{twentysix}

{monday, october 21}

my actual birthday. 

thank you so much to everyone that sent me messages, emails, comments, etc. i read every one of them and appreciated them so much. 

i had the busiest day at work and was just so overwhelmed with the love my family and friends were continually surrounding me with. if you know me really well, you know i don`t handle emotions very well. i`ve never been so well loved that it actually gave me a little bit of anxiety and caused me to break down right before dinner (thank you amy and shai boo boo for listening to me while i was frantic over the phone. never again will i question buying 200 napkins -__________-)

anyways, long story shorter, the boyfriend told me about a week ago that we were having dinner on my birthday and to not make any plans. i thought we were just having a normal dinner out, so i didn`t think too much of it. as it came closer, it started to get..weird.  first, he told me he would tell me a time and address to be at. inside, the control freak in me started freaking out, but i decided to try to be as calm as possible (yeah right). but then..a few days later..he started asking me about my allergies. and then he asked for the entire LIST of my allergies. my friends wouldn`t tell me what was going on, so i was completely confused and to be honest..a little concerned. 

so fast forwarding..i got to the area too soon, so i had to sit at a cvs parking lot for close to an hour. when i finally got the call to go to the address..i was pretty on edge from all the nerves. the boyfriend was waiting outside for me and took me into an apartment building. after a long flight of stairs, we went inside..and the place was dark. the only light was in the kitchen:

*bacon tomato jam & mozzarella crostinis

*cauliflower and leek soup infused with lemongrass, topped with cremini mushrooms

*braised pork belly topped with a soft boiled egg over a crispy sushi rice cake with a side of napa slaw

*caramel drizzled vanilla cream puffs & chocolate drizzled nutella cream puffs

thank you so much to my (she just started a food blog..please check it out and give her some love!) for opening up her home to us and creating an amazing meal. good luck on your food network adventures and can`t wait for you to teach me some cooking skills! 

thank you to christine for making us dessert. the cream puffs were delicious! if you`re in chicago, she has a catering business! you`ll definitely have to check that out!

chris..no words can explain enough how lucky i am. the whole night was the sweetest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done..a million times better than anything i could ever dream about, and it was the best birthday i`ve ever had. thank you hunny! <3

ps: i can`t believe you were able to keep such a big surprise from me for so long!

photographs by christopher kim.