Comments (0) To celebrate my cousin and uncle’s birthdays we gathered in the East Bay for some good old fashioned family fun. Outside of San Francisco and Folsom, the East Bay is my third home. I love the hot weather, the short distance between Filbert Street and Diablo Road and of course, the aunts, uncles and cousins who are there for my entertainment and company.
Aren’t we precious?!
Happy Belated Birthday Stinks!
The trolley that could get me drunk that is. It’s was Kellan’s 26th birthday and one of the warmest days in the city since I’ve lived here. We decided to celebrate her special day in true San Francisco fashion: Trolley Crawl!
Saturday morning started out with brunch at Lee Anne’s. (Congrats to her on grad school BTW!!) Anyway…after a couple cheesy scones and birthday cupcakes, we sang Kellan a very special birthday song: Mmmm…Kellan. That looks like a delicious “ICE-Y” cake!
So once satiated by our delicious homemade brunch, we popped downstairs to start on our merry trolley way…
Kellan had planned an entire day of activities, traveling from Bar A to Bar B, including a special stop on the Marin side of the Golden Gate for a quick photo op and some champagne…So we headed down the road and landed ourselves at the quintessential tourist view point.
Once we gobbled down our champagne, thoroughly embarrassing ourselves in public, we hopped back on our trolley to head to our first drunken hot spot.
SIDE NOTE: If you didn’t already know this about me, consider yourself informed. I HATE being hot. I don’t like the sticky feeling of humidity. I don’t like standing still in the heat perspiring like crazy. And I don’t like being hot while I’m drunk.
So as we turn the roundabout to merge onto the freeway we realize our trolley seems to be slowing down…slower and slower…I’m not sure if the driver just ran out of gas or is the trolley just stopped working. But there we were…the side of the Golden Gate Bridge…in a trolley…in the heat…This is me not happy.
Of course to keep us distracted we did have minis and friends…
So after about 2 hours we had a separate trolley come pick us up…Our plan was to hit up three different bars in three different neighborhoods (names for the most part I don’t remember.) However, to make a VERY long story short, every bar turned us down with the exception of one.
I don’t know what the name of this dive was, but it was creepy…Just a quick glimpse…
Clearly at this point we were a bit schnockered, which led to some great decisions like…
A. Inviting strangers on the trolley:
B. Pole dancing through the streets:
C. Icing (Please note Kellan’s face in the background. Classic):
And finally D. Going to Paxti’s…To sum up our experience. We ordered several pizzas, bottles of wine and a TON of water. As we exited the building (thankfully without being escorted out) the manager came up and laughed about how he’s starting to recognize us. I do not take this as good news. Here’s why…
Just another Saturday Faturday. I heart you San Francisco.
On Tuesday, May 11 the love of my life celebrated her first birthday…
On Monday, May 17 we celebrated her life with friends and treats!
Happy Birthday Lolita!
And here’s a glimpse at all the peeps who love you…
Today, May 11, is Lola’s official first birthday! Here’s a look at when she was just six weeks…
Now one year later, still adorable!
(PS I never thought I would be as creepily obssessed with my dog as I am. barf)
You know you only turn 26 once, so you might as well celebrate. With Mary officially closer to 30 than 20, we had much reason to enjoy the weekend!
After a Wednesday evening of shenanigans, including sushi at Umami, Jameson at Notte, Mojitos at East Side West, Tequila at KTs and of course wine at Balboa, we closed out the night with a walk home to drop off the birthday girl (literally drop).
Along the way we ended up giving Mary a birthday gift should wouldn’t soon forget…Somehow (and details are blurry) Mary tripped over Jen and landed face first on the sidewalk in front of her apartment. As Jen rolled her over, I kept yelling “Oh my gawd! Does she have all her teeth?!” Thanks to the heavens above Mary did have all her teeth, but walked away with a couple scratches and a pretty awesome fat lip. The next morning around 5am the following text exchange occured:
Mary: I had to call in b/c I have a FAT lip. I hate u. I’m hungover and have an oozing fat lip. It’s 5:30am ps. I hate u…but love u.
