My (Surprise!) Birthday Party

Greg and I

I realized when I got home that I had forgotten to take a photo of the outside of the restaurant. I hope Carbone doesn't mind me using this pic from their website!

Me and Dawn (We figured out that night that we've known each other for 12 years now--ever since we were lowly interns and assistants at Harper's Bazaar. Crazy!)

My Hoboken mom friends! Kate, Chris, me, Amanda, Elizabeth, and Andrea

The aftermath

So, last week, I mentioned that my birthday was this past weekend and that I would be going to a show with my daughter and then going out to dinner with my husband. Well, turns out, plans changed. Because my husband threw me a surprise party!

...And I was actually surprised! Okay, so I had thought maybe something was up on Saturday, the day before my birthday, but only because my husband, Greg, asked me what I was going to wear to dinner and whether or not I was getting my hair done. This was WEIRD. Let me just say, we've been married for almost ten years, so I rarely spend more than 30 seconds thinking about what I'm going to wear when we go out together--and he certainly doesn't spend even half that long worrying about my clothes. Plus, I had a four-day-old blowout that was still looking decent, so I hadn't even considered getting my hair done. 

But I started to get nervous. I made a blowout appointment for that day, and decided to make a pre-dinner appointment at Blushington on the day of my birthday, so that I could get my makeup done. My guess was that we were going to dinner, and that, afterwards, we would meet a few friends for drinks at a bar or something. 

So, on Sunday, I took my daughter and nieces to see School of Rock (side note: It was really, really good--I definitely recommend it!). My college-aged niece took the kids home, while I headed straight to get my makeup done. After my appointment, my husband picked me up and we took a cab downtown to Carbone, an Italian restaurant in the Village. 

And remember: I am still thinking we are going to dinner just the two of us and that maybe a small surprise is happening later. So, we walked up to the host stand, gave our name, and the hostess (who seriously needs to perfect her poker face) smiles huge and says: "Ohhhh HERTZIG!" So of course, at that point, I figured something was happening at dinner. 

They led us back to the private room and that's when I got the true surprise. We weren't meeting another couple or two. Instead, there were 20 of my friends gathered there yelling "Surprise!" and singing Happy Birthday. I had never expected that and I was truly surprised!

And, I don't know if you guys have ever eaten at Carbone, but get on that. Because the food was INSANE. And filling. Too filling because I was almost completely full by time the pasta course arrived and I could barely eat another bite. The standouts: Mozzarella sticks with ribbons of marinara and pesto tucked inside, baked clams (I don't normally like clams, but these just tasted like butter and breadcrumbs, so AWESOME), the rigatoni with vodka, which was definitely among the top five pastas I have ever eaten in my life, the lobster ravioli, and the chicken Massimo, which I could only pick at by that point since I had eaten so much, but OH MY GOD.

It was an awesome night of wine, amazing food, great friends, and more wine. So, so fun. Years ago, I had once mentioned causually to Greg how I had always wanted a surprise party. But growing up with a birthday on Valentine's Day, it was never really possible. As I've written before, there were many, many years when I couldn't even see friends on my birthday, because everyone was always out with their boyfriends. But by this point in my life, most of my friends are old and married like me, so holiday-birthday surprise parties are now possible. Score old for the olds! ;)

I was so happy that so many friends came out to celebrate and so floored that my husband went to the effort to plan this for me. Big thanks to all of my friends and to Greg for pulling it off. I had an amazing time!

On My Wish List: Pink & Red

dress; necklace, bath oil; top; fragrance; laptop cover; book art; wallet; flats

I'm sure it's the Valentine's Day spirit wafting through the air, but I'm totally feeling a pink-and-red thing this week. I want that comfy-cool top (dig those mesh cut-outs!) to wear with skinny jeans or leather leggings, that breezy maxi to wear once this ghastly weather clears up, and that sparkling-floral fragrance to lift my spirits in the meantime.

What's on your wish list right now?

The Cutest New Valentines For Kids (+ A $100 Minted Giveaway!) {CLOSED}

Maybe it's because February 14th is my birthday (yep), but I have always loved the tradition of giving out classroom valentines. In elementary school, I remember carefully making doily-dotted, red-and-pink construction-papered shoeboxes, and then waiting with anticipation to see who would drop a little Snoopy or Strawberry Shortcake or Star Wars card inside. (And then of course, I recall totally reading into the text on whatever card the boy you had a crush on gave you: "Oh my gosh! Do you think he meant 'Bee Mine' as in, like, 'Be my fifth grade girlfriend??!")

These days, Valentine's Day is much more low-key in my daughter's school. But we still wanted to do something fun for her classmates. The drugstore valentines I found were mostly cheap and cheesy, so I was less than inspired. And let's face it: I'm too lazy to DIY. Then, I heard that Minted (that's where we ordered our 2014 holiday cards) was offering classroom valentines, so I rushed to check them out.

You guys! They are SO cute. Once I saw them, it was a no brainer to place an order. The hardest part was choosing a design--there are so many good ones! I finally settled on this cute PB&J design (aren't the gingham backs cute?). But I came really close to getting these donuts, this cookie, or this gold-foil maze. (Minted, can you offer a variety pack next year for indecisive folks like me, pretty pretty please?)

All the designs have optional coordinating stickers, or you can can mix and match, as I did by getting these pretty hearts that technically go with a different card. And the best part: I love that both the cards and stickers are personalized. You can even put your child's photo on them, which might be fun for us to try next year.

This past weekend, my daughter and I sat down and addressed about half of her cards. (We'll do the rest later this week. When you're just learning to write, the process is sloooooow and I really wanted her to do them herself, so we are only tackling a few at a time so that she doesn't get too frustrated.) I just love the way they turned out and am so excited to deliver them to her friends next week.

And now, here's some superfun news: I'm giving away a $100 credit to Minted! Use it for some cute valentines of your own, invitations for your next party, some of their pretty wall art--anything! (Please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!)

Are your kids giving out valentines this year? If so, do tell: Did you do the drugstore thing, go the DIY route, or...? I'd love to know!

UPDATE: Congrats to Amy T., winner of the $100 credit to Minted. Thanks to everyone who entered!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Minted provided me with a small credit to purchase the valentines, but there was no further compensation, I was under no obligation to feature the products if I didn't love them (which I do!), and all opinions are my own.