My Birthday!

Holy Hannah, have I been a terrible blogger lately! It's been two whole months since my last update, and I feel like such a slacker. So much has happened since September, and it's crazy that I've neglected giving any updates! So first let me say that I'm sorry, and THEN let me say that I already have a ton of updates written to publish over the next week... So you'll be all caught up! More or less.

At any rate, let's start with my birthday! This past Monday I celebrated turning 26, and I had an amazing day. Actually if you want to get technical, we celebrated my birthday the whole week beforehand, too. One night Dan made me a gigantic meal and cleaned the entire apartment (top to bottom!), and the next day he took me to a concert (or two), then the next he had beautiful flowers delivered, and nearly every night we'd go out for fanciful dinners with friends... I was exceptionally spoiled. For the actual night of my birthday we got a group of friends together and went to Level Dining Lounge to eat like kings and party the night away. It was amazing.

Two very sweet friends (Heather and Colleen) handmade my birthday cake, which was this awesome steampunk floral delight that made everyone super excited. It tasted fantastic, and the pictures just really fail to do it any justice. 

I was really touched by everyone's gifts, and kind words during the party. I had honestly felt like everyone's presence was a huge gift to me, because every single person that sat at that table was just as busy as I usually am, and have just as much going on as I do, and they all made the effort. Plus, they are all so freaking talented! I spent about an hour talking about each person's abilities, whether it be with singing, or dancing, or sculpting, or styling, or acting... I mean, it went on, and on, and on. My friends are all incredible, and I'm super lucky to get to spend big moments of my life with them. 

This birthday might have been the best one yet. I was so thankful for not only my party, but to those that wrote huge posts about our friendships, and sent cards, and letters, made videos, and wrote songs, and sent me a bazillion messages online. My phone exploded all day, and I loved it!  

It was so effortless for those around me to stop for a second and celebrate with me, and I think that that was just the coolest thing ever. You know? 

Happy 26th!  

Surprise! It's A Birthday Party.

Last Saturday I took some time out of my crazy hair sculpting to throw Dan a surprise birthday party, and it was a blast! I'd been planning it since the end of January, and despite all of the insanity of the last few months (friends passing away, getting bronchitis, getting ready for the show, and adopting May), I somehow managed to throw a very smooth affair (with the help of our beautiful friends of course).

Since Dan makes every day feel incredibly special for me, it was only fitting that I did my best to give him at least one day where he felt extra special, too. After days of searching, I found an online seller who would custom make an edible Delorean cake topper, and 2 dozen hand painted Back to the Future cupcake toppers, since that's one of Dan's favorite movies ever. The seller, Tutu Cute Cakes, went all out on making my order as detailed as possible. The Delorean was made of Rice Krispy treats and fondant, and weighed a good 3 pounds. The topper was placed on a custom gluten-free fudge cake, with chocolate fudge icing in between a double layer of deliciousness.  

The appetizer spread was pretty basic, but ended up being a crowd pleaser. I ordered two of Dan's favorite Chipotle bowls and made it into a dip, which was eaten up so fast I didn't even see it go! This paired with a never ending veggie and cheese tray did well to tide everyone over.

But, because I like to spoil Dan and all of his incredibly awesome friends, we also made steak and chicken kabob appetizers. Victoria did a special marinade for both meats, and then she sauteed peppers and onions and we made little bites for everyone to enjoy. I had purchased these lovely party picks from The Pretty Paper Shop and used those to skewer the kabobs. They were such a hit that I didn't even get to take pictures of them before they were inhaled!

We spent a good chunk of Saturday morning decorating the downstairs area of my apartment. In my rush to make sure everything was perfect, I neglected to get pictures in the front room, but it ended up being ridiculously festive. By the start of the evening (before guests arrived), Victoria and I finished the hanging of the 100th balloon, took a step back, and just started squealing. It was almost time! It was almost happening! 

I was so proud of our secret keeping and hard work (obviously, I mean, look at the mom face I'm making in that picture.) In all seriousness though, we have such a great group of friends that it was impossible to not be elated all night by the abundance of good company. My face never once stopped making a goofy smile, and by the end of the night, my cheeks were sore from the amount of laughing done. I feel stupidly blessed to have had all of these faces under my roof!

^^^ Look at that face!

Annnnd like a silly person, I also neglected to get pictures of the actual surprise portion of the party. I was just too excited to even think about it. Initially, I had told Dan that I had a shoot at the Wilds with zebras and that I wanted him to come with me. He agreed and took the night off of work, having absolutely no idea that I was scheming to throw him a 27th birthday party. There were times when his best friend and I thought he was onto us, but then I'd play it cool and change the subject off of birthday parties, and eventually he'd forget about it. When he walked in the door to be greeted by 16 of his good friends, he turned bright red and laughed louder than I've ever heard him laugh before. The highlight of my night, from start to end, was that moment right there.

Happy birthday, Dan!