I’m not much of a birthday person. Well, when it comes to my own birthday, that is. I actually really enjoy celebrating and planning other people’s birthdays, but when it comes time for mine I’m never overly giddy with excitement. I, of course, always feel blessed that another year has passed and I’ve survived with a limited number of bumps and bruises, but other than that, the gifts and the attention, normally kinda bug me out a bit. I feel like this year, things have changed though. I’ve realized that the gifts can pinpoint just how well someone knows me, the things my friends and family do for me show how much they “get” me, and the phone calls, emails, and texts from people who I don’t talk to on a daily basis prove that, well, love actually is all around. Side-note: Love Actually is one of my favorite movies, the airport scene in the beginning gets me every time!
Backtracking a bit: The past two weeks have been a complete love-fest. Sues mentioned last week that a few of the girls took me to an early birthday brunch at Eastern Standard then we went back to her place for cupcakes and sangria. My friends gave me some early birthday gifts and I said I was going to attempt to wait a full week until my actual birthday to open them. Apparently I turned 5 and not 27 because I, obviously, couldn’t wait to open them 
My friend Libby got me these stunning gold-leafed plates from Olivia Browning, a boutique in Charlestown, Mass. The following day, I emailed her to say thank you and she wrote back “I hope they photograph well”. And I melted. I love the fact that she considered the blog when picking out my gift 
My friend, Erin, bought me this apron that could NOT be more me. Chartreuse and white, little pleats, and extreme details. I can’t wait to prance around the kitchen wearing this although I’m almost tempted to sew a back on so I can wear it as a dress.
My best friend and basically my second sister, Katie, is taking me on a Newbury Street spaaaaaaaa day this Saturday to get a massage at BellaSante and a pedicure at MiniLuxe, which involves the scent of creamsicle. She knows me so well and definitely spoils me! She also gave me an Obama candle that smells like heaven. I brought it to my parent’s house so my mom could smell it… this is how the conversation went:
Me: Mom, smell this candle that Kate bought me. It smells just like a maaaan!
Mom: So it smells like body odor?
Me: Ummm? No. It smells like a showered man.
Kate also bought me WHITE TRUFFLE HONEY (drool!) while she was in California. It’s from LuLu, a restaurant in San Fran, where I actually think I had brunch last year. Again, because I’m 5, I’ve already stuck my finger in the jar multiple times. Delicious. It says it’s good for cheese plates or cured meats. I’m attempting to save this for a dinner party so I can share… but we’ll see how that goes. Check out the rest of Restaurant Lulu’s gourmet treats!
Speaking of San Fran, this man, my best buddy, Corey, came home for a quick visit last weekend! My goal is to attempt to kidnap him so he moves back home, but I also think if he’s going to not live in New England, the only place I deem acceptable for him to reside is San Francisco so I can visit whenever I want That city has stolen my heart.
More love-fest 2010: I went to NYC this weekend for my cousin Natalie’s wedding. She and her new husband, Mark, are hands down one of the cutest couples I’ve ever witnessed. I got a sneak peak of the bride before the wedding started and I actually started crying when I saw her. She looked gorgeous and her happiness was so evident. I feel like anyone who has a love like theirs should consider themselves very lucky.
And speaking of cuteness and things stealing my heart, one of my most favorite little cousins, the one and only Miss B…
How is it fair that one child can be so adorable, fun, and just an overall good kid?????
Me and the sister with our lovely (and adorable!) grandmother
Cousins (and the groom’s mom! hehe)
Saturday night my uncle took me and my sister out for a birthday dinner. My sister’s bday is August 10th and mine is the 22nd. My brother’s is actually September 1st and I will forever be “mad” at him for not being born a day early so we could all have August bdays. hmph! Anywho, we were all craving some bbq so naturally we went to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem. The wait was forever but it was entirely worth it.
This is my “I’m so excited for BBQ” jig. Don’t you have a dance, too?
I didn’t even take any pictures of the food because it was devoured so quickly. I may or may not have been shaking by the time the food arrived. But there were drinks of blueberry beer, appetizers of deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, chicken wings, and shrimp, and ribs galore, mac and cheese, simmered greens, beans, coleslaw and honey hush cornbread. We rolled out of the restaurant when we were done. Well worth it
One of my all time favorite quotes is “Surround yourself with only people who will lift you higher”. That is completely what I intend to do this 27th year of my life. I think I’m off to a darn good start, too. I feel like for the first time ever, the people who are in my life are the people who should be in my life.
What bits of advice or wisdom have you recognized as you’ve grown up?
[Chels]