My birthday has come and gone. Like the long anticipated wedding date that you stress and worry about and build up in your mind. And in a day it's done. Well, I was, sad to say, stressing about this birthday for the past year. I think a big reason for that is because of our move to Texas. I think it may have been different had we still been in Fresno with all our long-time family and friends. I always said I would embrace 40 with grace! But here we are and so I have been a slight bit insecure about this one. But despite all the worry and stress, it came and went, and I still feel the same as I did a week ago! LOL As if 40 would really change who I am or how I look. I think there's grace all over it!
Well it came and went, but not without a lot of celebration, lots of memories and fabulous friends who are like family! I had an absolutely wonderful birth-week! (yes, Sean and I celebrate the entire week!) Sean set out to surprise me with a super fun weekend. He asked me what I wanted a while back and he did all that he could to see that it happened down to every detail! He told me only days before that I needed to pack my bags.... We are staying over night!!!!!
My Saturday started out with getting my hair done. I think I set a record with a 4 hour hair appt!! It was the first time seeing this girl, Amber, who is a sister and cousin of a couple of my friends at work. But more than that, my hair color was awful!!! It was a year of boxed home hair color! Like layers of paint on a wall. And so she went to work gently stripping it down to shades to reveal the natural highlights underneath. We will do this one more time and then it will be on to beautiful color!!! I felt bad that the appt went so long, but Sean was so gracious saying this was My Day! I got home and we were instantly off to Dallas (he had already dropped Emery off a couple hours earlier)
Hello Dallas!!! Hope you have your party hats on!!!
I was "Wowed" as we pulled up to our hotel... the Hotel Zaza. It is a very trendy, hip, artsy hot spot of a hotel in the Arts District in downtown Dallas. It is beautiful! Definitely not like anywhere we've ever stayed before! And he found it all by himself! :)
That's Sean standing in front, in black. :)
The Lobby
Beautiful Art everywhere!
The pool... which reminded me of the Roman Baths!
I couldn't believe how 'live' it was at 4 in the afternoon. At night it closes and becomes one of the hottest poolside nightclubs from 10-2am.
Just a little pre-dinner drink at the hotel!
Our room
We set off for dinner, taking the hotel shuttle (a black Escalade... I kind of felt like a Kardashian! lol) I felt so alive as we drove through the city to the restaurant. It's confirmed time and time again that I am truly a city girl!!! I just looked at Sean and said "I'm in heaven!!!" As we waited for our friends to arrive, Sean and I even discussed that maybe we bought a house in the 'burbs' too soon and should have moved to the city! lol But we both need new jobs for that! So back to the 'burbs' we go!!! hahaha But I LOVE the fact that we can drive 35 min and be in the city! I love that about the DFW area!!
We ate at Del Frisco's. It's a high end, trendy restaurant about a mile from where we were staying. Sooooo very yummy!!!
The best part about this night together was the time we spent sharing wisdom. It started with Steve stating that 40 is the year of wisdom and so I needed to share 3 words of wisdom that I've learned over the years. I shared a bit about marriage... about how it is the hardest and yet best relationship you'll ever have. We talked awhile about that, digging deeper, and then I was like "wait a second! You all are already in your 40's... YOU need to share your wisdom with me!!!" It began a time of sharing with me. It was a priceless, beautiful and rich time of sharing wisdom, encouragement and really speaking into my life. Given that I had been sad, since we moved, that I would not be celebrating such a huge milestone in my life with my closest friends and family back home , God truly came through and has provided the most wonderful friends, both old and new! (and the fact that we have such rich and long history with these two couples is the icing on the cake!)
I feel like every next picture like this that Sean and I take shows more and more depth, beauty and maturity in each of us and together as a couple!
(dessert on the house... the best Coconut Creme Pie!!)
On the upper deck/balcony of the restaurant.
We wish we would have known about this before dinner!
At night, the street comes alive with lights, music and people! After dinner we ended up at this Irish Pub, Idle Rich (I have a thing for them, being that I'm Irish! Someday I'll get to go to a real one! lol)
Luke and Kathy
Steve and Tyranie
The Carlsons left around 11pm (they just drove home from Colorado that day so I let them go home), but the rest of us party animals stayed out. We found this cute little house called BrokenTree Coffeehouse and chilled for awhile with some cappuccinos.
Me and My Cappuccino!
We walked back to our hotel and Steve and Tyranie met us there. The Dragonfly Nightclub was open and the place was hopping! They came by to check out the hotel and then left for home a short time later. It was the best night in the city with great friends!!
The next day we slept in (as best we could) and then headed out for breakfast. I got a few recommendations from people at work and we ended up at Breadwinners. From the outside it looks like a big house, but when you get inside you realize just how big it is as it goes on and on and on (the host must have led us through 4 or 5 different rooms and lush patios before we finally ended up in an upstairs room off the bar-room. It filled up quickly.
THIS was the highlight of my weekend! Up! I said it! In 22 years of being together, I have never been able to get Sean to take these silly booth photos with me. I love them and he never got it. So guess what was right behind me in the restaurant but a photo booth! He easily agreed to take pics with me. I was SO excited, grinning ear to ear!!!! (I can be such a school girl sometimes... it really is pretty easy to make me happy)
We chose to walk it back through to our hotel after breakfast. It was a beautiful mile long morning walk through the city, but it was warming up fast!
And let me not fail to mention Emery at least once. It was a big deal for us because this was the very first time we have left her overnight with anyone. She stayed with the Caughrans, who of course were with us for the evening. But their oldest, Josh and Elizabeth, watched all the young ones (four in all including Emery!). That was kind of weird to think of too. But we trust them so much and she really is part of their family as she is watched by them twice a week while I'm at work. So we were able to have a wonderful time away without worry. But it definitely was weird to not kiss her goodnight or good morning! I won't be longing to do that again for a little while. :) And of course, we had to bring her back a little something yummy from the Breadwinners' baked goods counter!!
Sean did awesome in planning this weekend!!! We had invited three more friends of mine but they were not able to make it, so we all celebrated another day. But it was so much fun and SOOOOO what Sean and I have been needing! I was amazed at just how much MORE we needed it than I had even thought. It was rejuvenating for each of us and our marriage!!!
