My birthday!

My birthday this year was legitimately awesome.  I had the best day, flavored with great friends, tributes from my family, a dance concert, and of course, great food.  Of course.  And the weather was amazing! (Tender mercies.  Truly).  Here are the highlights:

Brunch with my dear friend Jeff at Jacob's Pickles on the Upper West Side.  He is some of the best company I can think of, and the food was so, so good.  I am still thinking about it in fact....

Then I made my way down to Bouchon Bakery at Columbus Circle because March 20th just happened to be NYC Free Macaron Day.  For those who don't know what these things are, just see the picture below:   They are so good, and I thought, why not get a free treat on my birthday?  So I did.


I decided to walk over to the east side where I was babysitting for a few hours, and stopped at Sprinkles Cupcakes on my way.  I have a gift card, so I used that to get myself another treat, a banana cupcake with dark chocolate frosting.  Heaven. 

Throughout the day, my family sent virtual "around the table" tributes, inspired by Carolynn, and that was fabulous.  I heart my family.  They are so great. Mom and Dad sent me lovely cards and letters and a little bit of cash for a treat or lunch with a friend.  I love those little tokens.  They, of course, do much more for me than that on a regular basis, but the little things are so fun and not so little.

Babysitting, uneventful.  Just paying the bills, ya'll.  But the kids were good for me, so that is always nice. :-)  That night some friends and I went to watch the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Lincoln Center.  The concert was fantastic, and we all had a great time.

Finished the day by eating a late dinner at Westside Diner on the Upper West Side, and I called it a day.  I was truly happy all day, and loved that I had great people around me who helped make that day happen.

And...on the other side of the country, this girl was celebrating as well!  Rachel turned 8!  Our birthdays are only one or two days apart, and it was fun to see this one celebrating.  I like her and think I will keep her.