i'm 24!!!

i love birthdays - anyone's - because who doesn't love a reason to celebrate?

but i felt kind of weird about turning 24.

there's nothing "cool" about it and it seems sooo much older than 23.

luckily, my sweet husband planned a super fun weekend for us to celebrate my birth

and to take my mind off becoming an old woman!

on saturday we packed our bags and headed south.

we stopped in san fran to eat at my favorite restaurant, scala's.

eating there was my one birthday request so joe made sure to fit that in.

<< they change their menu daily, and each day they put a different quote at the top.
this was the quote the day we ate there. fitting right? >>

this was my first time driving down highway 1

(or california state route 1 to be exact)

which runs down almost the whole pacific coastline.

it was gorgeous!
we stopped several times to take pictures of the gorgeous scenery.

i don't care how long i live here, turning a corner and seeing the ocean will always be exciting for me.

we spent sunday in monterey.

we went to the aquarium which is huge and amazing and it took us hours to see everything.

we loved it!

instead of talking about it, i'll just show you a million pictures

we walked around cannery row
and finished the night with dessert at ghirardelli

on monday we did the 17-mile drive around

pebble beach.

they have 21 stops along the drive with different landmarks and tidbits of history.

the last stop is the 18th green of pebble beach golf course.
it was so crazy pretty. and i don't even golf...

<< this is the "lone cypress tree" - the official symbol of pebble beach >>
the drive ends in carmel.

we stopped there for some lunch at a place called

400 degrees gourmet burgers and fries

joe ordered a salted caramel shake that i quickly made my own.

it might have been the best shake i've ever had.

then we did a little bit of shopping in the cute (mostly overpriced) boutiques.
i loved it.
they had a cute little "sweets cottage" full of yummy old fashioned candy
and a store FULL of only christmas stuff. i wanted every nutcracker.

as if all that excitement wasn't enough, joe also surprised me with some awesome gifts.

he got me a super nice backpack so i can finally go camping with him
(soon, hopefully)
and one of those white, plush, super comfy bathrobes!
(i wore one everyday on our honeymoon at the hotels/on the cruise and loooved it.
but i don't have one of my own so i've been missing it. he knows me so well.)

it was such a fun weekend!

huge thanks to joe for planning such a fun getaway

and spoiling me rotten!

and thanks to everyone else who sent birthday wishes!

i'm thinking 24 just might be my best year yet...