30!

Yesterday was David’s 30th birthday!

This made me laugh-he looks like a kid showing off a prize :). We had a great weekend celebrating. When I asked David what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said: go to Dallas for the UCLA game. And dinner Chez Panise (he was reading Dan Barber’s The
Third Plate). So that’s what we did!

One of my favorite parts of Chez Panise was the seating. We were in the cafe, and the tables for two were set up so you sat next to your date-booth, corner, chair. It meant everyone looked out at the warm, wood paneled, craftsmen room, in the coziest way possible. The food was really nice-just good, thoughtful and simple flavors. It was our first fancy dinner out in a while and it was wonderful.

On Saturday, we had friends over for UCLA house-gating brunch. David made a breakfast burrito bar, I made Bloody Mary’s (and no one drank them! Quite the mimosa loyal group) and it was just fun to host in our apartment. The game was….a classic 2014 UCLA game. We won, but it wasn’t pretty and it was HOT. I had heat flashbacks to the Rose Bowl-2:00 p.m., sun baking, cursing myself for wearing jeans. But it was great to see so many good friends and the Cal Band did a medley of boy band songs, so all in all, a good time.

Saturday night we realized we didn’t have any plans on Sunday. The whole day ahead of us! David wanted to check out Angel Island, so Sunday morning we woke up and went straight to Jack London for the 9:00 am ferry. I hadn’t researched Angel Island at all and didn’t know what to expect. Holy smokes. This place was UNREAL.

Basically, after an hour ferry ride, we arrived in the Riveria. That’s what this felt like. We hiked the island, admired the INCREDIBLE views, and soaked up the sun. I was already blown away by the island’s beauty when we got to the beach. There was a band playing music that Adri once described as Amelie music, and they had Chardonnay, and we sat in the sun looking at the water and the boats, and I could not get over it. It was just amazing. I always got annoyed at smug proclamations from Northern Californians that no where in the world compares, but after Angel Island….I think I get it.

I flew to Chicago for work Tuesday, and though we didn’t celebrate the actual day together, I think the weekend was an awesome way to ring in 30!