weekend review

I know. I said that I wouldn't begin another weekend review with a picture of cake, but it was a weekend of birthday celebration. Two birthdays.

There were a few changes to the original weekend plan. Kent was supposed to drive to New York after work on Friday, but he decided to wait until Saturday morning. My dear friend Anna and I celebrated Erica's birthday at a cute restaurant in the theater district called Becco. It's reputable for their twenty-five dollar bottle of wine menu as well as featuring three daily pasta specials. For twenty-three dollars, you receive unlimited amounts of each pasta freshly served to you tableside. I'm sure this sounds familiar to Olive Garden, but their pasta is authentically Italian, homemade, and delicious. 

Shrimp & Arugula, Pureed Beet Ravioli, and Tomato & Farfalle

Anna and I reunited

Erica, her cake, & her cute friend Tracey

After wining and dining, we ventured to a bar called Surf Bar. All I want to do after eating a large meal is change into my sweats and curl up on the couch, but I couldn't pass on enjoying the NYC nightlife with my sister and Anna. So, I sipped on a cup of water and held out as long as I could lol. We were surprised with a visit from an old friend from CU swim & dive, which was fun. I left Erica so that she could continue her birthday fun with her friends and headed back to Brooklyn. The 2 and 3 trains weren't running that late, so I had to channel my former New Yorker self and figure out how to get home. It took me an hour, but I made it unharmed. 

Saturday morning I encountered the ultimate blow to our weekend plans. The birthday boy had the birthday blues and didn't feel like making the drive. Ugh, plans officially thwarted. I couldn't very well leave him alone on this birthday, so I bought an afternoon bus ticket (well actually, first I bought myself a bagel sandwich at the best bagel shop in the city) then called Anna to meet us for lunch before the trek home to Baltimore. I wanted to try a new restaurant, but Erica had a particular place in mind and she was the weekend honoree.

Serendipity's enormous menu

Serendipity's world-renown Frozen Hot Chocolate

We were on our way to pay Levain Bakery a visit when I made the quick decision to hop in a cab and catch an earlier bus. Forgoing a Levain cookie= true love. I stewed a bit on the way home thinking about the cancelled dinner and night out with my family and friends because somebody took umbrage to turning 27, but once Kent's parents heard that he wasn't joining me in New York, they drove from Philadelphia to take us to Ruth's Chris for dinner, so all's well that ends well.

We turned that birthday frown upside down

My pictures from our dinner didn't photograph well, so I'll spare you more food photos, but the meal was amazingly delicious. Dessert was three-fold. Kent received a complimentary slice of chocolate sin cake (pictured above) that I polished off. I ordered a molten chocolate cake sundae, and Kent's mom enjoyed a banana cream pie. Thank you J-mom and J-dad for saving the day!

Today has been pretty leisurely. I baked cookies twice- once for the blog, and the other batch for no real reason.  I did my version of P90X's kenpo in the morning, then went for a run in the afternoon. Trust me- a double was needed. I've been eating dessert everyday like it's my last since we moved to Baltimore in November, so it's time to get back to moderation. I'm resolving to start that tomorrow, maybe. I'm happy to be getting my mileage back to around 8 miles since my knee injury.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Happy happy birthday again to the love of my life and my sweet sister- I love you both!