Or as close to it as you can get in Southern California, which is apparently in Pasadena.

“Life is a game, where the player must appear ridiculous.” – Violet Crawley

I turned 24 this weekend. A very strange feeling as I told my cousin, I still feel like it was just yesterday we were playing Hide the Wii remotes on my 13th birthday but here we are. My mother likes to say I have Peter Pan syndrome so the past few years of birthdays realizing I am, in fact, growing up have been very bittersweet. Because I adore my birthday. I do birthday weekends, birthday weeks, and birthday months, but this year the idea of getting older felt icky so I spent the month sulking. (Cuz yes there was a reason my degree in ‘drama’ aka Theatre is fitting. HA) 

So my loving roommates (my parents 😛) took it upon themselves to make my birthday great. 

They did what they had to do… Take me to Downton. 

I came downstairs that morning to the Downton Abbey theme playing and Downton Abbey images everywhere and of course, tea and a scone on the table. They told me to told to pack a bag, put on a dress my parents bought me, and there we went, to The Langham Hotel in Pasadena California. 

I spent the next 24 hours imagining I was a part of the Crawley family. My mom and I went to Afternoon Tea and it was everything I would like it to be. Delicious tea, decadent desserts, A HARPIST?! You couldn’t ask for a more perfect-themed day. 

We got Jasmine tea and Sugar Plum Fairy tea. I was partial to the Jasmine. The Hotel was great at accommodating my own little tea tower filled with gluten-free versions of everything. Everything was the perfect little bites, though I would have loved a few more of the smoked salmon sandwiches. The harpist played some music from Sleeping Beauty and the view outside the window was gorgeous!

We walked ‘the grounds’ and enjoyed being outside on a nice day. The inside of the hotel is stunning and I couldn’t get over how beautiful everything was every time I stepped inside.

A Perfect Ending to a Perfect Day

In typical Downton fashion, we all changed into extra fancy clothes for dinner. Meaning I FINALLY got to wear the emerald green dress of my dreams I purchased back in November. The puff sleeves and buttons are the icing on the cake of this tulle dress. A surprise guest appeared for birthday dinner, you know who you are ;), and I got to end the day feeling like 24 really, maybe, won’t suck.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. Here’s to trying to have more things to write about in my twenty-fourth year of life.

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