Quarter of a Century Thus Far

I've officially been a quarter of a century years old for over a week, and I've survived… I guess… I think. I can't say that 25 has been any more adventurous than 24, so far, but I had a blast making the transition. Since I didn't give much attention to my last few birthdays, I found a 1+ week long celebration more than appropriate.

Day 1 festivities actually started with my mom's birthday (1 week before mine) at one of our fave restaurants ever, Pappadeaux. We gorged with fresh french bread and scampi butter, gulf coast oysters on the half shell, shrimp and crawfish fondeaux, crispy salmon, jumbo crab and shrimp, and classic bread pudding with bourbon sauce.

The next day we followed our cajun dinner with a dual-birthday crawfish boil at our house.

It was our first boil to host and our first family party at the house. My father-in-law traveled down for the party and greeted my mom and me with the best birthday gifts.

I am an absolute sucker for fresh flowers, especially when they're this gorgeous.

I took a small birthday hiatus over the next few days, graced with an icky, nauseating cold, but rebounded as soon as possible for more birthday adventures.

The girls at work took me to lunch at Terra Mediterranean Grill in Fort Worth (Mediterranean buffet, yes please), and a co-worker whipped up the best birthday dessert - oreo pudding poke cake.

It was I-could-eat-ten-pieces delicious. No joke, I have a weakness for pudding/cake combo, especially if it's chocolate.

Later that night Jeff and I FINALLY bought a pair of kayaks, a to-do we've been discussing since college and a highlight of my week.

Then came my actual birthday, a day of realization that I cannot even try to claim I’m in my early 20's. At least that sad reality was smothered by a glorious day off from work, commencing with more fresh flowers from the hubs.

My dad and stepmom visited and treated me to a birthday lunch of choice... at Pappadeaux!!! I said fave restaurant, right? We sat on the patio in the most perfect weather possible and feasted on a another fab meal, this time blue point oysters on the half shell, greek salad, half shrimp po-boy, cup of seafood gumbo and the super secret off-the-menu best dessert ever - banana fosters cheesecake.

The only thing better than the dessert might have been the super awesome card my little brother drew for me, signed with wishes from the family and all.

That's Bogie, my dad's dog, and Mickie, my dog. Mickie's probably bigger than Bogie now, but the picture is pretty spot-on based on the day they met. Love!

Of course productivity would have to be incorporated into my birthday (aka running errands), and I didn't mind them at all, especially at this land of addiction :)

I finished the evening with a trip to Chuys with Jeff. Jeff managed to sneak a birthday FYI to our waiter, and when the waiter surprised me with candle-lit sopapillas, I was forced to stand on our booth while the entire restaurant sang happy birthday. Thanks Jeff for telling him to make it as embarrassing as possible! Lol.

So, you thought my birthday would end by now? Nope. Saturday festivities finished in Fort Worth. We celebrated with friends, cocktails and dinner at Yucatan Taco Stand, followed by a hilarious visit to the 4 Day Weekend improv show (1st visit!).

All of that was topped with an interesting St. Patty's Day dance party in West 7^th, a well-deserved end to what I'd call the best 25th birthday week possible.

Feeling like one special (and old) girl :)