Best.  Birthday.  Ever.

I keep saying that because its true.  I mean, even Foursquare said I looked nice on my birthday.  Thanks, Foursquare.

I have the most amazing husband, the most amazing friends, and the most amazing life.  And February 26th was just a day to celebrate all of that goodness I have surrounding me right now.

Thank goodness for all of you.

The day actually started Saturday night, when Sarah flew down from San Francisco.  I ended up working until late, but coming home to Brad and Gibson AND Sarah is the best ever.

Then we started off the real birthday right.  We hit up GTA (Gjelina Take Away) for breakfast.  And we were just in time.  They had three biscuits left.

I took them all.

I think I’ve mentioned GTA’s biscuits before.  They are heaven.  They are probably pure butter mixed with a few tablespoons of flour, but I don’t think about that.  You can’t think about that.  They are just so good.  Once you have one in your mouth, you can’t think about anything but biscuits.

Mmmm…

So we 86ed the biscuits.  And got a lot of other deliciousness.  And then we went down to Intelligentsia for caffeine.  I got my usual Soy Chai Latte.  Tastes like Christmas in a mug.

Mmmmm…..

At one point, Brad took this picture of us ladies all in sunglasses.  And now I look at it and it makes me so very happy.  What a perfect start to the day!  Two of my very favorite girls and my absolute favorite man, all prancing around Abbott Kinney on a sunny Sunday morning that just happened to be my birthday.

Oh, and after all that shopping… Did I mention the extravagant dinner Brad had planned for Sunday night?

18 of my favorite Los Angeles people, all sitting around one giant table at Artisan House in downtown LA passing family-style some of the most incredible food ever.  A menu designed by Brad and prepared by some of our Farmer’s Market Wednesday friends – Jason and Tony.

Fresh Tuna, Strawberry and Burrata Salad, Charcuterie and Cheeses, Beet Salad, Prime Rib with Mashed Potatoes, Table-side served Cioppino… And even the best crab cake I have ever had outside of Maryland.  Really.

Tony has got some serious crab cake game.  Look at all that crab??!!

First of all, I felt like an absolute queen.  Dinner was unreal, but just looking around the table, I realized how lucky I am to have landed where I did in this big city out west.  The people sitting around that table inspire me and lift me up and just keep me smiling day after day after day.  They encourage me and amaze me.  And I am so lucky to have had them all there to share in the celebrations with.

And my husband?  He knows how to throw a party.

I keep thinking that I need to start planning for his birthday in May.  What the heck am I going to do to top this one??  Or even compare?!

Sigh…

We ended the night at Max’s Karaoke, which is a place where you go and rent a room for a certain amount of hours, and then you can sing all the karaoke you want in your own private room.

I have always thought this was strange.  Who wants to sing karaoke just for your friends?  Isn’t half the fun listening to strangers pick out weird songs and butcher them?  No stage?  No separation?

But no, it is not strange at all.  In fact, this was the best karaoke EVER.  Bring your own booze.  Not that I needed any more, but I was drinking red wine out of the bottle.

Keeping it classy, 28.

It was so great that we sang Katy Perry, Elvis, Rolling Stones, Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, and even Aladdin.  I have never heard of people singing “A Whole New World” at karaoke until I moved to Los Angeles, but now it is a staple.  Who doesn’t like a little Disney-singing after a couple drinks?

Need some proof that this happened?

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And apparently I was really mad when our time was up (it was well past 3AM) and everyone was leaving.  I got it in my head that Brad was just over singing and wanted to go home.  How dare he end my karaoke birthday fest?  I was the karaoke QUEEN!!!

I think in the state I was in, I would have karaoke-d until I dropped.

Brad is NOT the worst person in the world.  He is the BEST.

Again, Brad is the BEST person in the world.

🙂

So thank you to the outrageous group of people who partied hard with me on February 26th.  I wish there were an excuse to get together and rage like that every weekend, because having all of you in one room for even a few hours was an incredible thing.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who called, texted, Facebooked, or sent me birthday wishes from afar.  28 has gotten off to an amazing start, and with all the forward momentum we have, I can only imagining it getting better and better.

Once again…

Best.   Birthday.  Ever.

xoxo