A few months ago, Tamra Judge was not looking forward to her next birthday.
"I don't grow old gracefully," she told Bravo's Daily Dish. "There's nothing graceful about getting old."
She didn't even want a party. "At first, I was like, 'No way. There's going to be no 50th birthday party ever,'" she added. "And now I'm like, 'S—, well if it's happening, I might as well go out with a bang.'"
And that's just what she did!
After a planned trip to Mexico hit a snag, the "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star and her friends regrouped and instead headed to Carmel, California, where husband Eddie Judge rented a stunning vacation property for his wife and her friends for the Labor Day weekend celebration.
"Road Trippin to Carmel with these nuts @eddiejudge @brookenishida . When your flight gets canceled to Cabo there is always plan B 😛 Last day of my 40's #birthdayweekend #champagneweekend," she wrote on Instagram alongside a selfie of her crew on their drive up the California coast.
Once there, Tamra wasted no time getting into the birthday spirit.
"Living like I'm 49 forever 😛 or more like the next 5 hours," she captioned a pic of herself drinking champagne — while wearing a black-and-white bikini — in front of an open fridge stocked with bottles of bubbly on Sept. 1.
More fun photos followed — and in nearly every one, Tamra's also wearing a bikini!
"Love you to the moon and back baby @eddiejudge #tamras50th #vintage67," she captioned a shot with her husband on Sept. 1.
Tamra celebrated with a slew of fun accessories including a birthday sash, trucker cap and piñata.
"Piñata & @sassysashsashes the day keeps getting better #tamras50thbirthday #vintage1967," she shared on Instagram alongside a short clip on Sept. 2 — her actual birthday.
She clearly had a blast, but just because it was her birthday didn't mean she skimped on her fitness: Tamra and her guests worked out in their rental property's home gym. "Pre birthday party 🎉 celebration. Thank you @eddiejudge for renting a house with a gym 🙌🏼," she captioned a video of herself working out with her friends.
The birthday celebration came just days after Tamra revealed she'd been diagnosed with skin cancer.
The reality TV star posted a selfie to Instagram on Aug. 27 in which a small blemish on her backside is visible. "I work out hard for this Booty. I was planning on competing again in [a fitness competition in] November at 50 years old, but I'm not sure that's happening now," she wrote. "It looks like God has a different plan for me. I'm showing you this picture because this is what melanoma looks like."
She encouraged her followers to get their skin checked. "This was just a small black flat freckle," she said of the spot on her behind. "I had no idea!"
In July, Tamra revealed on "Watch What Happens Live" that she'd done a little pre-50 prep: She went under the knife. "I had my neck and lower face done 15 days ago," she told Andy Cohen on July 10.
Tamra said that she lost so much body fat competing as a bodybuilder that her skin started "drooping."
"I'm not a fan of fillers because I feel like you look like a Cabbage Patch Kid, so I say pull it, don't plump it," she said, adding that she'd only had the staples taken out a few days before her appearance on Andy's show.