Beautiful Day: Part 1

Okay, I lied. Well, maybe not. I don't know. Sheesh, can I just blog in peace? Hahaha. I am seriously having an argument with myself while you're there reading and sitting on your couch/office chair/toilet ---ohhh, you know who you are, toilet-sitting readers!

I just turned 31 on April 3 and I did say on my previous post that I wasn't going to go to a swanky place for my birthday celebration. Well, I don't think this place is considered swanky but it is a teeny bit trendy. I know, I'm just trying to play with my words but I'm sticking to it. Oh and there's a big difference from the other birthdays because I went for BRUNCH and not for DINNER so that's obviously more casual...right? RIGHT? Be a pal and just nod.

I had to brainstorm about a place where I could take the kids (my adorable nephews!) and not have them actually get freaked out by a frou frou restaurant that served Bambi and Thumper as an entrée, so I chose to bring the family to Bottega Louie. It's located in Downtown L.A. but we went on a Saturday so the streets were pretty empty.

Going there, depending on your route, you can actually spot the famous Disney Concert Hall designed by one of the boyfriend's fave architects, Frank Gehry. (Apologies for the bad photo, with little stain on the windshield haha)

When we got there, I was surprised to see the massive space and high ceilings. The Patisserie is right by the entrance so you'll see all these delicious desserts and pastries lined up for your picking. They make macarons too but I couldn't spot any of them anywhere. My googley eyes just failed me, I guess.

I only saw some macarons as part of a display, though.

A full bar is situated on a corner, before you reach the main dining area.

Anyhoo, there were nine of us that were waiting to be seated and when the host finally got us a table, it was quite disappointing as they were trying to squeeze nine very healthy very not model-sized  people in a teeny tiny table. So my brother threw a little hissy (but justified) fit at the manager for giving us a hard time in accommodating our request to give us the other free table next to us so we can have more room to move.

I kid you not, this was the round table that they wanted all nine of us to squeeze into.

Other than that, everything else went smoothly. The server was attentive and the food came at a reasonable time, considering they were pretty packed when we got there. The food was okay, but I wasn't about to hang on chandeliers over it either. I say the place is still worth a try though, if you haven't been there.

Portobello Fries

Smoked Salmon Benedict

The kids did love the pizza! Maybe I should have ordered that instead. That's my mom, sister and Dad behind them :)

Oh, wait. I forgot--- I did love something! The Belgian Waffles! Yum.

Ummm... I think my brother went wild with the cream and syrup. But it was soooo good.

I had not one, but TWO handsome dates!

Before I end this post, let me tell you a T.M.I. story. I wanted to wear white, so I did. And guess what? I received a very special gift for my birthday...you know..my monthly gift---wrapped in crimson. So literally the pic down there sums up how I felt the whole entire day. I was so stiff, I couldn't relax and I was already imagining the most catastrophic things that could happen while I sat there eating my waffles--- in a tight white dress. I even brought a cardigan...just in case I needed to activate Operation: Cover up.

But wait! It's not over. We went for a quick stop-over somewhere but I don't want to overwhelm you with so many pictures so I'm splitting this post into two!

Toodles!