My Birthday Luncheon

Pioneer Woman's dishes are so charming and colorful
I love that big bowl!

Imagine my surprise when, on the Friday before my birthday, I walked in to my office to find a big, very heavy box sitting on my desk.  It was gaily wrapped and had a big sign on it saying "Happy Birthday!"

I opened it and to my surprise discovered it was from my co-workers Barbara and Carmen.  It was full of really cute Pioneer Woman stuff from Walmart.  I was so surprised!

Drinking glass and cutlery were in a beautiful teal color

There was a full set of cutlery, and one place setting for me - just perfect!

There was also a set of measuring cups.  I realized I had mentioned one day, in passing, how much I liked the Pioneer Woman line and wanted to get me those measuring cups. I've had the same beat-up tin measuring cups since forever.  These (below) are whimsically colored and have pretty designs.  I love them!

Barbara had listened, and marched right over to the store to get them for me.  That really touched me.

Later, the ladies in the office took me out to lunch at Ciro's, my favorite Mexican place. It is located in the area of Los Angeles known as Boyle Heights.  It's an area you don't want to be in after dark!  Ha!  However, they have the best avocado salsa in the known universe.

The waitress bringing Nikita her lunch

Ciro's has a great reputation, but it is a tiny place.  There were six of us, and they barely found room for us, pushing two tables together.

Ivy and Mengzhao

Mengzhao's birthday is two days after mine.  We went to another great Mexican place for that. But that's a post for another day.

My friend Barbara

I work with such great ladies.  They are just the best.

Carmen is a better cook than the guys at Ciro's... just sayin'

Here is the avocado salsa (below).  I could eat an entire meal of nothing but, like, a huge tub of that and chips.

Guacamole salsa.  I LOVE this stuff!!

Their spicy salsa (below) is good, too.  I like to combine the two.  I like hot salsa, but it has to have flavor and not just burn your mouth.  This stuff fills the bill nicely.

Regular Salsa

I ordered chicken and beef flautas (see below).  They came with rice, beans, guacamole and sour cream.  They were very delicious!

Flautas, rice and beans... with more guacamole!

A couple of the others ordered soup.  I forget what this soup is called (see Ivy posing with it below), but it looked delicious, too.  It has huge hunks of vegetables, and a huge chunk of beef, plus a delicious broth.  It reminds me of the soup my grandmother used to make.  You usually need an extra plate and a knife and fork, too, to eat it properly.

Ivy posing with her lunch

It is a very hearty soup.  It actually looks great, but I have to admit I've never tried it.  Barbara's (below) had an order of rice with it.

Barbara's soup

I was told you have to squeeze limes into the soup before you eat it.  Here is Carmen squeezing the limes into her soup:

Carmen's soup

Unfortunately the glare from the light fixture ruined this shot (below).  The sign on the wall says: Greetings from East Los Angeles!

Greetings from Los Angeles

What a lovely day this was.  I am so blessed to have great co-workers.