Me: Dude I know. You fell on your face last night. U and Jen tripped and u went face first to the ground.
Mary: Called in (to work) ’fat lip’…literally. U should c it 
I can’t believe I’m not missing a tooth….I hate u…I mean really? I’m 26 and falling…any chance you have my wallet?
So classic. For the record…more than the amount of liquor she drank, no offense Mary, but YOU ARE SUCH A CLUTZ!
Aside, Thursday night we packed the car and headed up with the girls to Tahoe for a birthday weekend getaway. On Friday, Mary, Brooks and Kel headed up to the slopes, while Stina, Lola and I stayed back at the house…
After a very stressful day (haha…totally not) we headed to the backyard (aka the national park) and popped into the hot tub for some wine and gossip!
That night we had a mini birthday party for Mary, complete with her favorite…ice cream sundaes!
Saturday we decided to take things easy so we headed up to the Lahontan spa for yet another day of hot tubbing, margaritas and girl chat. So much to do, so little time. That night we had reservations at my most favorite Tahoe restaurant, Garwoods! The food is delicious, but the cocktails are to die for! The Wet Woody is AMAZING (note the green straws)!
Of course the tricky thing about the Wet Woodys, just like with any woody, they sneak up on you! We got home and played a couple rounds of “I’ve Never,” learning things about each other we would have never guessed! (Well maybe you could have guessed, in fact with our friends, you could probably just have assumed.)
Aside, the night went on, Bel (Kellan’s alter ego) joined in on the fun…Brooks and I fancied fur…Mary got a 1000yrd stare…so on and so on…
Sunday we got up early (I was shocked too), cleaned up the house (well, okay, I slept in) and we stopped at Red Robin (my former employer and home of the smiling burger). Got back to the city by two and made a delicious family dinner!
Another great weekend…Happy Birthday Mary! Thanks for being born so we could have a fantastic weekend celebration! Looking forward to next year!!
(PS How good do I look in fur? I was totally born in the wrong era.)
I typically start planning my birthday celebration in December, specifically around December 26. I look forward to each passing year’s mark as a reason to party, and preferably not just on February 4th, but for the entire month. I’m going to assume last weekend will be the final celebration before my friends start bitching, so here’s just a quick recap and thank you to all those who came out!
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What was supposed to be a quiet dinner party for a couple friends turned into a gathering of all sorts…from Mickey’s 40s to Margaritas we were celebrating in style!
Thanks to Kellan for her delicious cake….and to Rosie for the boozy cupcakes (yes, there’s liquor inside).
After our fantastic fajita feast we headed to the one and only KT’s for some cocktails and good times…Loved the Sevens, the booth, the free drinks (thanks to my sugar daddy) and of course, the company!
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Oh and thanks to this SCU alum (who I had previously only met one time) who provided me such a good laugh during our Sunday morning weekend recap…On our way out of KTs he awkwardly hopped in our cab, joined us for a slice of pizza, came back to our apartment, blended up some margaritas and passed out in my room. I only wish I had seen his face when he woke up the next morning…classic.
I guess it’s sort of become a tradition, and with the coincidental timing of my conference at work, it just made sense to celebrate my birthday in Vegas again this year. So on Friday, February 28 I set off for my 10-day extravaganza in the beautiful city of sin… Viva las Vegas !
I was thrilled to be staying at The Mirage simply because of my several trips to Vegas I have only been to this hotel once… The last couple of trips I stayed at Caesar’s, The Wynn and Paris, so The Mirage had a lot to live up to…In my book, the first couple hours of your trip is indicative of how your entire stay will play out…So when I entered the baggage claim and found Diane with a sign for Mirage Limo Service and my last name, I knew I was headed in the right direction (literally).
The conference started on Monday, but I was there a couple days in advance to prepare for the opening night Fashion Show. Despite the several hours of work required Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I found time to party it up.
