birthday princess bucket list checkmarkin'

waking up in the beautiful langham hotel on my birthday was pretty fantastic.  we all got to enjoy sleep-in sunday, which is always a good thing.  and although i knew it was going to be a butt ass hot day, it looked pretty lovely from the window.

the bean had apparently woken up first, and tried to let the rest of us sleep while she watched videos on the iPad...in the bathtub.

and when she realized that we were all up, she insisted that i start opening presents.  although this is not something that requires much arm-twisting.  you'll have to excuse my puffy eyes and major bedhead.  oh, and the super classy spongebob t-shirt i'd decided to pack to sleep in.

inside the donut bag i found a box and a book, which i'd seen the bean stealthily working on throughout the summer.  it was full of her handwritten notes and comments on the pages that prompted her to tell stories and answer silly questions about her mother.

i moved on to opening the box, one i'd seen the old lady wrapping in her room the day before.  heh.  and the sight of that familiar green-and-white striped tissue paper is always exciting - it means that something from my BFF kate spade is inside.

i adored the embroidered pink and white flowered kids that i found inside.  how cute are these??

next was the tower of boxes wrapped in silver paper.  i don't know if i've mentioned it before, but one of the things on my bucket list is to own a pair of christian louboutins.  i dropped a bunch of hints while we were on our quickie vegas trip this summer, and when i pushed that paper aside i caught a glimpse of that familiar logo on the shoebox inside.

but something felt a little...off.  and when i opened the box i found that i'd been pranked, which was probably well-deserved considering the tricks i've pulled on wrapping presents for others in the past.  inside i found...a candle.  a very fancy, fabulous-smelling candle, but still not the coveted red soles.  i pretty much peed myself laughing at it.

the next box revealed...a red louboutin shoe bag with a very soft, very pretty tee that told me that maybe i was aiming a little high with my bucket list items.

but then the third box came through with the goodies.  the bean happily modeled the bow while i dug into that last box, and finally struck gold.

i hadn't packed anything that fancy to wear to brunch with my parents, so i placed them carefully and lovingly back in the bag and then into the box.  we all got ready and packed up our small overnight bags and then drove the short 2 miles to madeline garden, a bistro located in one of the old french brick buildings built back in the late 20s.

the tables were set with some very cute teacups, saucers, and flatware.  tea service is an option here, along with traditional brunch items.

we started with a plate of scones with cream and jam to share with the entire table:

it was my birthday, so i indulged and ordered a mimosa.

the bean opted for the kids' tea service, which included this super cute, very tiny serving of creme brûlée.

 the old lady and my stepdad both had quiche:

i went with the brioche french toast:

my mom had the smoked salmon eggs benedict, which looked delicious, and the hub dug into a croissant prosciutto sandwich.  everything looked very tasty, and everyone seemed happy with their choices.

after we'd devoured everything, we went and looked through the building a little, making sure to peek at the mural at the top of the stairs.  the server had mentioned it as being a must-see, but i'm not really sure why.  in any case, we looked at it:

and then took some group photos to commemorate the day.

later, the girls and i headed out to get our nails done, stopping at starbucks along the way to get my free birthday coffee.

oh, and i got birthday wishes via facebook and twitter from a ton of wonderful friends and family - plus kimmy gibbler.  you know, NBD.

when we got home, i found that the hub had been busy.  he'd been to the grocery store to pick up all of my most favorite things to make me a fantastic dinner at home:  steak, bacon-wrapped asparagus, full size cans of coke, tater tots...and cake.  YUM.

yup, there are 45 candles squeezed onto that little cake.  so many that he decided we needed to light it up outside to avoid making the smoke detector go off.  bah.

i still managed to muster up enough air in these old lungs to blow them all out in one shot.

that poor cake was destroyed when we took the candles out to slice and eat it.

but it was a most wonderful end to the most perfect birthday weekend ever.  i think i say that every year, but it just keeps getting better and better.  even though now i'm officially 5 years to 50.

HOLY SHIT.  hold me.