So Many Celebrations!

So much has been happening in the past few days and I have been too busy celebrating to share!

This weekend we celebrated Jon's roommate, Mike's, birthday on Friday with lots of food (yep, two more delicious skinnytaste dips from me!), drinks, and dancing. But that Friday also happened to be another very big birthday in my life: my moms!

To celebrate her turning one year older younger and wiser, we had lots of activities planned.

On Thursday night we headed to Ironfish with Marsha and Shelby for our very own girls night. Ironfish, owned by the same people as Pescados, offers a delicious assortment of seafood (as well as other meat options) and is the perfect place to have a special night out. Two glasses of champagne, four delicious meals (try the scallops!), lots of laughter, too many stories and one dessert (with a candle) later, we were all on our way home from a wonderful night.

Since Friday was my Mom's actual birthday, and she was still in Richmond, Jon and I got to see her and officially ring in her very new age with a quick lunch together. It was one of the first times since my pre-college days I have seen her on the actual day, so it was great to tell her in person instead of over the phone.

A picture of Mom and me from New York

As mom headed home I headed to my new favorite spot: the kitchen! For Mike's birthday party I decided to make two special (skinnytaste....again!) dips, Spinach and Buffalo Chicken. I must have been late to the buffalo chicken dip craze because I'd seriously never had a single bite of it before this party. BUT multiple tailgate parties and lots of word of mouth finally made me jump on the buffalo band wagon. Spicy, addicting, and in this case skinny! What more could you ask for in a dip?

It was the perfect night with friends, followed by a day of extreme (and much needed) laziness. That is until 3 o'clock came around and I had to get ready for a final celebratory birthday dinner with Mom, Dad and Jon. The birthday girl selected a new restaurant in Williamsburg called Waypoint Grill.  Apparently Waypoint is known as the next up and coming restaurant in Williamburg, giving some new competition to restaurants like Fat Canary and Le Yuca, and I can see why! It is certainly a must visit for those on the peninsula, or any visitors heading that way.

The rest of the weekend was filled with super secret projects and a little relaxing in order to prepare for the big event that happened yesterday: Jon and I's one year anniversary (insert collective aww...atleast in my head)!! To celebrate we had made a reservation at The Boathouse and absolutely loved our dinner. I now know why I keep hearing about this restaurant at Rockett's Landing. It is affordable, beautiful, and extremely delicious. Though the foggy weather made our view virtually non-existent, I was so happy we had saved this restaurant for such a special occasion. I absolutely cannot wait to visit again soon!

A picture of Jon and me from Nashville

ps: You must, must try the fried oysters at The Boathouse. Really, must!

So, to Mom: Happy belated birthday!! I love you so much and cannot thank you enough for all you do for me (even when I sometimes complain about it). You are a wonderful role model, great travel companion, and always try to make the impossible, possible for Katie and I.

And Jon, I love you lots. You have been there through the good and the bad, and tolerated (almost all of) my crazy ways :) . I can't wait for another year full of wondeful adventures together!