Wonderful Birthday

I have certainly been a negligent blogger this week- given that my birthday was Sat. and I haven't blogged in nearly a week. Oops!
I was planning to download some pictures of everything, but I keep putting it off- so I will go ahead and write the entry then hopefully put some pictures up soon. (Edited to add- here's a picture of my birthday breakfast! I'll spare you the ones of me with both presents and terrible bed hair!) I've just been lazy this week!
My birthday weekend was awesome.
Friday night, my dear boyfriend and I met our friends Jon and Sarah at Dos Jefes Cigar Bar. Besides having lots of cigars, Dos Jefes features tasty drinks, live music on the weekends, and a very nice patio. We sat outside and I drank Prosecco, which I love. At midnight, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. :)
I woke up several times Saturday morning, starting at about 6:30 but kept making myself go back to sleep since I went to bed a 2 am. I finally got out of bed around 9:30. I'd noticed on Friday that there were two presents in the fridge, so I was eager to find out what they were. The first present was a bottle of Prosecco and 3 fresh white peaches. My dear boyfriend proceeded to puree a peach and make bellini's with it! The second present in the fridge was a delicious chocolate cake from Sucre. Best. Breakfast. Ever.
Of course, I had even more presents to open from my dear boyfriend and from his and my family members- because I am such a lucky girl!
My parents gave me lots of books and some beautiful navy blue woven placemats for my table.
My aunt sent me a really pretty copper wind chime that is shaped like a butterfly for my porch.
My dear boyfriend's brother (and his girlfriend) sent me a beautiful Le Creuset Petit Pear Casserole Dish.
My dear boyfriend's parents gave me a watermeter cover necklace (the watermeter cover is my favorite New Orleans symbol) and the Patagonia trench coat I blogged about last month!
My dear boyfriend also gave me two lovely bottles of Pinot Noir from Hopper's, my favorite Wine Shop (I'm currently enjoying the Frederic Magnien Pinot Noir- it's very tasty!), a pair of Lululemon yoga pants, and a Garmin Forerunner 305!
Like I said, I am a lucky, lucky girl. :)
After breakfast, I went to lunch at Little Tokyo with my girlfriends- Sarah, Steph, Ashley and Anne. We then went to the mall. I got some fairly mundane necessities- a bra, a polo shirt, and soap- but I also got a very cute top by Charlotte Ronson and a wide brown belt to wear over it at JC Penney's of all places. The I heart Ronson colaboration she's doing with Penney's is super cute and *very* affordable.
After shopping, I went home and got all dressed up to go out to dinner. My dear boyfriend and I went to Gautreau's and it was delicious! I had the gnocci with jumbo lump crab appetizer, the strawberry and spinach salad, the crisp duck breast, and the Creme Sophia. It was so good- especially the gnocci and the Creme Sophia.
After dinner we met up with Sarah, Jon, Steph, Ashley, and Anne at The Columns for drinks. Bedtime was again around 2am.
On Sunday, it was time to actually get organized. I tidied the house, bought groceries, and went to visit my friend Bonnie who is moving to California this week. She gave me lots of fresh rosemary, basil, eggplants, and jalapeno peppers from her garden. (Thus far this week I've made pesto, dried the rosemary, baked the eggplants, and used some of the jalapeno in cornbread.) It was nice to see Bonnie and her hubby Gabe before they move because I am really going to miss them!
All in all my birthday weekend was spent having fun with the people I care about and that made it really wonderful! It was a great way to start out my 28th year.