cocktail headache

I refuse to call it a hangover. I'm calling it a cocktail headache. Nothing a little coffee can't fix, right? LOL . Ray took me out for birthday dinner with our neighbors - who we LOVE- to the most amazing restaurant. Now, keep in mind that we don't really have an abundance of fine dining locations to visit for birthday dinners, in fact I was fully prepared to go to Boston Pizza! But instead we went to a little hole-in-the-wall place in a stripmall style building with a pub/bar on one side and a gas station on the other. I didn't have very high expectations at all, although I'd heard great things about the place so I was cautiously optimistic. We walked in and the decor was stunning, the atmosphere was lovely and there wasn't a child in sight (always a good sign for a grownup's night out!). Our friends arrived as we were being seated and let me tell you how fabulous the food was. Between the seafood stuffed mushroom caps and the fillet mignon I couldn't have been more pleased. The vegetables were absolutely perfect, they served one of my favorite wines, Yellowtail Shiraz (YUM), and they brought me a divine slice of tiramisu cheesecake- complete with birthday candle (sans serenade, thank GOD!). After our dinner we headed downtown to a great little martini lounge that had the best atmosphere. It was urban but not cookie-cutter or glossy. Rustic but not grubby. It was a completely perfect. Okay maybe the bartender needed to learn how to mix a Cosmopolitan that didn't taste like boozy lemonade but other than that little detail, it was a five-star night. Yay for me.

Now, lets back it up a little. Here's what my day was about before the fancy night out...

I didn't blog yesterday because there just wasn't time so here it is today. I started my day with a phonecall from my dad who serenaded me with the traditional birthday song and when that ended, I headed over to the kitchen to serve up a little birthday cake for breakfast. It's customary in our family for the birthday person to eat birthday cake for every meal until it's gone. I decided to share it with everyone yesterday. The night before I baked an angel food cake and made whipped cream and we ate what is pictured below for breakfast! YUM!
So day 2 of Karen's Birthday week box contained this amazing cook book. I'm a bit of a cook book hoarder and a very experimental cook- luckily my family doesn't have to suffer through too many weird dishes- but this will be an entirely new food adventure. Can't wait to get started. This is a fantastic gift (I'm beginning to feel a little pressure to rock out her birthday box...)
And this morning as I sipped coffee from my new and very stylish Starbucks mug from Day 1, I opened the Day 3 gift. Wow, does my gal know me or what?
I can't wait to wrap this gorgeous yarn around my needles...so many projects already on the go so it'll have to wait for now but stay tuned for updates on what this yarn becomes...I'm sending you big fat industrial strength hugs, Karen. Thanks sooooooooooo much! I'm loving opening these little gifties every day. I swear, Birthday week is the BEST idea! What fun!!!