Birthday Celebrations

Matt and I both had our birthdays in March, and we were able to fit a little celebrating into Matt's crazy, busy schedule. Matt was too tired to go out on his actual birthday, but we made it the next night to a Normal Heights restaurant: Jayne's Gastropub. It was a cozy, nice place (though a bit loud due to the tin ceiling, tile floor and mirrors on the walls), and Matt loved his meal so much that he did something that I don't think I've ever seen him do: suck meat off the bones. He was sweet enough to let me take a photo.

Matt really enjoyed his pork special.

My birthday dinner is still forthcoming, as Matt was too exhausted on the actual day to go. However, an artistic, lovely bouquet of flowers arrived to brighten my day.

The roses smelled, and still smell, fresh and sweet.

The next day we headed up to Los Angeles to pick-up boxes, see Matt's parents and celebrate with some close friends at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

Abe, Shawn, me, Nico, Tyler and Matt—and the yummy peach bellinis.

I celebrated by ordering the outrageously expensive peach bellini and enjoyed every drop. The couches allowed us to lounge about in the renovated original lobby of the hotel. While the area was full for a Saturday night, we had lots of room and didn't even consider trying to go to the poolside club.

I think Abe got a little jealous about how well this photo of his boyfriend, Frank, and me turned out.

Tyler and I are actually very friendly people.

While our group was quite engaged with itself, Nico and I found some interesting people watching while in the bathrooms. I think all of our group was casually dressed in jeans: the bathroom ladies were in full-effect going out mode. The skirts were short and tight, and everything had a label. The effect was actually not so good, and the labels not so real.

Nico was able to keep the ever-fading Matt awake and engaged.

For me b-day, Shawn gave me two welcomed books on hiking in San Diego/ Southern California area.

I was hoping to spot a celebrity so that I could pass the news along to our friends who don't live in SoCal, but it wasn't to be. The closest I came was hearing someone mention Cuba Gooding Junior's name as we left the hotel. There was actually a one-degree removed celebrity sighting on Saturday: Matt's sister, Lindsey, saw and said hello to Moby at the Ritz in Laguna Niguel.