Birthday Geekness

I celebrated a little birthday on Saturday. Not a big deal throw-me-a-fiesta kind of year, but fun and well-celebrated nonetheless (colorful candles!). #27, baby. Pete and I observed the occasion a week early with a day trip to Boston, where we explored Cambridge, Harvard U, and a perfectly timed Oktoberfest festival with two of my cousins.

Coolest Harvard chairs ever, or coolest. chairs. ever. 

Side note: Same exact outfit as that photo in my sidebar. Wheeeee.

I geeked out like Rory Gilmore while we explored the university. We stayed at the Irving House just off campus (a 40+ room inn with the cutest website I’ve seen in a long time). The location allowed us reason to walk through the architecture and gawk like all other tourists as we ventured to Oktoberfest.

With the same level of excitement as I dove into that pack of multi-colored chairs, Pete beelined for the NPR’s Car Talk Plaza. I don’t know about you other ladies, but the weekly show was also a staple in my youth so I appreciated it almost as much. Dewey, Cheetham & Howe marked on the window.

That’s pure, unfiltered, man excitement right there.

I’m lucky to have people in my life who give kick ass gifts. A few that topped the list included my first-ever laser level, the premiere issue of HGTV magazine, and this beautiful bowl. The bowl, from my parents, was handmade by Rochester-based artist Richard Aerni and is a cool, one-of-a-kind pottery that I probably never would have splurged on myself. Something fitting my style, a little eclectic, but an item I would never buy in my frugal ways is the perfect type of gift.

Speaking of great gifts that I never would have bought myself, Pete surprised me earlier in the week with a new Canon EF 50mm lens for my Rebel that perfectly suits my penchant for macro photography and dramatic depth of field focus. He also threw on a UV filter which is a nice to have, and in addition to blocking out those rays, should really help to protect the lens. Stoked.

I spent quality time with my new lens before this past weekend, which is why you saw a little sneak peek of it’s capabilities (in total testing mode – I’m no pro!) already in this photo (which was posted here):

One other especially ultra-cool gift (in my geeked out opinion) is a green Silva/Bradshaw ring that’s – wait for it – made of nylon and produced via 3D printing. Technology blows my mind. And the ring is exactly what they say it is; durable, strong, and still has a little bit of give to it so I don’t think it’ll ever become misshapen as easily as metal rings.

Silva/Bradshaw makes some amazing pieces beyond just jewelry; in fact, while you’re thinking of it, you should just go check out their amazing tables.

Thanks to all for making it a great day, and thanks to global warming for making my birthday weekend 70+ degrees, allowing me to get a lot of yard work done. More to come on that soon.