Happy Birthday to me, day four!

“Happy Birthday to me” is getting to be a little joke between Don & I.  It’s also getting a little ridiculous, but I’m enjoying every minute of it.

This morning, Don said, “If you’ll get all gussied up, I’ll take you to lunch.” (Yep, that’s what he said.)

No problem!

I love it when Don surprises me.  The surprise today was The Rails for lunch.  The owner of this restaurant has done a lot of work improving the property.

It was a beautiful day with a slight breeze blowing, so we decided to dine out on the patio under the trees and umbrella.

Don is perusing the menu and decided on….

Portobello Chicken on Wild Rice. He said it was much better than it looked and he’s still trying to figure out what’s in the sauce so he can duplicate it at home.

Complimentary appetizer was fresh, soft sourdough bread with pepper seasoned olive oil.

My dining choice was the a Special for the day:  Grilled Portobello cap salad with spicy dressing.  Let me just say in one word:  Delicious.  Tender greens, tomatoes, black olives, artichokes chunks, thin slices of red onions, and grated parmesan cheese.  The dressing was tangy, and, oh, so, savory.

All through lunch, we had our eyes on that building over there with the sign… The Sweeter Side of The Rails.

This is the newest addition to The Rails.

Over at The Sweeter Side, my choice was the Salty Caramel Gelato…. one little scoop in a very small bowl for three dollars.  Worth every penny and all I needed.

From where we were sitting on the porch, I saw a sign hanging down the way and read, The Horse Bling.  Got to check this out!  Upon closer inspection:

Still had to check it out.

Horse Bling would have worked, too.

We looked all around and visited with the owner, Bileta, a really sweetheart of a gal, Christian.  I can’t believe I didn’t get pictures of some of the Christian plaques she had laying around and on the wall.  Or the amazing cross hanging on the wall. Note to self:  I have to go back!  So, anyway, we visited and left, but as Don walked toward the truck, I just had to go back and take some pictures, even though the only camera I had with me was my phone.  I walked back in and asked her if I could take some pictures of the bling-bling for my blog, you know, free advertisement!  Of course, she said, “Certainly!”

This cross had caught my eye when we first walked in.

Bileta hung it from this necklace with matching earrings, handed it to me and said, “Happy Birthday!”No way!!  “Yep,” she said, “this is God’s store.  I give away something everyday.”  Are you serious?  Wow! This, “it’s my birthday!” thing is getting ridiculous, but I love it.

Wouldn’t you?

Thank you so much, Bileta, it’s beautiful. And I’ll be back with a real camera!

Again, I walked out, turned around and went back in to get this picture of my new friend.She gets it.

This is the building that houses The Sweeter Side and The House of Bling and a children’s shop…. has Frog in the name, but I forget.