Oh, I love my birthday! I guess it has to do with feeling special for a day. Makes me feel so blessed when people come out the woodwork to say happy birthday. My kids and hubby make me feel so special on my birthday, probably because I let them know that they have no choice in the matter. I start letting them know at the first of the year how I plan to feel really special on my birthday. That way on my birthday, there is no doubt in their minds that the day is all about ME.

So, on my day, my hubby and my kids let me sleep till I felt like waking up, which ended up being around noon. It was beautiful.  :) Then, we went to stuff ourselves at Cracker Barrel for brunch.

most awesome giant coffee cup at cracker barrel

Then, because Terry wanted to take me shopping as a birthday present, we went to the mall. But, because my birthday just so happened to be a major national holiday (MLK Day) and the temp outside just happened to be in the mid 70s (crazy weird for mid January), the mall was packed with people. And, I came to the conclusion that I am not a mall shopper. Definitely boutique, catalog, or online. My present ended up being a Keurig coffee machine. Best. Present. Ever.

So, being the movie fanatic that I am, and that is usually how I spend my birthdays (dinner and a movie), we went to the movies. The kids felt special because I picked a movie that we all could go see and enjoy. Sherlock Holmes, Game of Shadows. Great movie, love Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law. Plus, the chic, Noomi Rapace is in it. I had to tell Terry that she was the chic in the original Girl With A Dragon Tattoo movie series. I wonder if she’s seen the remake and thinks that Rooney Mara did a good job. See what I do when I start talking about movies…I go off on a whole ‘nother tangent. But, the movie was good, a little long, but good.

Then, we picked up a pizza for the kids and headed out for a late night dinner. Being that Terry and I are serious foodies,, we love finding good places to eat. We went to the [Avia Hotel] and ate at their Lounge. It reminds us when we lived in St. Louis. The decor and the atmosphere is so unlike Savannah. The food and the drinks were delish! I ordered the Lobster Mac and Cheese. It was my birthday, had to go all out. Terry ordered the Chicken and Waffles. It was so good.

my lobster mac and cheese

terry's chicken and waffles

My birthday cake was not as extravagant as last years but it did include bacon again. I made a pecan praline with big chunks of bacon in it as a filling. I made a ginormous batch of that so that I could snack on it throughout the week. The cake itself was french vanilla cake filled with vanilla bavarian custard (maybe I should have added bacon to that…) and the bacon pecan praline. It was so good!