Birthday Surprises!

Last Tuesday was my (gulp!) 41st birthday! The week passed by in a flash! Steve had "booked" me for Monday and Tuesday nights, but wouldn't tell me what we were doing. On Monday, we met on the subway after work on our way to our mystery plans. He was so funny -- carrying a big bag of presents, pretending they (white & pink paper with Eiffel Towers on it!) were for his dad, saying things like "So, what should we do tonight?" and "This is the F train, right?" (It wasn't) and "Did you bring your snorkle and your spin shoes? I'm sure I told you to bring them!") We were laughing so hard that we actually missed our real stop and had to get off our train and transfer to the uptown one to get back to our stop!

B-day cake!

After we got off of the subway, he led me through the West Village (a neighborhood where I lived for 5 years, so I know it very well) and I was totally unclear about where we were going! Finally, we came to a spot called B-a-r-b-uta, which has a great chef's table in the kitchen... and where we've talked about having a party before. I had NO clue that there might be a party in the works that night... but when we got to that particular restaurant, my radar went off! The hostess led us over to another table... I spotted a few friends at the chef's table... and the jig was up!! What a great surprise!!

B-day dinner at the Chef's table

I took this from my chair -- they were right behind me!

The food and the company were fantastic. What a wonderful surprise, and I'm totally blown away by Steve being able to pull this off so well without me having the faintest idea!! How I love that guy!!

The next night, for my actual b-day surprise, he took me to the Theater District, to a very cute Italian restaurant called Be-c-c-o. I knew then (because he had to tell our waiter) that we were heading to a 7 p.m. show, and it turns out that he got tickets to R-e-latively S-p-e-aking, which is a series of 3 one-act plays, including one by Woody A-l-len. I really enjoyed it, and it was such a fun treat to get to the theater!

After dinner, we played "tourist" and sat in Times Square having a glass of wine (which you're not probably supposed to do..) :)

In my fabulous new trench coat that Steve got me for my birthday! It's exactly like the one K-a-te Mi-ddl-eton wears (love her..)!

What a great birthday it was! And once again, I got to have a birthday in my forties (!) without feeling freaked out about the 4 before that number... and it's only because of my band and because I'm able to be in this decade looking and feeling better than I did in my 30s. Thank you, band!!

500th Post!

This is my 500th post, so I'm glad that I have something good to report. Yesterday, I received my new license. Why is this significant?? Because it means that I can finally get rid of my "fat" picture license! I consider that an NSV... er, even if I DID kind of look better in that picture (maybe I should go back to the blonde...)!

Fluffy Goodness!!

One of the band-related things that I'm the most proud of, but haven't really posted about because I feel weird mentioning it, is that I started the Sisterhood of the Traveling Clothes back in May of 2009. Since then, I sent out many, many packages to other bandsters, paying for postage on the simple condition that they share the clothes with someone else once they no longer fit. On one or two occasions, I even gave things away by the bagful!

By doing that, I gradually got rid of virtually every item of clothing I had outgrown (in-grown?), and got to know many other bandsters in the process. And -- LOL -- the blogging bandster community got to know my dirty little secret... that I used to cut all the sizes out of my clothes!! :) Another great effect is this snowballed, and so many bandsters in our community are sharing their old clothing with one another, which is a huge help as we all move on down through a range of sizes.

For me, one of the very best things about giving everything away was receiving photos from other bandsters and seeing how great they looked in my clothes. Here's a link to a post with a bunch of photos that people were nice enough to share with me. :) My favorite one ever is the one of the lovely Sarah, wearing a shirt that I sent her as she successfully completed her first ever 5K race. I was so impressed with her accomplishment (she said she was going to run and she did!), and it felt amazing to have some small part in that day.

I didn't care that I would never receive a Sisterhood package, since I was an "older" bandster and didn't know anyone who was both farther along than me and willing to part with clothing in my size. It just felt good to be emptying my closets -- both because it was the product of my confidence that I wasn't going to just gain it all back, and because I felt like I was helping people. But... woe is me... no exciting packages of unknown new, free clothing came my way! ;) Cut to this year's B.O.O.B.S. conference in Chicago, where I finally met the very lithe, slim and fit Fluffy! A week ago, she sent me my first EVER Sisterhood package.

