Arti Gras 2011 - The Mature Edition

I won't go into great detail about my the special place my birthday holds in my heart...mostly because I've already done that.  Instead, I'll tell you what my plans are for this year, because I'm probably the most excited I've ever been about one.  Yes, that even includes the year we went to New Orleans for my 30th.  While NOLA will always have a special place in my heart for it's drunken antics and the fact that I managed to get such a huge group of people together who all got along, I feel like those days are over. 

It seems like I always find an excuse to get a little out of control for my birthday.  My 29th birthday was the last in my 20s.  My 30th was obviously a huge milestone.  I even managed to swing 31 as a big deal because it was the 10th anniversary of my 21st.  No matter how you slice it though, 32 is not cool.  In fact, it's not even in the vicinity of being cool.  The fact is, I'm old.  There's no way to get around it. So I figure, why not embrace the old and enjoy it in the process?  

So, this year, the festivities will be limited mainly to one day (unheard of, I know!)  Don't worry though, in lieu of celebrating for a few hours for 5 days, I'm celebrating for every waking hour on Saturday the 29th.  I plan on going to the Cafe for breakfast with my friend who's flying all the way here from MI, then at 10:50am, we'll meet 4 of my other friends at the Spa Tuscano in Briarcliff for a day of pampering, champagne, babycakes, relaxation, and general quality time.  We'll then get ready at the spa (because apparently, they have some pretty primo showers and accomodations there) and head to my favorite restaurant, Ruth's Chris.  We're in the middle of restaurant week at that time so we'll partake in a 3 course prix fixe menu for quite the bargain.  After that, we'll hit my old watering hole, Tom Fooleries.  I've never had a bad time at this place.  And, here's the good news:  I've never had a tab in the 4 digits there either.

Here's to another Arti Gras celebration!  We'll see if this whole "maturity" thing is something I can keep up.  If not, at least I can say I tried it once when I was 32...