Happy 7 1/4 Birthday Lizz!

My best friend Lizz and I have been friends for almost 15 years now. We met within the first few weeks of high school in 1994, me in torn jeans, a Grateful Dead t-shirt and flannel… her in Clueless-style knee socks and mini skirt. We both had braces, fairly bad haircuts, and no idea that 15 years later we’d still be the best of friends. We were on the flag team together, in band together, and saw each other through bad relationship after bad relationship. She got me drunk for the first time, and I introduced her to the wonder that is “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind“.

We remained friends through college, living only 45 minutes from each other. After we graduated, I promptly moved back to Chicago, while she stayed in Central Illinios…and I’ve never been happier than the day she called my cell phone to tell me “I got a job in Chicago and I’m moving back!” We had pizza and Top Model Wednesdays, adventures in the grocery store at midnight on Saturdays, and the occasional “grown-up dinner” when we went to a restaurant where a waiter actually served us.

I was there in the hospital a mere 3 hours after Lizz’s beautiful daughter, Skylar was born, and I’m hoping that someday, she’ll do the same for me… after she tells me all the gruesome stuff that none of the books tell (I’ve heard something about hair?).

Lizz will be standing beside me at my and Adam’s wedding in the fall, and I couldn’t imagine a day without at least knowing that my “heterosexual life mate” is somewhere, laughing uncontrollably if the “car song” comes on the radio (yeah right, like it ever does), or sharing my love of Yogen Früz.

We’ve done some really cool stuff together… including meeting Eddie Izzard and Gene Hackman:

Yes, I wore the same shirt in both these pictures…but I digress… Lizz was with me when I got my nose pierced, she helped me move into my first apartment by myself, and she was the first person I told when I met Adam and just “knew”.

Lizz, I really hope you read this because otherwise I’m blathering about you for no good reason, but I wanted to just let you know how much I appreciate you and your friendship over the past 15 years…and I hope that one day we’ll be those crazy old ladies at a bar trying to pick up the college guys because we don’t remember where our houses are.

Why the 7 1/4 th birthday?? Well, Lizz is a leap year baby… we’ve been friends since before she was 4! Tonight, we went out to celebrate. Technically, since there’s no actual day, we tend to celebrate the whole month of March! Lizz chose to go to Chevy’s for dinner, and it was so delicious! We started with pomegranate margaritas.

Mine's the little one... I'm a total lightweight!

There were seafood and shrimp quesadillas and chips and salsa that I didn’t photograph, mostly because I forgot! My entree was grilled chicken fajitas, and they did a REALLY good job of keeping the extra oil off the sizzle plate. I only had 2 tortillas and all the chicken and veggies:

There was rice and beans on the left, and guacamole and sour cream on the right

Since it was Lizz’s birthday, they brought her a sombrero and a small ice cream sundae. The sombrero promptly went on Skylar’s head:

She's such a ham for the camera!

After we finished eating, it was time for more pictures! Skylar insisted on taking photos of everyone, and for an almost-4-year-old, she takes some darn good pictures! I took this one of she and I:

Not bad for a self portrait!

Then Skylar took a great picture of Lizz and I:

We're the definition of BFF!

So happy birthday Lizz! You’re seriously the best friend anyone could wish for!

xoxo,

Tagged as: dinner out, friends, Mexican