happy birthday to me!

and to my wonderful dad!

Yes, we share a birthday! Every year I am told I "was the best birthday present" he had ever gotten. How nice, right? This afternoon was just lovely - I got to shower, do laundry, and start busting out some thank you cards for our wedding party. Perfect!

We went out for a celebratory dinner at Cooper's Hawk. It was my suggestion since they have a fabulous GF (gluten free) menu. Cooper's Hawk is, as described on their website:

"... a modern, casual restaurant with a menu created with our own handcrafted wines in mind. Start in our Napa style tasting room, where you can view our wineries and sample our winemaker's latest creations. Shop in our gift store for a unique food or wine related gift. Finish in our bar and restaurant to enjoy a delectable designed to pair our own award-winning wine for a food experience you won't soon forget."

pre dinner shoot in the car

This place was such a hit - with EVERYONE! There were nine of us, and we were seated in about 20 minutes, which is so great for a Friday night. Mommasita and I were the only ones who had been here before, and everyone else was excited to try it out. This is kind of an upscale restaurant, so I was a little worried about the kiddos being a little out of their element. However, we were seated in a quiet back room surrounded by barrels of wine (can you see them below?) and they had a great kid's menu/coloring sheet to keep them entertained!

dad looking cool in my aunt's reading glasses - yes, they are mutlicolored... and striped.

Everyone was having a difficult time deciding what to order. Honestly this menu can appeal to almost everyone! There is such variety. Just to give you an example, there was a steak/blue cheese salda ordered, jumbalaya, bacon burgers, portabello mushroom burgers - they also had pastas, seafood dishes, etc. on the menu!

the birthday buddies

Cooper's Hawk also caters to allergies very well. They have a separate kitchen in which they prepare all the food for people who have food related allergies. They also have a HUGE gluten free menu - I am not talking 4-5 dishes here people. They have over 2 pages of meals in which my gluten intolerant belly would be able to handle. Unfortunately, my vegetarianism limited me a little more. The last time I was at Cooper's Hawk I ordered a portabello mushroom sandwich and it was DIVINE! Whenever I am out and am able to order a sandwich, you better believe I will!

okay, so not my best look!

I am also corn intolerant, so I am wary of breads in general just in case some corn starch is hiding out in there. I had previously asked my server the last time if he could check the bread to make sure there were no corn products hiding in there. The manager was awesome and brought the package of bread out to the table so I could inspect it myself! Talk about having a peace of mind! It is so difficult to go out to eat with allergies, so it is helpful when the restaurant staff is as understanding as the staff at Cooper's Hawk.

a good pic of FH and me - these are hard to come by, so now I wish his hair was done :(

 I did not get any food pics, but I can assure you the food was divine. I started with a house salad with a garlic vinaigrette. My main course was sandwich, in which was a balsamic marinated portabella, roasted red pepper, lettuce, and walnut pesto! Good lord, if that is not a birthday feast, I just don't know what is! I got this meal along side some broccoli!

I thought of Katie on the way home from dinner. The sky was absolutey GORGEOUS, and she is always encouraging me (and others) to really revel in God's beauty. This sky was stunning, and I couldn't help but smile and thank God for such a perfect day with family and friends.

After dinner, we all went over to my and FH's pad for some birthday cake! I stuck with a minimal amount of candles... if we did my 23 and dad's 59 I think we might have burned down the house.

yours truly was the chef of this layer cake (devil's food with chocolate fudge frosting per request of big daddy wayne)

 I was reminded today of why my family usually does not sing "Happy Birthday" very often - I'm pretty sure I heard some howling dogs outside after it was all said and done.

do you see the wincing on my face? it was kind of painful!

i didn't think it could get worse.. but it did. notice big daddy wayne's face.

i don't remember what i wished for... world peace, perhaps?

we are definitely a pair of hams

these two are peas in a pod - i am so glad FH and BIL get along so well!

more interested in ice cream than cake!

I won't lie, I gave you a sneak peak at my house. Don't worry, a before and after post is coming TOMORROW! FH and I changed the date in which I am moving in to tomorrow instead of Sunday. He has to work for a couple of hours in the morning, so we are going hiking on Sunday after church instead! I am not going to lie, it is kind of bittersweet to be spending my very last night at home in my childhood house! So weird..when am I actually going to FEEL like a grown up?

When I got home from the house (which we both said when we were leaving it felt weird to be "leaving our house to sleep somewhere else") I made myself my own birthday treat.

chocolate protein muffin, vanilla coconut milk ice cream, pb spoon

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and love -you guys rock!!! I love you all!

