Week of Celebration

I just recently turned 24 this past Monday (Oct. 11). Most people think that 24 isn't an exciting age. You're three years past 21 and you're one year away from getting a discount on car insurance. Big friggin' deal. But instead of letting the boredom of 24 bring me down, I decided to make a week-long celebration out of it, because... why not?!

I'll start with last Thursday...

Tyler and I went to see "The Social Network." If you haven't seen it yet... you should. ASAP. It's one of the best movies I've seen all year, and I'm not just saying that because I'm obsessed with Facebook and all things social media.

Watch the trailer:


I'm also obsessed with Aaron Sorkin, whose claim to fame is the creation of the once-popular TV series "The West Wing," which just so happens to be one of my favorite shows (also something you should watch if you haven't/aren't yet). Sorkin is a genius writer and producer and his dialogue is what made this movie. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is watch the first five minutes of "The Social Network" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Not to discount Jesse Eisenberg (who I also loved in "Zombieland") for his stellar performance as Mark Zuckerberg , and a terrific breakout performance by Andrew Garfield (who plays Zuckerberg's best friend Eduardo Saverin, and will apparently be the next Spider-Man). And you can't forget JT as Sean Parker! Say what you want about Justin Timberlake, but I think he's a great actor.

But even more amazing than the dialogue, the acting and even the music, is the story of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. The movie is actually based on the book, The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich, which I plan on reading soon. Either way, if you ever wanted to know how Facebook was started, and how it got to be where it is now (with 500 million+ users), you need to see this movie. Period.

OK enough gushing over this movie... if I haven't made my point yet on why you should see this movie, then I give up.

So that was Thursday. Official beginning of birthday celebration week began on Friday, with dinner with Tyler and a few of our friends at Lewis and Clark's, which happens to be one of my favorite restaurants. And if there's one thing you need to know about me and my love of restaurants and food, it's that I am a creature of habit, and I have one thing I get at every place I go to, every time. At Lewis and Clark's, it's the teriyaki chicken sandwich, which comes with melted provolone cheese and pineapple... it's out of this world.

Saturday I spent the day in Ste. Genevieve with friends to not only celebrate my birthday, but one of my best friends, Mallory's birthday too (hers is today actually, Oct. 14 - Happy birthday Mal!).


As my friend Damon described the day, it was an "accidental success," and that it was. Our original plan was to visit the Charleville and Crown Valley Wineries, then make our last stop at the Crown Valley Brewery. But since it was such a gorgeous day in the prime of winery season, every place was packed. We ended up only going to the Charleville Winery and the Crown Valley Brewery, but we still had a great time enjoying the gorgeous, yet unusually warm, fall weather and good company.

Pretty flower outside the Charleville winery

Sunset outside the Crown Valley Brewery

Sunday I did absolutely nothing but watch football and my TV shows all day, and it was glorious. We had KFC for dinner. Perfect Sunday. Also, I got one of my birthday presents early... some sweet new purple Nike Air Max tennis shoes from Ty!

Monday was officially my birthday and my office took me out to Kitaro, a Japanese restaurant in O'Fallon that my step-dad and mom own, which just so happens to be my favorite sushi place. But if you're not a fan of sushi, you have to go for the hibachi grill, where the chefs cook in front of you on the grill. It's fun and delicious!

Kitaro might be the one place I go to where I get something different every time, but only because I've tried a LOT of different things there, so I know what I like. I've tried almost every sushi roll there and I've probably had everything on the hibachi menu (from scallops and salmon to filet mignon and teriyaki chicken). You really can't go wrong on the hibachi side, where every dinner entree comes with soup, salad, cooked veggies and, my favorite, fried rice. You have to ask for the special spicy mustard sauce though and slightly drizzle it over the fried rice - it gives it a little extra kick. :)

Then Monday night my family took me out to Mandarin Garden, which is my favorite Chinese place! I usually get the chicken egg foo young, egg roll and crab rangoon (my favorite!) every time I go there, but this time we decided to get the family meal for four, which included a TON of food, and all of it delicious.

After dinner we went back to my aunt's house for cake and presents, where my dad surprised me with this:

A 16-diamond .25 carat cross pendant on a white gold chain! It's the first "real" piece of jewelry I've ever owned! The picture doesn't do it justice though, you have to see it in person to see how shiny and pretty it is!

I guess diamonds really are a girl's best friend. :)

Then Tuesday night Tyler and I met up with some friends at Pi (@pistl), a pizza place in St. Louis, made famous by President Obama, who apparently loved it so much he flew one of Pi's chefs out to D.C. to make pizza for a White House Dinner. Crazy, right? Well ever since then the business has been booming, with new locations in the Central West End (which is the one I went to last night), Kirkwood, Chesterfield and soon there will be a location in Washington, D.C. Coincidence? I think not, but nevertheless, they do make some good pizza!

Photo courtesy of LIFE Magazine

Tyler and I split a large Southside Classico (we ordered a large on purpose so we would have leftovers, which I fully intend on having for dinner tonight!), complete with mozzarella, sausage, mushrooms, green bell peppers and onions. Although it was not quite as good as the Giordano's deep dish in Chicago (which is what we're looking for), it was pretty darn good. The sauce was absolutely delicious and it had just the right amount of toppings, and of course, the crust... YUM. I'd highly recommend it if you haven't tried it yet!

We are, however, still searching for a deep dish Chicago-style pizza that rivals Giordano's, and I've been told that Black Thorn Pub in South City has the closest thing you can get... that might have to be our next adventure.

After dinner we went to the Fox Theatre to see Drake (@drakkardnoir) perform live!

Source: http://www.eurweb.com/?p=41237

Drake is a rapper that I've been following since he hit the music scene with "Successful" early last year. Tyler and I are both obsessed with him and know most of his songs by heart, so seeing him live in person was awesome. My favorite performances of the show were the opening and closing songs, "Forever" and "Over." He put on a great show and I can't wait for him to come back to the STL!

So that sums up my birthday celebration week... even though it still isn't technically over... yet. My mom is taking me and my sisters out to dinner tonight (place TBD), since my half sister, Sarang, will be turning 13 next Wednesday (Oct. 20). Plus my sister, Kayla, is in town for the weekend for Missouri State's fall break (which means my dad might take us to Rich and Charlie's sometime this weekend, our all-time favorite Italian restaurant)!

After typing all of this up, I must admit, I am a pretty lucky girl and I definitely don't take anything for granted. I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful boyfriend, friends and family who love me and support me as much as they do. And to me, that's what birthdays are really all about... spending time with the people you love.

UPDATE (10/15/10): So I had to add just one more restaurant review after last night. My mom took me and all of my siblings to Brio Tuscan Grille in Plaza Frontenac, which I actually tried for the first time in Kansas City a few weeks ago, before I knew we had one in St. Louis! The first time I went there I had the Tuscan grilled pork chops and they were delicious. They're chopped salad is also very good, and so are their appetizers! I had the sausage, pepperoni and ricotta flatbread last time, but I got the calamari this time - both of which were fantastic!

Last night I got the gorgonzola lamb chops, which I know sound weird, but seriously... you have to try them! I tried to go cheap and I got the appetizer version, but I will definitely get the full meal next time - they were so tasty! The gorgonzola cheese was fried on the lamb chops... very interesting but good combo!

Then of course to top it all off we got chocolate hazelnut cannolis for dessert! What a treat! If you haven't been to Brio, I'd highly recommend going ASAP!

OK, my birthday celebration week is now officially over! I promise :)