just to make me happy

Loryn said it best, but I am damn lucky to have such great friends.  Loryn, Bri and Amber took me out on Saturday for my birthday and helped me cross off things on my "eat before I move" list.  We started out with a mad dash in the rain to Perla's for oysters and wine.

As you can see, we chowed them down (well, Amby abstained), taking advantage of our waitress's offer to choose a variety of oysters from all over the country.  I think the New York and Maine oysters were the group favorites, but it was so fun to have a "tasting" and get to compare the West/East coasts.

After a few glasses of sauvignon blanc, malbec and pinot noir, we headed down the street to Enoteca for a delicious meal of calamari, caprese salad, pizza with prosciutto and a fried egg, and linguine with seafood and arribiata sauce.  It was so good.  After dinner, they had a few glasses of prosecco (perfect!) and a yummy flourless chocolate cake brought out.  (The rest of the cake is still in my refrigerator and taunting me with its delicious, delicious calories...)  The girls got me the most beautiful flowers that sit on my dining table, reminding me that I have people in this world that love me more than I could ever deserve.  They weren't all there on Saturday (and some of them were taking the picture above), but I'm so blessed to have women in my life that would spend their Saturday afternoon running around town, finding places that I'd love to eat at (and that I could check off my blog-to-do list!), arranging for flowers and dessert to be there when I arrive... just setting up the perfect night to make me happy.  When did I get so lucky?

(Thanks Amby, for being our personal event photographer.  I love that first picture more than any photo we've taken in the last few years; it's really useful to have a best friend so talented.)