The Man's Birthday

The Man had a birthday last week and, while he likes to keep it low key, we did celebrate.  I wanted to share with you a little bit of what went down.

First, we went to a special dinner at North Square that had a beer pairing for each course!  The Man is always looking to try new and different beers, and this selections seemed pretty special, so I though it would be a great choice for his birthday.

North Square is the loveliest restaurant in the historic Washington Square Hotel, which is actually quite romantic.  (Plus a friend of mine is the manager there, so if you go, tell Chuck that Rebecca sent ya!)

I was too excited to remember to snap a single photo until dessert, which was a delicious spice cake with beer ice cream!  The whole menu can be viewed here.

AJ, from Ommegang Brewery, was incredibly nice and came around to each table to talk to us about the pairings and ask us our opinions.  This is the first of many special chef's dinners that they have planned for the hotel's 150th anniversary, so I'm looking forward to going again soon.

As if that wasn't enough, last week, we got on a plane to Raleigh. NC to visit a friend, who, conveniently, also has an April birthday.  We arrived in Raleigh Thursday afternoon and packed up the car the next day to drive out to Wrightsville Beach.

Wrightsville Beach is a small beach town with only about one block of restaurants, but it was exactly what we were looking for.  Our friends have a little one (15 month old, Lucas!) and so we rented a condo from here.  It turned out to be the best choice!  There was plenty of room to spread out and Lucas could go to bed and the grown ups could hang out.  (Except for the first night when he wanted in on the action!)

I ate grits for breakfast and we ate Mexican food from this place both days we were there.  There was coffee on the beach in the morning and, ultimately, the visit was way too short.

But, even though it's still early Spring, it felt like the perfect kick off to Summer!!  We're both looking forward to a lot more beach days (and Mexican food).

Birthdays and more birthdays

It was my birthday last week, which around these parts looks a lot like this:

That is to say, a lot of wine and eating and general merry-making. 

I'm a little peculiar when it comes to birthdays.  To me, there is nothing sadder, nothing, than a birthday that goes unnoticed and rather than rely on others to make a fuss over my day, I usually end up throwing myself some kind of party.  This creates kind of a conundrum, because I then start to panic that no one will come, which is the worst kind of sad, because you've gone and made your own fuss and then no one acknowledged it!

In the past I've had parties at bars, or parties that my bf organized that were mostly his friends, or parties that I've shared with roommates (which is perfect when your birthdays are a week a part!), but this was the first year that I've had a party in my own apartment to just celebrate me.

It all seemed a little too self-indulgent.  There was a facebook mishap where a bunch of people didn't get invited.  I begged my family to make the drive to the city, so that if no one showed up at least they would be there.  It was destined to fail and I would spend my birthday alone and friendless with piles of food going bad and drinks going warm.

But of course it didn't.  In fact, I had such a good time that I forgot to take a single picture!  And my apartment was full of family and friends and love and merry-making and I was (am) the luckiest girl in the whole world!

I'm slowly digging myself out, mentally and physically.  All this snow and ice don't help, either.  I finished and started some knitting and I've done a bit of sewing.  All to come soon.  

All. To. Come. Soon.

P.S. Thank you, everyone, for making a fuss and making me feel so loved!

Um, so I had a birthday

Yeah, it is pretty much a blur. I do know, however, that it was perfect.

I filled the house with flowers, I cooked all my favorite foods to share with a few dozen close friends, and had (part) of my family come to dinner at my favorite Sunnyside restaurant. (Pssst! Do me a favor and don't blow up the spot, OK?)

Oh, but the gifts. You know your friends are keepers when they know you this well. I bagful of goodies came with my friend, Lynn, from Brooklyn. My mouth is watering just thinking about the Flying Pigs Farm apple and sage sausage in my refrigerator right now.

And homemade vanilla sugar from Ellen, for (in her words), "You know, making creme brule or whatever." Thanks Ellen!

Also, my roommate extraordinaire gave me the greatest gift of all. He helped me finish a home improvement project that had been the bane of my existence since September. More on that later. You rock, Kevin!

I have never felt so loved or so blessed. Lynn's mom said that her 30's were the best decade of her life. Mine started out pretty rocky, but have been progressively getting better and better. Which means that this year can only top the last one!