Kicking Off A Whole Month of Birthday

Today was one of the best birthday celebrations I've ever had. Started with brunch at Ella's with a group of friends, and then a tour of my apartment. K. (M.) C. presented me with a hand-knit birthday crown, and a Glitter Pony beribboned and bestickered birthday wand. 'Cuz ya gots ta luv da glitter poneez. I gamely wore the birthday crown into our first stop - Gloria Ferrer - where the staff studiously ignored it. Finding it extremely difficult to make eye contact with people while sporting the crown, I decided it could also work as the birthday belt. Still whimsical, less intimidating. We shared 2 bottles of champagne and had a great table on the patio overlooking the - valley? Seemed like a valley.

Next on the tour was Schug - free tastings, low-key, friendly pourers. I bought two bottles of the sauvignon blanc, b/c I'm in a white phase right now. Summer weather, I guess. One of the things I liked about this place was that besides the posters showing the different types of cheese, or wine grapes - they had one showing various donuts.

Our next destination was the Sonoma town square, where we went to the wine exchange for wine AND beer tasting - and I identified a wine as tasting like Lipton's Lemon Iced Tea. Not bad, just - a lot like iced tea. We sampled cheeses at Sonoma Jack, then ended up getting sandwiches there and enjoying them as we picnicked in the park.

Just a beautiful day, with beautiful people, and I felt both well taken care of and well-loved.