As I turned 29, this is what I was doing.

Hello 29.

A lot of great things came my way as I ushered in 29 and kicked off my year of reinvention. Here’s a synopsis of my 24-hours, including some reviews and thoughts of some great places I visited in the city. (spread the love, right?)

Fact #1: I don’t work on my birthday, no matter what day of the week it is, for me it’s a national holiday. But it’s not my fault. My mother made me this way.

Fact #2: Everyone (strangers included) know when it’s my birthday. Why? Because I tell them. It’s a game of sorts – trying to sneak it in, under the radar. I’m not nuts, I’m crafty. Check out my very first video about that here.

Birthday. It’s in my genes.
When I was a kid (we’re going back to the 80s here) my mom would make a huge deal about my birthday. Always. From hiring clowns to dole out balloons at my party, to hooking me up with a Teddy Ruxpin before all of my friends had one, to setting up our pain-in-the-ass-because-a-kid-always-gets-hurt Banana Slip n’ Slide, my birthday was an event around our house. I had a free pass to just about anything. And this year was no exception.

Birthdays are better with two
Rob joined me for my “holiday” (although I’m convinced he has as much fun as I do on my birthday. Trust me) and planned a day nothing short of what I wish everyday could be like. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I figured I’d be economical with my post and show you what happened.

Here are the highlights:

Mitzi's Cafe.

bacon n' eggs n' fruit n' coffee. $6.95

B’fast @ Mitzi’s: We started the day with one of my favorite dishes EVER… bacon n’ eggs. Straight up. We live just a block from Mitzi’s Cafe, a staple breakfast spot (brunch if you’re hungover) in Roncesvalles that just happened to have my dish on special. Hell yes.

Elmwood Spa. Try the couple's massage. Oh la la.

Not quite sleeping, but not quite awake either.

Spa’ing: And now comes a confession: I am addicted to spas. Rob is my enabler. I was treated to a massage at the downtown Elmwood Spa. (Rob had one too. Qu’elle surprise.)

Tom yum soup. Veg pad Thai. Mango salad. Curry chicken. Fresh roll. $14

Lunch’ing: Next to Elmwood Spa is Bangok Garden. For just $14 we each loaded our plates at their uber-fresh buffet. Decided on a patio spot since the weather, as birthday luck would have it, was most definitely in our favor.

Quick switch: It was hot out on Friday and my jeans and tank weren’t cutting it. So, in the spirit of reinvention, Rob and I ducked into a small shop and picked out this little number. We bought it and I wore it out of the store. Just. Like. That. Highly recommended. *The image won’t cooperate and rotate, but I figured the mention of the experience was noteworthy nonetheless.

warm bath + cold champagne + strawberries = good for me.

Bath’ing: Champagne, strawberries, and a hot bath. Two thumbs up. (another birthday must-do each year.)

Dinner + drinks at Vertical. A steal at just $60 for the "Sicilian" tasting menu. Still drooling.

Rob makes a blog appearance. His request. My say on the image. So there.

Din’ing: I love trying new restaurants. Vertical was a new one for me. We sunk our teeth into their $60 tasting menu, complete with wine for each course (and champagne on the House for my birthday… booyah!) Wish I had more images of the whole experience (including a shot of Rob and I) but, well, we were drunk-ish. Like I said, wine came with every course. I’d recommend checking out Vertical for a hot night out (hit the patio, if you can) or dinner with friends. Not a lot of cash for a whole lot of eating and sipping in style.

A fantastic start to what is sure to be a fantastic(er) year.