Thursday, April 2, 2009 - When I was seventeen, it was a very good year....
....but now it is over! Yup, that's right, as of Friday, March 27, 2009, I'm officially a legal adult. Weird, huh? And yes, it does feel different.
So for my birthday, I had an absolutely crazy time. Friday was my birthday, so big sis came over and we did the birthday dinner/cake deal.
Mmm. Enchiladas. And HOT salsa. Nobody ever buys hot salsa but me; so you know it was my birthday if we had hot salsa. ;)
And my cake was out of this world. Seriously. Dark chocolate cake with raspberry filling and cream filling and fudge icing. Can it get any better?
And don't laugh at me, because I thought this was the most beautiful picture ever taken:
And of course, this was my birthday cake, so it had to be personalized. And my mom, being the coolest mom that I've ever had, made the cake absolutely ME by putting on three of some of my favorite literary characters on it: Sir Lancelot, Robin Hood, and one of the Three Musketeers. Yes, a literature cake. No, that's not geeky at all.
And speaking of literature I have to gush over some of the books I got:
(Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis box set Volume 1&2, The Children of Hurin, Lilith, Idylls of the King, and a hardcover Alexandre Dumas set that includes the Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, AND The Man in the Iron Mask--is that a cool set or what?!?)
and these, from my totally awesome aunt:
(The Norton Anthology of American Literature, vol. A-D)
C'est la vie.
My darling big sister also got me some very *exotic* makeup that came with about fifty-three different tools to apply it with (?!?!?)--and she insisted on applying it herself. Let me tell you, love you sis, but I'm really not partial to being made up by other people.
I made it through all right though.
And being perfectly honest, I don't know what she did to my hair and I don't want to know. She and Mom thought it looked great, but seriously--wouldn't you laugh if you saw someone walking down the street with their hair like this?!?
this is my attempted (not so successful) Sarah Palin look.
(I think she's laughing at me. Maybe because *she's* the pretty one, and I'm just the witty one. haha.)
awww...sisters. :-D
anyway...enough of me modeling. ;)
Now Saturday was the big day. We drove up to Philadelphia...we got there pretty early, so we spent a bit of the afternoon hanging around the historic part of the city--which we've done several times, so it didn't take too long.
Stephen with Independence Hall in the background...
Such a cool pic...
In the passageway Ben Franklin used to walk from work to home...
hangin' at Betsy Ross' house...
Ben's post office in the background....
She's cute. That's what this picture is about. ;)
We're both cute. That's what that picture is about. :P
In the evening we set off for what we really had come for--the Narnia Exhibition at the Franklin Science Center.
I think it is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures in the actual exhibit, but I will try and give you as many details as I can, for all you Narnia buffs!
This wasn't just a museum--no going into a single room and seeing a bunch of things in glass. Nope, this was actually going INTO Narnia.
The first room in the exhibit mainly consisted of C.S. Lewis' things--his pipe, his mug, hand written letters, first editions of his books, etc. And of course, one of the most delightful things of all--the wardrobe that is THE wardrobe that he owned and based the Narnian one off of.
Next, we enter the doors into a room that very much resembles this:
Same walls, same floor, same wardrobe--and it was even "raining" outside the windows. While the Narnian music is playing, the wardrobe doors swing open, and we're transported to a new world--well at least as close as you can get in Pennsylvania!
We walked through the coats in the wardrobe and were greeted by a winter wonderland--complete with falling "snow!" Then we were introduced to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe original movie props--the children's clothes, items from the Beaver's house, things from Mr. Tumnus house (and his umbrella...eeee!), the White Witch's dress, sleigh, crowns, wand, Turkish Delight, statues of stone and many more props from that movie.
Next, we moved on to the original items from the Prince Caspian movie. First the beginning of the movie was represented by the children's school clothes and the treasure chamber complete with statues, chests, Edmund's chess piece, Susan's bow set, her purple dress, and more of the treasure props that you saw in the movie.
The later parts of the movie included a working catapult, Telmarine armor, Caspian's armor (AMAZING!), one of the chairs from the Telmarine house of lords, the model of the castle used in the movie, Miraz and Prunaprismia's clothing, Dr. Cornelius' desk and glasses and library...
Later we were introduced to the children's armor. Peter and Edmund's battle outfits were always my favorite, and they don't disappoint in real life. Susan's and Lucy's clothing is likewise beautiful, but it was the three boys' armor and clothes that were incredible.
We were also given the chance to try out the a catapult, mess around with some armor and swords, sit in a very COLD replica of the WW's throne....
What else...oh, yes, Trufflehunter's Den was too cool to go into. As was the stuffed minotaur--Nikabrik is right, they ARE HUGE!
Lastly, we visited the Great Hall of Cair Paravel and walked down the aisle--centaurs holding swords high above us--to the end, where Susan's throne st, along with the crowns of the Four.
Of course, I absolutely loved seeing some of C.S. Lewis' belongings. That was the best for me. You know I love the man. But I also did tremendously enjoy the movie props--especially the costumes. They looked great in the movie, but even more amazing in real life!
And now I feel like I've truly been to Narnia. Oh bother. I think I left my new electric torch there.
Comments
Thursday, April 2, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by sharla88
Happy belated birthday my dear adult friend!!! You cake was awesome and your presents were awesome!!! The best birthdays have books involved somewhere!
GB~
Sharla~
Friday, April 3, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by CrossView
Looks like an awesome birthday! And just why wasn't I invited? I'd bring a gift. I'd bring two gifts to get some of that good eating!!!! ;o)
And you, my dear, are absolutely gorgeous!
Monday, April 6, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by WalkingInMiddleEarth
Sounds like a fun birthday and trip to Philly!
Natalie
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by carygrant19
I love Sir Lancelot! He's so totally my fave too.
I love The Count of Monte Cristo! I saw it in play version once and loved it to death. Have you read it?
Happy Birthday! Does it feel any different, being an adult?
Awarded By Crossview
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Awarded by Sharla88
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