GR's 14th Birthday!

GR shares her birthday with President Lincoln, so whenever you have the day off for that day, think of her!  As usual, she didn't want to have a party, instead picking things to do on her day with her family.  It was a great day, and I am so blessed to have her.

We started off the day by going to the historical Railroad Museum, which she just loves.  If you're ever in Sacramento, this is a must-see.  We were home for lunch and presents, including new booties for her pup, Mindy, and...

...cake!  And, yes, we can't seem to stop having our  Black Tie Cheesecake .  Seriously, you have to make this.  I also allowed myself to have one Oreo Birthday Cake cookie.  Not a fan of processed cookies, but GR wanted them, so I had to have one, too.  After lunch, we watched The Great Gatsby.  She is a  major fan of the story and has read the book several times.  I got her the movie for Christmas, and she decided that day to save the first viewing of it for her birthday.  The wait was well worth it for her.  Now, her movie goes well with her new Gatsby poster that little brother, JK, gave her for her birthday.

A couple of hours later, my parents joined us for dinner at Gatsby's Diner!  Yes, we have a Gatsby's Diner in town, and GR made up her mind that's where she wanted to have her birthday dinner months ago.  I looked online at their website - www.gatsbysdiner.com - and realized that although they had several vegetarian options, there was nothing vegan but their side salad.  GR said that was fine with her. What she didn't know was that I went there in person and spoke with the co-owner, David, explained that my daughter was a Great Gatsby nut and would they make us a special dinner?  David graciously agreed to do so.  GR doesn't ask for much, so I wanted to do this for her.  Their buns and breads aren't vegan, and they had no pasta on the menu.  But, we agreed that he would make us a special pasta dish for that night.  He went out and bought pasta just for our family.  See our delicious dishes below.

Believe it or not, this huge salad is their side salad!  This was SO good; I can't remember having a side salad that tasted this good.  I could taste the fresh thyme that was sprinkled on.  Loved it.

I kept our dinner a secret from GR; as far as she knew, we were just going to have the salads.  But, being kids, she and her siblings saw fries on the menu, so we ordered two batches to share.  Tasty as well.

 

Here is my huge portion of pasta.  He put grilled portabello mushrooms just on mine because I would be the only one appreciating them.  It was so much that I brought most of this home with me.  Everything was excellent, including the service.  We can't go back on a regular basis, just because of the lack of choices, but for this one night, they made it super special.  It was a great surprise for GR when he brought out the pasta.

Here's GR enjoying her dinner in the restaurant of her dreams.  Happy Birthday, dear GR!