This weekend I celebrated my 40th birthday, 3 years early. I'll explain... When I lived in Vancouver, my closest friends (aside from a few who I met in grad school) were the girls I lived with in a shared house. They had all gone to UBC as well, for their undergraduate degrees, and had graduated a good 4 years before I showed up on their doorstep answering an ad for their vacant room. We all got along great, and their circle of friends became mine too, kicking off what was for me one of the most carefree and enjoyable three-year periods in my life. We threw crazy parties, went out for drinks too often, and sampled so much of the delicious food that Vancouver has to offer--anyway, just setting the pretext: these girls know how to enjoy life!
So when Linda suggested that we all get together for a long weekend in California's wine country to celebrate turning 40, I couldn't pass it up. I didn't have to plan one thing besides clicking "buy" on my own plane ticket; they had the rental house, transportation, and itinerary all figured out and I just arrived on a Thursday in San Franscisco. On Friday we toured and tasted at wineries, eating gourmet cheeses, pates, nuts, and chocolate all the way to "cleanse the palate." Our limo driver Phil was a suave dude with a slicked back ponytail who turned out to know a lot more about wine than any of us, so after a few stops we let him do the choosing and the wine did improve markedly. Either that or the previous wine was taking effect? In any case we had a wonderful day getting reacquainted (it'd been at least 6 years since I was last in Vancouver) and soaking up the abundant sunshine and wine.
On Saturday we perused the Napa Farmers Market for breakfast, did some shopping, and landed at a spa in the afternoon. I had a local Calistoga mud treatment and a mineral bath soak, while others had aromatherapy massages and cleansed toxins in the steam room. Finally, we were ready for a fancy french dinner at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville, followed by divine chocolate desserts and oysters at Bouchon. The two full days sped by and in no time I was back on the plane to Boston, excited to kiss the heads of my little munchkins and totally rejuvenated by all the luxuriating. Oh, and did I mention I have the best husband in the world for taking care of the kids, pets, and house by himself for 4 days while I traipsed around being extravagant? And the house was spotless when I got home- what is up with that?! If I didn't know better I'd think he finds it easier when I'm not there!
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