oh, 27.  i’m still telling people that i’m “in my mid-20s” but i know that those mid-20s are quickly escaping me… what a weird thought!  twenty-seven sounds old, yet given my current job [i’m the age of many of my coworkers’ children] and my current “life status” [unmarried, no children, just moved to a new city on my own], i still feel young.  ish.  except on those days that i wake up at 4 am to go into work early.  then i don’t feel young at all.  but i digress.  ;)

twenty-six was an amazing year.  i started this birthday completely alone on a trip to japan [no regrets, honestly, one of the coolest things i’ve done]… i still need to post on that trip because it was awesome.  i don’t know what it was about being there, in this place so different from america where i don’t speak the language and didn’t know a soul [minus my few days in osaka with my longtime friend karen!], but i felt like i wasn’t alone at all.  i grew from that trip in ways i can’t describe.  i loved every minute of it, and i felt happy/proud of myself that i enjoyed it all and was so content exploring a magical country by myself over my birthday.

{on my 26th birthday, i visited the colorful sensō-ji temple in tokyo and got an omijuku, or fortune, which i took a picture of [above].  in reflecting on this fortune after a year, i realized that some of these rang true!  i didn’t know anyone who was sick [thankfully] and i’m obviously not married, but i feel like the other statements were kind of telling of the year!  i especially love the “you can catch a chance to get a fine career like to get a giant fish” part and “the person you wait for will show up but late” part.  interesting…}

the first half of my 26th year was fun and comfortable, surrounded by great friends and family in a lovely city that i knew well and had considered home for many years.  the second half of my 26th year was fun and exciting, filled with the promise of love and adventures, straddling home and this new place that i might [and eventually would] call home someday.  i met jamie and spent lots of time in colorado, anticipating the possibility of a new job and a new life.  it was scary but also thrilling.  and then, in 2017, still in my 26th year, it happened, and i left my wonderful family and friends behind and moved to a new state, a state with mountains so majestic that they could have only been created by the good Lord himself.  i started my own new adventure.  i fell in love.  i began a new job that i never planned on, right as i turned 27 [more on that new job soon!].  it was a year for growth, for change, for love.

and now, i’m into my 27th year [posting 2 months late, ha].  i have lots of fun things planned in the year ahead!  here are a few pics from my birthday + birthday weekend:

{gorgeous birthday flowers from my parents, sent to me at my new job.}

{larimer square for dinner!}

{jamie got me tickets to see my favorite band at the epic red rocks amphitheatre and took me to dinner at rioja at larimer square!  the weather wasn’t the nicest [read: cold AF], but we managed to get one picture out there before the wind blew us away.}

{this was a little bite that they brought out before the meal.}

{i got the artichoke tortellini with artichoke mousse, white truffle brood, queso de mano, and chervil.  so tasty!}

{jamie had the liberty farms duck breast with pumpkin risotto, mulled red wine, and cape gooseberry.}

{our server was nice enough to bring out a dessert of my choice, on the house!  i chose the beignets filled with sweet goat cheese and black mission figs with a ruby port wine reduction.}

{these were the most amazing sugar-coated mint leaves that they brought out with the check.  now i want to make some!}

{27.}

{that weekend i went home to dallas/mansfield because jamie was going out of town anyway and i missed my people!  first things first, i had to get my crawfish fix, since people in denver don’t even know what crawfish is!! ;)  i love this pic of me and my daddy-o.}

{mike and his grandmothers!  mom was out of town until saturday evening and we missed her!}

{THIS.}

{that evening after dinner with my family, mike and i hung out in dallas with some of my favorite people, linda and noel, and then i spent the night with mike before driving back to mansfield the next morning.}

{when you close down the restaurant bar that does beer + donut flights, you maaaaay get lucky and receive free late-night donuts.  #win.  this was at one of my favorites, LUCK.}

{saturday night birthday dinner with my family!}

{my favorite meal!!}

{i was so happy that this little lady was able to join us in dallas for my birthday weekend at home.}

{coffee + nama’s apple strudel for dessert.}

{shiner and i both share a love for donuts.} ;)

{champagne at my birthday brunch on sunday after church.}

{the best birthday brunch ever made by my parents!  we had corned beef hash with a fried egg, coffeecake [made by mimi], my favorite fruit salad, and of course, some bubbly!}

{this was sooo good.}

{after brunch – like father, like son!}

{a birthday fruit tart!  another fave of mine.}

{making a wish.}

thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special.  you guys are the best and i love each one of you so much!  xoxo