what I want for my birthday.

Surprise – me, Marty again! I told y’all HPP wouldn’t be back until 2024, but here I am, blessing ya babes with the content and words y’all didn’t even know you needed.

Christmas has come and gone. I’m currently sitting at Dark Matter Coffee and actively eavesdropping (whoops!) on the baristas’ convo with each other: “What is the greatest gift that you received this year, guys?” asked the dude with the pearl necklace (edgy boi!) who took my order: iced green tea, unsweetened. One barista said his favorite gift was a hello kitty poster, the other said, “a cool shirt.” (Sorry, I didn’t eavesdrop hard enough to get the cool shirt details).

I spent Christmas in NYC with some of my favorite people and since coming back, I’ve been hanging out mostly with Katie and my two new, temporary roommates who I love and adore. I genuinely can’t wait for their permanent move to the best city, and for the bromance I never knew I needed (hi, Mike!.. & any other m&m boiz reading).

Over the recent gift-giving and gift-receiving days, I’ve been surprised to hear from a few of my nearest and dearest friends how hard I am to shop for. Sorry to break it to y’all: gift-receiving isn’t my love language. In fact, it’s the lowest of the bunch. Gift-giving, on the other hand, we can talk. There’s nothing I love more than spoiling and loving on my favorite people with thoughtful, creative gifts.

With my birthday just around the corner (February 3rd in case you forgot to mark your GCals), I’m here to give y’all yet another gift: a very not subtle hint on what I want for my 31st birthday. For those that don’t already know me: hi again! I’m Martha, preferring Marty more recently, and I’m really excited for my second tattoo ever tomorrow (*update: just rescheduled to January 12th)! Also, quality time and words of affirmation are BY FAR my top two love languages. With that in mind, I imagine y’all can take it from here…

Just kidding – let me spell it out:

All I want for my birthday is more dates with you, with sprinkles of occasional heart-to-hearts. I like long walks around Andersonville (not the beach), taking lots of pictures (selfies, especially), and just in case, y’all now already know my tea order. I don’t like Netflix (for the most part) but I do like “chill”. And well, if you really want to go the extra mile, write me a love letter & just wrap a tissue box as your gift to me.

That’s all I want, my friends. Your love, your words, your quality time, maybe a tissue box, and your undivided attention.

My roommates and Katie are back. And now I have to wrap up this post, so I could get back to engaging in quality convo. Maybe I’ll even put my phone away during our happy hour double date. But you’re welcome y’all – let the 36 day countdown to February 3rd begin!

Cheers to 2024 so soon, and to less stressin’ about what to get me for my day of birth. 😉

With love,

Marty