Young House Love

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Three Zero

Today I turned 30. Woot.

John Birthday 3 X 10

My mom didn’t make me stand in front of an “I AM 30” banner (or fashion a crown for me) like she has in past years, but she and my dad did have us over for brunch on Sunday morning. It was actually a surprise that Sherry planned with them. I had known about the brunch (since my cousins, aunt, uncle, and little sister had traveled in from DC for the day), but was somehow oblivious to the fact that they might use the gathering to celebrate my thirtieth until a candle-filled plate of muffins was placed in front of me. Oh, but my mom did make me this:

Birthday Mom Spatula Gift

Never one to just slip money or gift cards into an envelope, my mom constructed this “flower” with a happy face spatula and paper leaf pockets that housed some gift cards to my favorite places. Oh, and the can “planter” was stuffed with new running socks (likely my dad’s contribution).

My sisters went in on this for me:

Birthday Bike Poster

It’s the Christine Berrie bicycle print that I’ve always loved over on 20×200. It’s the perfect addition to my bicycled-themed art obsession. Speaking of which, I did actually manage to secure a set of the Gap bicycle prints that I yearned for thanks to a helpful Gap manager (remember when I pined for them here)? We were truly shocked when they arrived at our PO Box. Lesson learned? If you ask enough times, a manager might take pity on you and actually send a sign your way (instead of tossing it into the dumpster). So be the squeaky wheel, folks. And hooray for recycling! (Get it? Bicycle? Cycling? See what I did there?).

We haven’t figured out where to hang my new bike collection yet, so pictures “in situation” will have to wait for another post when we pin down proper locations.

John Birthday 20x200 Print

But I do have “in situation” pictures of what Sherry gifted me. Any guesses?

Birthday Opening Robbie

Yup, it’s a white rhino. Specifically the large Robbie trophy that she bought me from Cardboad Safari. I know it’s probably one of the weirder sentences I’ve ever typed, but rhinos are kind of our thing. We even worked one into our blog header.

John Birthday Rhino Close

Sherry knows that I’ve always loved the larger Cardboard Safari creations (not that I don’t also love our little full-bodied Robbie, who makes frequent appearances in various places like our console table and our laundry room). Big Robbie is an especially fitting gift since I surprised Sherry with a ceramic rhino for V-day a while back (more on how that turned into a highly involved rhino scavenger hunt here). So apparently we like giving each other horned mammals. And they keep getting larger. Maybe we’ll end up with a life sized rhino in our kitchen someday a la the giant dog on Friends.

Oh but one word of warning for anyone else who’s eying a large trophy: be sure to consider how far they stick out from the wall when it comes to where you want to hang them (this guy comes out about 18 inches). We fortunately found this spot where no one’s gonna knock into him when they walk by or sit down (since you stand up in front of the chair and not on the chair). So while nobody puts Baby in a corner, we totally put Robbie in a corner. And we love him there.

John Birthday Rhino Far

Overall, the birthday celebrations were pretty low-key (just the way I like ’em). My family took me out to dinner last night and my mom is babysitting tonight so Sherry can have a date with her old man (aka me, in case that was too cryptic for you). Lately she has been calling me her silver fox because I’m sporting some gray hair in the front. But she swears up and down that it’s a compliment. Her rebuttal is usually “Hello? Anderson Cooper – I rest my case.”

Oh, and since I never got around to making a “to do before I’m 30” blog list (like Nicole), I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had actually made one on paper back in high school (as part of a prompt in my senior English class). Who knew keeping those old notebooks stored away would ever come in handy?

Johns15Before30List

Looks like I had gone back and updated it with “Completed” marks sometime around 2005. And sadly I haven’t checked off many more since then. No new countries (#4), bungee jumping (#6) nor movie roles (#7) for me. Though Sherry and I did visit Hollywood (#8) on our first vacation together in October 2005.

John Birthday Hollywood

And I sorta accomplished #9, if you count my run in with Kelly Clarkson at a client event in May of 2005.

John Birthday Kelly Clarkso

Neither Sherry nor I can remember if we still had our fish when we got Burger, so #10 is an unknown. I definitely haven’t learned how to play the bass guitar (#11)… or even the regular guitar (though I owned one for a short time in 2002). But I did work for the National Geographic Channel (#12) in the summer of 2001. It was far from glamorous, but certainly more satisfying than seeing #13 come true. Oh the lofty dreams of an 18 year old…

And although I had completed #15 by visiting Hawaii with a friend before Sherry and I even started dating, it was nice to earn some bonus points by going to Alaska on our honeymoon.

