21st Birthday Weekend

 It feels like it took forever, but the wait is over... I'm finally 21!

To make things easy, I'll just give a play-by-play of the weekend:

When I turned 21 at midnight early Saturday morning, I wasn't heading to the bars. I actually stayed in and watched Mulan on Netflix, which was a much better idea, considering I had work at Laura Jean Denim in the afternoon...

Before I went to work, I went to my weekly class, "La Garçonne to Grunge: Fashion and Identity in the 20th Century," in the morning. I had missed two sessions already, so I was looking forward to attending the class again. 

Yes, I did end up working on my 21st birthday, but I didn't mind because it was during the day. It ended up working out well, because the store was crazy busy for Newport Restaurant Week and the Pell Bridge Run. Once foot traffic slowed down, I got to enjoy a wonderful birthday surprise from Laura, Erika, and the rest of the staff: a red velvet cupcake from The Newport Sweet Shoppe!

I guess The Newport Sweet Shoppe and I share the same birthday--the bakery celebrated their second year!

When I got back to the dorm after work, there was a note of the kitchen fridge to "OPEN ME" ...

Et voila! To clarify, my housemates surprised me with the birthday cake, not the all-natural rotisserie chicken.

I made myself Annie's macaroni and cheese for dinner and got ready to go out to the bars with friends for the night. Sam and Alexandra gave me a tiara to wear for the night, because when else is acceptable to wear a tiara in public?

We went to O'Brien's, inevitably followed by a late-night stop for pizza down the street...

Birthday Night Outfit: Gold jacket, Juicy Couture, from Crosswynds Traders; Skirt, BCBGeneration; Purple key-hole halter, H&M; Leopard print heels, Carlos Santana; Earrings, from Crosswynds Traders

I worked again on Sunday, but Ryan came to Newport and took me out to dinner at Speakeasy Bar & Grill on Thames Street. It was also the last night of Newport Restaurant Week, so we took advantage of the $30 prix-fixe. Speakeasy had the most selection to choose from for their Newport Restaurant Week menu--you were allowed to pick any three courses on their dinner menu instead of having to choose from a limited handful of options.

I could go on about how amazing dinner was for hours: everything was fresh and delicious. I definitely plan on getting the lobster gnocchi again soon.

Appetizers:
Cheese Plate
Maine Crab Cake with Kim Chee and Hoisen Glaze

Entree:
Butter Poached Lobster, Cream & Button Mushrooms over Potato Gnocchi

Dessert:
Profiterole

Ryan's dessert:
Chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream

I think it's safe to say that 21 was a great success.

It's definitely worth noting I got some awesome birthday gifts from some awesome people:

From Lauren--I hope I find the time to read this before I go to Paris in January!

From Sam and Alexandra--I'm wearing it now!

From Stephen--This cuff goes with everything that I wear, love it!

From Mom and Dad--THANK YOU! :)At nearly 2.5 years old, my iPhone 4 was barely working and awfully cracked...

A big thank-you to everyone for the birthday wishes! 

The Newport Sweet Shoppe

Yesterday, I had gone to Crosswynds Traders in Narragansett to do the usual once-a-week visit for social media and, as usual, I spoke with Chris, the owner.

Unbeknownst to me, it was Chris's birthday. I must have been there for at least an hour in the store until I realized, and by the time I had, she had left the store for the day. I did send a "Happy Birthday" text message, but a text is not nearly as polite as saying so in person. It was one of those social situations that was not intentionally rude, but it certainly wasn't considerate.

To correct my absent politesse and properly wish a (belated) happy birthday, I went to The Newport Sweet Shoppe on William Street after work at the Pell Center and Laura Jean Denim. Although I have perused the bakery's website and Facebook several times, today was my first time in. Needless to say, it won't be the last.

Bottom Photo Credit: The Newport Sweet Shoppe

I settled on getting Chris four cake pops--two milk chocolate, one dark chocolate, and one white chocolate.