I’m turning a birthday milestone today! Here are a few things I learned from my Thirties that I thought I would share. If you have any words of wisdom, please pass them along. xx

1). Choose a wedding dress that will be timeless, not trendy. The same goes for your hair style. You will thank yourself in ten years when you look back at pictures.

2). Yes, you were that skinny. And your ‘girls’ were that perky. So embrace what you have now. Your body doesn’t need any more criticism from you.

3). Invest in a good bra or two, a pair of gorgeous black heels and a set of diamond stud earrings. You deserve it.

4). The puppy you just adopted is a lot more work than you anticipated. But he’s so cute!

5). You will not know what your full capacity for love is until you hold your child in your hands for the first time.

6). You will not know the full range of emotions you can have in any given 24 hour period until you are sleep-deprived with a toddler.

7). Post-partum depression is real, and nothing to be ashamed about. You’re not a failure, and your children will still love you.

8). Skinny jeans don’t look good on everyone. So don’t wear them just because everyone else does. Know what clothes work for your figure and stick to those shapes. It’s all about balance when dressing. That and confidence!

9). Picking out paint color is hard work. You need good lighting, and a friend who can help you navigate paint samples. It’s just paint. If you don’t like it, you can repaint it. The same goes for hair color.

10). Impromptu Friday night dance parties are the best. Especially old ‘80s hits. Nothing beats vintage Michael Jackson and Erasure.

11). Pay cash for everything. Lay off the credit cards. Nothing is worse than paying for a six-pack of beer, six months from now.

12). Altitude sickness is no joke. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

13). Chocolate, particularly rich, dark chocolate, will help soothe an otherwise stressful day.

14). Always have a bag of chocolate chips on hand. And know one good chocolate chip cookie recipe that you can whip up on a rainy day.

15). You really are what you eat. So be kind to your body now. It will thank you later.

16). If you find a wine you like, save the label for next time, because even if you think you’ll remember the name, you won’t. And let’s face it, life’s too short to drink bad wine.

17). Watching the movie, ‘The Notebook,” starring Ryan Gosling, never gets old.

18). I’ll never forget seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time in the snow. That cemented my love affair with Paris. I love everything about Paris and I would move to Paris in a heartbeat. I think I was French in a former life.

19). When your boyfriend takes you to Paris over Valentine’s week, and tells you on the flight that he won’t be proposing to you, believe him. When said boyfriend then takes you to Chicago three months later and asks you to marry him, believe him.

20). We’re not in high school anymore. We learn more when we empower each other than when we devour each other. Be kind.

21). Social Media is here to stay. When you’re updating your FB status, ask yourself, “Is this something I would want published on the front page of the NY Times?” If not, save it for your Hello Kitty diary. (Everyone has one of those, right?)

22). Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Sunscreen.

23). You’re never to old to make new friends. Introduce yourself. Welcome the new neighbor. Invite someone out for lunch. Everyone has an interesting story to share.

24). Clean up as you go. Put things back where they belong. Keep the clutter to a minimum. Organize. It will help you feel saner on days when you feel stressed.

25). Choose your battles. In arguments, you will most likely be right. However, sometimes you’ll just have to agree to disagree and move on. Know how to fight fair. And always say sorry the few times you are wrong.

26). Kiss. Hug. Snuggle. Laugh. Always.

27). Rediscover the library. And always have a good book on your nightstand.

28). After all these years, I still miss my mom like it was yesterday. And I will always wonder what she would have been like as a grandmother now. That feeling never goes away.

29). Anything narrated by Morgan Freeman is pretty much worth watching.

30). “The days are long but the years are short.” Enjoy it. Age really is an attitude. Don’t get caught in the ‘I’m too old’ trap. Always keep searching, wondering, questioning and learning. The next ten years will be here sooner than you think.