Birthday Treats

So I survived Sonja-palooza. Just barely. My birthday week was kind of exhausting but I feel really fortunate to have such great friends and family, not to mention a totally sweet hubby. I ate and drank like I was still 29 though, so it took me a bit to recover.

The festivities began on Sunday when my friend Kathy & I took a shopping trip up to the outlet mall followed by dinner out. We thought we'd go to the Tulalip Casino next to the mall for dinner, until we walked in and realized that smoking is still allowed there! Yuck. We checked out our other SnoCo options and ended up at Anthony's in Everett. We went to the Fireside Grill - a more casual offshoot of Anthonys and scored a "surf and turf" special. It was delish ad we were on a post-shopping high.

My mother-in -law secretly left birthday cards on the front porch for me to find Wednesday morning. I ended up finding them Tuesday night because I was taking out the trash. I waited until Wednesday morning to open them though and there was some cash - woot! That came in handy for my mani/pedi.

Arriving at work - my awesome co-workers hooked me up with breakfast treats, homemade pancetta/balsamic vinaigrette (total heaven, btw), a 12-pack of my favorite beer and lots of cards. Robyn even made a mixed berry crisp - even though she is not a "hot fruit" fan.

My friend Shae in Arizona sent me on a scavenger hunt in the afternoon. This is the second birthday scavenger hunt she has sent me on - all of which she set up from AZ. I received an email sending me to the flower shop where they had a bouquet of tulips for me. Attached to the bouquet was a note to go see "Frank" up the street. Frank is at the running store and he had a gift certificate for me! Shae is so clever and thoughtful, it made for a really fun afternoon.

I got an adorable voicemail from my friend Angie's kids. Hazel is 4 and Drew is 3 and they sang me "happy birthday" on the message. It is about the most adorable thing I have ever heard. They were a little out of tune, but still it was really sweet.

Wednesday night, Gavin took me for dinner at Restaurant Zoë in Belltown. It was so tasty - we shared the gnudi and pork belly for appetizers. I had golden beet risotto for my main and Gavin had pappardelle with wild boar bolognese. It was kind of pricey, but the service was great and the food was awesome. They also serve an amuse bouche at Zoë when you sit down. I have to say this is one of my favorite touches at a restaurant...but more on that later.

Gavin is working on designing our front yard, which my dad has been completely tearing out, leveling and bringing in dirt for. So that was part of my present as well as some Apple bucks for me to use tricking out my iPhone.

My folks and sister-in-law took me out on Thursday for happy hour. They are hooking me up with plants for my birthday gift...but it will be awhile until we start planting our front yard.

On Friday I had a joint celebration out with friends for my birthday and Rachel's birthday (May 10). We went to Cafe Presse on Capitol Hill, which is an offshoot of Le Pichet at the market. Oh man, it was tasty and pretty affordable. I love me a good steak frites and even though I am getting older, thankfully I don't have to worry about my cholesterol & blood pressure just yet...

Thanks everyone!