Sunday, August 23, 2009

Celebration!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and to celebrate Diego planned a nice big party for me! It wasn't a surprise party but nonetheless I was very happy with the idea!

So we invited about 40 people including kids. Although only half could make it we had GREAT time! We ate Mexican Carnitas (which means "little meat"), salsas, guacamole, frijoles charros (cowboys style beans) among other goodies that everyone brought! As usual we ate our fill an have a tonne left...it is my mom in me coming out! ;)

Although, we told people not to bring gifts that just coming to the party was gift enough, I did receive some wonderful gifts!!
This wonderful bead set and instructional manual will set me up for making jewelry...which I wear a lot of...Diego thinks I was a crow in a past life! And a gift certificate from the GAP...the gift that keeps on giving! Not only do I get the surprise of opening it but to go shopping for a gift!!!
This soap dispenser was from Lisa and Andrew...they knew just what I needed to beautifully display my homemade liquid hand soap! Not to mention it is made in Canada and GLASS! Thanks!! :) The pottery in the photo was handmade by a very good friend and I am delighted to have a piece of her art in my kitchen! I will use it often!
Last but definitely not least was the gift Diego gave me. He bought me a gorgeous set of Labradorite (my new favorite stone!) jewelry (ring, earrings and a pendent)...the photo of the ring does NOT do the stone's beauty justice! Labradorite is a type of feldspar mineral in the plagioclase family that are a major constituent of the Earth's crust but this particular type of crystal is only found near Nain in Labrador, Canada.

The party lasted well into the night (3:30 am to be exact!) and we drank lots of tequila, laughed, told stories and played guitar. We were so happy that Hurricane Bill did not arrive as predicted at midnight! In anticipation for the hurricane, just before bed Diego and I raided the tomato plants for fear that we would lose them to the winds!
Now that the high winds and rain are almost over and our headaches are almost gone it will be time to get to the cleaning! Luckily, we had enough foresight and help from the troopers who stayed until the end to most of the cleaning last night!

Than you ALL for a wonderful birthday! It was the best b-day party in a long time!

5 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to you.... (for yesterday). You're right, you got some beautiful gifts. The soap dispenser is nice - me like. And your gentleman has good taste. He knows what his girl loves :-)

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  2. Happy, happy birthday! I'm glad that you had a great party. The ring is stunning! :)

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  3. Happy 31st birthday! That was a wonderful year for me and I hope it will be even better for you! :)

    Love your gifts, and your pretty tomatoes...you're a lucky gal!

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  4. Happy Belated Birthday Alli, and HUGE Congrats on the teaching position!! Hope all is well with you! It sounds like it is! It's been FAR too long. We'll need to meet up as soon as Jon is back! He's home in exactly a week, so perhaps early - mid September if that works for you and Diego? It's been FAR too long since we've shared a bottle of wine! Talk soon! Love all the recent recipes... I'll have to try some of them out soon! xo

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