31 with a side mucinex, advil and nasal sprays

For most of the winter, I've been lucky enough to avoid the flu - you know that little cold that knocks people out for a week at a time. No one freak out right this second but I'm also the same person who doesn't routinely go get her yearly physical or flu shot. Yes, we do exist.

However, I wasn't savvy enough to evade one hell of a sinus virus over my birthday weekend. Upon picking up my dear friend on Friday morning for our Chicago road trip, the sniffles already started so I packed a box of Kleenex and my friend brought allergy medicine and honey and lemon cough drops to get me through the weekend.

Or so we thought....

New wrap bracelet and tshirt - no filter could help this natural skin color

Our over-the-counter concoction of pills simply wasn't enough to combat whatever the hell virus had crept itself into my sinuses, throat and ears. Instead of bumming around Chicago to Core Power yoga for a yoga fusion class then Eataly for a long and lengthy lunch, my friends and I opted for Thai takeout and happily binge watched the entire season three of Game of Thrones because I couldn't pry myself from the couch until dinner time.

hot and sour soup; pad thai and spicy basil race PLUS the best girlfriends = priceless

We cut back our pre and post dinner drinks for a two-hour dinner at a French restaurant called Maudes liquor bar. I wish I just could have truly tasted more of the oysters, old fashioneds, shaved salads, foie gras, steak tartare and roast chicken because that point my taste buds were all but disappearing right in front of my eyes.

Even though I've only been a year older and wiser for four days, I have learned (and was reminded) of a few things in those short days:

1) Ice cream, saltine crackers and ginger ale may not be a part of many food groups but sometimes it's all a person can tolerate while sick.

2) Air humidifers may be the secret my mom was keeping from me all these years. Why on earth haven't I been sleeping with one of these every night each winter is beyond me?! No more of that.

3) Good friends will do whatever it takes for you. No matter if you drove 5 hours to end up sitting in a condo watching the snow fall, exposed to one heavily infected friend who couldn't stop blowing her nose and watching TV for 10 hours. It's those kinds of friends you want around at the good, bad and all boring times inbetween.

RIP Forever 21

I am a short time away from turning 31.

Approximately three short days.

Thirty one. Three and a 1. 3-1.

I don't know exactly what bothers me about that number but I'm not a fan of it all just yet.

I have time, you see, because I technically still have three days.

I loved turning 30. I looked forward to it. I embraced it. I had a week of celebrations leading up to it and I couldn't wait until my joint birthday celebration with a friend who was turning 31. She didn't seem to care she was turning the odd number at all. But it's a different story with me.

There is just something that feels off with the odd number. It's like that annoying wake-up call that says a Gretchen Weiners voice, "Ummm congrats, you really officially out of your 20s and officially in a whole new world of digits."

Since the allure of turning 30 has officially passed me with this birthday, I suppose there are many things that I can't get away with anymore and this particular one is a hard thing to break up with.

I guess it's about time I broke up with Forever21.

We have had quite the long run together where I would search through racks to find a normal human size that would fit something other than simply my left leg for only $21.50. Or buy a steal of a necklace that ONLY cost me $10.80 but then a crystal accidentally fell out after the first wear and no matter how many times I twisted it around my neck to hide the missing jewel, the missing one still stuck out like a light bulb.

So goodbye Forever21, I will trade you in for the massive sales I score on Piperlime, swap in Asos to replace you and add in a pinch of Accessory Concierge.

Hello 31 - You don't look marvelous but should look marvelous and turning you this weekend in the Windy City is the perfect weekend getaway with the best travel companions a girl could want.

rich kids comes to Cleveland

It's not secret the much of the country is being locked indoors for the next two days because of the polar vortex. Or as I like to call it "the most ridiculously cold way to kick off 2014." No one will forget how it began now will they?

Before this very frigid storm blew into town, the lovely people of Rich Kids of Beverly Hills decided to do some promotion in my lovely city. Scroll through your Instagram page and you really never know what you will find. Apparently I was somehow following the new TV show and saw they were in wintery Cleveland and were posting about a scavenger hunt of designer gifts strategically placed at different city landmarks.

Seeing as I'm about 10 minutes walking from most landmarks, I saw one of the Fountain of Eternal Youth down by Marriott at Key Center, threw on my warmest coat and marched down a few blocks through slush and snow to hopefully get my hands on a new watch. What did I have to lose right?

Hello new Burberry watch.

Ta dah! Success! After a brisk walk, I met the rich kids reps and was gifted this beautiful Burberry men's watch because I was the first person to arrive to the location. I was so excited to win something - you have NO idea. Me? A random winner? Say it isn't so!

Imitating the fountain

And who says being glued to your phone doesn't have its perks every now and then?