John Birthday Alaska

Speaking of which, I’m gonna earn a third check mark on #15 when Sherry and I continue the turning-30 celebration next year (Sherry hits the big 3-0 in March) by following through on our plans to vacation in Hawaii (which will also multitask as a vacation to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary). But more on that another time. A long post like this has made these old bones weary. Just kidding. To anyone wondering, 30 feels just like 29. But Clara’s even more fun this year because she’s walking and talking (and singing hilarious songs). This morning, for example she sang this:

“Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you said.”

Anyways, thanks to my family for a fun 30th. And to everyone who made my 20’s an exciting and eventful decade. Here’s hoping the 30’s are just as fun!

Comments

  2. ColleenwithMurals&More says

    aha! Now I know why I love your posts, John. You’re a fellow Scorp! Happy Birthday! Me – I’m an 11-11 . . . for life, haha.

    And how many people had to scroll up to the header to find the rhino? *hand waving* Hey, there’s a new thing for ya – change elements in your header and we can play Find The Hidden Object. Ok, so if you’re a true Scorpio, you read the sarcasm in there :D

    Reply

  3. alg says

    LOL — Bungee jumping was on my before-30 list too! I did accomplish it and frankly, I don’t think you missed much. Just frightening & jarring, IMHO. Of course, I might have been less frightened if my family hadn’t shown up with a big sign that read, “SPLAT!”
    Happy 30th — I’m glad you got your bike poster, too. An unexpected birthday present from the Gap… score!!

    Reply

  5. Kay says

    HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY JOHN! Totally missed the afternoon post and just catching up. Heres to 30’s best decade of my life and way better than the 20’s-i was mature enough to fully embrace appreciate the experiences of my 3rd decade lol!

    Reply

  7. Edie says

    Happy, happy to you, John! Welcome to the 30 club! It’s not so bad (as 31 looms on my horizon), especially when chasing around an adorable kiddo to help ease the “pain” (or create pain as you soon realize you are old)!

    You and Sherry *must* plan yourselves a little trip out of the country soon! IMO, Sherry needs a stamp in her passport and you need to cross that one off your bucket list – still counts if you do it at 30, right?

    Y’all keep on being awesome!

    Reply

  9. Bboss says

    Happy Birthday. They had a casting call in Richmond recently for extras in Spielberg’s Lincoln movie. I could have been you!

    Reply

  10. cheryl says

    Happy birthday John! :)
    At first I wondered if your mom was feeling some pressure to step up the creativity of her gift to you because you would blog about it to thousands of people…and then I referenced back to that I Am ___this old project. I figured she must just be one creative lady! Very cool. It must be in your genes.

    Which, of course, reminds me of $herdog and her fabric/age project with Clara. Full-circle, baby. You two were made from the same puzzle pieces.

    Reply

  14. Emily says

    Happy Birthday. To check 4&6 off your list I highly recommend a vacation to NewZealand. My husband and I went for 3 weeks a few years ago and travelled all over. Beautiful country and the home of Bungee Jumping!

    Reply

  15. Lizl says

    Dear John…thanks for sharing your bucket list with us. I have a goal list that I review every month. Since I have started writing down my goals they have come to realisation much sooner.

    Enjoy your birthday!!

    Reply

  16. Bea says

    New country + bicycle?
    Easy peasy : The Netherlands!!! As you know, here bicycles are not just a way of living, or the national sport/mean of transportation, it’s a religion, a matter of national pride, the object that Dutch people most cherish most.
    Let me know if you come visit! I’ll be glad to share some tips!
    In the meantine, two of the latest bicyle related buzz:
    the Van Heesch copper bike
    http://tinyurl.com/copperbike
    And the sleek retro Van Moof collection
    http://www.vanmoof.com/collection
    Enjoy!

    Reply

  20. Marisue says

    So true about silver fox and Anderson Cooper. Glad to know I’m not alone in thinking he’s a hottie. I love seeing my hubby’s hair getting all salt n’ pepper! Welcome to the 30’s!

    Reply

  24. Anne says

    Happy Birthday John! The thirties are the best years! You and Sherry have a whole decade of thirtysomethiness to look forward to. Enjoy!

    Reply

  25. Dacia says

    Silver fox is most definitely a compliment! I tell my hubby that all the time..Anderson Cooper, George Clooney, Sean Connery..you’re in good company, my friend!

