Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was a special day…my birthday!

I know, there has been a lot of birthday talk on my blog lately. My hubby’s was last week – he’s a year and 6 days older than me – my cousin shares my birthday and is 10 years younger, another cousin of mine has a birthday on Friday, my uncle’s birthday is Saturday, and my sister-in-law’s is next week, so my family has a lot of August babies!

Between all of the calls and texts yesterday, my hubby’s fun gifts, and waking up to flowers on my dresser, I definitely felt all of the birthday love from everyone in my life.

Besides the tons of well-wishes, my day started off in usual fashion with a long walk with Harley and getting some work done – but later in the afternoon, I took some time to pamper myself and have a little date on my own.

[Side note: I Instagramed this pic because I realized how long my hair has gotten. No wonder why it’s starting to annoy me!]

First I stopped to get my wedding rings cleaned. It was way overdue and I love how shiny they look now!

Next I had a shopping trip to Lululemon. Good Lord, their clothes are all SO CUTE! I don’t normally shop there only because they’re kind of pricey for me, but I treated myself to some new gear. After all, I’m in my workout clothes so often, so I figured it’s worth the splurge to get some new pieces. Plus I only turn 26 once, right?! I’m in love with the outfits I picked out:

My lovely afternoon also included eating a kid’s sized chocolate covered strawberry gelato in a cone and getting a pedicure.

You know you’re a foodie when your birthday shopping excursion involves a trip to Williams Sonoma and you buy mini muffins tins and adorable muffin cups… and obviously are psyched about them:

Oh, my love for all things mini sized.

Last night, my hubby took me out to dinner to downtown Morgan Hill’s The Good Fork. We ate there once before when my family was in town and enjoyed it, so we headed back for my birthday dinner. The restaurant is a California bistro that supports local farmers market and uses organic ingredients.

I started off with a glass of local zinfandel, and we shared an appetizer of squash blossoms filled with goat cheese and ricotta. They were super yummy! I don’t mind smaller portions, but the order only came with 3 blossoms. Seriously? After we each ate one and then shared the last one, I found myself wanting more of them.

 For my entree, I got capellini with a fresh pomodoro sauce. I love when restaurants offer smaller or larger portions of pasta. I ordered the small portion, and it was the perfect size. I love me a good simple pomodoro dish:

Lastly, I had a dessert drink for something sweet. Since it didn’t involve any chewing, it doesn’t count as a second dessert for the day, right? 😉 I’m not exactly sure of the ingredient list, but the waitress called it a salted caramel martini. Wow, it was delicious!

After dinner, I opened presents from my hubby. He gave me some workout attire and a cool hat – and the best present of all was tickets to see Beyonce in concert. I’ve heard she’s amazing live and I can’t wait!

I had a wonderful birthday and am looking forward to what will hopefully be a great year of being 26!