Birthday Extravaganza

I've always been a fan of birthdays and Troy feels the same way. We have a rule in our house that birthdays last for a whole week. It's nice to get a week during the year where you get extra special treatment.

This year, I've had a birthday extravaganza. I worked on my actual birthday but my co-worker took me out to lunch and my boss bought me a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas.

Steve and Aurie took me out to dinner that night at Asia Specialty, a place that I haven't tried before but was pleasantly surprised with. I had Chinese dumplings and pancakes and tofu with vegetables and a brown ginger sauce. It was delicious. Courtney came to town to help me celebrate too!

Later we met friends at the 12th Street Taphouse for drinks. Troy knows the bartender and chef because he often stops for a beer at the tap house to reward himself after a long, late night bike ride. They sent out free beer and appetizers for my birthday!

I did an impromptu EMMI photo shoot since the boys need a publicity shot. Difficult lighting but fun subjects to work with.

For the late night crowd, we had decadent chocolate bundt cake at our place. We didn't have candles but Troy put a little bowl of absinthe (thanks Dave!) in the cake and lit it on fire for me. We also had flaming shots of absinthe.

It was a really great time. I was amazed at how many people came out to help me celebrate on a Wednesday night. I will really miss Courtney and all of our Charlottesville friends next year!