27 Isn't So Bad After All

Happy Hump Day! It's been a pretty easy week for me, so I don't know if I can really call it "hump day," but we'll go with it. 

I just celebrated my 27th birthday on Sunday, and I don't know about you all, but when my birthday rolls around I take full advantage of it. I have grown up with over the top birthday parties (thanks Mom and Dad!) and my husband John doesn't quite understand why I love birthdays so much. That being said, he complains that my birthday lasts all month long. John exaggerates a lot, but hey....it only comes once a year, might as well make it last! 

This year, I was really weirded out about turning 27. It feels strange moving toward the end of my twenties, when I still feel like I should be in high school. At the same time, I also feel somewhat like a grandma. My idea of a great weekend is staying at my house, spending time with my favorite people (aka my neighbors and family), painting, and cleaning my house... Like seriously, that's an excellent weekend-- cleaning. my. house.

SO OLD. 

So, since it was my birthday I got it in my head that we HAD to go somewhere on some extravagant trip to celebrate. I was thinking Disney World, a cruise... ya know the possibilities were endless. But unfortunately, we couldn't figure out exactly where we wanted to go and we waited too long to decide. So instead, we settled for a nice weekend at home around Lexington... which is exactly what I needed.

If you all know me I love exploring our own town, going out for food and drinks and doing some hiking here and there... so that is exactly what we did. Saturday we woke up and went to a small town called Midway down the road from Lexington. It is the cutest little town, and what I like best is the drive out there. One of my favorite things to do is drive around listening to music, windows down, along the beautiful country roads. The drive was so pretty and we pulled over a few times to pet the ponies! Kentucky is so beautiful around this time of year, and we often take it for granted!

We walked around Midway, ((we got stopped every 2 seconds from people wanting to pet Bulleit)) and explored the cute antique stores and boutiques. We grabbed an appetizer and a drink at Mezzo's Italian Cafe and sat outside on their patio. The weather was so perfect (almost border-line hot), but I wasn't complaining!

On our way home, we found a spot to spread out a blanket for a picnic to enjoy the weather a little longer. We let Bulleit off his leash to run around, while we had a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers. It was so perfect, but didn't last long because we decided last minute to go tailgating and meet my family downtown for the UK game! We ended the night at Hopcat in downtown with friends to watch the game.

On Sunday, we decided to make the trip to the Red River Gorge with my parents and (of course) Bulleit. My Dad is the hiking guru and found us three short and sweet hikes with incredible views. If you haven't been to the Gorge, it is well worth a trip, especially at this time of year! One of the trails we went on had an awesome waterfall and Bulleit had an absolute blast running up and down the hills and jumping into the water... its really sad how much joy I get from watching him run around. I'm such a proud dog mom.

We finished off the day with Miguel's pizza, and I pretended we had hiked enough to deserve it. I let John pick the toppings and he chose a very strange combination, but luckily no matter what Miguel's is always good! My birthday celebration was definitely a success and I am so glad we stuck around Lexington. Turning 27 isn't as bad as I thought it would be... I wonder how much longer I can stretch the celebration out for..... ;)

Kayla