belated birthday

I turned 32 last Monday, and I celebrated with all my favorite people.  It was a quiet birthday (as they are now with kids in the picture), and I prefer it that way.  I just love having the chance to enjoy the people that fill my life up with so much love and light.

We kicked off the festivities with dinner for two at AOC Wine Bar in Beverly Hills.

Then there was tea with my girl friends.

And ice cream cake with my favorite girl.

And waking up to this face.  Best gift a baby boy can give his mom?  The gift of 12 hours of sleep.

mani-pedi party

Last weekend I threw my good friend, Denise, a bridal shower in honor of her getting married next month.  As a new mom, she wanted something relaxing that she could share with her girl friends.  So we had a mani-pedi spa party, followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant, and a bachelorette evening at her place.  It was wonderfully relaxing for all of us, as we got to catch up with old friends and get a little pampering in.  It's multi-tasking at its finest.

We love this nail salon, which was ideally set up for events like these. The favors for everyone included a Voluspa candle, dry body oil (very Denise) and Essie nail polish (in colors named after wedding themes).

Some chocolates, strawberries and champagne to snack on while we got pampered.  Denise's sister, Alora, thoughtfully got all the girls flip flops.

A Final Fling

This past weekend we celebrated my good friend, Kelly's, last hurrah as a bachelorette.  It was also a time for Adam and Ella to have a daddy-daughter day out.  We all made the two-hour drive to Santa Barbara (one of my favorite cities), where we celebrated Kelly's singlehood with wine tasting, a delicious dinner, and wacky antics at a local club.  It definitely took some determined effort, miscalculations, and finagling to spend time with the girls, while attending to the needs of a non-bottle feeding, currently clingy eight-month-old infant.  Adam was a trooper shuttling me back and forth, and making sure Ella was occupied while I got to partake in the festivities.  I think it was all well worth the effort as we made many memories and got to celebrate one of my favorite people.

Big shout out to Louie for his second-husband/godfather duties.

I had forgotten how much I love SB and how pretty the drive is there.

It was a lovely girls' weekend.

At one of the wineries for wine tasting.

Picnic lunch on a very breezy (though beautiful) day.

The bride-to-be looking radiant.

We unexpectedly ran into some old friends from high school.  What a small world!

Ella enjoying the view in our hotel room.

At the Santa Barbara Zoo, which Adam really enjoyed.  We'll definitely have to make a trip back!

Ella & her Mimo. 

Showing Ella real-life Sophies.