Birthday excuses

Let’s be serious here. Birthdays are great excuses for just about anything. Unless you’re an air traffic controller or surgeon. In those cases, you probably shouldn’t say, “It’s my birthday, so I get to drink on the job.”

Because I am neither of those two things, I think I got away with a good amount of stuff…

1. It’s my birthday, so I shouldn’t have to go to school.

Fortunately, I don’t have Monday classes this semester, so I didn’t have to play hookey. I enjoyed waking up with Dan before he went into class and then heading back to bed for some laziness with Tracker.

Perfect start to the morning.

2. It’s my birthday, so I should postpone homework as long as possible.

Rather than immediately finishing up a project, I continued my low-key morning with a run. (<<Birthday tradition!)

After that, I put on my new pair of boots, which is a perfect gift from my parents, even though I didn’t have anywhere to go.

So in love!

3. It’s my birthday, so I can have whatever I want to eat.

For breakfast, that meant hot oats in a jar of nearly finished chocolate-peanut butter. For lunch, it was a raspberry + chocolate protein powder smoothie, which was served up in a new tumbler from my sister-in-law!

4. It’s my birthday, so I can have coffee at any time of the day.

Honestly, having an afternoon cup of coffee was just an excuse to use a new mug from my sister.

Coffee + presidents = two of my favorite things!

A little while later, there was a knock at the door.

5. It’s my birthday, so I can brag about having the best husband in the world.

It was my ideal bouquet: sunflowers, greens and autumn foliage. So beautiful!

6. It’s my birthday, so it’s fine to go out on the town.

Dan finally got home from school in the afternoon, so the real celebration was able to begin.

When Dan asked where I wanted to go to dinner a few days ago, I decided on a whim that I wanted to try out Seasons 52, a new restaurant in Kansas City.

The concept is that the menu is seasonally, locally based. The bulk of the offerings change four times a year — with each season. There are also specials that change every week in reflection with the farmers’ market offerings.

Dan summed it up by saying, “This is your kind of restaurant!”

We scanned the menu, but the drink list caught my eye. I know that I said I wasn’t going to drink, but…

7. It’s my birthday, so I can change my mind.

Really, I weighed the pros and cons and decided I had nothing to prove. I’ve challenged myself before and it’s really not worth it.

So, I went with a skinny raspberry + chocolate martini. It was delicious, but I couldn’t make it through the whole thing!

Honestly, the food was the highlight of the meal.

I had a sampler plate with roasted vegetables, hoisin-glazed tofu and the best tabbouleh ever.

To round the meal out, Dan and I each finished with two-bite desserts. Pumpkin pie for him…

And an incredible peanut butter + chocolate mousse cake for me.

Honestly, Dan and I were both blown away by the restaurant. The selection was great, the food was incredible and the service was truly great. Consider it officially recommended!

Now, it’s still my birthday, so I’m off to enjoy the rest of the evening with my man and girl. So far, it’s good to be 21.