Three (four? five?) glasses of pinot grigio and one tequila shot later, I am alive. I can’t remember the last time that I had more than one drink. Letting go is perfectly acceptable to me on my birthday, though. In anticipation of fighting a hangover, my friend Jenny and I enjoyed 1:00 a.m. snack of baby carrots and hummus, salt-free popcorn, and rice cakes. We’re wild, I know. In all honesty, I think it is what saved me from waking up and feeling like I’d been hit by the wine-and-tequila-vortex-of-death. No complaints over here!
Before we get to that, let’s back-track.
It felt so good to spend the day with Matty and not worry about time constraints! We went to Legacy Place, an outdoor shopping center about 30 minutes away, and had an absolute blast! We were greeted by a beautiful bunny.
The above bunny was painted by local artist Marietta Apollonio. I was so moved by the artwork, particularly the time and effort that went into the black and white painting of the quaint town and the large tree. Pretty amazing!
We shopped for a little bit before deciding that we were hungry. One of my favorite things about Legacy Place is their Whole Foods. It is absolutely gigantic (I would have no problem setting up camp in there) and their hot-and-cold bar section is insane. Check it out!
I know, I know. There is not one, not two but FOUR stations (two cold and two hot) of food to choose from. They also have about 12 different salad dressing options. It is the mecca of all Whole Foods, in my opnion. It always has really interesting options to choose from. We perused the stations before piling our plates with yummy eats!
I settled on a mix of sesame-tahini greens, steamed broccoli, and grilled portabello mushroom and onions topped with kalamata olives and garlic-tahini dressing. Apparently, I was all about the tahini! I also chose ginger-teriyaki tofu and seitan. My favorite part of this meal was trying a new-to-me root veggie: a Japanese yam! It was so good – the flesh was much sweeter and thicker than a regular yam but I welcomed the change! I liked it so much that I purchased one to take home and make Japanese yam fries with. I’m excited to see how they come out!
In true Matty fashion, he opted for his beloved Indian food.
With happy bellies, we continued our shopping adventure. Matty knew that I had my heart set on Urban Outfitters and Francesca’s Collection so he suggested we stop in those stores first. Such a gem, eh? 
I dropped more money than intended (surprise surprise) at Urban Outfitters on an outfit for the evening. My response to myself was, “It’s my birthday and I’ll shop if I want to!” (sung like “It’s My Party & I’ll Cry If I Want To”). After that purchase, i promised myself I wouldn’t spend anymore money on clothes but I still wanted to look around Francesca’s.
I came across this beautiful piece of wall art.
Amen to that!
Then, JP Licks happened. The two of us were beyond excited for an cold treat from one of our favorite ice cream joints!
I ordered a medium cup of chai and coffee lace while Matty opted for an oreo cookie frappe. We sat down on a nearby bench, enjoyed our frozen desserts, and people-watched.
Evening Out
A few hours later, it was go time.
We’re a treat, huh?
Matty, Cait, and Jenny came over before we headed out to Bar Louie for dinner and drinks. As you can see, we had some photo fun beforehand.
We giggled our way to Bar Louie, where we met up with our friend Jen. A bunch of my other friends came a little later, too. I was a little…um…”out of it” so after food and my first drink, I’ve got nothin’ else for ya.
It’s the Boston Tone It Up girls!
Veggies, house-made hummus, and an unpictured side of tabbouleh were devoured with the above glass of pinot grigo. We all had a blast just chatting and laughing away. It was exactly what I had in mind for a nice, relaxing birthday evening. 
Foodie Penpals
This month, I was given a lovely Foodie Penpals package from Shaunna!
I loved her packaged because it was chock full of staples that I will have for a long time and will use on a frequent basis in a variety of recipes! From bottom left to top right: organic, raw oatmeal, grapeseed soil, raspberry blush vinegar, pine nuts, and dry ingredients for a homemade carrot cake cookie recipe. I actually ate the dry ingredients by themselves by forming them into little cookie dough balls and they were so yummy! A couple of the cookie balls made for a great, healthy snack. Thank you so much for a fantastic package, Shaunna!
Alright, I’m off to do some yoga, then Matty, the fam, and I are headed to my cousin’s wedding. Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Stay lovely,
Heather
Looks like the perfect day! I can’t remember the last time I had more than one drink either, it’s been a while since I even had one! The odd beer on occasion! That ice cream seriously looks incredible and I want to go and live in wholefoods, wish we had one here!!!
Oh, GIRL! You would be in HEAVEN. Here’s to hoping Ireland gets a Whole Foods!
sounded like the perfect birthday!! bar louie is a great place!
Thanks, Lori! It really is an awesome place to go and hang out.
So happy you had a fabulous birthday! I love legacy place and that whole foods is unreal! I could easily spend hours in there! I’ve totally gotten lost looking for something in there before
Have a great weekend!
I would gladly get lost in that Whole Foods with you.
oh my god…dedham whole foods IS MY FAVORITE! I live in wellelsey and they just opened up a new one there and IT DOESN’T EVEN COMPARE. I love how legacy has so many different options at their salad bar! Everytime I go, however, I can easily spend $20 just on salad..hehe
Yes – it’s NOT the best thing for our wallets, huh?
Whole Foods = best lunch ever.
AMEN.
Your Whole Foods looks amazing! I go for lunch every day because I work next door to one but the selection is hardly comparable to 4 different food bars! Looks like you had a lot of fun
Good LORD, I know. There is nothing like that Whole Foods. Such a special treat!
Happy Belated Birthday!
I love that rabbit! The artwork is gorgeous. And that coffee and chai ice cream looks really amazing!
Thanks, Lea! <3 xoxo
Happy Belated Birthday! It looks like you had such a lovely day.
I’ve literally been thinking about ice-cream all day long and this post just elevated the craving! There’s a vegan ice-cream shop a few blocks from me that has the most amazing vegan soft serve ever. You can bet I’ll be there tomorrow! (:
Emily, you’re so sweet! Thank you.
I would love to be teleported to that vegan ice-cream shop with you…pleeeease?
Happy belated birthday! WF would be my choice for a bday lunch too.
I’m jealous of how big yours is!
Thank you so much, Chelsea! Yeah…Whole Foods rocks our worlds!
What a great birthday!! I’m glad you enjoyed yourself
Sounds like you had an awesome birthday!!! Happy belated, and here’s to many more
That Whole Foods also looks like heaven!! I always get so envious because it seems like Whole Food’s in the States are always so much bigger than their Canadian counterparts!
Sounds like you had such a HAPPY birthday! You look gorgeous as always! I’m glad you splurged and enjoyed your night out
Sometimes its much needed!
thanks, babe! definitely enjoyed the wine, wine, wine, and…did i say wine?
hope the yoga was lovely, girl! so THAT’S why matty asked you to pose like a bunny when we were taking pics – you’d been inspired by the legacy place bunny! it all makes sense to me now. i didn’t know you had jp lick’s! yummm it’s been too long since i had that.
hahahahah. yes. that is the EXACT reason.