Not half bad

Admittedly, I generally dislike celebrating my birthday, and this year was shaping up to be no exception. With plans getting cancelled relatively at the last minute, and all, I wasn't thinking the weekend was going to turn out well.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised! Here is how my birthday weekend panned out:

Thursday, as you may recall, I was waiting on PINS and NEEDLES for the results of my sister's sonogram. And, I got my birthday wish! I'm going to have a beautiful little niece to smooch on this summer!

Friday, I took the day off work to hit the Hill in St Louis with a girlfriend who had never had the pleasure. And trust me, if you cook and/or love all things Italian, it IS indeed, a pleasure.

We stopped in at my favorite markets, had a fabulous lunch, and then expanded our search to find a World Market, Trader Joe's, Schlafly Bottleworks, Penzey's Spices, and ABC Trading! A wonderful, wonderful day of shopping.

On the way home, we stopped in for a drink at Fast Eddie's BonAir in Alton, then went out with friends once we got back to our own stomping ground. Some friends I don't see outside of work often came out as well, including my friend Chris and his new boyfriend (who my semi homo-phob husband has been avoiding meeting), and my girl Kathy and her fiance....at whose wedding I will be officiating this spring. (that's a story for another post! With me at the helm and Chris as the Maid of Honor, it will be an interesting one, no doubt!)

Saturday and Sunday were blissfully calm, I spent most of the time at home, working on miscellaneous projects and tasks, including fixing the toilet (yep, on my birthday). I did manage to get a large mirror painted and hung, which was a good one to cross off the list.

Then, Sunday night for supper, I broke out the goods. I picked up some absolutely phenomenal Laguniga salsiccia at DiGregorio's on the Hill and whipped up a platter of sausage and peppers for me and the hubs. Doesn't this looks steamily mah-velous???

Well, that's all for the moment, I think....hopefully it is going to be a quiet few weeks....