My Birthday Weekend

As my friend Nicole calls it, I’ve hit my “quarter life crisis”. My 25th birthday occurred on Saturday but the birthday festivities started weeks ago before we left for Ohio when Chris and I picked out my birthday gift, a Bernina Activa 220 sewing machine! Since our journey to Ohio started the next day and there wasn’t any room in the Jeep for it, I had to wait until we came back to NC to finally use it. While in Ohio I also had a birthday dinner with my family and received a digital photo frame from my parents….which I love! I also got a really cute Willow Tree Angel figurine from Chris’s family that fits perfectly in our dining room.

The day before my birthday I received a couple surprises as well….a gift in the mail from my friend Kelly and an offer for a job! Starting today, I’m currently employed again! I will be working as an Inside Sales Representative for Brock Cabinets, a local cabinet distributor. More about that as the job gets underway.

Part of Kelly's gift didn't travel to NC very well!

Birthday Flowers from Mom, Dad and Boys

When Chris asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I said “I want to have dinner somewhere nice, wear the cocktail dress I got in New York and to surprise me”. Well, what he planning was awesome! On Saturday, Chris and I started with waffles to celebrate and then started talking about curtains (I’m sure he was thrilled) and how I wanted to go to a Pottery Barn and check out their selection. I’m planning to make some of the curtains but wanted floor length drapes for the bedroom so purchasing those seemed cheaper. For the past week any time that I would ask about where we would be going out for my birthday dinner, he just said “I don’t know”…he wouldn’t give me a single clue! I asked him if there would be a Pottery Barn to shop at near the birthday surprise and after some secret internet research, he said yes. So we packed our bags and prepared to hit the road….to somewhere. While getting ready to leave, I got a call from the local florist because they were lost and needed directions to our apartment, my parents had sent a really pretty floral arrangement for my birthday! After getting them on the right path and the flowers arrived, we left for somewhere. After an hour and a half we reached our destination city, Raleigh NC! We did a little shopping at the mall and did decide on some red drapes for the bedroom. Then we went to the hotel to check in and get ready for dinner. In the car on the way to the restaurant, I jokingly asked Chris if we were going to Chipotle for my birthday. It’s one of his favorite places and we don’t have one in our town. Again, I got his standard response “I don’t know”. After a short drive we arrived in a shopping complex…with a Chipotle out front! Luckily we drove past and to a little French place called “Saint Jacques Restaurant”. It was amazing, the service was excellent, the Champagne really enjoyable and the food was amazing! I had chicken stuffed with bleu cheese and bacon and Chris had the Beef Normandie and for dessert we shared the Mousse au Chocolate with a birthday candle….yum. The wait staff all spoke French and the owners are French so the dinner was authentic French cuisine. I was completely surprised that Chris came up with this place and I’m so lucky to be married to such a wonderful and thoughtful guy! We did stop at Chipotle the next day so Chris could get his fix before coming home.

On our way to the birthday surprise!

Chris and I outside Saint Jacques Restaurant

Me with the drapes...all I did was iron them, Chris hung them.

The completed project!