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!!!

what's that sound?

Silence. Complete, absolute silence.

This might be the best birthday present ever - the kiddos (my niece and nephew if you're new around here) are off at the neighbor's playing, and I get to relax. Absolutely perfect.

This post is going to be short and quick, because I am going to take advantage of this afternoon and get some things done.

I had a date this morning with Kelsey - we were both supposed to make brownie batter pancakes. Mine, however, did not work out so well. They just would not set! Thanks for the birthday shot out girl!

i know, this looks gross. i may or may not have eaten half the batter before throwing it out :)

When in doubt, I go to oats! Whipped oats a la Kath to be exact. I didn't have any more almond milk, so I just used all water for the liquid. Definitely not as creamy, but delicious nonetheless.

topped with coconut, blueberries, cinnamon, flax, and pb

After this bowl, I didn't even mind that my brownie batter pancakes went bad (okay, I still did, but not as much) - you can never steer wrong with oatmeal!

My mom gave me my birthday presents this morning at, oh... 5:45 am. I cannot sleep lately. I think I'm getting super anxious about the week ahead (yay wedding!). Mom got me a few new reads:

I am so excited to read these two books. I'm going to try to save them for laying on the beach in Mexico on my honeymoon! Mommasita is also buying me my first stash of food for the house as a birthday present. What can I say? I love food - does anyone agree? Question: Do you find it odd I requested groceries for my birthday? :)

As I was cleaning today, I found this in my purse....

Yes, a zucchini.. things just keep getting weirder! Actually my FMIL gave me this yesterday and I forgot to take it out of the purse - haha!

For lunch, I whipped up some quick asparagus with olive oil and pepper:

And a huuuge salad that I really only ate about 1/3 of:

romaine, mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, chickpeas, 1/2 avocado, salsa, mustard

For some reason, I really wasn't feeling the salsa/mustard combo today. I'm not sure why, but I kind of ate the "goods" out of there: the chickpeas/avocado!

To finish up lunch, I ate some more healthy fats and protein!

date shmeared with sunbutter - yum!

raisins and cashews

Tonight for dinner we are going to Cooper's Hawk. They have an excellent gluten free menu - the funny thing is whenever I go somewhere that has a gluten free sandwich, I will totally get it even if it's a super fancy shmancy place. Portabello mushroom sandwich anyone? That is what I'm getting! Do you figure out what you are getting before you go out to eat?

After dinner, we are all heading to our new house for some cake! I probably won't do a follow up post until tomorrow. Have a great day!

happy birfday little brother!

Alas, I made it through my crazy, busy day! Who says teachers dont work during the summer? I have not had a second of peace all day! Moving on...

After all my errands, I got ready to go out to dinner for my brother's birthday. I ate a snack because we were going to a Chinese buffet - no dinner for me. When my brother told me that was where we were going, I really was totally fine with it. It's his birthday, it's his day... his dinner choice should not have to revolve around my food intolerances and eating habits. However, he is a boy, and honestly did not even think about it until we got there and I said, "I'm not eating" to the host at the front. Needless to say, he felt really bad. This particular kind of situation has been a constant struggle for me since I found out about my intolerances. I feel bad if I say something or I feel bad because the other people feel bad that I can't eat. What is a girl to do? Has anyone else been in this particular situation? How do you deal - do you tell the people ahead of time you won't be able to eat or do you just roll with it?

snack: fruit salad topped with walnuts

I love my little brother - no, honestly, I do. Of course, there was a time where I antagonized him, rolled my eyes at him, or was just plain mean. Matthew and I are almost three years apart. There are some fond memories I have of him as a child. One of them includes my sister and I dressing him up in a "Belle" (Beauty and the Beast) costume, complete with gold headband, and calling him Matilda. Another memory I have of him is him chasing me with a butcher knife - he likes to tell me that never happened but my sister and I beg to differ. I do think, though, since my sister and I dressed him up as a girl, he was entitled to chase use with whatever he liked.

My brother and I were not super close when growing up - he was known as "the boy". Since he was the youngest, the only boy, and kind of in a different world from my sister and I, he inevitably got left out. My brother is a particularly deep person - very artsy. He has a passion for music and song writing which blows us all away. Although I feel as if I live in a dorm room some days due to the fact that I have to pound on the wall to get him to stop playing his guitar, his music is unbelievable.

Little brother is also very chivalrous. I found this out for the first time when I was about 13. 13 year old Chelsey was very awkward - verrrry awkward. I really don't think my body did what it was supposed to until I was about 20 years old. Needless to say, I was very self conscious about the way I looked. One of little brother's friends were spending the night and we proceeded to have the following conversation:

Friend: Hey, Chelsey! I know why you don't have a boyfriend.
Me: Why?
Friend: You're really ugly.

Insert little brother here - knocking the crap out of said friend. Matthew has always acted like an older, protective brother to me for as long as I can remember, which I have always loved. People always say if you want to know how a man treats women, look at how he treats his mother (and sisters). This man is kind, loving, and compassionate. I am so blessed to have such a great sibling!

Earth Mother and Hippie Child

You may think that caption is weird - but this is honestly what we are called (hence the peace signs). My parents think it is so funny how I am so "pure" in the sense of what I eat and what I expose my body to. Matthew's taste in clothes and music depict a "hippie" character. Apparently we were meant to live in the 60's (which I really wasn't). Oh, and this picture was taken about 10 times - my mom needs serious help with her picture taking abilities.

I had fun sitting and chatting with my family - and watching the BIL eat. We have an ongoing joke in my family about how much he eats. It's fun to just mess with him.

BIL with his first two plates of food

plate #3

Insert cupcakes after dinner - there were 20, but my cupcake holder would only hold 18. Oh well...

Can you read what it's supposed to say?

this little guy was in poor condition

birthday boy!

probably a little embarassed we were singing to him - it was so much work just to light the dang candles. We were definitely singing.

When I got home, I was ready to chew off my arm, so dinner was not pictured. It was just a salad and some taters - I had to eat quick in order to get to my house to help FH with taping down paper to our new floors. Our trim is going in tomorrow, so we had to make sure it was down so no one would track anything in on it. Before I left, I snacked on another cookie dough ball, some raisins, and cashews!

I have overnight oats waiting for me in the fridge - I have a feeling tomorrows will be a replica of what I ate today! They were just too good to not eat again. I have to get up early anyways to let the guys in to do the trim at 7:00 am! It takes me a good 20 minutes to get to my new house, so I'll be an early riser again!

Sleep tight! xoxo Chelsey