The 5th Anniversary of my 28th Birthday! Part 2.

Birthday Cookies from Dad!

 My Birthday this year was really tough for me since it was my first one without my Mom.  Usually she would have hidden presents in my room on a previous visit, would call me at midnight in Wisconsin and midnight in LA and wish me a Happy Birthday and check in throughout the day, on top of her singing me 'Happy Birthday' and telling me all about the day I was born.  So in all honesty, I wasn't really looking forward to my Birthday this year.  My Dad sent me cookies which was so sweet and something my Mom would have done, so I was very appreciative of that but it was just a difficult weekend.  I tried to plan a whole day of fun on Sunday with friends to make the most of the day!

Surprise Birthday Party visit from Michael!

I knew I had to get to Church early on Sunday morning to prep for the day and the sun was already beating down and nearly 90 degrees by 10 am.  Since I wanted everything to be ready when the guests arrived, I made a few trips down to the pool with the cooler, the Sangria I made from scratch (thanks to Lee for bringing me a bunch of fruit from the Farmer's Market), my famous salsa, snacks, drinks, and I baked cookies too.  It was definitely a more low-key day and I was kind of glad since it had been such an eventful weekend!  Ashley even made me a beautiful cake, and Khad and Heike came by with Fonuts for everyone!  Throughout the weekend, my friends finally got to meet Rutherford, who even hung out by the pool for a while and Jamie entertained him!  When the sun went down and after the Basketball Championship, we had a Game Night.  Later on, Adam, Claire and I went over to this Carnival that had opened up in the Grocery Store parking lot just up the street.  We rode some rides (it may be the last time I ride the Tilt-A-Whirl for a while), played some games, and had a lot of fun!  It was a great way to wrap up my Birthday Weekend!

Kristina and I had made separate plans for a little Dinner night to ourselves.  I even got a Puppy-Sitter for Rutherford (thanks to Courtney for taking care of him and to Rutherford's new friend, Lola for entertaining him)!  Kristina and I went to Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas, and it was everything Kristina had described:  Rustic and cozy, reminded me of 'Beauty & The Beast,' and the food was top notch.  We started off with some Spicy Tequila Cocktails and Oysters.  Our server picked out a beautiful bottle of Pinot Noir for us that we knew would go great with our steaks.  Before we got to our main we had this Truffle Mushroom Agnolotti which melted in our mouths!  The meal just kept getting better and better; even the pretzel bread with salted butter to start the meal was perfection.  We had this Huckleberry Bread Pudding dessert that just knocked it out of the park and per usual, just getting to spend time with Kristina was lovely. 

Kristina and I at Saddle Peak Ranch in Calabasas :)

Overall, everyone made my 33rd Birthday very special and fun.  Thank you Friends & Family...I'm a very lucky gal <3

Mimosa Party B)

I remember when the Saint's & Sinner's crew would go out for Brunch on Sunday's and we'd get Mimosa's at Overland Cafe and we always had a blast.  Those bottles of Champles (champagne) wouldn't stop coming until 4 pm when Brunch was over and we would all leave giggly and sleepy after an awesome afternoon with friends.

Cuppy-Cakes

For my Birthday a couple years ago I started my Mimosa Sunday Party where I had friends come over, we'd eat snacks, appetizers, and cupcakes, and drink all kinds of Mimosa's.  Last year I did a BBQ and this year I made a couple different things since I just invited a few people to hang out.  I found a couple recipes on Pinterest, one for Cherry Beergarita's which involved, Tequila, Lime, Cherry Soda, and Beer which turned out very sweet but delicious.  I also made a Funfetti Dessert Dip for Animal Crackers that was super low on fat, since I used Fat Free Plain Yogurt and Cool Whip.  It's my new favorite dip!  I mixed together a couple types of salsa's, one spicy with beans, another with corn, and then a third with papaya and mango.  I also made cupcakes with bright blue frosting and little 'fishy's' swimming on top.  I was pretty proud of my spread :)

Jess & Lynds

So my friends and I sat by the pool, enjoyed some tasty food and snacks, sipped on some yummy mimosa's (I had Mango Juice, OJ, and Cran-Peach-Strawberry Juice), and finally the sun came out to play!  It was very chill and a perfect way to spend my Sunday after an insane work-week, and knowing I had work the next 7 days in a row, in addition to all the Birthday Party fun the previous week.

As much fun as my 30th Birthday Week was, I was happy to go back to normal and take a little break from drinking after Sunday.  I knew I was heading to Punta Cana in a couple weeks so I wanted to get back to eating healthy.  But I had such a great Birthday and was so happy to spend it with so many different friends and celebrate.  Thanks to all my friends for joining me during my Birthday festivities, to those who called, Facebooked, or texted me, and also to my family for making my 30th Birthday so very special!  I can't wait to see what happens during this year ahead!

Acquah and I give it Two Thumbs Up for an Awesome 30th Birthday Week