Spoiled in SB

So four days later and I am finally telling you how I spent my birthday! Such a slacker. Anyway, I ended up playing hooky from work and going to Santa Barbara for the afternoon. The boy always has Mondays off and he wanted to take me somewhere to celebrate. I always enjoy going to SB so we did, though we didn't make it out there until about 2 p.m.

Once we got there we were starving, so we made a beeline to our favorite by-the-beach restaurant: Brophy Bros. This clam bar and seafood restaurant is always busy, even on a late Monday afternoon! But we didn't have to wait too long to get a seat outside on the second-story deck overlooking the harbor. But even better than the views, I think, is the food. I literally dream about it sometimes and I had even mentioned it the week before my birthday, secretly hoping that's where we would go. I got my usual, the pan-blackened Mahi Mahi. Dusted with Cajun spices and served with drawn butter, it is melt-in-your-mouth fantastic. It is a bit pricey at $22, but it comes with a hunk of chewy sourdough bread, a garlicky starter salad and two sides-- I got rice pilaf and cole slaw, which I happen to think is the best slaw out there. Can you tell I like Brophy's? So good! The boy got fish 'n' chips, which is also delish so I stole a few bites off his plate. This is our routine: get the dishes we both love so we can share!

After our late lunch, we walked off our full stomachs on State Street. While I only planned to window shop, I did pick up a few things. First we stopped in at Sur La Table where I saw (for the second time) these adorable waffle cone ice cream bowls and I decided I just had to have them. It's my birthday after all, right?

Unfortunately-- or fortunately, however you want to look at it-- my shopping didn't end there. We later walked into a Coach store that must be a factory store because everything was on sale! It was crazy and much too tempting. I fell for the markdowns. RR bought me this adorable bright pink bag that was simply too good a deal to pass up at $40. While I was checking out another equally adorable, colorful and springy bag, the boy said, "Babe, I'll get you the pink one for your birthday and you should get that one for yourself." So I did. It was not as cheap, but it was still on sale. Oh, I got a flowery keychain, too.

Yep, definitely threw out the ol' budget that day. But it was nice to get out and do something and be spoiled a bit. Though, I did feel it the next day with tons of interviews to do and stories to write. But I pulled it off and hey, my birthday--which is not always my favorite day of the year--didn't turn out all the bad. And it ended on a sweet note once I got home: a scoop of vanilla-strawberry ice cream in my new "waffle" bowl. Yum.

Here's a look at my day by the beach, in pictures: