It's My Birthday

here's what you can get me

Today is my 42nd birthday and boy is it a good one. I’m spending it in Salzburg, Austria, home to Mozart and, more importantly, The Sound of Music. I can now proudly say that twice in my life I have celebrated my deep love for this movie by joining a busload of Sound of Music enthusiasts singing These Are A Few of My Favorite Things off-key and a little drunk on Austrian lager.

Two years ago, when I turned 40, I used the milestone birthday to loudly declare I AM CHARGING INTO A NEW CHAPTER OF LIFE. It was my first birthday after my husband of 12 years left me. I felt as though the international life I loved was over and I decided that my adopted hometown of Washington DC would be where I’d rebuild my life. I planned a birthday week of “come if you can” activities: An arty party at a museum, a hike, a concert. It was mostly very high energy and good although I did leave a concert on the night of birthday in tears, depleted, and feeling like everything I was doing to create a new life was only partly working.

The following year, my 41st birthday, I hosted a lively party for myself in my dream historic apartment with the creaky floors and high ceilings. I was in a more “trust the process” place and everything did seem to be trending upward. I gave a toast about how we might assume the “best time of life” was in those exciting years of so much change our 20s, but really, the best time of our lives hasn’t even happened yet. (My best friend Lauren recently told me that as she watched me say that, in my beautiful apartment that was so me, surrounding by a few dozen friends, she thought “How could it get better for her than this?”)

But, knock on wood, enter: My 42nd birthday. I am living in that best time of my life. I have found love again and am living in Ljubljana, Slovenia, a fairy tale village in Europe. In the past two months, I’ve traveled to Paris, Venice, Florence, London, Brussels, and Salzburg like it’s nothing. But really it’s everything. It’s the international life I had and adored from before, but it’s a better version. I’m a better version, too.

It’s almost too much good. But if you’re still like, Emily, what do you want for your birthday, here’s some gift ideas.

Go to a Bar or Restaurant by Yourself

That’s what you can get me, really. I’d love it so much. I want you to go out into your neighborhood bar or restaurant and have a few drinks or dinner alone. Do it even if you feel like everyone is watching you, and when you’re certain everyone is watching you, try and convince yourself it’s because you are inspiring them to also someday go out alone. Have you ever looked at a solo diner and thought “Aw, they have no friends”? You haven’t. People will only think it’s cool that you are confidently solo. Try and enjoy your own company, get in that interesting brain of yours! Enjoy the tastes, the sounds, the sights. Be open and kind and curious if someone tries to engage. Bonus: Waitstaff and bartenders love a solo diner and you’ll probably get some freebies.

Buy a Book In-Person from Your Local Bookshop

Go in to a real brick-and-mortar bookshop and browse. Open up anything that catches your attention, and when something you read in that book reminds you of another book, go and try to find that book and do the same thing. It’s a scavenger hunt! If someone who works there asks if you need any help, tell them you’re looking for something to read, and tell them what some of your favorite books are. It’s also cool to be brutally honest and say something like “I worry I’ve lost the capacity to read a full book so what’s something that is truly a page turner that is so juicy I won’t be reaching for my phone every other minute?” (My answer: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke). They work at a bookstore so this will, nine times of out 10, lead to a fun conversation. My Aunt Patty went to a bookstore in Harbor Springs Michigan the other day to buy the new design book by Michigan-born interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins and ended up having a mutual interior designer friend in common, with the bookseller. Made a new friend!

If you’re in DC, I might suggest you go to Lost City Books in Adams Morgan, and converse with Eliza, who shares very similar taste with me, and has lots of interesting things to say and great recommendations. Buy a book! Do not, under any circumstances, open up Amazon and set up delivery of that book to your Kindle or doorstep. Jeff Bezos doesn’t need your money.

Go to an Art Museum and Find the Painting You Dressed For

I play a lot of games when I’m in a museum. The Which Artists Inspired This Artist guessing game. The If I Could Have One of These Artworks for My Home Which Would I Choose game. By far my favorite is the Which Artwork Did I Dress For game. Step one for this game, is when you get dressed, tap into what feels “right” for the museum you're about to visit. Then, stroll around at the museum as you normally would, until you find an artwork that is so uncannily like your outfit that it’ll feel a little eerie. This game always works. It just does. Double bonus points if you ask someone to take your photo and explain you’re doing the Which Artwork Did I Dress For game. Triple bonus if you ask if they’ve found theirs yet. Infinity points if playing this game leads to making a new friend or lover.

Buy Something from an Artist

Preferably an original work of art, although prints are cool too. This doesn’t need to be a huge investment. The other day, I bought a teeny little landscape of Ljubljana that a Slovenian artist was selling in the street. It came on a teeny little easel. You can find artists on Instagram, or at a local art fair, at a local shop. Some of my favorite affordable artists and their Instagram handles are:

• Adam Mele (@WelcomeGnat)

• Heather Jones (@HeatherJonesArt)

• Billel Decherani (@Decherani_billel)

• Elodie Loiseleur (@elodieloiseleur)

I enjoy buying all sorts of art - from flea markets and vintage shops, art posters from museums, photos from street vendors in Marrakech. There’s something so special about buying art from a living artist whom you could actually converse with. They get to know you appreciate what they’re doing, and you get a glimpse into their artistic process. (Like the time I bought a painting in a Virginia antique store, tagged the artist, Victor Ehikhamenor, and ultimately returned to him another painting of his. It was an honor, truly).

Subscribe to This Here Substack

Here’s the one self-serving gift idea. Subscribing to my Substack is a way to show me, Emily Walker of Next Dinner Party, that you enjoy reading what I write, and that would feel good for me to know and it’s extra great to feel good on one’s birthday, innit? Now, if you sign up for a paid subscription, well that would be the icing on the birthday cake, mine, and help me make an income off of my creative endeavors. I’ve been doing what I’d call “blogging” (even though that term is now passé) ever since I moved to Yemen in the year 2012. About a year ago, I started publishing my essays on Substack, a platform that makes it much easier for writers to monetize their work. I’m offering a special birthday subscription discount with the button below.

Book An Interior Design Consult With Me

Okay, a second self-serving idea but maybe it would be good for you too. A few years ago, I started my own interior design company, Next Dinner Party Designs. It brings me a lot of joy to help others make their homes look as interesting as they are. I moved abroad in March 2026, but it didn’t change much for my business as most of my clients lives all around the world and what I do is largely virtual: I talk to people about their goals for a room or rooms, get creative and design something beautiful, and then help them get closer to making their room feel and look wonderful. My style is global eclectic and I’m extremely inspired by art, patterns, and colors. If you’d like to book me for a virtual interior design consultation (a super useful 60 minutes where we talk about all your design quandaries and come up with an actionable plan), you can save $50 if you book in the month of May and use the code HAPPYBIRTHDAYEM.

Okay, gotta run. We’re off to hike a gorgeous Alpine mountain, which is exactly what I want to be doing on my birthday. It’s truly one of my favorite things.

To my favorite things,

Emily