Best. Birthday. Weekend.

I had the most fabulous birthday weekend. My husband pulled a couple surprises for me, and I got to see a lot of people I love. All in all one of the best weekends I have had in a long time. Friday on my actual birthday my husband had two dozen red roses waiting for me when I woke up. Then that evening he took me out to dinner,and gave me new earrings. He made reservations at one of my favorite restaurants, Buggattis Ristorante. We enjoyed a leisurely (and delicious I might add) dinner and bottle of Italian Pino Gris. We started the meal with Bruschetta, that had a perfect blend of grilled como bread, garlic, roma tomatoes, shallots, basil, and balsamic vinager. Next I had a salad called 'Misto' which was mixed greens, mesclun, pear, walnuts, gorgonzola, and balsamic vinaigrette. For my main course I had veal with roasted peppers, perfectly crisp green beans, mashed potatoes all smothered in a creamy marsala sauce. We finished dinner with their specialty of the night...it was a triple layer cheesecake with caramel sauce and toffee covered nuts.

After our three hour dinner (That might be a record for us! Must take advantage of quiet relaxing dinners as much as possible!) We decided to go to the movies and saw Snow White and the Huntsman.

After that we came home and I crashed...I had worked the night before and was running on only two hours of sleep. But it was worth it. The next day we met up with my dad and step mom for lunch, and I decided to try a little bakery/cafe that I had never been to in McMinnville, called the Red Fox. We were all pleasantly surprised how delicious there sandwiches tasted! The atmosphere was really relaxed too, and it worked out great for the kids. Fresh baked bread really is the best, and they had a big chewy macaroon along with the sandwiches. And the prices were not bad either. I tried the Turkey with Smoked Gouda and Granny Smith Apples on Buttermilk Golden Raisin Bread and I loved it!

 

 After lunch we all came back to the house and Wayne surprised me with a cake from the one and only Rose's Bakery! I've never met a cake from there I didn't like :)

Then that evening I gathered all of my friends together and we all went out to Portland. It's always hard to get us all together at the same time, and I'm SO glad we did. I had an absolute blast. We started the evening at RedStar Tavern where we ordered Lemon Drops, and I just had to try some of their bacon wrapped Jalapeno Poppers, covered in Worcestershire sauce.

Oh. My. God. The fire. Cole, Jessica, and My sister tried them to see if I was lieing or not, and let me tell you...those were the hottest things I have EVER eaten. They should have had a warning sign on the menu! Woah! My mouth burned for ten minutes after! Anyways, It just happened to be Rose Festival as well, and Fleet Week...when all of the sailors come into town for a few days! So we had fun just being silly and taking pictures! We of course ended the night with a baker's dozen from Voodoo Doughnut - They are very well known around Portland.

After all of that eating and celebrating...I think I will be exercising a little bit more this week! I had a blast. The best part was spending time with all the people that I love. If you know me, that is what is really important to me. I am embracing 27. I am living. I am loving life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melissa