Hmmm, what’s this?

Is there a desk lurking under that mess?

Is it hiding under all the new goodies that I brought home from CHA?

Oh yeah!

Okay, I’m off to excavate.

Think I’ll start with the chair.

How about you, what’s on your desk right now?

The big 4-0: part 1!

Friday, December 17th, 2010.

It was a day that I’d been dreading for a while.

Because I was turning the Big 4-0.

(I actually thought I turned 40 last year by mistake so I had some practice at dreading it.)

But boy was I wrong — 40 isn’t so bad at all! In fact, I had the best birthday ever — all thanks to J! He planned out the perfect day.

We started off by going to Enchanted Rock, one of my favorite places to hike. It’s a huge pink granite dome. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a rock lover? Well yep, I am! Enchanted Rock is a rock lover’s dream. (Or maybe someone dreaming of a new kitchen with pink granite countertops?)

It was really cold — the weather said 29 F — and windy — but that didn’t stop us! Here’s the start to the summit.

The girl in the black jacket was from Madison, WI — and even she was cold! Now that says something.

Here we are about halfway to the summit.

It’s only when you look to the side that you see how steep it is and how up you are.

Not that it’s that steep, really. It does get your heart going, though! But the view from the top sure is worth it.

After we made it to the top we found a little sheltered spot to have some birthday cake. A birthday peanut butter cupcake from Rather Sweet Bakery, that is! I brought some napkins from home to make it more festive.

I love how the cupcake goes with the landscape. Makes you want to eat the whole thing, doesn’t it?

We sang together, and then we shared the cupcake. Yum.

Here I am, in our little spot.

Then we went down the other side to the Little Rock. We took a different way than we usually do and explored a cave I didn’t know about. For a while I wondered if we were going to have to backtrack, but we made it, whew!

We even got to see a porcupine — I’d never seen one before! They’re really cute.

I felt so alive, and so happy.

What a great day.

And that was only part 1! Wait until you see what J had planned for parts 2, 3, and 4!

So happy,

J surprised me!

I love staying at old inns and bed and breakfasts. I just love learning about the history of the places. J knows it too — we even stayed at an old inn the night we were married. But he still totally surprised me with a stay at The Heritage Inns when we went to the Native Plant Society symposium in Denton, TX last weekend.

They were repainting the house that we stayed in, but I think it went great with this last rose of summer, don’t you?

Our room was so cute — I loved waking up to the lace curtains and this little squirrel!

And the breakfasts! Oh wow. I gobbled up the first one before I thought to get a photo, but I remembered for the second. It was a yummy tart cherry treat. With eggs that someone tried to steal…

And there was the sweetest little sugar bowl, too.

Once again, all photos were taken with my iPhone. But I jazzed ‘em up with some super fun stuff: the vintage hankies and overlays are from Katrina over at Pugly Pixel, and the crochet flower and butterfly pin from Kitschy Digitals.

Thanks so much to John and Donna for the lovely stay. Hope we can make it back some day! If ever you are in the Denton area you should definately check them out. It only cost a little more than a regular hotel, and we could walk to the university and not worry about driving and finding a parking place. Plus the breakfasts? Yum! And all the good memories will be with us forever.

And J, I love you so much! You are sweeter than an antique sugar bowl with a raspberry on top. :)

Wishing everyone a happy day,