Happy Birthday to.....ME!!!! :-D

I just had one of THE BEST birthdays I've ever had...this year (instead of having a party or dinner) I decided to do a 'pay-it-forward' party where people did nice things for strangers and then told me about it. There were people all over the world who let me know fun stuff they did and it was AWESOME!!!!!! As always....photo documentation:

You can click on this image to make it bigger and read the description of my birthday event :)

I woke up and came downstairs for my breakfast and saw this *awesome* birthday sign made for me by my roommates!

A close-up - they know me so well...

Even 'Juliette' said happy birthday!

At this point I want to tell you about all the great things people did for my "Un-Birthday Party." This picture was sent to me by Simon, a friend in London - he bought a meal for a stranger and explained why (LOVE that I got a picture of it!)

• Christie - fed some expiring meters (shh! don't tell the meter maids) and gave a Whole Foods gift card to a homeless man
• Shaniece - got soup for a sick Harvard student who sat next to her in the student lounge
• Brianna - baked cookies for her coworkers (and they looked delicious!)
• Jennifer - volunteered at Rosie's Place to help feed homeless women dinner
• Lacey - made promotional materials for a charity she's helping start up in Yancey County 
• Jenny - made soup and homemade bread and shared it with a father and son who no longer had a shelter to stay in
• Obehi - prayed for a woman who needed it
• Sheba - did fundraising for Leukemia 
• Sung Yun - gave up her seat on a crowded train to an elderly woman
• Ms. Christi - helped a student clean up (literal) spilled milk
• Jessica - gave a piece of birthday cake to the worker at Amsterdam Falafel
• Alex - got a job at Bullhorn!!!! (not really related, but it happened on my birthday and we've been waiting for this for weeks so I was super excited!!!!)
• Others - I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting or that weren't relayed to me but I know they happened!

After work I headed out to Sam's at Louis for a quick drink with a coworker

Isn't the view gorgeous???

I <3 Boston

Tagged the wall with a bday wish to me! :) 

I have *THE BEST ROOMMATES* on the planet!!!!! Little did I know they had a surprise party planned for me when I got home, but I decided to stop and grab a bite to eat at Amsterdam Falafel and was taking too long to get home...so they brought they party to me!!! I was *thoroughly* surprised, joyful, and thankful!!!

My awesome roomies <3

They even had the apartment decorated for me! I still got to enjoy it when we all got home haha...

Birthday present from my sister Madeline - how awesome are these bookends???

And the birthday continues...my mom and brother flew into Boston the day after my birthday so I woke up and got even more goodies!!! Presents and homemade chocolate chip cookies from my Daddio :-D

~Seriously this is by far one of the most memorable and happiest birthdays I've ever had - I felt so incredibly loved and cared for!!! Thank you to everyone who made my day so so special, whether it was from a silly voicemail (looking at you Sheila), a gift certificate for yummy crepes from my fellow French-girl Chessa, calls from friends and family, emails, posts on Facebook, or text messages...I felt so so sooooooooo special!!!!~

Transitioning into non-birthday pictures...I got to babysit this sweet girl a couple of weeks ago!

Love her to pieces!!!

One Saturday Nasry and I went to a free cooking class put on by the Boston Natural Areas Network on making dips, dressings, and vinaigrettes at the Future Chef's office in downtown Boston  

Ready, set, MAKE!

Great teaching kitchen with tons of space and tools

Ready to try what we made!

Finished products

Oh my goodness it was all so good! My favorite was the honey-kissed cilantro vinaigrette 

Aletheia had our annual Kids Team picnic after church a couple Sundays ago...

...the 3-legged race was a success!

First *official* house dinner at the apartment - Nasry and Abigail made this amaaaaaaaaaaazing Latin fare

Homemade chips and everything!!

Fall is here!!! (It's my favorite season)

..and with it comes colds and/or the flu. Home remedy? A hot toddy (mmmmmm)

Walking to the train station after a work event last week - Boston = Beautiful.

I was craving Outback's Chocolate Thunder dessert so badly last week, but there are none within a 50 mile radius of me (that I'm aware of), so I decided to make my own. Betty Crocker's Fudge Brownie Mix was a given...but the gamechanger here was the Hood Golden Vanilla ice cream. SO. GOOD.

On Saturday morning I met up with my friend (and former colleague) Robyn, creator of A Modest Life blog, for some design tips and general life advice (she's good for that!) at Fuel America in Brighton. It was great to catch up and I learned a lot of useful info, so get ready to see some updates to the blog soon!

Afterwards I decided to explore the food scene a bit in Brighton (since I'm hardly ever down there) and came across this gem: The Proper Slice.

The search for the perfect slice of pizza is OVER - you *must* get the potato bacon slice. The crust has just the right amount of chew. The flavors are there. The sour cream drizzle and scallions are spot on. Pure Pizza Heaven - yours for the low price of $4.

And later that night, my friend Hope took me out to dinner at Jose's in Cambridge. I felt like I was home! There was a *legit* parking lot (only fellow Bostonians will understand the rarity that is a *free* parking lot) and the food was cheap AND delicious - just as Mexican should be.

Chimichanga FTW

This past Sunday Gloria decided she wanted to come see my new apartment and do arts & crafts (her favorite).

She got a kick out of my roommates (J-Ho made her laugh)

And she made beautiful Halloween pumpkins! 

It's official - baby brother is in town!!! (He's a goober!)

Also official: FALL. My *favorite* season. Just looking at this picture makes me incredibly happy.

And there you have it! A KILLER birthday and so much fun and good times with kids, friends, and family. I am *LOVING* 27, being in Boston, having Aletheia as my home church, working at Bullhorn, and having family in town - it really can't get much better than this!!! :-D