Libbapalooza 2011

Somebody failed to send me the memo that I turned 31 last Friday and not 21. This year's birthday celebration was epic. It lasted four whole days. Four days of awesome. Thanks especially to Dirk, and also to my neighbors and friends.

Libbapalooza kicked off with a birthday breakfast at the Original Pancake House:


Then I received this surprise at the office from Dirk!


That night, Mary Claire and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Villa Fiesta:




I was hurting a little the next day, and after having a few cups of coffee with Aimee, we decided a little hair of the dog was in order.


Then Dirk and I road-tripped to Nashville to see one of our favorite bands perform at the historic Ryman theater.



We spent some time walking around Broadway and people watching and then decided to stop into a honky tonk for an adult beverage.

We listened to a god-awful band and Dirk hung out with his buddy Billy Ray


We met up with some Birmingham friends for more adult beverages and dinner before heading into the show.

It was a great and memorable night!

The next day, we did some clean up around the house in preparation for the birthday party Dirk had organized for me. It was so much fun!

There were more dogs there than people, and Volk is one of my favorites. He's Iliana and Adrienne's 5-month-old Saint Bernard.


All I really wanted was for everyone to be in a pyramid for me. SOME guests were giving me a hard time, "You're THIRTY ONE now, Libba! Come on!" You know how some people can be too-cool-for-school. Thankfully Flip reminded me that, "When they tell you to grow up, Libba, what they really mean is for you to stop growing." Thanks to those who participated, and also to Dirk for snapping the photo.


A group photo:


He's available, ladies:


Aimee and I love to sword fight. This time we added a sombrero challenge.




Here's the Castro/South family photo!


You'd think that Libbapalooza ended there, but oh, no, you would be wrong.

On Libbapalooza Day 4, Flip, the golden girls, and I traveled to the foothills of Mount Cheaha for a day hike. We did about 8 miles on the Chinnabee Silent Trail. I'm always so refreshed and rejuvenated by spending a day in nature, especially with a friend who never makes me feel like I should be taking crazy pills for some of the random things that come out of my mouth. We talked about our favorite mythical creatures we wished actually existed, our favorite conspiracy theories, quotes, places we'd like to live, etc. Good times. Then Sipsey killed a baby squirrel. It kind of put a damper on things, but we made up a song about it, so you know, turning the frown upside down.




THEN, as if I wasn't exhausted already, Jim and I went to the Fleet Foxes concert at the Alabama Theater. Which was amazing.


And then last night, I counted the minutes until 9:00 when I could crawl into bed and fall asleep.

august - the month of birthdays

We have so many good friends and family with birthdays in August, and this past weekend, we celebrated our friend Alex's! Alex's wife Lisa really does know how to throw a party.

Here's a section of their driveway that she had set up lounging:

There were a few kiddos running around, so there were toys to play with. Of course, Dirk and I spent much of our time with the toys. Harry Potter decided to take on a hobbit while Saruman referee'ed:

There were some intense ping pong battles going on. Dirk and Marcus vs. everybody:

Here's a photo I snapped of Jorge's son, Jorgito, who has been in the states this summer:

Our friend Iliana is from South America and we introduced her to keg stands at her birthday this past May. She wanted to try it again, and since she was around such mature adults, we decided to help her out...what are friends for, right?

Here's the birthday boy!

Luis told me that he wants to hire me to follow him around one day and take photos of him. Basically wants to pay me to be his paparazzi. I said, "sure!"

Anytime Guillermo was around, there was always an intense game of dominoes going down. So, in his honor, the tradition is staying alive:

I love this group of people. We always have so much fun together, and there's always lots of love and laughter.

so Dirk turned 30

And here's a video I made to commemorate the celebration.

A fun time was had by all, and I'm glad the cameras disappeared around the same time as the keg floated. Because I tried my best Tarzan impersonation while swinging on a vine of kudzu and ended up on my hiney.

{whoops! So there is evidence of the Kudzu-Tarzan debacle. Found this photo in my text message inbox}

Dirty Thirty

One week ago today, I ushered in my thirties. A day I was apprehensive about, NOT because I feel as if I'm getting old, blah, blah, blah, but because of all the pressure to have some sort of amazing once in a lifetime, tell memories of it forever, birthday party. And everyone was being so evasive. I couldn't pin anyone down as to what their plans were on my birthday. Liz actually even said, the weekend before, "When is it, again?"

With Mama, Brooke, and Taylor in town, we decided to eat somewhere fun, delicious, and kid friendly (because Taylor will lick the guacamole bowl clean), we opted for Cantina, one of our favorite places in Birmingham. When we walked in, there were huge tables pulled together with balloons, presents, and PEOPLE. People from work, family, friends, it was amazing. And it WAS a once in a lifetime birthday experience. Because it was the first birthday since high school where I've gotten to celebrate with my mama. And it was the first birthday I've spent with my niece, the first birthday I've spent as a married woman, and it's the first birthday party that I haven't had to throw myself (see, I'm a little Type A and like to plan and organize, but you all knew that, right?)

Apparently there were three different trips to the balloon shop and a few nervous breakdowns over that "0".
My best friend and soul-mate.
This is a classic Amber/Libba picture. Because I've always had a little friend, and lucky for me, Amber doesn't get too annoyed by my coo'ing and ca'ing over how cute and little she is. Because she's also one of the most interesting and talented people I know. So here I am carrying her around.
Looking around the room at all the people present made me think about how my life has evolved in the past ten years, and ponder where the next ten years will lead me. One thing is certain, I know that when I turn 40, this guy will be there. He's the best.
And guess what?! Now I have not ONE, but TWO little friends. Ahhhh, and they are BOTH super duper creative and talented. And they BOTH motivate and inspire me to stay creative! And aren't they just the cutest?!
There was cuteness.
There were presents, wine, and lots and lots of loud voices.
And there was a DAIRY QUEEN ICE CREAM CAKE!!!
I can't forget to mention the tequila shots. There were plenty of those, too :)

Thank you all for helping me have the best birthday of my life!

Dia De Los Dirka

We celebrated Dirk's birthday this past weekend Yay! Over the past five years, this is only the second birthday I've gotten to spend with Dirk, poor guy. I was always traveling on his birthday, so we made it extra special this year.

The girls and I woke him up with veggie sausage and biscuits and orange juice in bed!
I slaved away over this two-layer chocolate creation.
We went to dinner with friends at Taj India and then we headed to drinks with more friends at the Garage, the coolest bar in Birmingham.
The courtyard is amazing with a bunch of collectable treasures just laying around. Each one of the garages (my great Uncle Bubba used to park his car here back when they were functioning garages) has a different theme and is full of fun stuff.
And creepy things, too.

After the Garage we all headed to listen to a great band named Pharm Hand at the Open Door Cafe. I danced the night away. And Dirk drank the night away. We were joined by some more friends and we were able to celebrate both Dirk's birthday and Aimee's graduation from the Master's Program at UAB. So proud of her! And still recovering from all the fun!