Heather's 30th Birthday

As many of you might know, my 30th birthday was yesterday, August 19th. No, I did not go through any mental anguish over it, and I still feel 21. My wonderful husband planned a very romantic weekend for us. We went to a French bed & breakfast about an hour out of town, in the Shenandoah. http://www.laubergeprovencale.com/ It was quiet, romantic, relaxing and YUMMY! The food was amazing. I mean, I can't even explain it. Dinner was 5 courses and you're waited on hand and foot. I went out on a limb and did NOT order everything I knew I would like. I will write out the menu below to try and give you a "taste" of how scrumptious it was!

First course:
Doug: Seared Kobe strip loin, charred eggplant, tomato dust and micro arugula
Heather: Caramelized vidalia onions and goat cheese tart with roasted beets and green grape vinaigrette

Second:
Doug: The Chef special soup which was a creamed cauliflower soup...not sure of the exact description. Very yummy.
Heather: Chilled saffron/coconut soup served with mango and papaya, vanilla oil essence and lump crab croquette

We then "cleansed our palette" with a Hyssop sorbet with champagne

Entree:
Doug: Crispy chapelure crusted braised lamb shoulder and lavender glazed grilled double lamb chops served with farro berries andn ratatouille
Heather: Pepper crusted rib eye steak with asparagus, creamed swiss chard and sauce "bordelaise"

Dessert I don't have a description of, but Doug got a cherry tart thing and I got hazelnut/chocolate torte that they served with a frangelica/raspberry mini-shake. It was so cute...a miniature old-fashioned shake glass with a tiny little straw. The guy sitting behind us was about 4 times my size and I about died laughing when he started sipping the mini-shake!

Inbetween each course they brought little tidbits like stuffed figs and little cups of soup that I thought was espresso :) The entire meal lasted 2 1/2 hours and we probably could've rolled out of there we were so stuffed. Topped off by a very nice bottle of wine, it was one of the most fulfilling meals I've ever had! Anyway...I won't even describe the 3 course breakfast we had to force down the next day :)

I'm typing this while transferring songs to iTunes for my new iPod! Obviously a birthday present from Doug...topped off by accessories from a parent and beautiful flowers and cookies from everyone else in the family! Thank you all so much...and thank you Grandma for watching little P while we escape for the weekend.

And thank you to my generous and loving husband for planning such a wonderful 30th birthday.