I turned 34 this weekend!

With the help of Anthony and my two little girls, I rang in my 34th year with a fun-packed day. The morning began with cake and honestly, everyday should begin with cake. The girls and I made the cake together Friday evening and I feel like I'm going to be finding sugar crystals in my kitchen for months to come. Oh well, the girls had fun and were proud to tell daddy that they helped me make my birthday cake.

After they sang me "Happy Birthday!" and we ate cake, we set off for a morning/afternoon of antiquing. I know, I have the best husband ever when my response to "What do you want to do today?" resulted in "I want to go antiquing." We loaded the girls up and off we went to Chadds Ford, PA where we came across a number of adorable antique shops.

First stop was this adorable shop, Springhouse, that was not only beautiful from the outside, but was full of great deals on the inside too. AND they made some of the furniture too that were beyond words. Just the decor on the outside of the shop is enough to make me want to hop inside for a visit...and buy a few things too!

One other favorite from the day was Brandywine View Antiques, which is 3 floors and a huge wrap-around porch of just one interesting find after another. Old chairs, shutters, milk crates, bottles, furniture galore, kitchen items, lawn decor, and paintings were just a handful of the millions of things showcased. And with all that stuff you would think it wouldn't be organized and clean, but it was and I could have spent my whole day there. Sofia and Olivia were particularly fond of this stop and were just as curious as us to see what was around each bend in the house.

Doesn't everyone need an over-sized dining room chair? Sofia seemed to think so.

After we were through with shopping, we set off to Friendly's for a late lunch and coloring. No birthday is complete without ice cream and driving home with our milkshakes just made the day all the more sweet.

And words don't do justice to a fantastic and dependable babysitter. Girls were excited to spend the evening with Ms. Maria and Anthony and I were excited to get out to dinner on our own. Anthony made the reservations to a place he had been once before, Chifa, and it was fantastic. Ambiance, food, wine, dessert...one thing was just better than the other.

A walk after dinner in downtown Philadelphia capped off a really fabulous day. Love my family for making me feel so special on my birthday. Looking forward to a fun-filled year ahead!