the birthday

well hello 29.

thursday was the big day.

the big 2-9.

last year of my twenties.

wow, there just seems to be a lot of pressure on that one.

yeah, that 30 before 30 list...i've got to get on the ball!

back to thursday.

so let's pause and give a big round of applause to chris.

after 8 birthdays with me, he finally got it!

balloons!

i love balloons. and he had them on my nightstand waiting for me when i woke up.

yay!

this is especially exciting since there's apparently a helium shortage.

who knew?

he properly followed the birthday rules in having a gift for me before leaving that morning.

the cats enjoyed this too as you can see.

now he was a little nervous, seeing as he got me kitchen equipment.

but never fear, this was on my gift wish list!

i absolutely can not wait to use these!

later in the day he took me to lunch at saltgrass. 

they have some yummy fried chicken, and well since it was my birthday, calories don't count lol!

we ran into some people from the church that are on staff with chris. we chatted with them for a bit and then they left.

our waitress then brought this as our bill:

"your tab has been paid for by the table next to you. have a blessed day."

seriously, how awesome is that?

almost made me cry!

and of course a birthday love shot!

for dinner, we went to my favorite - bin 303. 

so incredibly yummy.

i think i'll be full well into next week after all that i ate!

this was an especially special birthday since it was the first that i've spent with any of my family here in texas.

so friday night we headed out to east texas to hand with the fam.

my menu request: dad's fajitas.

he seriously makes the best!

the main thing i dislike about texas is the lack of white cheese dip like the restaurants have in GA. so my dad searched high and low and made me some white cheese dip. awww.

and nanny made some quite awesome guacamole.

and my step mom went all out on the dessert. she knows i love chocolate and chris loves cheesecake. so she made chocolate cake then a layer of cheesecake then a layer of chocolate cake, plus the most awesomely rich chocolate icing ever. imagine eating fudge with cheesecake. oh yeah, so good!

it was such a lovely evening just sitting around the table telling stories and laughing.
these are the moments that make me so happy we moved out here.
to be this close to the family i've been so far from for my whole life.
my heart is full.

so here's to new adventures and stories.
dear 29 - please play nice and be good to me.