MORE WITH THE MEEKS: Twenty Seven

When I turned 21, that was exciting (for the obvious reasons)....turned 25, that was just a cool number but TWENTY SEVEN? I'm not excited about this number. This puts me 3 years from 30. AHH... Not hatin' on 30 yr olds but damn 20's have been fun and I would like stay this age for awhile!

Anyways...my birthday this year has topped them all. My mom came over Friday and we went to Mistletoe with my aunt Diane and cousins Mattie & Molly. Afterwards my mom stayed the night with me and Nic cooked us dinner. We sat outside around the fire pit, drank wine and made smores. Perfect fall weather!

Diane w/ Mattie & Molly

Saturday my mom and I got up bright and early..went to the FARMERS MARKET (my favorite place) and bought lots of wonderful stuff. Then we hit up the Persnickety sale, had breakfast/lunch at Beagle Bagel and played around at a few antique stores. (I'm slowly getting her addicted too)

Saturday night was a BIG EVENT..."Light the Night" @ Trustmark Park. It was a great turnout. I raised $900 and can't explain how happy I am about this. I had 30 people walk on my team=COMPLETE SUCCESS!

My team was "Donna's Delegates"...we walked in honor of Nic's cousin Donna Wallace who was diagnosed with Lymphoma a few months ago.

Madi, Donna, Chloe and Grace

Donna & Marshall Wallace

My wondeful team

On to the birthday...

My best friend, Sarah, and I were born a day apart. Me on November 6th and her on the 7th. Growing up we would have joint birthday parties. Some people say "You shared your birthday? I would hate that!" but really....we loved it, so much that we decided to do it again for our 27th=) Sarah and I decided since we're grown and the bar scene doesn't appeal to us as much, we would have a birthday dinner. So I told Nic the idea and without hesitation, he told me he would LOVE to host our birthday dinner. He spent weeks planning the menu and everything turned out perfect.
Birthdays are a HUGE deal to me and regardless of my age...they always will be. My mom always woke my sister and I up singing Happy Birthday and bringing our gifts to us in bed, so this is exactly what I expect from my husband=) Nic (and Remi) woke me up Sunday morning singing Happy Birthday and brought all my birthday happies to me in bed. He gave me a beautiful purse, canisters, a serving platter and Victoria Secret Gift card. Nic is very good with gifts. These were all very thoughtful and were things I had previous mentioned wanting.

My beautiful new purse... I think this is actually the Mac Book tote....my handles are a little longer than this. LOVE the colors...I'll definitely be able to use this year round!

And beautiful Mackenzie-Childs canisters. I love these. I have a few pieces around my kitchen so this just makes it all come together.

My new platter...I love it. I have a small one but have been saying how I wish I had a larger one like my mom...to my surprise, HE LISTENED! These metal platters are so easy to clean and they make ANY appetizer looks so pretty!

I spent Sunday being lazy and doing a bit of cleaning around the house while Nic prepared the "big meal". As gay as it may be...I love pulling out the china and setting the table so thats exactly what I did all afternoon=) We needed seating for 11 or 12 so I pulled out my "compulsive purchase" drop leaf table and voila....I now get to set 2 tables =)

Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail

Salad: Spring mix with roasted walnuts, cambozala, dried cranberries and creamy balsamic dressing.

Entree: Grilled and Roasted Beef Tenderloin w/ balsamic reduction sauce

Roasted new baby carrots and new baby potatoes

Grilled asparagus under cheese grits topped with caramelized onion jam

Desert:White chocolate strawberry cheesecake w/ milk chocolate covered strawberries

DELISH!!!!!!!!

Nic preparing the cheesecake

I decorated the tables while Nic prepared. Got to use my cute vase/place card holders again so I decided to spruce them up for Fall

As you can see...I take pictures, I don't assist in the food preparation.

And after the big wonderful celebration......my girlfriends surprised me with dinner at Babalu on Monday night.

I had plans to meet Emily for dinner and when I arrived...I saw all of these wonderful girls. Completely topped off my birthday. I love each of you soo soo much and having you there to celebrate with me was the most WONDERFUL thing ever!