birthday redux

Recently, Kyle and I celebrated our birthdays. I love that they're less than a week apart. It makes for a fun whirlwind of dinner at our favorite restaurants, seeing our families, and basking in the glory of fall.

 

We celebrated Kyle's birthday on the 7th by eating burgers at Stella's Lounge downtown. Stella's is a whisky bar known for their half-pound stuffed hamburgers. It's interesting to note that other than their burgers, the rest of their menu is almost entirely vegan. I had the most amazing black bean/lentil burger. Besides having a kick-ass menu, Stella's also boasts a variety of retro video games. We may or may not have spent a small fortune playing pinball and TRON. And Mario Brothers, aka the only video game Molly knows how to play.


Kyle is unimpressed with my gaming skills.

On the 13th, we celebrated my birthday by going to San Chez, hands down my favorite restaurant in GR. San Chez is a tapas bistro, specializing in a fusion of European/Mediterranean cuisine. Ohmygodthisfoodissogood. Like, bring tears to your eyes good. My favorite is their Queso de Cabra--an entire plate of melted goat cheese tomatoey goodness. And because it's tapas-style, the portions are tiny, so you can try multiple dishes without the guilt. Oh, and I had goat cheese cheesecake for dessert. Redundant? Nope.



Source

Kyle gave me the most thoughtful presents: used books, a cookbook that uses honey in every recipe, an owl candle holder, and a CD recorded by the Young @ Heart chorus. (More on that later.) Not to mention, he sent me beautiful flowers at work...in a tea cup no less! I tell you, this guy knows me well.

 
We were also able to spend some time with our families in the week before our birthday. My parents and sister came to GR one evening after work and treated us to dinner at the Cantina, an awesome Mexican restaurant. Kyle's family visited one Saturday and we spent the day exploring ArtPrize.

L to R: Dad, little sister Svet, Mom, me
We were really jazzed about this life-size Tonka dump truck at ArtPrize.

I'm so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. Here's to another trip around the sun...