Two Days of Birthday Fun with Friends and Family!

Yep that's right, when you turn 57 there are not enough hours in one day to cram in all the fun and celebration!!  It all started the day before, when I was only 56 and I joined with excellent friends

Michelle and Wendy.  Actually it was a shared celebration, as Wendy who is infinitely older than me (having lived on earth for a month longer) was finally able to squeeze her own birthday/friend celebration in for this year!! I know its crazy but the only way this trio can celebrate is on Fridays, or should I say on Estate Sale day?!  Here we see Vanna-Wendy showing off her packing skills, as she managed to tuck in half a dozen side chairs!! (Mid 1800's and French too!!) We had a great lunch at 5 guys!! And exchanged gifts! Thanks Girls.

Later that day My sweet husband took me to dinner at Crown Burger (yes, a two burger day ...) and then to our Favorite Bed and Breakfast, http://www.armstrongmansion.com/.  He choose a couple of movies from their DVD library, and one 'haunted' movie turned out to have been filmed there at the Armstrong, how fun is that?

The other crammed car picture is of our garaging through the Avenues Saturday morning, where Scott was able to fit a full size 1930's book case into his back seat.  I had called my daughter Darby(4) for help, but he was sure he could do it. As my mother used to say about him, Man what a man!!

 After a morning of garaging we were off to one of our favorite events of the year, and one which we often meld into my birthday celebration, the http://www.utahheritagefoundation.com/ sponsored Historic Home tour.  This year the homes were all built from 1910 through the 1920's and were for the most part heavily Craftsman style.  I am not a fan of the bungalow in general, but some of these houses leaned toward the Prairie style, and were stunning.  And I do LOVE Arts and Crafts decor, like this amazing, and original, tile work bathroom.  Above the tub to the left is a mosaic of black swans, I thought this bath was seriously delightful.

In this picture we see Scott and myself in one of the

 fabulous back yard gardens to be seen accompanying the wonderful homes on the tour.  One garden was filled with tulips as the owner hosts a tulip festival every spring. 

Many of the homes showcased original stone fireplaces, built in book cases and benchs as well as stained glass interior doors. There were also stunning collections of Arts and Crafts furniture, pottery, stained glass  and paintings.  The houses were amazing and one of them even looked like people lived there, which did not detract, I promise!!

In this picture we see the line at one of the homes.  This one was a bit unusual as it was one of the latest homes and is, as you see, a Tudor style home.  The guides at the homes are all volunteers, who have been given a script sheet and are seldom very knowledgeable about antiques or period styles, but they are all sweet, and enthusiastic. 

After the home tour and a little more garage saling and a trip to my fav store Di's Place (as my friend Marci terms it), we headed back down town for a birthday lunch at Cafe Rio planned by my darling daughter Darby (4).  Being a busy Saturday

not everyone was able to make it, but I greatly appreciated the sacrifice of those who did.  Above you can see me with my daughter Emily (8)and my granddaughter Eva, whose parents, Trevor (5) and Nell are shown to the left.

It was also a wonderful surprise to see my sister Joyce.  Darby(4) had called and left a message, and I just guess my lucky stars aligned and Joyce was able to come.  In the next picture we see her getting acquainted with her grand niece Eleanor.  When El was born both Trevor(5) and I both thought she looked a bit like her Aunt Joyce, so how fun is this!!

 Below We see the founder of the feast, Darby (4) with all three of Trevor and Nell's cute children.  Thanks Darby!

 After lunch and a trip to another Di's Place, we had a couple of hours to kill before meeting our good friends for dinner, also in Salt Lake, so we went to the dollar movies and saw 'The Adjustment Bureau'.  Probably not one I would have normally seen, but it had some interesting perspectives about just who is in charge of this world, and how they 'help' us in our lives .... pretty thought provoking. (provoking being the operative word here :-))

Next we met our friends of twenty years, the Heuers and Moes.  In this picture we see Scott, one of the actors for the dinner theater we were attending and adorable Robin.

The http://www.huntmysteries.com/index.php
provided the entertainment while we enjoyed dinner at Spaghetti Mamas, a first for us.  We had all been introduced to Hunt Mysteries when they provided entertainment at a Celebrity dinner several years ago, but this was our first time to see them in their own 'digs' so to speak.

This is the entire group, except Scott who is unseen behind the camera.  I am first on the left,then Robin, her husband Jeff, Barb with her husband Randy, and Kelsy with her husband Zach and baby Kennady.  It hard to believe that Kelsy was 3 when we three couples started finding fun things to do together back in 1991.

Well, a special thanks to everyone who made my birthday unforgettable.  I love you all!!