When I was a little kid, my mom would tuck me into bed, give me a hug and a kiss, and say “please don’t ever grow up!” and I would think to myself “yes! I would like that very much!! I don’t want to be any older OR bigger!!!” I absolutely tried my hardest, but needless to say, it didn’t work. Yesterday was my 26th Birthday. That’s right, I’ve officially entered into the “over 25 club”, and while I’ve been dreading this for a while, I have to say it was a pretty smooth transition and a fabulous Birthday!!

Here are a few snippets of what made my day so special:

I started the day off right with Brunch at Mooo…

Then Nick and I headed to the waterfront to visit the ICA for some fabulous art.

Their current main exhibit is all about colors and the emotions each one evokes. (Green with Envy, Red with Anger, Feeling Blue…) They also had a few of my favorites on view as part of the permanent collection. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures in the galleries, but these were a few of the ones that I found on the website:

This one was a group of particularly interesting paintings, at first glance it might seem like a print of flowers or something more beautiful and organic. But upon inspection, the viewer realizes that the painting is of guts and the grotesque, brightly colored body parts strewn together in a large scale composition. It made me kind of uncomfortable but Nick loved them:

This is one of my favorites that I seek out everytime I visit. It is the burnt wood left over from a fire- suspended on nearly invisible strings. While from far away it looks like none of the pieces are moving, when you look closely you see each one rotating in a mesmerizing illusion.

And of course Nick and I always take the time to sit in the reflection room and watch the boats go by in Boston Harbor.

Next stop we were off to Flour Bakery where I indulged in the biggest and most delicious granola bars ever. Nick was pretty mad for breaking his diet on a giant Brownie- but I think it was probably worth it!

And to end the night we got all dressed up and headed to No. 9 Park for one of the most fabulous meals I have ever had (and that is certainly saying something!)

Dinner started with potato and ramp tortellini, with lobster and fava beans. It was seriously the most delicious pasta! Each bite was more heavenly than the last.

Next up was Branzini (a Mediterranean sea bass) with spring peas and speck cream. The sauce was possibly the best thing ever- smoky, sweet and sticky all at once- and the fish was cooked just perfectly. By the end of this I was so full, but I couldn’t bare to leave a bite on my plate- so I pressed on…

And then, there was dessert: warm, fresh beignets with rhubarb orange sauce and orange blossom foam.

I loved the orange blossom foam so much, that the waitress had the kitchen whip up some orange blossom marshmallows for me! These were served with salted chocolate cookies as we were finishing up.

If this indicates what the rest of 26 is going to be like, I guess being a “grownup” isn’t going to be so bad after all!