Here is the package. Steve was with me when I opened it, and I totally cried when I did (I know.. I'm such a crier) -- from being so happy to be on the receiving end of this wonderful generosity, from thinking about how grateful I am for how far I've come, and for feeling like something I'd started had come full circle back to me, though I'd never had any expectation that it would.

This box made me cry!!

Now, dear readers, while I may be a total mush at all things kind and generous, you know that I loves me some fashion. So, I wiped my tears, put on some lipstick, and got to trying on those outfits! And there were cute things in that box that I absolutely love!! (And a few cute things that I absolutely love... but that are a size 6, and while I could squeeze into them, it was not a pretty sight!) I'm including photos of my favorites below! :)

A white button-down that fit absolutely perfectly, and Fluffy's size 6 black pants that I managed to zip! NSV/Pre-Christmas Miracle!!) :) An ADORABLE short sleeved jacket.
Do we like it over the shirt, or would it be better with bare arms?

And, this gorgeous going-out shirt in purple. Love!

Thank you so very much, Fluffy. Not only do I love these cute clothes, but just receiving the box from you meant so much to me! I so appreciate it, and plan to have a lot of fun wearing them! And, congratulations to you on your SIXTH bandiversary!

I'll post again soon... so much more to catch up on. Steve had a surprise birthday party for me on Monday night, Tuesday was my birthday, and we've been doing all kinds of fun things. But, I really wanted this to be a stand-alone post because it was such an important occasion for me!

Celeb-Spotting Quickie Update

I only have a second to post this morning but I had to (HAD TO) post about my celeb spotting of last night. Marjorie, E and B took me out for a b-day dinner last night at Wa-v-e--rly I-n--n, and among the other people dining within eyesight were.... Camer-o-n Diaz (BTW, Bad Teacher is HILARIOUS), H-a-rvey W-e-instein and.... Rob-er-t P-a-ttinson. They all looked great, the food was fantastic, and I have to admit that having that big of a sighting really added to our fun!


Will post soon.... I want to tell you all about the package I received this week from Fluffy!!

What I'm Eating...

Steve and I recently tried out a recipe from this month's B0n A-pp-e-t-i-t Magazine... Seared Salmon with Pumpkin Seed Cilantro Pesto. And man oh man, is it good!! In fact, it's so good that I made it for a second time on Saturday night, then cooked up another filet for us to take to work today with the remaining pesto, saffron rice and steamed snap peas. YUM.

I had a great weekend. My mom was in town and met with her boyfriend on Saturday evening (when his flight got in) to start their vacation. So, we had a nice time together on Friday night and Saturday day, and then I saw them for brunch on Sunday. Steve was with his parents this weekend, and my other friends were going to a black tie event that I opted out of, so I got a weekend night at home all to myself. A rare pleasure!!

I cooked, baked some goat cheese tarts from scratch (also, yummy) and watched the movie Bad Teacher, which was hilarious. I also was able to get to yoga on Saturday and spin on Sunday, which was great. Now, with an extra hour of sleep, I'm ready to kick some A today! :)

Halloween Hijinx!

Halloween weekend this year was a blast! We got a bunch of friends together for a dinner party at another friend's costumes, then hit several parties afterwards. Steve and I dressed up like Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad (OMG .. and what a seriously scary mask!!) wolf!

Ahhhhhhhh! One of the great NSV pleasures of banded life!! Getting to wear a cute, sexy costume on Halloween!! I loved that costume! And you can bet that I wasn't going to wear this in 2008! Here is a comparison shot from me, about a month post-surgery vs. last weekend.

I was in charge of dessert for the dinner party, so I went all out.... I made a pumpkin creme brulee that I've made in the past and absolutely love. And... I made the pumpkin cheesecake recipe from this month's Bon Appetit magazine. The recipe called for me to make homemade gingersnaps (Yum! You can see the extras on the table) and to grind them in a foodprocessor to make the crumbs for the crust. It was really good, and a big hit!

The desserts!

Marjorie as Holly Golighty -- great costume!!

Party action shot!
Getting our group outfitted in snow boots, coats, umbrellas, etc. to trek to the next party in the snow! Can you even believe it was snowing here in October?!?

That's all for now! I hope that all of you had a great Halloween!