29

In 361 days I will be turning the big 3-0! Good thing I have time for that since I just turned 29 on Thursday. I look at birthdays as a number and a new year. I am not one to celebrate or go crazy. With that said, I was sold on a few celebrations this year. The pictures tell the story of the weekend!

Thursday, April 7th ( My actual Birthday!)

Blowout with my sister for a weekend of celebrating! 

Family Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory!

Friday- I spent the day in NYC visiting with a friend from college for lunch and then seeing my best friend for dinner and drinks! I met Eric at Bryant Park and we walked up to Central Park catching up along the way. We made a stop at Ivy Bar & Grill on 8th Ave and 55th Street. Eric lives in LA and was in for the weekend to celebrate his birthday which fell on Saturday! It was super nice to catch up alone as the following night we were reuniting with friends for his birthday dinner!

Delicious Grilled Flatbread 

Tree-lined 11th Street. One of my favorite areas!

Dinner at Rosemary's NYC 

Rosemary's is a wonderful Italian restaurant in the West Village. They have an open rooftop space opened for everyone so you eat and drink in the restaurant. We went on the earlier side so there were plenty of children enjoying it. Everything from service to food was delicious and I would highly recommend it! I can't wait to go back! Unfortunately I didn't get too many photos as our drinks and conversations were the main part of the evening. Above is the Cavatelli! We also shared the Focaccia Taleggio Tartufi and Gorgonzola Dolce! 

Saturday ( Eric's Bday Dinner and Mini College Reunion)

The northeast was hit with cold rain, some hail and even some snowflakes. What happened to spring? Winter go home we are over you. That wasn't going to stop me from heading back into NYC to Eric and some of our other friends from college. I still can't believe we are out almost 7 years. Luckily I have seen Eric during my trips to Vegas when he was living there and Ashley and Alina are in the NYC area so we catch up even though not as often as I would like, Ashley E and Luisa also joined us as well and it was a great evening reminiscing of our college days! We shared stories of how we each met, what everyone was up to these days and who was married, who had kids, and where other friends were! 

Dinner reservations were at 7:15 at Beauty & Essex on the Lower East Side. The restaurant and lounge is hidden behind a working pawn shop, something I knew as I have been there before. I met Eric and Ashley at his hotel earlier and we took Uber to the restaurant. It was nice to catch up the three of us! When we arrived Eric looked a little confused but once we arrived as you can imagine. We waited for the rest of our party to arrive before being seated. The table would be my only issue as you can see in the picture it was on the small size and not really doable for the sharing of all the plates we ordered. However we made do and had the best time! 

"Trash" Tracy & Ashley (our name from college)

4 of us celebrate April birthday's!
(L-R) Ashley, Luisa, Ashley E, me, Alina,Eric

We shared a bunch of mini plates, Lobster Tacos, Piquillo Pepper, and Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon & Tomato Soup Dumpling. Everything was out of the world. I could have easily eaten 4 tacos, but I stuck with just one which was good since my Beauty & Essex Burger was mouth-watering. Hands down the best burger I've had. The goat feta was seriously the best. We ended the night with 4 mini cupcakes to celebrate our birthday's! 

We don't always get to see each other but when we are reunited it's like we saw each other the other day. College provided me with some lifelong friends and I am super grateful we were able to celebrate together!

Before I know it 3-0 will be here. For now I will enjoy 29! 

XoXo,

Tracy