Abbie On: Abbie Does the Birthday Thing and the Christmas (non Christmas) thing.

*She also makes me realize how I need to get it together and do more stuff, MAN she is full of energy.*

My Birthday

Abbie Berry

I love December.

I just had another birthday and they seem to become more and more different the older you get. Don’t you think? My birthday has always been important to me. I’m a December baby. We all wait another year for another birthday to come around, but I’ve always felt like I really was waiting for the whole year to go by since my birthday fell towards the end of December.

The reason I bring this up is:

1. I want my blogs to expose you to what I love about San Diego and the people who live here

and

b) I went out to dinner for four nights in a row with my amazing friends. Two of these dinners were at restaurants I had never been to before and I want you to know about them so you can go eat there too.

Birthday dinner #1

Rama - 327 Fourth Avenue

This was my first time to Rama, a Thai restaurant located in Downtown San Diego. My friend Michelle knows the owner and thought it would be fun for my birthday. (Thanks Michelle!) When you arrive, you’ll walk down a long hallway to the back and then be greeted by the host/hostess. The décor is elegant and cozy. The booths are covered with a sheer drape which gives an illusion of privacy. The food was delicious. We had Tom Yum soup, Kratong Tong (little cups filled with peas, potatoes, chicken and curry) and Eggplant with Beef. The service was terrific as well. I’ll give this one four stars.

Birthday dinner #2

Turf Supper Club – 1116 25^th Street

Since I blog about Turf Club all of the time, I’ll spare you. I love this place and I make a mean steak! Thank you to Johnny for having dinner with me.

Birthday dinner #3

The Yard House – 1023 Fourth Avenue

Big thanks to all of my friends who came out to grub at Yard House which is also located in Downtown San Diego. Brooke and I eat there pretty often. The food is yummy and some of the dishes are quite unusual. For instance, the California Roll appetizer is actually one very large sushi roll. But The Yard House is famous for their beer. They claim to have the “largest selection of draft beer.” I recommend the Blue Moon. If I’m going to drink a beer, that’s the one I want.

Birthday dinner #4

Mister A’s – 2550 Fifth Avenue, Twelfth Floor

Ok people. It was the first time to Mister A’s for the four of us who dined there that evening. This place is high class and a special occasion destination. When the elevator doors open on the 12^th floor, your Mister A’s experience begins. As you sit in the dining room, you look out upon the City of San Diego. The airport, the Bay, Downtown. It was a clear night sky and we could see all of beautiful San Diego.

We had specialty cocktails. My drink was called something like “A relaxing afternoon.” It was blue and had blueberries and raspberries floating in it and it tasted like fruit juice.

We had appetizers. I ate rabbit. That’s right. I ate the Easter Bunny. But it was tasty.

We had Lobster Tempura and Scallops. We had Prime Rib.

We had dessert. Three of them.

It was an amazing meal with three amazing people. Thank you very much for such a special evening.

Christmas Day

So, not only was it my birthday recently, but it was Christmas for many people as well. My boyfriend and I are Jewish and I thought I’d tell you how two San Diego Jews spent Christmas Day.

It went something like this:

We slept in.

We worked out at the gym in his building.

We went for a jog/walk. Ok, so we walked A LOT. I’m a whimp.

We walked around Seaport Village. Seaport Village is pretty touristy. Shops, ships, restaurants and other things to see.

We took a pedicab to Kansas City BBQ. This is the place where they filmed the famous scene in Top Gun and that’s what this place is known for. The food was good and it was cool to look at the movie memorabilia on the walls.

We took a cab back to his place where we played Xbox. Woo Hoo! I love Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I love to pretend that I play lead guitar for Bon Jovi. I’m crazy like that.

During our Christmas Day adventure we happened upon many puppies and dogs out for a walk and many people wishing us a Merry Christmas. As we said “Merry Christmas” right back, I wondered what other Jews were up to. Were they out pretending to be San Diego tourists as well?

It was a great day.

For me.

I keep seeing this fruitcake chucking thing all over the damn place

Never heard of it, but apparently it's coming up so brace yourselves and keep your eyes open for any stray fruit cakes. From Canadian Press:

In California on Dec. 2, the Fruitcake Chuck-n-Hurl takes place in San Diego, where locals will toss their cakes into trash cans to raise money for charity. It's part of Deck the Palms, a warm-weather holiday celebration at Seaport Village, part of the San Diego waterfront, that includes a Santa with a surfboard, sand sculptures and decorations on palm trees instead of evergreens.

Some more information via the Seaport Village Website:

All monetary donations plus proceeds from the Fruitcake Chuck-n-Hurl will benefit the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation and its efforts to break the cycle of child abuse, through prevention, education, advocacy and funding. For more information on the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation, visit www.capfsd.org.

The Fruit Cake Chuck is part of the annual Deck The Palms, and event that celebrates the holidays "San Diego Style."

Deck the Palms will also feature an award-winning sand sculptor team creating an exclusive scene with SoCal Santa and his elves, and a professional chalk artist, who will not only create her own piece but help participants add drawings too. And in this year's craft corner, kids will again get to decorate sand dollar ornaments as well as participate in new San Diego-style crafts including sun paper art and candle decorating. Festive lights and decorations, along with more live upbeat holiday music and entertainment will spice up the ambiance at Seaport. Deck the Palms runs Sunday, Dec. 2 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Organizers expect Santa to arrive with a splash around noon, and he will be available for photos (not supplied by Seaport Village) until 4 p.m. All shops, restaurants and eateries will be open for holiday shopping and dining from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.