Happy Birthday Dio!

I know what you're thinking... another birthday post!?!?!? I told you September is birthday month!

After all those movies yesterday, I needed some coffee to refuel. We headed to our favorite coffee shop for a cup 'o the good stuff.

Jones Coffee Roasters is in my top 3 favorites for coffee shops. It's local in Pasdena, walking distance from our apartment, and they really know what their doing when it comes to coffee.

It's cute and funky, with art all over the walls, amazing pastries, and live shows every so often. Starbucks eat your heart out!

 

(The lady on the left was hiding a big scone bite, doesn't she look like she's praying though??) 

After coffee, we swung by L & L to get some lovely local food. They even had poke today!!! Behold the deliciousness...

 

Poke is raw ahi chunks mixed with shoyu, onions, red pepper flakes, and limu (a particular type of seaweed). It is the best thing in the world! I have eaten many pounds of poke in my day and I am so happy to be able to get it her on the mainland occasionally.

In typical local fashion, it's served with 2 scoops of rice and 1 scoop macaroni salad! It's always too much food for me, but I at least managed to eat every. single. piece. of. fish. YUM!

Then it was off to Whittier to see the birthday boy! I can't believe Dio just turned 1! I remember Karen being pregnant like it was yesterday and now he's 1???

So cute with cake on his face!

You know who else is cute...

Uh yeah, that's the man I am going to marry! Inflating and deflating a Capri Sun packet with all his might.

And what kind of LA birthday party would be complete without a pinata?

I feel the need to sing "Chocolate Rain" when I look at this picture...

We just got home and I have a million more chores to do before bed! Is it really time for another week already?

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben is Evan's brother-from-another-mother. Not only do they look the same, they are both teachers, way into disc golf and other games, and are born within 24 hours of each other!

We gathered at Carol's house this evening for a mini surprise party. There's nothing like giving your friend a heart attack for his birthday, he fell over when we turned the lights on and screamed!

After a few glasses of water and some rounds of "name that state's capitol" with friends, I had to go home, I was not feeling well at all.

I actually called in sick today and my doctor said there are multiple colds going around right now. The back-to-school germs are beginning to circulate through the population.

I spent the day laying in bed chugging juice. What would I do without my juicer!?!? It is the easiest way to get nutrients when I am sick and not interested in solid food.

First up was leftover watermelon with some lime. I was not a fan, the lime made it taste funky, but I guzzled it down anyway. Next was a foamy concoction of beet, carrot, apple, and ginger. MUCH better.

 

And even after this short posting session, I am already exhausted. Going to slip into a hot bath and then a big bed.

Happy Birthday Evan!

A BIG happy birthday to the love of my life! Today he is 29... just that much closer to the big 3-0! It's been over 6 years together and he still makes me laugh every single day.

Today was a bit stressful since I was dead set on surprising Evan at school for lunch. I didn't realize how bad traffic would be in Hollywood during lunchtime! I ended up making it to school just 1 minute before his lunch period after sitting in hellish traffic for almost an hour.

I ended up surprising him more that I had hoped, and it was nice to eat lunch together at his school.

I went back to work and around 3 I started to feel funny. Everyone in the office has been getting sick and I started to feel really terrible with headache, feverish symptoms, and an aching body. I was so happy to go home and lay on the couch.

Evan also had a lot of work to do tonight, so we just kept the celebration simple with a birthday dinner at Mike & Anne's in South Pasadena.

I've only been there for breakfast (which is fantastic!) and was delighted to see boatloads of seafood on the menu. :P


After devouring the sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade, we decided on mushroom risotto and clams with linguine for our entrees. YUM!!!


Evan's mushroom risotto was to die for! Creamy, smooth, and nutty... I would have given up my firstborn child for another plate of it. It was heavy on the cheese though, so I cherished my clams and linguini. With notes of garlic, shallots, and perfectly al dente pasta, it was insanely good!


We sat outside in a dark garden area so it was impossible to take pictures without blowing them away with flash. You'll have to use your imagination!


Now off to bed early to rest and recuperate. Only 1 more day till the weekend!

Happy Birthday Vince!

Vince has the perfect house for surprise birthday shenanigans. With 2 easy access pathways to his backyard, I knew I had to arrange a sneaky birthday bash.

Everyone assembled down the street and around the corner, while Evan distracted him (conveniently) by checking out a bike in his basement he was going to buy. Then we went into stealth mode and hid in the backyard.


Hehe. We got him good. I believe the first sentence out of his mouth had a few expletives in it.

Nick, Vince's brother, also pulled together an amazing spread for grilling: corn, peppers, chicken, chips, etc. A pack of 30 Tecate (1 for every year of Vince's life) came in handy as well.

And Vince's frosting test had a special pose to it:

 

Cheeky.

We kept the neighbors up for a bit, shot off a few guns, and knocked back a few drinks in his honor. You know, just your usual Thursday night in Eagle Rock!

Birthday!!!

It's my 28th birthday! I can hardly believe it!!!

I had a request for gluten-free birthday pancakes and Evan did not disappoint.

The darker one is not burnt, it has chocolate chips in it! Deeeeeeelish.

I'm not one of those people who get scared by getting older. In fact, I can't wait till I get to 30!

Plans for the day:

- pancakes (check)

- Toys R Us

- Shopping

- Birthday Dinner

- Movie

We got started late this morning so I am going to go enjoy my day!