Topher's 30th birthday celebration was a huge success and not only did we have a great time, but also our guests had a blast.
On January 5, 2010; I was the first to call him and wished him a happy 30th birthday. I set my alarm 2 minutes before midnight and made sure to stay up so I could call him. I had to call him since he was working at the time, but got the night off for his birthday. Since I took the day off on his birthday, I slept in with him that morning before I started doing errands. That afternoon, I had booked massages at Elements massage at 4pm and reservations at John Howie Steakhouse in Bellevue at the Bravern at 8pm.
When he got home from work about 8am that morning of his birthday, I mentioned that I booked an 80-minute massage for us. He wasn't too happy about that because he felt that it was way too long and I argued that it wasn't. But because it was his birthday, I quickly obliged and e-mailed Elements to notify them to change it to a 55-minute massage instead. It was funny because after we received our 55-minute massages, he said that he could've gone longer! This was his first massage besides the one he got in the Philippines. Although, he still raves about the massage there.
I believe that what made his birthday most memorable was his birthday dinner at John Howie's as well as his birthday gift; the movado watch. Even till this day, 12 days into his 30's he cannot stop talking about the steak he ate there! Even I am talking about it with clients. It was definitely the night where I was enlightened about steaks. It was definitely the best steaks we both had. Topher had the 4oz American Wagyu filet & 4oz Japanese Wagyu filet and I had the American Wagyu New York strip. We also ended up ordering a dozen of the half shell kusshi oysters too. Oh my gosh! Steaks and oysters were amazingly delicious. No sauce nor garnishment was needed for the steaks because the steaks were that good. However, the minuet that came with the oysters made an awesome pair! What made it all worth the money and the decision of eating there was Topher's appreciation for beef. I didn't even know what Kobe or Wagyu beef was and the significance of an aged steak until that night. Right before we entered the restaurant, he noticed that they served kobe beef and was impressed already. But his reaction and his great appreciation for good steaks truly made it a pleasant and wonderful dinner. It definetly made it the best experience. We both have been to top notch steakhouses such as The Metropolitan Grill, El Gaucho, Canlis, Ruth's Chris, and Morton's but John Howie's is rated high on our list.
Because the reservations were booked using Open Table, I was able to notate that I wanted the best seating with a good view as well as celebrating a birthday. For this reason, we got a table by the window overlooking I-405 and a complimentary dessert with a candle!
So the celebration didn't end that night. I found a 2-story penthouse in Belltown to rent out for his friend's and family celebration. That week, Topher sent off the money via paypal and received the codes and information confirming our stay at the penthouse. We rented it for 2 nights, January 8-10. We also had the weekend off. As this planning was going on, I was in distress because Hitomi was going out of town for the weekend and I wouldn't have anybody to work. It all worked out because she decided to cancel her flight and I was able to spend the entire weekend with him in preparing for the party.
On January 8th, we already packed so it was a matter of getting up and getting last minute items. Since Topher didn't pick out his outfit, we went downtown and shopped. He was able to get a majority of his outfit at Express and his shoes at Aldo's. Although he really wanted to find a white vest, we were unsuccessful in finding one. Almost forgot to mention that I themed the party black and/or white attire. By the time we were just about done, the rain started pouring as we were on our way to check in at the penthouse. It was pretty easy to find since it was right in Belltown and on 1st avenue between Wall and Battery street. Once we got in, we checked the place out and placed our luggage in the bedroom. We were there for no more than 20 minutes and then left to go to Costco. It was still pouring down rain! THis is what we bought at Costco for the party:
- Grapes and salami for the cheese and crackers
- Smoked salmon
- Mozzarella sticks
- a case of corona
- 3 cases of water
- Spicy chicken wings
- Organic tortilla chips and salsa and beans
- Chocolate cake
- plastic silverware
The total was about $170! Not bad for feeding approximately 60 people. After shopping at Costco, we had a quick bite to eat there and had a slice of pizza and each of us had our own hot dog. He even bought me a churro! Once we finished, we headed back to the penthouse to unload. We had maybe 20 minutes to unwind then had to leave again to pick Tina and Jim up at the airport. Topher wanted to trick them by telling them that we couldn't get the penthouse and that the penthouse was where we live. It worked for a minute and Tina was confused for a minute.
They arrived at about 8pm and hung out at the pad for a couple of hours. Robert and my cousin from Philly, Hung, came over so we could all walk to Umi Sake House. It was a short 2 block walk there from the penthouse! Tina tried to pay, but the waiter said that somebody already paid for the dinner and we were all perplexed as to who paid because everyone said that they didn't pay. We found out that it was Hung!