****I need to play catch up on my blog.. so I’m going back to September.  I started writing this and realized I didn’t finish it. *****

Ordinarily we wake up feeling pretty good about our special day – because birthdays are special – right- only this year, mine/ours will be forever a bittersweet day.  In addition to being born on Sept 30, and sharing it with the most wonderful sister God could ever bless me with, it is now shared with the same day we laid our dear sweet mother to rest.  May she always rest in paradise.  I was awakened with a warm lovable hug from my first born son, Jamil, and was just simply taking in the loving feeling.  When he said he’d come spend the weekend with me to celebrate, I truly was excited about it because let’s face it.. I hear so many stories how kids don’t really spend time with their parents, so I cherish all the moments I get (and coincidently my twin spent hers with her first born son, Nazeeh, who drove up from Atlanta to NJ- it’s that twin thing that happens all the time with us).  After that morning wake-up hug, he told Google Nest to “play some music” (he knows I love hearing music) and of all songs that Google decided to play first, it was Stevie Wonder – In the Sun..   How did it know… how…. did it know…that was the first song I heard after my mother passed.  You know tears have a flow of their own and I couldn’t stop them.. nor did I want to stop them. I needed that morning release on this day.  Jamil then asked what did I want to do for this day… I was simply pleased knowing he was there sharing it with me, but he said whatever I wanted to do was fine with him.  I honestly had no clue on what to do for my day, but the only thing I had in mind was to pick up my new bicycle.  I was happy to have found one .

So he decided to plan the day for us.

sidenote:  When he saw I was wearing pink for the day, he asked if I wanted him to wear pink (in honor) and I was shocked – he actually obliged and changed into something pink) – hugs, hugs

He scheduled a facial for me (which I hadn’t had in over 25 years), then he took me to a candle making class at Greenville Soy Candle

That was a cool experience.  I’ve been wanting to try my luck at making a candle and now I see it wasn’t so hard after all. I used the patchouli blend they had and named it “58”.

Afterwards, we had dinner at a restaurant called Basil Thai.  It had been a very long time since I’ve had Thai food and decided to give it a try and oh my goodness am I glad we chose to eat there.  The food was absolutely delicious.  We started with the Fried Wontons and the entrée I chose was BARRAMUNDI WITH SHRIMP (Asian Sea Bass) and Jamil had the Basil Duck.

pic courtesy of Thai Basil

Both dishes were prepared perfectly and satisfying our picky pallets.  I honestly can’t wait to go again.  Leaving the restaurant with full bellies, we decided to walk around downtown Greenville to lose a few calories (yea right), then we stopped at a rooftop bar and had a quick drink.   Then, it was homeward bound and had my ever-so-happy to have – Carvel Ice Cream Cake for dessert.   So all-in-all, I had a wonderful time celebrating my birthday.  Sometimes it’s the simple goodness in living and loving the memorable moments that can bring you joy and Jamil gifted me with that.   I know I’m so behind and this is a blog about home décor, but I wanted to share this story with you.  So many things have been going on with me and I’m now back into the groove of things.  I did get a change to create a video about small details in Fall Decorating

but now winter is upon us and so are the holidays.  Oh well.. t’s better late than never – right?? I hope you all have been well and enjoying memorable events.

CIAO!!!