34th birthday

Yesterday was my 34th birthday, and, I have to say, it was one of my favorites. We just celebrated in a low-key family way, and it was so nice. First, on Wednesday night, Alex took me to see the The Book of Mormon. Our friend (who actually happens to be Mormon) helped us get discounted house seats through her friend who works for the play. When we showed up, we realized we were sitting fifth row center! We were so close, we could see the sweat on the actors' faces; it was crazy.
Look how beautiful the boxes were on the sides of the theater...
The play was absolutely hilarious, and the acting was fantastic. Jon Stewart said the play was "so f**king good it makes me angry," which seemed about right. We had smiles plastered on our faces the whole time.
The next morning, my brother and his French girlfriend Audrey came over for breakfast. She recommended Bien Cuit, a new bakery in our neighborhood...
...so we headed over there for delicious pain au chocolat and carrot bread. (Toby preferred the former:)
That evening, Alex and I went to Junoon, a fancy Indian restaurant in the Flatiron district.
The food was exploding with flavor. We had crispy cauliflower, fried paneer cheese and duck meatballs just to start, and then shared lentil-encrusted mahi mahi and lamb shank braised for five hours.
During dinner, Alex surprised me with a handmade Mason Pearson brush. I've wanted one ever since Caroline explained that the boar bristles evenly distribute your hair's natural oils to make it extra shiny. Plus, every woman in my family had one growing up—my mom, my aunts, my grandmother—so in a funny way, it feels like I've finally grown up. :)