My 29th birthday weekend went by in a flash but it was filled with great friends, good food and lots of time outside. A fabulous weekend by all accounts!
Unfortunately I lost my camera on Saturday night at a bonfire party so Friday and Saturday’s pictures have fallen into a black hole never to be found again. Well, I sure hope they are found again, but I am not holding my breath.
I’m bummed that I lost my beloved Canon S95 (it is a fabulous point and shoot camera that I actually convinced my mom and sister to buy as well) and I am in the process of comparing it to newer cameras before purchasing another one. Unless I can find a killer deal, the newest edition of my old camera (the Canon S120) is out of my current budget, so if you have a point and shoot camera that you love, please let me know!
Anyway, back to my birthday weekend recap with the small percentage of pictures I have to help tell the story thanks to my friend Minda’s Facebook page and my iPhone…
Saturday
Saturday morning began with a run outside and a short shoulder workout before Ryan and I grabbed breakfast at our local farmer’s market. After a quick walk with Sadie and a shower, our friends Laurel and John arrived at our house in Ocala to spend the weekend with us!
We had plans to drive to Melrose to hang out at our friend Heather’s house for a birthday BBQ since her birthday was on Friday. So many April birthdays!
(Minda, me and Laurel – Sorry for the butt grab, Minda!)
(Minda, Heather and Nicole)
(John, Ryan, Ryan and Clark)
Heather and her husband Chris live on a farm, so the party had an added element of fun since we were able to interact with chickens, goats and horses. The goats and horses basically ignored us, but the chickens were quite lively!
We ate burgers, hot dogs and typical delicious cookout fare and had fun chatting by a massive bonfire until it was time for us to make the drive back to Ocala. We spent an hour or so hanging out with Laurel and John before eyes started closing and we put ourselves to bed.
Sunday
I somehow managed to sleep until 8 a.m. on Sunday morning which was a serious victory. My birthday was already off to a great start before I even got out of bed!
Once everyone was awake, we drove to Darrell’s Diner for a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee.
After we were done eating, we lingered over coffee before piling back into Ryan’s car and driving back to our place. The guys watched soccer while Laurel and I had fun catching up. I miss her so darn much and am so glad I was able to spend my birthday my best friend. (We met freshman year in college and have stayed very close ever since. She’s the best.)
Laurel also surprised me with an awesome birthday gift – a hydration backpack for summertime hiking and running. After we said goodbye to Laurel and John, we took Sadie on a 90-minute hike and I tested out my new present. It made staying hydrated a breeze. Thank you, Laurel!
Birthday Date
Once we returned from our hike, we rinsed off and drove to Gainesville for a birthday date! Ryan treated me to a casual sushi dinner, a movie, frozen yogurt and ice cream. He knows the way to my heart!
I ordered two rolls including a build-your-own roll with salmon, cucumber, masago and tuna and a fried soft shell crab roll.
Ryan stuck to a bento box!
After dinner, we had 30 minutes to kill before our movie began and grabbed frozen yogurt from Yogurtology!
I filled my cup with oatmeal cookie and vanilla cake batter frozen yogurt topped with sprinkles, kiwi, red gummies, iced animal crackers and lots of whipped cream. It was a random combination, but I loved every bite!
Once we polished off our frozen yogurt, we drove to the movie theater to see Bears. I saw a preview for this movie a month or so ago and Ryan laughed when I said I really wanted to see it! I adore nature documentaries and thought the movie would basically be a documentary that followed the journey of a mother bear and her two cubs. Well, it was definitely more of a kid movie and Ryan and I had to laugh when we realized our (my?) mistake. We stayed through the whole movie – it was pretty cute and rather short – and I think kids who love animals would like it a lot! I’m just not sure I’d recommend it as a happenin’ date night movie. Oops!
After the movie, Ryan suggested a quick ice cream date at Coldstone before we made the drive back to Ocala. Ice cream!? You don’t have to ask me twice!
We shared a large Apple Pie a La Coldstone and loved every bite. It tasted like cinnamon caramel ice cream! The perfect way to end my birthday.
I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend!
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What a fun birthday!! I love that you had froyo and ice cream on your special day 🙂 Way to celebrate!
