Birthday Weekend, Part One

I'm a huge, huge fan of birthdays.  Especially mine.  It's the only day of the year that is just for you.  Except mine, since I share it with my grandfather.  However, you know what I mean.  Chris took the boys shopping on Friday to pick whatever they wanted to buy me for a birthday gift.  They were creative!

Henry picked a candle, after much deliberation.  Henry is a very thoughtful decision maker.  He's not one to make a snap decision.  He likes to think about it.  A. Lot. Chris said that he really wanted to buy me a shirt.  Chris talked him out of that, and he then decided on a candle.  A huge, orange, stinky candle.  He (thankfully!) changed his mind and got me a small "vanilla cupcake" candle that he decided is for my office.  I think that's a fabulous idea, and will be bringing it to work with me on Monday.  He also made me the adorable card in the picture, and I am framing the part that is a drawing of Henry and me holding hands.  He loves to make cards for people, and he does a really sweet job.

David had decided early in the week what he would be getting for me.  Lipstick.  He wanted to get three of them, in the same shade, because "Mama wears a lot of lipstick".  (PS. I totally don't.)  He selected Revlon "Ravish Me Red".  It's a bit of a hooker red.  Thankfully Chris kept the receipt.  Let's just say that's not exactly my color.

Chris got my some really pretty flowers, a yummy chocolate fudge cake, and some cupcakes for the boys.  Batman cupcakes.

David, Jack, and I went to the first Murfreesboro Main Street Market.  (I think they have the cutest logo!)  We got there two hours after it opened, and the selection was very, very small.  However, it was the first day they've done it and we got there late.  We'll definitely try again.  I love the Murfreesboro square and like supporting local businesses, so we'll keep trying the Murfreesboro Market.  David was disappointed that he didn't get any fruit, but he was happy to just explore.  And Jack was happy to ride in the stroller and people watch.

In the afternoon after Jack's nap, we brought the boys to my parents' house for a sleepover.  Jack was so excited to "sleep Gigi's HOUSE!"  We went to dinner after we dropped them off, then headed to Arrington Vineyards.

I LOVED it there!  How have I not been there before?  Next time I want to do a wine tasting, but there was a two hour wait for it, so we just picked something.

We had the Raspberry 08 dessert wine and raspberry chocolate truffles.  Oh. My. Goodness.  DELICIOUS.  Chris is hooked and wants to be a wine drinker now.

Today?  Birthday weekend, Part two - a celebration at my parents' house with a cookout and swimming.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy 33 to me!

Birthday Dinner

My sweet friend Julie brought me to dinner last night for my birthday.  We never get to spend enough time together and it was so nice to go out, just the two of us.  We went to dinner, shared this dessert after the wait staff sang Happy Birthday to me while playing a gong (WTH?), then did some browsing at a few stores.  I had a lot of fun!  Thanks Julie - Love you!

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

Clearly, I'm an exceptional parent.  Why?  Because instead of telling David to get down as he climbed the doorway Spidey-style all the way to the freaking top I told him to stay still so I could take his picture.  Whatever.  He had a "drop zone" of pillows in a six foot area on the floor.  Of course he did.

Hipstamatic

Do you have an iPhone?  I love, love, love the Hipstamatic app.  It's a photo app and takes phots with different filters, borders, etc.  They take a minute to load after you take them, but I love the effect.  And the look on David's face in the photo below.  I think he looks like his baby-self in this picture, which I so rarely see anymore. 

Bling

My grandmother died 4 years ago.  She had a pretty good collection of jewelery.  A lot of it Some was crap.  Like her plastic pretzel earrings.  Some was really great - like a diamond watch, a string of really pretty pearls, my engagement and wedding rings, and the ring above.  My grandmother was also the size of a 10 year old boy.  Seriously - she probably weighed 75 pounds.  This ring was a size four and a half.  I put it on my ring finger and it fit just past my first knuckle.  Then my finger started dying.  Happy birthday to me, I had it resized.  And I. Love. It.  Let's ignore the fact that my hands look like wrinkly old dried up man hands.  What the hell?  I think a manicure is in order.

Cute, Cute Gifts

If you need a personalized baby/kid gift, housewarming gift, birthday gift, etc. you need to check out Jennifer's blog.  She's a friend of a friend, and she does the cutest monogramming, custom sewing, appliques, and personalized gifts.  And her prices are exceptional.  And she's a sweet, funny girl.  This is just a very, very small sample of what she has to offer.