dining and a dining table

It took us a couple of months but we finally purchased a kitchen table this week. Like most things, we found it on Craigslist, and like most things on Craigslist, it needs a little work. When we first saw it in it's now previous environment I had my hesitations, but Landon, always one to see potential, saw what it could be and I trust his judgement. He got talking about sanding and refinishing and sounded really happy to have a project. I in turn was happy that the finished product would look (and smell) much better than my only interactions with it so far. He came home yesterday covered in dust with a big smile on his face, and reported good progress. So now, instead of feeling nervous about parting with my $50, I feel like we've adopted this table and are giving it a better home. And I can feel good about that. I'm very excited to see the finished product. And as functional as the white-board-laying-across-stacked-Rubbermaid-bins has been for a dining table, having a real table will be nice.

When Landon was no longer covered in dust, we both realized we were very hungry and soon set off on a quest for pizza (after a short pause to watch some basketball highlights- we're sad that the season is over). I don't know why we didn't just go to the pizza place a mile from our house, but I didn't question when we headed into downtown. We found some parking close to where we thought this place would be, and set off on foot to find it. I don't know if I ever fully convinced Landon that the by-the-slice place we were seeking was no longer in business, but after some fruitless though dedicated searching we headed back toward the car. In our driving and walking, however, we had passed "Pacific Crepes" several times, and as we walked back in the direction of our car, we decided to dine there instead of questing further for pizza. Which turned out to be a most excellent choice.

It was a pretty small place, and I was instantly intimidated by all the beautiful, genuine french that met my ears. I think I counted 3-4 people that worked there total, running the whole operation. And not only was the wait-staff all very french, so was everyone else in the restaurant. I managed to order something that sounded delicious AND was highly recommended by the waitress, and after that I began to feel a little less intimidated. It turned out to be a wonderful meal. Landon's french onion soup (the soup of the day, go figure) was amazing, my dinner crepe was amazing, our dessert crepe was amazing, and this quaint, delicious little place really grew on us very quickly. You can't really go wrong with crepes anyway, but we walked out of there full and happy, like it wasn't just a meal, it was an experience.

We returned to our car, which thankfully was a short walk, and realized that we only had four minutes to take advantage of free parking (it seems like everywhere downtown Santa Barbara is free for the first 75 minutes, I don't know why). We had to drive down several levels and had a car sneak in front of us and it got pretty intense there for a minute or two, but happy ending- we handed in our ticket with two minutes to spare. Which was good. Because not having $1.50 on us would have been awkward.

One 23

I was bracing myself for a very quiet birthday. It's never huge and flashy anyway (with the possible exception of last year, to give Landon some credit), but with Landon gone almost two weeks now with next to no communication and me visiting his grandparents who were already going above and beyond in hospitality, I didn't hold out much hope for a big celebration. Which was fine. It's never been of huge importance to have my birthday recognized in some extraordinary way, and especially with all the other recent and current events- for both families- it just wasn't at the top of my list to make a big deal about.

Last night though, as I went to bed, it started to sink in that my family is scattered across the nation at the moment and I probably wouldn't hear from Landon at all. And it hit me harder than I expected. But then my day came. I awoke this morning to Sydney bringing me a little german chocolate cake with a candle, and a gift bag full of goodies (like nice shampoo, which I've missed, and an adorable pair of earrings she picked out herself). My parents and parents-in-law had both sent gifts to the house, but of course I had opened them at midnight because it was technically my birthday and I couldn't wait any longer. So the birthday I was not expecting began early and stayed good all day. I took a nice long shower and made myself up a little for whatever was going to happen, then was taken to Laguna and treated to thai food- always a favorite. After that we did gelato for dessert- again, favorite- then headed back to the house where I made cupcakes. Because you have to have cupcakes on your birthday, ask any of my siblings.

Throughout the day I got to talk to many friends and family members dear to my heart. And for two minutes by satellite phone, I even got to talk to Landon :) It was completely unexpected and brief but wonderful, and I can go to bed tonight without the little letdown that I'm sure would have come in the absence of that phonecall no matter how grand the rest of the day was.

So I really did have a happy birthday.

Thanks everybody.