There's one thing that makes a girl think, "Hey, maybe having birthdays after 30 ain't so bad..." And that one thing is getting a big ol' honkin' Sephora box from a friend — stuffed chock'fulla smell-goods at a time you most need to feel like a pwetty pwetty printhess.

And in the gift that keeps on givin' category, next Sunday (a week from tomorrow) I get to spend my actual-birthday at the spa thanks to a previous gift from these two. Hard to believe, but it will be my first-ever trip to one! I think it's going to be alarming how charming I feel...

It seems for the last nine months, a successful beauty day begins and ends with having brushed my teeth before bedtime.