Birthday Weekend...

So my birthday this year was pretty mellow, but I got some god eats to report!

Friday night Becks and I hit Prime Cut Cafe.  Our birthdays are near each other and we like to just go out and celebrate ourselves and split the bill. Done.  Happy Birthday.  No fuss no muss.  I've been here before and have always liked it and I forget that have a pretty good happy hour!  They also have great wine!  So - I got myself a yummy filet Mignon taco, their ridiculously good deviled eggs and some greasy onion straws.  We chatted and had a lovely evening.

Saturday I had planned to see the show my friend directed over at Stages.  It was an early showing (5pm) so I text T and asked if we probably wanted to eat after?  She text back saying we should try this new wine bar that opened in Fullerton first, then show, then dinner at the Anaheim Packing House!  Um Ok!!

So - 3:30pm I arrive early of course and the wine bar is right next door to this great little store called Roadkill Ranch.  Um hi millions of clothing that I love.  4pm I waltzed into Vino Nostra, the wine bar I'm meeting T at with a giant shopping bag full.  She laughed.  They have flights a week I guess, so the flight that week was 1 white and 3 reds.  Shockingly I liked the white the best!  T started calling the events of the day my birthday extravaganzas and showed me how to "tweet" a picture and proceeded to "tweet" my behalf saying 1st stop of Jami's Birthday Extravaganza!

 I promptly bought the white.  Yes a white!  Then the guy told us about this Pinot Noir that was quite good - he gave us a taste - and it was called scratchpad.  The label comes with a charcoal pencil and you can write on it!  T got so excited but ended up writing on a Chardonnay!  Whoops!  So I bought that for her upcoming birthday and she got me my very own Pinot Scratchpad with a lovely note!  Another bottle I'll defiantly keep after I drink it!

After this we headed to the show!  Very funny!  It was modeled after The Breakfast Club but in the Shakespeare style of language.  Very cute and very original.  Jill my friend the director did a great job!

Off we were to Anaheim Packing House!  This seems to be the new thing around here.  It's quite similar to Oxbow Market that Libby and I visited a few times when we were up in Napa.  It's a bunch of food places (lots of food truck peeps) in sort of like an indoor mall setting.  There are places to sit at a lot of them, but some you just pick up your food then wander off and try to find a spot in the area.  The place was PACKED.  It was a Saturday night, and I really would like to come back on a weeknight and really check it out.  T gave me the run down on most of the places and we did a sweep of the upstairs and downstairs before making a decision.  We landed at Kettle Bar.  Honestly it was the only place we could get a seat.

Super cool though!  We sat at the bar that faced the kettles.  It was really cool to watch the chefs making all the yummies in the metal bowls.  Total trip.  Very unique.  The wine was very good!  I got myself some oysters and they were delish!  We also split some garlic fries that were divine.  I ordered the ciopinno.  Very yummy and full of fish, mussels, shrimp and squid.  I couldn't eat the squid though.  It kept wiggling at me so they always got pushed aside.  We devoured our meals and had a fun waiter.

We rolled out of there fat and happy and T suggested Gypsy Den.  I had no idea there was one in Anaheim!  I've been to the Costa Mesa and Santa Ana one many times but what do ya know!!!  We popped a squat at the bar.  T got a latte and myself another wine.  We chatted with the super cool bartender whom I thought I may have had a connection with and so did T but dude mentioned a girlfriend.  Doh!  I really am clueless. But alas a lovely wind down time and we even got to see some of the Disneyland fireworks!  A perfectly lovely evening for sure!

Sunday brought Twisted Vine.  My friend Bob has joined the wine club there and always brings me as his guest for the pick up party.  I have finally decided to join because it's such a great deal!!  $120 quarterly.  (I can make payments!)  You get 4 wines (you can choose all reds, all whites or mix) and you get a pick up party.  This pick up party you can bring a guest too, you get food and you get to taste all the wines you're getting!  Rad right?!  So - I gave in and joined!

It was a super fun evening but unfortunately I have no will power when it comes to yummy foods and with all what I had already eaten over the weekend, then the heavy cream based yummies from here and quite a bit of wine - my ass woke up on my actual birthday sicker than a dog.  Ooops.  This old ass 39 year old cannot eat what I want in excess anymore!  So my birthday was spent in bed recovering all Monday.  Oh well, my own doing!

The whole day though I was getting texts and calls and my FB was blowing up.  Below are some of my favorites:

Do you think my friends know me? :)

A few days later I had a belated birthday dinner with my best friend in the whole world and her darling daughter who is the closest do a daughter I'll ever have!  We hit up Shiki and the owner brought me cake and a cute pen for my birthday!  Libby and Hailey showered me with "warm" presents since my place is so cold - socks, slipper, a wine glass.  Love em all!

So a Happy Birthday to me indeed!