La Belle Vie! Joyeux Anniversaire a moi! Well, almost. As usual, the celebration - of, in this case, the end of my 41st year - involves more than one day. Which I love! Yeah, it rather sucks to have a birthday so close to Christmas...the combo Christmas/birthday gift totally bites - and yet, it does somehow stretch out the celebration into something long, slow, and mellow, and I can't one bit complain about that.

So tonight, two days early, the celebration began in earnest, in the stunningly elegant bar at La Belle Vie, just John and me, YES! Bling (including a beautiful new bracelet from Suz), frites (it's no birthday sans frites), langoustines (fried shrimps), vino (Cote de Rhone), and chocolat (in several forms, with a lovely birthday message!) made for a fabulous beginning to this all-about-my-birthday (wink) weekend.

Stay tuned... I plan to celebrate quietly, yet nicely...

Inspired by all my talk of tapas (see below for Jaleo, Jose Andres, The Sample Room, and cocktails with Kim & Suz), I've been flipping through Chef Andres' Tapas A Taste of Spain in America for a nice Sunday evening menu. The book is chock-full of tempting tasties (I've posted several in the past, including Catalan Pork Sausage with White Beans, Tomato Toast with Manchego, and Artichokes Sauteed with Ham), but these four Spring-ed out at me as appropriate for this finally-sunny, almost-warm day. Don't balk at the chocolate-salt combination, it's a classic, and it's delicious. For proof, lick a small piece of dark chocolate, dip it in a flake or two of sea salt, then pop it in your mouth and let it melt. Sloooowwwwly. Yeeeeaaaah, they're gorgeous together.

Sunday Evening Tapas Menu
(each serves 4)
Potatoes Rioja-Style with Chorizo (I posted this recipe a couple of days ago)
Green Beans with Tomatoes and Pearl Onions
Apple and Murcia Cheese Salad with Walnuts
Rustic Bread with Dark Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Salt

Recipes posted in comments, below, and at right, under Recipes, Baby!

Happy Valentine's Day! To my friends and family - I heart you!

And in honor of feelin' all that love, I thought I'd make a list of material indulgences (and potential gift ideas for your sweetie?) that I'm loving (or would like to be loving) today, too:

Chocolate: Ritter Sport milk chocolate (inexpensive and available in the candy section at Byerly's; all I can say is, moan...)
Flowers: lilacs - wouldn't they be amazing to smell today, in the depths of winter? Sigh...
Bath: Malin + Goetz bergamot shower gel and body lotion; creamy, dreamy, rich
Snack: Notorious Nuts roasted peanuts (also available at Byerly's, so decadent and delicious)
Shoes: my saucy new lipstick red Mary Jane pumps, of course!
Jewels: my vintage red "present-necklace" from Suz!
Lips: Stila Blackberry lipglaze, xxoo
Polish: OPI Malaga Wine (pictured here)
Fragrance: Escada Magnetism (sweet and sexy, perfect for V-Day)
Dinner: pasta, baby, with some sort of lusty sauce...stay tuned for what I decide to make...
Song: Ben Folds' The Luckiest, so very sweet, and so exactly what I am (meaning lucky, not sweet, ha)...

Today my extra-special Valentine is...BABY COOPER! A Recovering Baby Cooper, that is. He's been feeling less-than-great the last several days. Awww, Coop! He's having a bit of a nap right now, hopefully that will help his tummy feel better. That and 50,000 smooches from his beautiful Mommy Stacey - now she's a Valentine! Happy First Valentine's Day to Cooper!