Day One: On Friday afternoon I was thrilled to discover my friend Adrian happened to be in Vegas celebrating the birthday of his childhood buddy. So after a delicious dinner with the team I headed over to Encore to meet up with Adrian and his all male review. Knowing I had to be up for a meeting at 9am, I tried my best to resist, but I couldn’t help but stay out with the guys…we wandered through the casinos and ended up back at Revolution for “Latino Night” (wierd, I know).
Day Two: Saturday was filled with work until around 2am when I decided it was a good idea to meet up with Adrian at The Wynn’s Tryst Nightclub. Let’s just say he had a friend I was ‘interested in’ and was willing, yet another night, to stay out a little late. (I now refer to Adrian as my good luck charm.) This resulted, of course, in the need for a nap on Sunday. (Again, thanks to my little lucky charm), it was a fantastic nap.
Days Three -Six: Once the conference began I was buckled down with business. Professionalism ensued. On Tuesday night I joined the team for some dinner, dancing and drinks at Pure. Such a good time. Oddly the girl from The Hills, Spencer Pratt’s sister was there. She is totally skanky. Gross. Unfortunately for me, Wednesday resulted in a HORRIBLE case of food poisoning for myself and a couple other peeps on my team. I took this as God’s way of saying, you need 40 hours of sleep for what’s about to happen. I acknowledged and slept through Wednesday straight to Thursday.
Day Seven: I was awakened by Cravings Breakfast Buffet (which I was barely able to enjoy) and the thought of my friends arriving in a short couple of hours. Milo and I enjoyed my first birthday cocktail before the Christie/Kristy’s arrived.
That night we went to the Michael Mina’s restaurant, Nobhill Tavern, and I ate a delicious meal of bangers and mash…Looking back this probably wasn’t the best choice in regards to a night of boozing ahead, but it was mmm good! During that meal Kristy #2 pussed out, puked and ended up going home after we ate. This left Milo, Christie #1 and I up to no good.
Over the course of the evening Christie danced on stage, I made out with a girl, we convinced a stranger we were swingers looking to meet some new additions and I earned a lot of free shots! (Don’t we look classy?!)
Day Eight: Friday was definitely one of my favorites! Myles showed up at Margaritaville after telling us he wouldn’t be able to make it. In true Myles fashion we had not idea he was coming to Vegas and while we’re enjoying lunch he shows up and says “Surprise” like it’s no big whoop! Oh gaysians…they’re crazy!
Friday night we had a delicious birthday dinner at Boa’s in Caesar’s. Great dinner…rounds of tequilla and of course, one HUGE birthday candle. (Despite my skills, I couldn’t blow this one out. Hopefully my wish still comes true.)
After dinner we headed to Pure (yes, my second night there). A fantastic table was awaiting us…vodka, a creepy guy named Ricky and a whole lot of dancing filled our night with good times! (Thanks to Milo for the CC that night!) After the club, we did some gambling and enjoyed a $20 sandwich the size of Mary’s head, all in the hopes our hotel room would eventually be freed up for us to sleep. (I’ll let you figure that one out). All I have to say is Stina, Blaire, Mary and I ended up in one of the two beds.
Day Nine: Despite going to bed at 5:30am on Friday morning, we weren’t going to let Saturday pass quietly. What was intended to be a breakfast buffet at Cravings (my third time there), ended in a bottomless mimosa brunch that lasted until 3pm.
Needless to say, we were drunk after our 18th or so bottle of champagne. (Thanks to our server Lee for the consistent refills. That was a hard earned tip.) The afternoon concluded with two people having some sexy time in the bathroom, one person puking into a bucket in the closet and the rest of us dancing around while housekeeping changed the sheets (thank gawd).
As you can imagine Saturday night was not nearly as aggressive. It was my day nine and everyone elses’ day two/three. It was rough. We made it to dinner, a couple hotels, but couldn’t stay up past 3am.
Day Ten: On Sunday, as I boarded my place home to San Francisco, I thought to myself…despite what everyone says, maybe 10 days in Vegas isn’t too long.
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