This evening, my family and I headed out for dinner to celebrate my mom’s twenty ninth birthday :)

At the request of the birthday girl, we tried out a brand new restaurant in the heart of our town: i-Pasta.

We were seated near the festively decorated front window:

And were immediately brought fresh bread & olive oil, along with cheese and mortadella.

I had two rolls- one wheat, one white.

Popped the bubbly in celebration!

Since we didn’t eat until 8 PM, several hours after my usual dinnertime, I’d kind of ruined my appetite with a few too much pre-dinner noshing. As a result,  I opted for a salad.

This was meal-sized and packed with good stuff- lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, white beans, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, olives and tuna, all dressed with good-quality olive oil & balsamic.

For those in the mood for a heavier meal, there was a large assortment of fresh handmade pastas with a wide choice of sauces.

Not to worry- I did get to try the pasta! Both my parents and my brother ordered heaping bowls of the stuff.

I snagged a few bites of each and was very pleased- light, fresh, and slightly doughy. Exactly the way I like it- I know to save room for pasta next time! The portions were also very generous, and the prices were reasonable.

Since I’d made my mom a cake, we passed on formal dessert, but my sweet tooth was delighted with the assortment of mini cookies that arrived with our check.

I had a biscotti slice and some kind of chocolate macaroon- the biscotti was definitely better. Crunchy but not hard.

At the end of our meal, the restaurant owner, Pietro, came out and chatted with us for awhile. It was a nice personal touch to the dining experience- friendly service and delicious food!

After dinner, we headed over to my brother and sister-in-law’s apartment for cake pie .

Somehow I ended up with the widest slice- not complaining.

Loved this. I only had a few tablespoons of cocoa powder left this afternoon, so I increased the chocolate flavor by adding 1 cup of chocolate chips to the brownie base. Naturally I had to pick the chocolate chips out of everyone else’s leftovers as well…

While eating, we looked at Luke and Cammy’s wedding photos from July. Hard to believe it’s been five months already!

This was one of my favorites:

Overall, it was a nice, relaxing night with the fam. Don’t know how eating and sitting around made me so tired! Off to bed I go!