All About My Surprise 40th Birthday Trip

my dress + heeled sandals

I was getting tons of questions about my surprise birthday trip last weekend so I thought I’d recap it on the blog! These ladies above are my dear friends from medical residency. We’ve been through so much together…deaths, depression, moving, miscarriages, and more. These friends became family when we lived by none. After all these years, we are still so close and make an effort to get together when we can. We do a surprise birthday trip every time one of us turns 40 and it’s such a fun tradition! So a few weeks ago, they sent me a telegram telling me they had something planned and what I needed to pack. I had NO idea what they were planning or what we were going to do, but I was so excited to find out! Keep scrolling to see where I ended up!!

MY SURPRISE BIRTHDAY TRIP

similar shorts + belt + shoes

: WHERE WE WENT

The telegram told me when and where to meet everyone (at my friends house). From there, they had a driver pick us up and take us to a semi private jet that flew us to Newport Beach!! My friends booked the private jet and car service out of Las Vegas (Kaptyn Limosine and NetJets/Jet Suites).

sweatshirts from Jacks Surf Shop (not available online yet)

: WHERE WE STAYED

We stayed at VEA hotel in Newport Beach and it was AMAZING! Definitely the most gorgeous one I’ve ever stayed in. We stayed in the presidential suite with the most incredible balcony. Definitely recommend!

my top + skirt + sandals + hat

: WHAT WE DID

We usually just plan one activity a day. We don’t always have to be doing something, we just love being together! One night we hung out in our pajamas in one hotel room chatting until after midnight! I never care what we do, I just love being with my people.

One day we rented baby jeeps from Moke. They are small electric carts, but they call them baby jeeps. They were so fun to drive around in Newport and Balboa! They only go 35 miles an hour so you can’t drive them on pacific coast highway.

We always do a little shopping when we’re together, so we enjoyed that. We loved the surf shops and specialty shops that you can’t find anywhere else. Plus, the hotel was right across the street from Fashion Island!

We rented a boat one evening from Electric Boat Company and had such a good time. We’ve driven boats down to Balboa a few times over the last few years. This boat was a lot smaller and more of a sit down and eat lunch type of boat. The boats we’ve gotten in the past years have been a lot bigger where you can move around a dance! But these ones came in so many fun colors.

shirts + hats were custom made

: WHAT WE ATE

Food is a HUGE part of our trips when we’re together! We all love to eat and always make sure we find some yummy treats. We went to Stacks Pancake House, Malibu Farms, Sprinkes (amazing cupcakes), Javier’s (great Mexican food), Las Brisas, True Foods, and North Italia.

: COST OF TRIP

Someone asked about the cost of the trip and I honestly have no clue. I didn’t plan or pay for anything. When it’s someone’s 40th birthday, we usually pay for everything for the birthday girl and split it between everyone else that came.

Also, we always make sure we contact the husbands weeks ahead to make sure everything works with the family’s schedule. So since we were in Phoenix for the Morgan Wallen concert Wednesday night, we drove and spent the night in Vegas so I could meet my friends at the location Thursday morning!

. . .

I had the best weekend being spoiled by my friends!! Everyone needs friends like them! Thank you for all the early birthday wishes!