Chez Panisse and Le Creuset

My cup runneth over.

Shit!

My birthday came and went, but the gifts just keep coming!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I work for and with the coolest people ever. Today, for the SECOND time in no less than the span of three weeks, we were given a VERY generous bonus at work. Suffice it to say that the news of it caused me to get a little teary and nearly pass out, because I certainly have never been treated this well at any job. I swear to god I am the happiest grunt you will ever meet in your life.

And now, I am a grunt who is planning a trip to Europe to play music, because that's the SECOND thing I'm going to do with the money.

The first thing I did was to enjoy the most perfect meal w/ my dear pal Miss NoNo at the upstairs cafe at Chez Panisse.

Uh, I could go on and on about the most perfectly moist and tender halibut, the most delectable asparagus I've ever eaten in my life, and the exquisite arugula salad.... to say nothing of the wine...oh god, the wine. But I think you get the picture. And damnit, I was thankful for every bite of food, every drop of wine.

And if that wasn't enough, I came home and got the package my parents sent me, featuring a brand new, 5 quart blue Le Creuset french oven. Oh, the big pots of deliciousness that await that pot. I feel like a kid in a candy store on Christmas morning multiplied by ten! I'm already bursting at the seams thinking of what I will cook in that pot and plotting my next dinner party.

Seriously - I am full as a tick and happy as a clam. I don't know why clams are happy, but I know why I am!