Birthday

See

On Friday this arrived!



My very first dining room table! It all feels so grown up. I can't wait to have dinner parties and say important things after too many glasses of wine.

It's from the Metropolitan collection at Macy's, where we also bought our couch. I recently learned the difference between contemporary and modern design, and realized I prefer contemporary.

Eat

To celebrate my 33rd birthday (observed), Dan took me to Campagne on Saturday night for some sophisticated-yet-not-fussy French cuisine.



I started off with a cocktail that had rum, oranges, muddled cherries and bitters. We then shared the bacon-scallop appetizer that came on a bed of carrot foam. For my meal, I went with the fixed price option (a really great value at $45 for light entree/salad, main entree and dessert). I had the leeks with salmon roe and then the braised lamb shoulder. It came in a crock pot! I inhaled it, as after moving on to wine I started to get a bit tipsy and ravenous. For dessert, I attacked with equal fervor a twice baked chocolate cake with cherry coulis and vanilla ice cream. Like a warm brownie...yum! They also gave us some chocolate truffles with a candle for my bday.

Service, ambiance, food, wine all deserve the highest rating. Highly recommended.

And...as we were finishing up, who came in and sat down two tables over but the queen herself!

Drink

Since Saturday was my default birthday (it's actually today, but what fun is a Monday?), we got to do some of my favorite things.

After a trip to the Hawaii General Store for some Christmas shopping, we zipped over to Luau for some afternoon cocktails and snacks.



That poke was pretty incredible, and they serve the best mai tai in town. I've now tried almost everything on their food menu, including the famous Loco Moco. The service is always friendly and efficient, the food is consistently tasty and they have happy hour from Noon until 6pm! It's one of my very favorite places in Seattle.

Read

My birthday Saturday began with my favorite breakfast (eggs benedict) and a surprise gift from Dan:



We both fell in love with Chelsea Handler when her first E! show came on, and we've since been enjoying the latest incarnation, Chelsea Lately. She makes me laugh and she's testatment to being hot and funny at the same time.

I will be devouring this shortly, after finishing the Francine Prose book.

Remember

Yesterday my brother-in-law was at Mrs. Cook's in University Village to promote his product line, Gurgle Pots. It began as an idea he had after visiting France for a wedding, and now it's taken off to the point of having to quit his day job and enlist the help of his parents to fill orders. He is also busy coming up with new products. He visits China periodically, where they are manufactured (no lead!).

It's all very inspiring to me to see something really take off, and for it all to have happened inside a garage.



Worry

Today the writers and studios return to the negotiating table.

I guess this doesn't really qualify as a worry, though it does suck for the LA economy and for all the people who can't do their jobs.

My best hopes for a speedy resolution that will make both sides happy.

I need my full season of LOST!