6.04.2014

My 35th Birthday Weekend!

Last Friday was the big 3-5 for me.
5 years ago, for my 30th, I had a dinner in San Francisco with a bunch of our friends.
You can read about that {HERE}
I knew I wanted to do something fun for my 35th since it is (kind of) a milestone birthday.
You know me, I LOVE birthdays!
Since my birthday fell on a Friday, I decided to take the day off work, go to Starbucks & get a mani/pedi.
When I woke up he had flowers, a card & some gift cards waiting for me on our bedside table.
Kevin let me sleep in, got the kids ready and took them to school. 
So nice.
Getting a pedicure is one of my favorite things!
 Before I picked up Luke,  I did some shopping. 
And, then we picked up the girls when school was out.
It was so nice having the morning off.
My birthday usually falls on Memorial Day weekend, but I have decided from now on, that whenever it falls during the week, I am going to take the day off work. 
Who wants to spend their birthday with 125 middle school kids? Not me? ;)
 Friday night is pizza night at our house (and I love pizza!) so we got my favorite kind, Zachary's Chicago style pizza. So good. And, had my favorite Chardonnay. 
Saturday was my birthday "party".
I got a limo to take myself and 6 girls to Napa for the day to go wine tasting!
 Mimosas on the limo ride there:
Me & my friend Kelly:
  Our first stop was one of my favorite wineries, Cakebread Cellars.
Me & my sisters!
Can we just mention my younger sister Rebecca? She had baby Olivia on May 15th. These pics were from May 31st. Doesn't she look great? (And, a huge thanks to my mom for watching Olivia so that Rebecca could come wine tasting with us!)
Cakebread is one of my favorite wineries!
 The grounds are so pretty.
 And, their cab is one of my favorites!
 This was my 3rd time wine tasting at Cakebread. It's been fun everytime!
 After Cakebread, we headed to Dean & Deluca for lunch.  Another one of my favorite spots in Napa.
 You may recognize Dean & Deluca from Felecity....she worked at that coffee shop on the show in NYC. Dean & Deluca in Napa is a huge gourmet market.
It has fine wines, cheeses, pastries, candy, espresso, salads, sandwiches & more!
I had an amazing Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich on Foccia Bread.
 I need to try and re-create that recipe! It was amazing.
The back drop of Dean & Deluca is so pretty, tons of vineyards & rolling hills.
After lunch, we headed to Frank Family Vineyards.
I had never been to this winery, so I was excited to try it out.
Whenever we go wine tasting in Napa, I always like to try out at least 2 new wineries.
Frank Family Winery was so cute. It was so quiet & serene there. I really liked it!
I really liked their Chardonnay.
I loved how lush & green it was there.
 Enjoying the grounds:
After Frank Family Vineyards, we headed to our final stop...Alpha Omega.
The was the first time I have been here. It is a newer winery.
It had a neat outside area with fountains surrounded by vineyards.
We didn't do the tasting here, we just bought a bottle of wine & brought it outside & sat around the fire pit under some trees.
It was a great way to end the day.
 Me & my friend Jackie:
 Me & Suzanne:
Such a fun day!
 Then we loaded back into the limo and headed home!
Rebecca pumping on the limo ride home. Classic.
When we got back to my house, I had party favors for my friends. 2 of my favorite things. 
A bottle of Cupcake Chardonnay & a TJ's chocolate bar :)
Thankful for my sisters & friends who celebrated with me in Napa!
Sunday we headed to church and then Sunday afternoon our court had a birthday block party:
And of course, cornhole!
It was SUCH a fun birthday weekend. 
I felt loved & celebrated.
My 35th year is off to a great start!

11 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday lady! Napa is always a gorgeous spot to go to!

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  2. Hi Mel! Happy birthday! I loved reading about your fun girls day in Napa!!! I so wished we lived closer to Napa. So much fun!!! Next time I'll have to visit Cakebread!

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  3. Um, can you come plan my birthday for me in October? You had the perfect weekend! Happy birthday Mel! You deserved it!!

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  4. Wow what a fun birthday! I will have to try some of those wineries next time we're in Napa! I've been so many time but have never been to any of hose. Dean & Deluca looks amazing! and Rombauer is our fave Chard too! We (and our friends we wine taste with) call it "the butta" because it is so smooth and creamy!!

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  5. It sounds like you had the perfect birthday weekend...doing everything you love. A wine tasting trip to Napa is not complete without a visit to Dean & Deluca! I love your party favors. Such a fun idea. I love giving a bottle of Cupcake Chardonnay and a cupcake in a cute box to girlfriends for their birthday. Your sister looks amazing!!

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  6. Happy Birthday!!! What a fun birthday, celebrating with the girls!!! Dean and Deluca looks amazingly delish. Yum. Your favors for your friends, so sweet. :)

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  7. I too love pizza!!! Have you tried Ascona??? It's the best pizza around. They have 3 locations now open in our area. I go to the one up in B.H. Plaza. Glad you had a fun and memorable birthday! :)

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  8. Hope you had a great birthday Mel! I so feel you on loving birthdays! I personally think that birthdays should last an entire week but that's just my opinion :)

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  9. If you haven't tried it yet, my hubby works at Artesa in south carneros Napa right off HW12....with amazing views on a clear day of the valley and The Carneros Inn, right by them has a great casual market with paninis for lunch.

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