birthday princess weekend 2016, part 1

i'm totally going out of order for a bit here, because birthday princess weekend was pretty magical and wonderful and went way too fast.  it started off with the old lady and the hub telling me to pack a bag for an overnighter.  a peek in my closet showed the usual plethora of workout clothes and soccer mom-style outfits, but with a little help i managed to pull something together that was somewhat suitable.  since it was just for one night, it didn't take too long to get everyone packed and pretty soon we were in the car and on our way.

since we had brunch with my parents on the schedule for the following morning in pasadena, i knew we couldn't be going too far away.  and when we got off the freeway at lake avenue and headed south, i finally figured out our destination (below photo swiped from google because i was too starry-eyed and dumbstruck to take my own):

it'd been a really long time since we'd been here.  i think the last time was for my friend trish's wedding...in 2007.  whoa.  and i don't even remember staying here, although the hub assures me that we have, at least once.  you know i'm getting old when i can't remember a stay in a hotel as fabulous as the langham, formerly the ritz-carlton (which it likely was back then).  the room was spacious and lovely, with a special birthday surprise waiting for me.

there was a cute little robe laid out for the bean, which was super cute.  too bad her big ol' feet were too big for the slippers.

the old lady was pretty excited to dig into those strawberries:

and i was probably a little unreasonably stoked for the pink pen i knew i'd swipe on the way out.

dinner wasn't too far away - sushi roku in old town, which is always a crowd pleaser for this family.  there's something for everyone here.

my drink of choice for the evening was a champagne st. germain cocktail.  so tasty

we all shared some edamame, ribeye-wrapped asparagus and shrimp dumplings as our appetizers.  all were super delicious.

the old lady ordered some spicy pork belly fried rice, and she said it was really good.

the rest of us enjoyed sushi and various rolls.  the baked crab hand roll is so good, i could eat a whole plate of those things.

i took a bite of the hub's tuna poke bowl.  spicy.

after a quick potty break, i returned to the table to find this:

back at the hotel, the bean popped into the super cute little library to pick out a book to read.

it'd been a pretty busy day that had started with a super warm 4.01K run for me, so that plus the two cocktails i enjoyed during dinner kind of knocked me out.  i sent the hub on down to enjoy his cigar and adult beverages in the bar, and then i was done for the night.

it was like 10:00.  damn.  i should probably just take over that "old lady" title.