10 posts tagged “birthday”

For my 27th birthday, I got a group of friends together to play mini golf. After that, we closed down the Olive Garden. Cuz that's how we roll!

My friend Katie turns 26 today.

For my birthday, I wanted to go somewhere I'd never been. Based on reviews I read, I chose Deleece, and was not disappointed. The service was great, the atmosphere was cozy but sophisticated, and the food was yummy.

Yesterday (Friday), I went shopping with a co-worker after work. When I got home, I saw a package in the lobby addressed to me. :) Inside were the birthday presents my mom sent. Okay, technically they're from both of my parents, but c'mon, my mom is the one who went to all the trouble. I spoke to my dad on Thursday and had to remind him that my birthday is Monday (even though my birthday falls on or near Father's Day, he never remembers).

Anyway, I am being good and not opening them until my actual birthday. :)

On May 11, 1985, my almost-4-year-old life was changed forever. That was the day my sister was born. I'd wanted a brother.

Now, the woman (wow, it's weird to call her that) who I refer to as "Kris," who Rob refers to as "Tin" (not entirely accurate, as the last half of her name is spelled "ten"), and who the rest of the world calls "Kristen," is 22 years old.

The last time Kris was in Chicago (ages ago), she saw this black-and-white self-portrait of me, which I'd taken for a college photography class. She really liked it and hinted that she wanted it, which is surprising, given that most days she can't stand me, and why she'd want a framed picture of me, I have no idea.

Anyway, I searched high and low and still cannot find the film negative. Finally, I caved and decided to just give her the picture anyway. I mailed it on Tuesday. Before I did, though, I took a picture of it with my digital camera.

My hair was a lot shorter then.

I don't seem to have any digital pics of Kristen. Odd. I guess I can't post a picture of her then.

Hope she has a happy birthday.

Sunday was my friend Katie's birthday. To celebrate, we went to brunch at Sola. I had the smoked salmon, which was good, but didn't quite fill me up. Next time, I'll order something else.

I wanted to do something special for Rob's birthday, and I know he really likes the Thorne Miniature Rooms at The Art Institute of Chicago. I decided to make him his own miniature room. He has said that he's always wanted his own den, so I focused on that. I got the majority of my supplies from Think Small by Rosebud, the ONLY miniature store I could find anywhere in or near Chicago. The remaining few items (TV, vase, mirror and beer mug) I ordered from miniatures.com.

The hardest part of this project was wall papering and "laying" the floor. If you want to test the limits of your own sanity, might I suggest wall-papering a teeny room? That process took me about an hour. The rest was simply a matter of gluing down everything.

I used to have a dollhouse as a kid, so it was fun to shop for and work with miniatures again. I'm pretty pleased with the way this turned out, even if the wallpaper job isn't perfect.

Rob is the guy I've been lucky enough to have as a boyfriend for the past year and 9 months. He continues to amaze me even as time goes by. Earlier this year, he went on vacation with my parents and me to New Orleans. The fact that he volunteered to go on a vacation with my parents proves what a cool boyfriend he is. He always goes out of his way to do sweet and surprising things for me. Parking in his neighborhood is difficult, so he will usually find me a parking space if he knows I am coming over. He's a great cook and whenever he whips up a batch of his awesome chili, he will fix a container of it for me to take home. He does a million thoughtful things ... he brought me velcro so I could affix my I-PASS to my windshield ... he bought me a ceramic Halloween plate because he knows how much I love Halloween ... he grows pet grass at his house and brings it over as a treat for my cat ... and the list goes on and on. Aside from those things, he's also smart, good-looking, and can make me crack up. Though he has his faults (like his absolute control of the TV remote ... MY GOD the channel flipping that occurs!), his good points outweigh his not-so-good points by a landslide. So ... I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly say HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!