i love birthday princess week

my birthday celebration was, as it usually is, spread out over several different outings throughout the week.  you know how i love my birthday, so i'm always good with multiple gatherings.  heh.  plus i get to dress up a little - at least, more than my usual daily uniform of jeans or leggings and whatever fun t-shirt i grab out of the drawer.  first up - brunch with my parents and the old man (because the old lady had to work) at the george in pasadena.

it was a really cute little spot and the food was good, although we happened to be seated right in front of the live band that played for the duration of our meal.  i guess for most people live music is awesome, but when you're literally two feet away it doesn't make for easy conversation with your party.  and there was a huge family group next to us that decided to turn the limited space around our table into their own private dance floor.  fun.

for dinner the next night, i'd cut into some super fun fabric and turned it into a maxi dress that was cute and really comfy.  

we headed out to beverly hills and pulled into lawry's for some delicious prime rib.  it had been years since our last visit - i'm pretty sure it was even before the bean was born.  the old lady didn't even remember coming at all, so it was extra fun for all of us.  

we were missing the old man that evening, but he was at dinner with his mom and so that was why he and the old lady did the ol' divide and conquer routine for the weekend.

my actual birthday was the next day, which fell on a monday.  we dropped the bean off at school and headed down to anaheim for my annual birthday visit to the happiest place on earth.

the old lady was on duty that day, so we found her for a quick hello and selfie before we headed into the parks.

mondays have become one of the busiest days of the week at disneyland, and this day was no exception.  it was really crowded with super long lines for everything, which was kind of a bummer.  although we did manage to grab a walk-up spot at oga's cantina for some snacks and adult beverages.

obligatory castle selfie.

we crossed over into california adventure, which was just as crowded as disneyland.  it wasn't an oogie boogie bash night, but a few of the photo ops were in place.

with zero availability even via walk-up at any of the fun restaurants, we decided to get outta there and headed over to the anaheim gardenwalk.  we ended up at roy's for some lunch, which was practically deserted at 1:30 on a monday afternoon.

and while we were waiting for our food, the hub made a phone call to schedule the next thing:

and then later, when we got home, there was a whole box of cupcakes waiting to be devoured.  we took them to eureka burger in claremont, where we met up with the old lady and the old man for dinner while we waited for the bean to be ready for pickup from school. we sampled a handful of those cupcakes and then left the rest for the waitstaff to share.

all in all, it was a really lovely birthday (as it always is).  i definitely felt the love.