Birthday Surprise
I love birthdays.
Every January, I take every opportunity to say “it’s my birthday month!” until the day gets closer and it becomes “it’s my birthday week!” or “it’s my birthday weekend!”. And I just don’t love my own birthday, I love other people’s birthdays too! I just really enjoy the idea of celebrating that special day when we were born into this world. However, for my 29th birthday, something changed… Suddenly I was no longer announcing it to the whole world. I didn’t want to make any big plans. In fact, I was kinda dreading it. I thought 29 seems depressing (at least 30 is special). I thought 29 was kind of a downer (booo…)
But somehow, even though I declared to friends that I am ignoring my birthday this year, I still found myself… celebrating. It started on Monday, when I hosted Girls Night which turned out to be an early birthday celebration, filled with great company (thanks Sabs and Art!) and lots of food (of course). We had 3 different kinds of cheeses, garlicky hummus, old-school carbonara, great wine, and cupcakes! Then, the night before the big day, the boyfriend and I got together for a gym session and a nice pre-birthday dinner at Legal Seafoods. I ordered the vegetarian box – the irony of ordering a veggie dish at a seafood restaurant was not lost on me so I opted for the added shrimp. It was all good until… I got FOOD POISONING.
Yeah, I got so sick (like, horribly sick) and it was not pretty. My sweet boyfriend took care of me, buying me Gatorade and M&Ms (because I requested chocolate to make me feel better). I worked from home the next day and really did feel better, especially because I received so many warm wishes and loving birthday greetings from friends and family. That night, we didn’t get to go out and I didn’t get to do the things I planned; instead we stayed in and ordered Chinese and watched the Celtics game (they won!) – and it turned out to be an awesome night.
So that was my big birthday surprise: getting sick after trying to eat healthy, and being forced to stay at home after planning a chore-filled day. But there were other, better, heart-warming surprises too: getting calls and messages all throughout the day, receiving presents when I was not expecting any, and best of all, truly enjoying a day that I was initially dreading. At the end of the day, I felt so special and loved.
By the time the weekend rolled around, I was so relaxed and energized. I am convinced more than ever that: lots of rest + bikram yoga + chocolates = best prescription ever for any kind of sickness!
And let’s not forget that I also ate at my favorite restaurant of all time, Stella, with the boyfriend and one of my best friends and forever-eating partner, GP. We ate soooooo much food at Stella, starting with the steak tartare appetizer and the quattro funghi pizza, massive entrees, and dessert – I had two (yes, two desserts in one night!): one, the birthday dessert on the house which was the chocolate mousse cup (yayy) and two, vanilla and chocolate gelatto (double yayy). Stella is really my happy favorite place and going there with my loved ones always gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling of satiation and contentment.
Eye candy: the bf’s first appearance on the blog
My birthday week (hey, I’m back to calling it that!) was capped off with catching up on DVR’d TV shows, more yoga (and chocolate) and a tasty, home-made chicken quesadilla dinner. It was perfect. So on my 29th birthday, I remembered the reasons why I love birthdays in the first place: it’s not just about the parties and the big plans; it’s about making memories, and spending time with the people you love most in the world, and celebrating all the things that make you happy to be you. On my 29th birthday, I ate, I lived, I loved.
For everyone out there, I hope you all get to enjoy your birthdays this year as much as I enjoyed mine. And to borrow Fe’s words, may you have a great day today and everyday!
PS – Birthday shout-outs to my BFFs Lora and Jop!! Belated happy birthday to you us. I love you guys, always and forever.
Hi! I’m Bianca Garcia. I love food, running, yoga, sangria, and my job. I'm an advertising professional, social media enthusiast, blogger, freelance writer, and obsessive list-maker. I think about dessert constantly. 
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