50 is the new 30

When I was still working at Dillard's, the operations manager had recorded an ad that was played over the loudspeakers along with the background music. The ad ran ad naseum and started out, "Did you know that 50 is the new 30?" I was thinking about that because I just attended two birthday parties this weekend, one for my friend who turned 30 and one for my friend who turned 50.

To mark both occassions, I brought along an autographable photo mat that everyone could sign and I took plenty of pictures so I'd have a photo to mat, frame and give back to the recipient. It was a neat idea I got from a catalog. Unfortunately, all of those photo mats had been backordered, so I ended up finding what I needed at Michaels (in case you are ever wanting to do the same thing).

The 30th birthday party was at Hammerstone's in Soulard. I had never been there before. They have a nice patio. She had an excellent turnout, which included a couple of people we went to middle school and high school with that I hadn't seen in forever. The group picture turned out extremely well. I was going to try to Photoshop a few people in that came later and missed the picture, but I don't think that's going to work out.

Because I was the designated driver for my friend, I was there for the duration. We went to the City Diner (link includes music) on Grand after leaving Hammerstone's. I had never been there either. If you live in the metropolitan area and you've never been, you have to go just for the experience. Most of us ordered breakfast and enjoyed the people watching. The food is good and reasonable and the clientele is an eclectic mix. I really enjoyed spending time with her friends because I rarely go out with a bunch of people at the same time. It was really a "girl's night out" kind of thing.

That was how I spent Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning. Saturday night I found myself at the brassiere-decorated Locker Room bar in Florissant for my friend's 50th celebration. There must have been some 30 bras hanging all over the place. They were hanging from the railing, light fixtures and fans, and a lot of the women attending the party were wearing the bras outside of their clothes. My friend's aunt made a collage of her growing up and I enjoyed seeing that. A couple of women made a sling shot out of some of the bras and launched t-shirts sporting a picture of my friend into the crowd like the cheerleaders do at Busch Stadium. It was a good time and I enjoyed the party.