27th Birthday

Despite a rainy day, I had such a wonderful birthday last week - made special by the kindness of so many friends and family who went out of their way to make me feel loved. It's always such a treat to get all the sweet text messages , voicemails, facebook walls posts, tweets, calls, and, yes, even birthday songs. Thank you all!

(And, no, I didn't wear that hideous "27th birthday" t-shirt, but apparently people do because I found it available for purchase online. Thought I would throw it in for laughs since I failed to take any pics of birthday events.)

I actually was out of the office for a conference all day on my birthday, so it was nice to get a change of routine. The Alabama Association of Nonprofits held its annual Nonprofit Summit conference on March 9 at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center. The keynotes and sessions I attended were very well done, and my supervisor also presented on taking your stewardship/donor relations program to the next level.

After work, Trey and I got in a quick workout at the gym before cleaning up so Robert could take us out for a birthday dinner. We dinned at Fire, a new restaurant in Mountain Brook. I had purchased a Posh Birmingham (like Groupon) certificate a few weeks earlier, so we definitely put that to good use. The shrimp and grits I had were amazing. Robert had the fillet with hollandaise sauce. Both were excellent. (For more details see the Dining Local section of my blog.)

After a nice, leisurely dinner (I love taking the time to talk with my husband over dinner. It seems we rarely do that at home.), we headed to Bottega Cafe for coffee and dessert. Actually, I got the chai tea and we split the chocolate terrine. Perfect on a rainy night.

The next evening my parents had us out to their house for my birthday dinner with my grandmother and brothers. Ryan made his delicious chicken alfredo and mom made her broccoli salad which I love. Big Mama even made some soup for Robert and I, as well as Kyle, to take home for food for the week. So thoughtful. I commented on these cute potted yellow violas and dwarf irises mom had potted and displayed on her porch by the door. They ended up being my birthday gift and look great on my sunporch, officially welcoming spring. Dad also gave me a pack of diapers! So cute. We definitely needed to grow our collection.

Everyone at work was so kind on my birthday also, surprising me with balloons for my office and a birthday lunch out. My sister-in-law mailed me a super cute watch and ring, and Julia mailed a precious maternity top from Gap. (Maternity shirts are kind of our running joke since Julia mailed me a top from Target several years ago for my birthday that happened to be maternity - when I wasn't pregnant. It was super cute, but at least now she technically got it right!)

Thanks for all the birthday love, friends and family! Makes turning 27 not bad at all! Except if someone makes me wear that hideous shirt.