TURNIN' 30...

My oddly monochromatic crew of friends.


"Fancy Pants" O'Brien came through with some ridiculously delicious appetizers. He would say "hors d'oevres," but not me... appetizers. Two words... freedom fries!


That, my friends, is my birthday cake!! Yup, it is all cake and all edible - courtesy of Ms. Kate Mauldin. For those who don't know, I collect sock moneys - so Kate made this awesome 3-D cake. Needless to say, it was a hit. Thanks kid.


David came by with a very special present, my portrait from his last solo show at Needles + Pens. I am honored to be part of the few that he took the time to paint. This piece is one of my most treasured art possessions. Thanks again dude.

As a side note, I will be doing a feature on David and his work soon, so keep checking back. He is hands-down one the most talented and honest people I know.


Oh, look at that... a nice bottle of Chicago Title wine dressed up. How cute. Lets just take this little outfit off... what the ?!?!? Jason, how did you get here? If you want the story of Jason, email me. Poor guy.


Jon is manning the bbq... or the towering inferno that is supposed to be a bbq. Maudie can't watch.


Paige and Chuck letting us know who brought sexy back.


Anna, Mike and Rachel just chillin' and grinnin'. Also, see the sock monkeys in the background. I wasn't lying.


David grilling up some sausages for the meat-hungry masses. It was so good that he just broke into dance.


Ed getting closer... closer... closer... ok, way too close. Yer creepin us out, dude.


You really can't beat a San Francisco summer night in the backyard with booze, food and friends...


... especially with handsome men in black like Peter and Daniel cruising around.


The Hugh Hefner of the party, Chuck, and his ladies - Paige and Jessie.


Oh, he can get sassy. I hate being the ugly girl in the picture.


I swear I though this said "I owe you 1 lood present." I just thought Ed was kinda dumb when spelling out my IOU in ketchup. Apparently, it says "good" not "lood"... and I still haven't seen my present. Right now, I'll take either.




Shawn brought me the most "unique" gift of the night - a sparkly unicorn sticker. It didn't take long until it was being put on everyone in the party. Suzi is in the background protecting Sarah and check out that look from Brandi in the bottom picture. Damn.


I have no idea what the hell Matt is doing here, but why not embarass him when I can.


Anna and Mike are just too damn cute... and talented. Love those kids.


Like deer in headlights... Paige and Shawn.


Death of a cake.


Portrait of an artist, David Benzler.


We figured out that this is what I would look like with a big red beard... and no chin... and no mouth. The role of the beard was played by the always awesomical, Ms. Jessie Murphy.


Jocelynn is gonna hate this photo. Oh well, thats what you get for coming late!


Casey and David in a fierce dance-off. I believe David put a little Michael Jackson on the record player for this number... and you just can't be that combination.


Janet really liked the swing in the backyard. As Mike would say, "Weeeeeee...."


I think this picture sums up the whole night perfectly.