Lindsay. Dude. Where are you?

I turned 30.

That’s where I’ve been.

I joked with some people that turning 30 was a third-life crisis for me.  Not a mid-life, not a quarter-life. Third-life.  30.  No husband, no kids, and student loans.  Crisis.  Never could I have imagined – nor would I have wanted to imagine – that life would be like this at 30.  Enter third-life crisis.

But eh.  So far it’s okay.  I mean, I have a new tea towel from Crate & Barrel.  What more does a person need?

I turned 30 whilst in Chicago.  Chilly, chilly Chicago.  Mama Leanne, Sister Emma, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Kari, Cousin Molly and I hopped on the early train from Harvard, IL bound for the windy city.  We met up with Cousin Connor [my birthday buddy – I turned 30 and he turned 21] and the walking, shivering, and over-abundance of crowds began.

We ditched our luggage at the hotel, saw Connor’s apartment at Roosevelt University, and decided not to wait the 2.5 hour wait to eat lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.  I bought new bowls at Anthropologie and winter coffee mugs at Crate & Barrel.  [I needed none of it but it was birthday.  I was turning 30. The pretty bowls made me feel better.  Leave me alone.]  We drank warm spiced wine in commemorative mugs at Christkindlemarket, a Christmas German festival at which we also shared a giant pretzel and carmel cashews.

We ate a late dinner at the pub attached to our hotel.  The Elephant & Castle.  Molly, Emma, and I spent the better part of the meal wondering what the meaning of the name of the restaurant was.  Were we in the castle?  Was it all an illusion?  Were we to let down our hair from the castle?  What happens when the elephant dies?  Believe me, it doesn’t seem so now, but it was super engaging.  For the three of us.  Everyone else at the table just thought we were weird.

We left Chicago mid-morning the following day.  I had to get back to attend to a couple kiddos needing to be baptized [One of them HATED me for it.  Seriously.  Yelled at me.  And another grabbed my boob.  He’s 11 months.  We’ll excuse it.] and dinner out with Mama Leanne, her boyfriend Jeff, and brother Matt.  I drank two Spotted Cows.  When in Rome.  And it was my birthday.

[It is my birthday was pretty much my excuse for everything that weekend.]

So that’s that.  I am now 30 and the world continues to turn.  I’m still single, childless, and making monthly payments to student loans but so it goes.  I plan to make 30 a fun, adventure-filled year and I’ll take you along for the ride.  What does that mean exactly?  Stay tuned.  There are still 363 days before 31.

The view from Connor’s apartment.

Playing a little chess at Roosevelt.

Connor and I met Cam from Modern Family. Well, a cardboard cutout of him anyways.

I want to someday recreate this chair. Connor helped me save the idea.

Christkindlemarket.

Cheers!

I was going to take a photo of the trees and the booths and the people … and then Connor stepped in.

GIANT pretzel to share.

Fast-forward to the baptism/birthday party I attended for children of my high school best friends. There was a penguin theme so Hebert Butterfield, my penguin, was invited … and promptly beat up by small children.