well, another birthday has come and gone. now there is no question that i’m in my mid-twenties (!), and i can’t even believe that next year, i’ll be a quarter of a century. is it really me who is going to be that old?? and while i will not hesitate to say that my twenties have been more challenging at times than i had imagined [and in different ways than i would have guessed], they have been good to me. very, very good. and in ways that i never dreamed of. that, my friends, is the beauty of life.
so i’ll start by saying that when you work for the company that i work for, february 22nd is considered an important date. and it’s not because it’s my birthday or george washington’s, either.
{#nationalmargday #letscelebrate}
;)
although my actual birthday was saturday, i decided that it started on thursday night, with our first official tasting session in wine class. yep, this is where wine class starts getting good.
{we tasted five different wines, and i found two that i really liked. and as a bonus, we get fresh bread made from the culinary classes to go with our wine!}
and then i began the party prep, which is always half the fun!
{i made this cute little cake topper with wooden skewers, twine, and washi tape. thanks, pinterest!}
{assembling the cake! it’s a four-layer snickerdoodle cake with cinnamon buttercream}
on friday night, i took the trolley over to klyde warren park with my friend stacy, and we met up with some people for AWAKEN, this awesome event put on by the porch where people gather and worship and pray together. it really was so faith-inspiring to be out there on the grass above the highway with all the twinkling lights in the trees and the lit-up skyscrapers towering around us, praising the lord with so many others who want to be there spending their friday night doing the same thing. i really can’t think of a better way to spend the eve of my birthday.
{there is nothing more magical than klyde warren at night. ALSO, i can’t even believe this, but i discovered that the little kiosk called relish that is a part of the park’s restaurant has the best beignets i’ve ever had in my life. the best. right here in dallas, tx. and i’m no stranger to louisiana and have had my fair share of beignets too. these things were out-of-this-world good.}
the following day – my actual birthday – god decided to give me perfect weather. as in, couldn’t have been any better. i finished cleaning the house and walked over to bread winners in shorts and sunnies to pick up the king cake which my sweet mother had ordered for me, and then went to pick up angela who had just arrived in from houston. being reunited felt oh so good! we went to lunch together and caught up on each other’s lives, and as usual, being with her made me remember exactly why we are soul sisters [not that i could ever, ever forget that]. we grabbed some champagne for later that night and then got ready for my little birthday party, which began at bowl & barrel at 4.
bowl & barrel is kind of a bowling alley, although i hesitate to even call it that because it’s so unlike your typical bowling alley. it’s trendy and modern and is really just a cool tavern/restaurant/bar/hangout place that happens to have bowling lanes. which kiiiiiinda makes it the perfect place for an afternoon party.
i reserved two lanes for a couple of hours, so we bowled a few rounds and drank beer and ordered some appetizers to share [which were great, btw]. i think everyone had a good time, and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. [it’s actually ironic that i had a bowling party because i might be the world’s worst bowler, but bowling is fun no matter how good – or bad – you are!]
{typical guido, doing what he does best – photo-bombing!!}
{the whole group! minus aurora, who came later!}
after bowling, we went back to my place for some some champagne, birthday cake, and ice cream before walking over to urban taco for dinner. [i know, cake before dinner. i thought it was an awesome idea!]
{because at 24 it’s still okay to drink champagne in plastic cups…}
{the two cakes: snickerdoodle cake with cinnamon buttercream and king cake!}
{we had strawberries [with a teensy bit of amaretto] and vanilla ice cream with the cake.}
{these cute boys came to my rescue when it was time to put the candles on the cake and light them up! [they also came to the rescue when it was time to blow up my air mattress with a hairdryer, but that’s a different story…]}
{they should be professional candle-lighters. let me tell you, it’s no easy feat when you’re trying to light 24 candles on a couple of cakes!}
{it was my last year to need only one box of candles! eeek!}
{this was just before the house caught fire…}
{…kidding. obviously. making a wish!}
{i’m embarrassed to say that i blew out all 24 candles in one breath. but as you can tell from this video that angela took, i was pretty pumped about my accomplishment at the time.} ;)
{and noelle caught the exact moment that i had blown them all out and everyone was cheering and i was fist-pumping. or something.}
{and then we all stuffed ourselves with cake and ice cream and strawberries and champagne and more cake before heading off to dinner…}
{…but not before taking some group photos with the girls and the boys…}
{…and some selfies} ;)
and then we walked to urban taco and had a lovely dinner and some margaritas to celebrate national marg day. after dinner, we went to quarter bar for a short time, and even though it was still early, we were all pretty tired by this point and ended up just heading home after a bit. this is a MAJOR perk of being 24 – it’s socially acceptable to have a calm, adult birthday party without going crazy-wild and staying out til 2 am and and taking rounds of shots that people buy for you and killing your feet in those brand-new sky-high heels. i mean, i was wearing jeans and flats. yeah. i love being 24.
on sunday morning, angela, kyle, and i walked to over to social house for brunch [i always knew that they had great food, but what i didn’t realize is that they have whole carafes of mimosas and peach bellinis for $10. this is unheard of in dallas]. it was beautiful weather just like the day before, and we sat outside under the shade of an umbrella just having a grand time. these are two people who i love so dearly, and every time i hang out with them i honestly feel overcome with the joy of our friendship. they are true friends as its finest definition.
they had to head back to houston in the early afternoon, but my parents and mimi came by around 3:30 to celebrate. they were complete angels and brought everything for a homemade dinner at my house – wine and hors d’oeuvres, my favorite pasta dish, garlic bread, a salad, and another cake! yeah, i know, how lucky can a girl be?!
{guess who else they surprised me with? that cute little fluffball who always finds the pantry in every house he visits! andddd how cool is this wine label? my dad knows me so well.} :)
{two lovely ladies and a little brown dog. and the first thing my dad does when he visits is help us carry things up from the car, and the second thing he does is grab my little guitar and start to play. i love that about him.}
{didn’t take long for him to find the presents…}
{my family always spoils me with soo many gifts. this is only like a third of them! but getting to celebrate with them was the best gift of all. we missed you, mike and nama!}
{as soon as it’s “go time” [and sometimes before!] lucky is ALL OVER it.}
{dinner was so good. and so fun.}
{we sat on the floor for like 10 minutes after dinner just looking at my map and pointing out where we’ve all been and where we want to go. we’re definitely a family who loves geography.}
{these two are my heroes.}
i only regret not taking a picture of my third birthday cake! it was a delicious carrot cake that mom made – my favorite. for the entire week last week, i ate cake as my breakfast and cake as my dinner. every. single. day. now how’s that for a fabulous use of birthday leftovers?? and i even sent a fair share home with mom, dad, and mimi! but yeah, it was HEAVEN. also a nutritionist’s worst nightmare. but i thoroughly enjoyed that and now i’m back to a [mostly] healthy lifestyle.
wow, i’m thankful to have such incredible people in my life. all of you made my birthday so very special. i love you so. <3
xoxo