And Ryan’s bento box looks delicious! I’ve never tried one!
Happy happy birthday! It looks like you had an incredible celebration weekend!
Thank you!
Glad you had such a a great birthday weekend! You look gorgeous and all of that delicious looking food is making me hungry!
Absolutely love that bright (fuscia???) dress on you!! Looks so gorgeous!! And yum, cake batter froyo is just the best!!! Happy Belated Birthday 🙂
Happy Birthday!! Hope you enjoyed Bento in Gainesville. I love that place and try to go back each time I visit. 🙂
Happy belated birthday! I’m glad you had such a fun time with your friends – that’s what birthdays are all about! 🙂
Happy Birthday! So glad you got to spend it with lots of friends and lots of fun!
Happy Birthday to YOU!
I have a camera to recommend for you! My husband and I were turned on to water proof cameras a few years ago. We recently purchased this one, to replace our first one. This camera is not only underwater friendly, but VERY durable. We love to spend time outside and always want a good camera to take with us on kayak, beach, ski trips. This camera shoots fantastic photos, and is good for anyone that spends a lot of time fighting with gravity (esp near rivers, lakes and pools) 🙂
http://www.target.com/p/pentax-ricoh-wg-20-14mp-waterproof-digital-camera-with-5x-optical-zoom/-/A-15272013#prodSlot=large_1_13
awesome! I will check it out!!!
Froyo and ice cream in one day is the perfect way to celebrate a birthday in my book 😉
Happy Birthday! Sounds like you all had a great day!
What a wonderful birthday weekend! How lucky you got to spend time with your best friend. And ice cream twice in one day, yes please!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I feel for you about the camera. What a bummer – but it sounds like you had a great time celebrating with lots of birthday festivities and good food!
awww what a perfect birthday 🙂 This makes me so happy to read about.
Happy Birthday!!
I’m so sorry you lost your camera:(( I love my cannon powershot but by looking at it those arête ones you have listed too. I’ve heard good things about Nikon as well.. Happy happy birthday (a day late) !!!!! It looks
Like it was a great weekend!! Sushi is the best !
Minus losing your camera, looks like a great birthday weekend!!
A huge bummer about your camera! I hope it miraculously shows up, but if not, at least you have a good excuse to buy a new one. 😉
Glad you had a great birthday weekend! It sounds like fun. Happy Birthday! <3
Froyo AND ice cream!? Haha sounds like a great birthday to me!!!!
That ice cream sounds so good. What a fun birthday weekend, minus the missing camera. Happy Birthday!
Happy belated Birthday Julie! Melrose is my neck of woods! You should check out Blue Water Bay if you’re ever in the area again.
Happy Birthday! I’m sorry you lost your camera… that sucks! It does look like you had a nice birthday weekend though:)
Such a bummer about your camera!!! Is there any chance that someone might have picked it up for you?!? Other than that it sounds like you had the perfect birthday weekend!!!
Happy Belated Birthday Julie! I’m glad you had a great weekend with friends and also fit in a date/movie night with Ryan. Sounds like perfection to me!
My birthday weekend is quickly approaching (May 3rd is my actual bday), and I’m heading out to San Francisco on Thursday. Though the trip is really for work, I’m looking forward to sight-seeing a bit with a couple of my coworkers/friends. I think we’ll have a great time out there and will definitely enjoy the 70+ degree weather seeing as though New York can’t seem to break out of the 50s/60s lately.
Happy birthday!! Sounds like you had a great weekend! Love the double ice cream in one day 🙂
I’m so happy you had a fabulous weekend celebrating your b-day! I love that you got fro-yo and ice cream on the same night. Much better than cake, IMO. 🙂 Two things:
1) Oatmeal cookie fro-yo — I need that in my life.
2) I used to work at Cold Stone in college and apple pie a la mode was my favorite of the signature creations. Like ice cream and apple pie combined into one. Yum!
I LOVE my waterproof Sony Cyber-Shot! As a professional photographer it’s my go-to point n shoot because it always takes great photos and it’s waterproof and drop proof! I highly recommend it. All my friends have gotten it and love it too. Sony Cyber Shot
froyo and ice cream?! now that’s a birthday done right! 🙂
I got a Canon SX280 last summer before studying abroad and LOVE it. The pictures are so much better than any point and shoot I’ve had before, and it’s only $200!