    Reply

  29. Amy says

    Thirty was my favorite year so far. Really, lots of good things have happend since then, so in my humble opinion the 30s are the best years. I do hope I get to say that about my 40s and my 50s too. Life is pretty dang good if things just get better and better!!!

    Happy Birthday!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- nice!! We also heard from a relative who confirmed that at our backyard wedding we had a fish and little Burger (hiding shyly in the house). Mystery solved!

      xo,
      s

  32. Gavin S. says

    First of all…happy birthday, John! All of my friends who are 30 say they’re exactly where they wanted to be at this age and I have a sneaking suspicion you feel the same (even though I chuckled because one of your thanks cards from last year was for the fact that you were turning 2-9 and not 3-0). Also, can I please just say that last night should probably be the last time that I read YHL right before bed? I had a very vivid dream that y’all had a birthday party for Clara (sorry, J, looks like you got shafted) and invited readers to attend. About ten of us showed but my friend and I were the first (even though I forgot my gift for baby C and had to go to the store to grab something quickly). We became fast friends and I woke up thinking that I’d really met you and needed to plan for our next fabulous new friends dinner party. Seriously? Way too much excitement for a Wednesday morning…

    Reply

  33. peggy sue says

    Hey I check your blog occasionally and I saw your post about the public bikes posters and I decided I would ask my local Gap store if they would give them to me….and they did!!!! So thanks for letting me know about those posters! Also if you want to check out some cool bicycle prints and other rad prints, go to http://postercabaret.com/
    They are based in Austin,TX and they put on a bicycle print show every year…

    Reply

  37. cjm says

    John, I was just checking out the 3rd anniversary post and the gift you gave Sherry? Showed that fish and dog parenthood overlapped. :)

    Reply

  38. Charisma says

    Hey guys, I have a weird question for you. Do you guys let Clara watch tv/movies? and if so do you limit her time in front of the tv? what is the time limit if there is one?

    Best, Charisma

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We only let her watch about 15-20 minutes a day of something on the iPad (there’s a great kids learning “channel” on YouTube that she loves, so she gets to watch a few songs about ABCs, colors, animal sounds, etc – she even has her own playlist, haha). She usually doesn’t want to watch any more than ten or fifteen minutes anyway, so it’s not too hard to convince her to play outside or read books or listen to music after that!

      xo,
      s

  39. Rebecca says

    “Visit one new country”. Did your honeymoon cruise to Alaska stop in Victoria, Canada? I work there and throughout the summer there is a constant stream of day stop cruise goers bound for Alaska. Just a thought.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We road tripped through Alaska ourselves, so no cruise ship and no Canada sadly! I’ve been to Toronto and loved it, so I keep telling John I’ll take him someday!

      xo,
      s

  40. Cayla says

    Hi John and Sherry,

    I love reading your blog! You have given me some great ideas for our apartment and future home someday. I also love seeing the Clara and Burger pics for a daily dose of cuteness.

    My husband and I just got back from our honeymoon in Hawaii, and I definitely suggest going to Kaua’i when you go for your vacation. It is the “hidden emerald” of Hawaii (not nearly as popular as Oah’u or Maui) and we had the most amazing time there. It’s uncrowded, breathtakingly beautiful, the people are so nice, and its full of fun things to do and see with your beanette.

    I hope you have an amazing time anywhere you decide to go! Good luck with the rest of the kitchen reno. :)

    Best,

    Cayla

    Reply

  41. Tiffanni says

    My little guy is 8 months old, and I can’t wait until he talks. He already makes me laugh by how he acts, faces he makes, etc… but I literally laud HARD out loud in my cubicle when reading Clara’s twinkle, twinkle song. Thanks for the chuckle.

    Reply

  46. Jorja says

    Yeah, so this is probably a little crazy, but did you take that Hollywood photo standing in front of the Target store? I have a very similar one from my vacay w/ my boyfriend 3 years ago. (Yes, I like to visit Targets in every city I go!! )

    Reply

  48. naiad says

    Guys have you thought of traveling outside of the USA. There are a 193 countries out there. I could totally imagine you decorating your house with masks from Africa or hand made spice racks from Morocco or hand crafted woodwork from Malaysia. Hope someday would would venture out and see what the world has to offer.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Of course! We’d love to! John has been to England already but I’ve never left the US other than to see Mexico and Jamaica with my family, but it’s definitely on our bucket list!

      xo,
      s

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