A Grand Day to Be 28 (Oh My God, the Stevie Nicks Shirt of My DREAMS)

Good morning!

First of all, thank you everybody for my kind birthday wishes! I had a fabulous time Monday and Tuesday both, hanging out with my family, buying cacti in bulk (wedding prep), and being spoiled rotten by my soon to be spouse. I am actually speechless at his major birthday present for me this year:

How do you like my new haircut? A wedding/birthday present from Jen Q!

Oh this? Just my SIZE MEDIUM VINTAGE STEVIE NICKS TOUR SHIRT FROM THE 1983 WILD HEART TOUR. This came in the mail a day early on Monday and I was near-hysteria. Remember the post I did about how heartbroken my fruitless search for a Fleetwood Mac tour shirt on the internet had left me? Bereft of hope? Completely convinced I would never boast such a wardrobe jewel in my crown? MATTHEW TO THE RESCUE.

This shirt popped up on Etsy, and was only mildly unreasonable in terms of expense, instead of impossibly unreasonable, and in a vintage size medium. Have I mentioned that Stevie Nicks tour shirts are 1) rare as hens' teeth, in spite of her staggering popularity at the time (I guess people are holding on to them?) and 2) always in either an XXS or an XXL (I am neither). I pined and pined over it for a few days, and then saw that it was sold. Little did I know, Matthew was the one who had been looking over my shoulder and pulled the trigger on the greatest t-shirt of my life. AAAAH! I am so pleased.

I had lunch at my folks' house with my mom, dad, and Sus. Sus and Matt, in their infinite wisdom, even got me a vegan pie from Whole Foods the night before! We had fun gabbin' and eating pie before I had to head to my next birthday engagement. Matthew, who was shooting a commercial earlier that day (fancy!), took me out to dinner at the Silly Goose, and I felt a little bit like I was in an episode of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares AFTER the restaurant had been streamlined and chic'd up. Our table top was granite, and the silverware was wrapped in cheery red bandannas. Water glasses were little canning jars, and the menu presented on an office clipboard (wine list on a smaller clipboard). Something about this was very charming to me-- well-thought out. Also impressive--the waiters had POS's on their iPads! They could close a check completely paperlessly via said system. I have seriously only seen this on tv before. Sandwiched between Jeni's and Ugly Mugs in that Eastland restaurant district, I walked in and thought "Oh, please let this be as nice as it as it seems to be." Even more impressive than their check-closing abilities? THEIR FOOD. I had the Double AA vegetarian plate, which was couscous and a kebab of marinated mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes. A lot of the time, getting the vegetarian plate at a restaurant turns out to be getting a plateful of raw garnishes for other meat dishes. Not so, in this case! This was honestly one of the best meals I've had out in Nashville, and strictly on my diet. Three cheers for Silly Goose! (and my own, Gomer Pyle like awestruckness at their modernity)

Here's a collage of some of the presents I received yesterday:

Including:

1. A coffee pump pot (nice name, right?) from my folks, and a pretty green beaded necklace. I begged them not to give me presents this year because they're doing so much for my wedding, but they would not let the occasion go unmarked! :) I've been wanting one of these serving pots for FOREVER, but used ones ook me out (who knows if it was put away and left to mildew? Or what's been in that carafe?). Also, a card from my Grandma.
2. A panther head necklace from Sus and Matt (to match my panther bracelet!!).
3. A Kit Kat clock from David and April (OH. MY. GOD.)
4. A floral chip and dip and a Yahtzee strategy guide from Deb (amping up my Yahtzee AND hostess game, two of my most important traits).
5. A Blu-Ray of Wizards, the Tolkien-esque Bakshi animated movie from the seventies'...I watched this CONSTANTLY as a kid, and Matthew thought it would be neat if we had a copy to show our kids some day! Also, that white walker bobble head (scary!) and that Ted Hawkins's record ON VINYL (blue vinyl, no less!).
6. A nice card and rememberance from Matthew's Memaw.
7. A vegan strawberry-with-pecans cake from Whole Foods inscribed "Happy Birthday Babu" (from you know who).

Here's a closeup of the cake, taken in the dungeon-like lighting conditions of my kitchen at night (I must replace those bulbs!!):

All in all, it was a fabulous day! Even more than the swag (though I love each and every of my presents), it was so sweet to be thought of by everyone on my birthday. 

So! How do you usually celebrate your birthday? Do you make a big fuss, or do you prefer a low key (or no key) activity to mark the occasion? Have you gotten a present that BLEW. YOUR. MIND. for any recent holiday? Let's talk!

That's all for today. Back to regular vintage stuff tomorrow, I promise! Have a great Wednesday, and I'll see you then! :)