure!

After a great dinner, we went to Vickery Park for drinks and then headed to Renfields Corner for more drinks and celebrating! The Bar tender had heard from the Fireside Pies Bartender that it was my 30th and he gave a free round to celebrate. It was a really fun fun night!

The next morning called for Brunch, which included bloody mary's and mimosas! So tasty!

We were in a hurry at the end of Brunch because I had planned for us to jog to Klyde Warren Park for a yoga class! My cousin Holly was also going to be meeting us there so I didn't want to miss it! 

This was another highlight of the weekend! It was a beautiful day and just so nice to move our bodies in a beautiful park surrounded by city!

Don't forget the food trucks! Such delicious food is dished up at these pretties too!

After some delightful yoga, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation!

Then it was time to hit the town for some more fun Dallas sightseeing! We went to the mall for some shopping and hit up another one of my favorite Dallas Food Spots, The Porch. This was also located in Knox/Henderson! 

Sadly, it was time for the last night out! We decided to hit up Taverna Italian, one of my favorites for dinner! Again such an amazing meal. The owner gave us a complimentary round of champagne and the waiter said I looked 25! Then we went out to Black Friar Pub for some more entertaining people watching and some adult beverages! 

Overall, it was an fabulous way to turn 30! Good friends, good food, good wine, and doing all of the above in a great city like Dallas! Thank you friends for taking time to make it special and thank you Dallas, Texas for being a beautiful, fun, yummy city to celebrate in!