Happy Birthday Tara!

Yesterday I got together with my entire family on my dad’s side for my cousin Tara’s birthday – her 21st! This included my parents, grandparents, brother and sister, aunt and uncle, cousin Kate… basically everyone except my cousin Shane, who is going to college in Hawaii and understandably couldn’t attend.

I felt semi-awkward being around my sister, since the last time we interacted it was in the midst of a gigantic fight, but the evening actually turned out really well. We met up at Tara’s apartment where she lives with her boyfriend in the U-District. Their place was in one of those totally charming old brick buildings, and the inside was really roomy with a lot of character and hardwood floors. I was happy to see Tara had found such a great apartment to move into, since their previous was a tiny studio in Belltown.
We all trooped up to a tiny Chinese restaurant a few blocks away for dinner. The place was a hole in the wall, but turned out to be really great. All 12 of us sat at a large round table with one of those convenient turntables in the middle, so everyone could share hot tea with just a quick spin. Chinese food is one of my absolute favorite things, so I proceeded to stuff myself with egg drop soup, sweet and sour chicken, chow mein and egg rolls. I probably gained five pounds, but it was totally worth it.

Back at Tara’s apartment we indulged in a fantastic cake my grandma had made. I swear there is really nothing better than a homemade cake from Grandma. Rainbow chocolate chip with chocolate chip icing on top and in a nice thick layer in the middle. Yum.

Being that it was Halloween weekend, I naturally had to take off fairly early to get ready to partake in the holiday festivities. But I was glad to come by and wish Tara a happy 21st birthday… she’s going to love the world of legal-aged drinking!

Happy Birthday Cuz!