I Do Stuff…

Happy Birthday Everyone! copyright: pinkcakebox.com

My niece turned three a few weeks ago, two Saturdays ago was the party to celebrate.  Wolf Trap has a Theatre in the Woods which holds performances geared towards kids.  On Saturday Rocknoceros was playing the final concert of the year and we gathered to celebrate Ellie’s birthday with close friends and family.  The show itself was pretty cool, certainly entertaining.  As I looked around the venue it was funny to see all these adults and kids rocking out to some crazy music.  The lyrics are nothing complicated, teaching kids about the state of Virginia, or counting to 10 on their fingers.  After the performance we had a picnic in the woods which was  nice.

The following week was Pat’s birthday and my Dad planned a surprise dinner for her at the Heart in Hand in Clifton.  Pat knew about the dinner, she didn’t know that everyone showing up to help celebrate.  By everyone I mean everyone.  Bobby, Tracy, Matt, me, Nancy, Stephen and Audry all made it out to celebrate.  Nancy and I managed to arrive way early so we bellied up to the bar for a quick drink, shortly after Bobby and Tracy arrived.  We didn’t know it at the time, but my Dad got a drive to drop them off at the restaurant.  Bobby and Nancy were outside smoking and didn’t see the Lincoln Town Car pull up as the two of them got out, so much for the surprise.  Just about the time Pat arrived my brother and his girlfriend showed up.  While waiting for Matt to arrive we had another round of drinks before sitting down for some dinner.

The food there was great, the restaurant is certainly rustic on the inside and rather empty for dinner.  Besides our party of nine, there was only one other group seated for dinner.  Around 8:30 there was a live band and the bar area started to fill up quickly for that.  The locals don’t eat there, but they certainly use it as a watering hole.  After dinner I spent most of my time outside catching up with Stephen.  I don’t see him enough so when we do meet up I have a lot to talk about.  After disappearing for a while we decided to head back in, I was hoping to get one last class of an excellent Chilean wine, but the ladies polished the bottle off right proper.

Ellie blowing the candles out

After dinner we debated what to do next.  Bobby and Tracy didn’t have the kids, Nancy and I wanted to have a little more fun, plus it was a Friday night.  No sense in turning in early on a weekend.  We quickly made a call to Lulu Cafe to see if they had any private rooms available for a little karaoke action.  Surprisingly they had room for us so we quickly went from Clifton to Centreville to sing our hearts out.  We lost Stephen and Audrey but we managed to have a great time singing to classic songs everyone knows by heart but wont admit to knowing.  Late into the evening it was time for everyone to head home.

The following day was the last celebration for the week, for Nancy and I.  Her sister’s birthday was coming up on Monday so we took her to dinner Saturday night.  Her husband was in New York with his daughter and Maggie’s kids were with their father, she was all alone and we couldn’t have that.  She almost didn’t want to go out that night, but we twisted her arm to go to Bone Fish just down the street from her house.  We had a great time over drinks and a well prepared dinner.  Afterward, just like the two other birthdays this week, we headed out for drinks.  We didn’t go anywhere special, its cheaper to drink at home, so we opened a bottle of nice wine and settled in for a few hours of conversation.

In the span of seven days we celebrated three birthdays from the very young to the young at heart.  Each party was a blast and a chance to catch up with family and friends, some of whom I don’t see often enough.  I can’t remember the last time so many birthdays happened so close together.  Makes me wonder who’s birthday it is next?  I feel like a little partying!

Paradise Springs Winery

It was Nancy’s birthday the other day and we had a busy day planned to celebrate it.  The party started at a brand new winery in Fairfax, the first in the county in fact.  Paradise Springs Winery had their grand opening the same day as her birthday and what a perfect way to kick off a full day of celebrations.  Nancy and I arrived just after noon with few people there.  Because the place was hard to find and in the middle of no where, I thought the crowds would be pretty small.  Parking was easy and getting a tasting took only a few minutes.  However as the day progressed, more and more people showed up, literally bus loads at times.  By this time reinforcements arrived with food, my Dad and Pat.

We spent hours around this wine barrel we commandeered for the afternoon.  It allowed us a place to put all the food my Dad brought with him.  Fortunately Nancy, Tracy, Rob and myself arrived early enough we were able to get a tasting in before the hordes came.  It was to late for them to get a tasting because of the lines.  They trusted our judgment and got a bottle of Chardonnay and a Norton we all agreed was drinkable.  To be honest none of us were to thrilled with the offerings.  The wine was simply, ok.  Nothing spectacular and certainly nothing that blew our minds.  A pretty decent view more than made up for the mediocre wine.

Alto Plaza Centreville, VA

Late in the afternoon after killing several soldiers we parted ways, Nancy and I continued our adventure in birthday fun and everyone else went home.  We headed back to her apartment with Doug who arrived supper late to the winery for about an hour before dinner at Alto Plaza.  This allowed us to change into appropriate attire for dinner, but more importantly, get some football in.  Doug and I couldn’t see the whole game, but we saw enough to know New Orleans was going to win against the Cardinals.

Around 6 we finally left for the short drive to Alto Plaza where we had reservations.  We arrived right on time, but like usually we where the first to arrive.  When we got to the third floor they had a large table setup for us right next to a large bay window looking towards the mountains.  If the sun was setting it would have been a great view.  Being the first to arrive we decided to belly up to the bar in the lounge for a quick drink and to relax before things got crazy.  By about 7pm everyone else arrived; Jeremy, Nichole and Jeffrey with Rob coming from the winery like we did.  Dinner was fantastic.  The food was great and the service was impeccable.  The only issue we had was when we tried to pay the bill.  I had $225 in gift cards that I wanted to use, this would cut the total bill in half for everyone else.  Unfortunately the waitress said the gift cards where for the old restaurant and they wouldn’t’ accept it.  I was pissed.  Thankfully, she went to bat for us and they used all the gift cards.  If they wanted to get our business again this was what they needed to do.

Lulu Cafe (karaoke) Centreville, VA

After a wonderful meal our group again parted ways with some of our dinner guest headed over to Lulu Cafe for some karaoke.  Here we meet backup with Tracy and Bobby, Matt showed up as well for a loooooong night of singing.  We got there just before 10pm and snagged a private room in the back.  The guy showed us how to use the equipment and it was on after that.  The machine was in constant use till well after 2am when we finally left.  Everyone, including Matt, sang songs for hours.  By about midnight I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.  In fact several times I almost passed out in the back corner which was amazing considering how loud the music was.

Close to 3am is when we finally got Nancy back to her house.  It felt so good to finally go to sleep in a comfortable bed.  The whole day was great and a lot of fun, even if it did go to the wee hours of the morning.  Not only did Nancy say she had a great time, I could also tell because all day Sunday she was hung over and didn’t want to leave the house.  I was grateful to everyone that made it out for all or part of the day, it really made Nancy feel special having so many people show up.  Next years is a milestone year for her, she has kicked around a few ideas on how to celebrate it already.  It certainly a good idea to start planning 12 months in advance for some of these.