Birthdays are my favorite. Seriously. I adore birthdays. Those who know the Mama know that celebrating a birthday is something that makes my heart super happy. Like crazy wicked happy. So, when the Boyfriend gave me free reign to plan whatever, well that was like tossing a kitten into a padded room full of catnip! Winning!

Being the overplanner that I am, I began scouring my brain for something that would rock his world. And well, it wasn’t hard really. The Boyfriends truly really only has a few things he really loves. Coffee. Whiskey. Beer. The Beach. Done. Easy peasy.

So I dove into finding a local spot that could fit the bill, however once the guest list started growing and growing and growing, well the location needed an upgrade and more central positioning on the map. So to the memory bank I went and the only place that seemed appropriate was Seven Grand. Not just any location in DTLA but a sorta swanky feeling whiskey bar with the feel of an old cigar lounge in NYC. There’s taxidermy on the gorgeous oak walls and the bartenders are hands-down the best educated about not just whiskey but mixology as a whole. Meaning they answered all my ridiculous questions without making me feel stupid. BAM!

When I got in touch to make the plans my message was returned almost immediately with a friendly email and then a follow-up phone call. Making arrangements to reserve their alcove known as The Snug put my mind at ease and my heart balls a flutter with joy. The Boyfriend would totes be thrilled!

Along with needing a place to party like rock stars with less leather and chains and mas Don Draper and Joan Halloway, I also needed to find a spot to crash once we had partaken of the finer whiskey available at Seven Grand. Of course looking for a deal in DTLA is tough now the the hipster set seems to migrate there every weekend from their various parts of Cali-ville. But, I would not be deterred. I called around. I sent emails. Eventually, settling on the fact that none of the hip locations were gonna give a Mama a break, I got in touch with the folks at the Westin Bonaventure who cut me some slack and hooked us up with a fairly well priced room with an amazeballs view of the city and the park below. Our crash spot was completely comfy and beautifully decorated. It was perfection.

Thanks to the dudes at Seven Grand the evening was wicked magical in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I ordered the Seasonal Punch for the group to guarantee The Snug and it was the perfect party punch and trust me Mama knows a good punch! Then I sipped whiskey’s from all over the world, tried their famous Shimamoto Sour that really put the punctuation mark in the evening for me, if ya know what I mean.

By the end of the evening we hopped a few blocks around the bend to the Golden Gopher, a  spot I’ve taken more first dates to then I have fingers and toes taking up residence in my casa. It’s funky and filled with a great old school vibe with genuine 80’s table video games like Ms. Pac Man. Hells yeah. I love this place and so should you.

Seriously can’t stop smiling over this event. I rock at this birthday stuff. Seriously, huge back pat for me!

This marked night one of  three full nights of Awesome Birthday Celebration I like to call Boyfriend Birthday-palooza! The Boyfriend and I spent entire almost-three day weekend, if you count two half days, bonding over booze, relaxation and well more booze.

Next up is the road trip we took to a land of magic and wonder….