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SX280-Stabilized-Black/dp/B00BW6LTG0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398694420&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+sx280
Also, happy birthday, Julie!
Sweet!! Thanks! Where did you study? I wish I would’ve studied abroad. 🙂
I spent my fall semester in Cuba. It was an incredible experience – completely different from the U.S. yet so close to home geographically!
It sounds like a great birthday weekend, except for losing your camera! I hope it turns up. You look so happy in the sushi picture!!!
Happy Birthday!! Looks like a wonderful weekend full of friends! Sorry to hear about your camera 🙁 I guess they never found it on their farm?
Nope. She’s still searching but it hasn’t turned up yet.
Happy birthday Julie! All of your ice cream looks so good, now I want some 🙂 Bummer that you lost your camera, hope you find it!
Happy Birthday!
The chickens were playing friendly so they wouldn’t become supper! Wish I had a camera review for you except I have the same one as you lost. Hope you had a fabulous birthday!
Awww bummer about your camera! At least the rest of your weekend sounds amazing! froyo, sushi, and icecream… I really love the way you celebrate! happy bday!!!
Sounds like a great birthday weekend… minus losing your camera. I really want to see Bears too – thanks for the heads up on the kids movie part. I didn’t get that impression either. 🙂 Your ice cream looks delicious – I haven’t been to a Cold Stone in forever!
I think the preview is deceiving! It was cute but the narration was definitely juvenile.
I’m glad you had a great birthday! Two ice cream stops sounds amazing! Oh and I thought the Bears movie was for grown ups too!
Haha glad I’m not the only one who made that mistake!
Happy Birthday! That ice cream and froyo look heavenly – my idea of the perfect birthday!!
Stinks about your camera! I have a Canon ELPH 300 that I really like for point & shoot purposes:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-ELPH-300-HS/dp/B004J41T7Q/ref=sr_1_9?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1398697872&sr=1-9&keywords=Canon+elph
It also is available in a couple models newer (310, 320, 330).
Great! Thanks!
Awww this looks like a great birthday weekend – I hope you had a blast!!! I could eat sushi and ice cream everyday. 🙂
Happy Bday!! Sounds like you had an amazing time 🙂
I’ve been debating a hydration pack for when I run but feel like it would probably annoy me, any suggestions?
I haven’t used it for running yet, but I have similar concerns. I loved it for hiking though!
happy belated birthday! it sounds like you had a wonderful weekend — now you’ve got me craving froyo! 🙂
Happy belated birthday!!! Looks like it was a great one!!!
I think I recognize those sushi platters as Bento. Right? I love Bento and would go there frequently when I went to UF and when I lived in Orlando. Sushi and fro-yo is a great night.
Yes!! Love Bento!
Hydration packs are so handy! I have one that I use for running/hiking. We also take it snowboarding and it is so nice to be able to drink something while we are on the slopes. And you can stash snacks there too!
Yay! Birthdays are the best!!
I bought a fuji finepix for our last vacation because we didn’t want to lug our dslr. It has a bunch of different settings (i.e. sunset, indoor, portrait, etc) the pictures are great, and it’s on sale right now!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/finepix-t500-16-0-megapixel-digital-camera/8264528.p;jsessionid=DEB7348BE24A9AF532CBA29DB50DC6B0.bbolsp-app02-201?id=1218866966700&skuId=8264528&st=fuji%20finepix&cp=1&lp=2
Thank you for sharing!
Nice birthday – especially the double ice cream! Sorry about your camera, but it didn’t seem to put a damper on your weekend, so that’s good.
Happy birthday! What a great 29th birthday weekend!
Happy Birthday! Glad you had a fun filled weekend.
Sushi, froyo, and a cookout with friends sounds like the ideal birthday weekend for sure!
Yay Happy Birthday! You are my April 27th twin…I took a trip to Madison, Wisconsin with some of my very best friends to celebrate, and went on a mini bar crawl…it was a blast..Happy Monday!