Question: What is your favorite (or memorable) childhood moment? I'll share mine at the beginning of my post tomorrow!!!

it's true - i love to clean

There... I tried to be different this morning. Would you like to know what I did? I know you would! Whipped banan oats with warm blueberry "jam" topping, shaved coconut, and peanut butter.

oh yes..

I won't lie - this was delicious, but far too warm for me today. I was sweating while eating this. Unfortunately, when it's 90 degrees outside at 8 a.m., I'm sticking with the overnight oats! Tomorrow I'm back to the same ole bowl!

Today was filled with house cleaning and moving in all of the presents FH and I got from our bridal showers. About half of these items were stored into a closet until I figure out what I'm doing with my life.

see that red kitchen aid mixer on the bottom? it's like spotting "where's waldo"!


there was a lot of cabinet cleaning and reorganization going on

I forgot to take a picture of lunch, but I can assure you it was nothing less than delicous. FMIL and Grandma made us lunch and brought it over this morning so we wouldn't have to worry about it! I had a huge salad (with avocado - ::drool::) and some fruit salad with shaved coconut.

A couple hours later and a lot of hard work done, I was feeling hungry, so I snagged this larabar I stashed in the freezer (try it!). It totally hit the spot.

Just a few pictures to show you what we accomplished....

You aren't getting real pictures until it's all done! Then I will post before and afters - you will be absolutely amazed I am sure of it. FH and I are going back tomorrow after church to get some more work done. I love to clean - I hated the construction part of this, but give me a mop and a broom, and I'll clean all day!

On my way home mommasita treated me to this bad boy.

And then I went and met baby Travis! He is absolutely perfect - sooooo cute! Mandi (mommy) looks fabulous only after 3 days! I know she is going to be a fabulous mom.

When I got home from visiting, it was time for me to cook up something delicious for dinner. I needed soemthing with substance, and I went to pasta!

Overloaded Veggie Pasta

• one box pasta of choice (I used TJ's brown rice penne)
• any vegetables of choice (I used broccoli, spinach, zucchini, onion, red pepper)
• one can stewed tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• fresh basil
• Italian spices (oregano, more garlic, pepper, salt, red pepper flakes)
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

I can explain this in 3 steps - that is how easy it was!

1. Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the box.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients together in a saute pan and cook until tender.
3. Enjoy your Italian feast with vegetables spooned over pasta!
   
   

it does NOT get better than this.

Along side was this guy - and yes, it is okay to have more than one salad in a day. A girl's gotta get in her veggies somehow!

The lineup...

for some reason, i really like this picture - something about the pasta being unfocused in the distance.

I went to go visit with FH for a while, and I made him some dinner. He is so tired he could barely move. Despite this fact, I asked him to head out to Bed Bath and Beyond with me! :) I'm so nice, right?

When I got home, I snacked on some fruit and nut cereal. I think I put every fruit and every nut we have in the house in this. I was getting a little worn out on protein muffins, so I wanted to try something different. I NEED a night time snack. Otherwise, I will wake up in the middle of the night ravenous!

There were:

• apples
• figs
• raisins
• blueberries
• cashews
• almonds
• banana
• cinnamon
• almond milk

Soooo good! I think I'm still a little hungry - another snack perhaps? Then it's time to catch up with you all - I have been so bad lately, just very busy! I swear I'm reading! :)

Question: Do you eat a night time snack? If so, what do you eat?

day o' fun

Since we last saw each other, I had the greatest day!!!!

First up, farmers market with madre -

blueberries, peppers, garlic

zucchini, carrots, asparagus, cheese (hiding behind the carrots), more garlic shot

We then went on what we thought would be a short errand trip to the flooring store to get more underlayment for the floor at my house. We ended up going to a flea market (where I saw FMIL and GF (future grandma)), then we went to the flooring store, went to Potbelly's for salads (yum!), and dropped some stuff off at my house. We then went to Starbuck's where I got an excellent iced soy coffee, which I lazily sipped laying outside in the grass reading a book.

Perfection.

Afternoon snack

I stopped by my house again later to check on FH's progress with the floors. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the entire living room was almost done! Needless to say, I was overjoyed! It's starting to look like a real house!

"Take a picture of me standing on our new floor"

jump shot 1 - epic fail.

there we go (by the way, this was like 10 shots later. FH was laughing very hard at me.)

my official "job" - stepping on the planks while he pounded them in place!

Dinner was delicious - zucchini pancakes, broccoli, and sauteed mushrooms. Recipe to follow this post!

mess.

I don't like cleaning messes. I like making them.

Off for some r&r with FH after I post that recipe! Have a great night!