My birthday, thus far...

Today is my 29th birthday, and so far it has been a good one.
First, yesterday I came home to find this in my driveway...


I knew that there was a peacock running around the neighborhood, but I'd never been able to get close enough to get a photo of it.
Then, this was in the mail for me....

WOOOO HOOOO!!!! A Crochet Dude pattern!! YAY!!!
So, since I took today off for my birthday did I go out with friends, see a movie, visit the local rose gardens? NO! I HAD TO GET YARN FOR THE VEST!!!
I spent my birthday going to a couple of local yarn shops to find yarns for the vest and further increase my stash.
First stop, The Fuzzy Penguin in Sacramento, where I got some crochet patterns as well as cross stitch patterns.
First, a pattern book for crocheted scarves. i'm not sure which one I'll make first, there are some really cute scarves in there.

Then, another crochet pattern book of "Purses for Sassy Girls". I'm thinking this will make a cute Christmas present for my little 5 year old cousin Janae. She is DEFINITELY sassy.

I'm leaning towards making her the bunny purse, but I'm not sure.

I also found a couple of Celtic knot patterns. I'm not sure what I'll do with these, I just love celtic knot designs though, so I had to get them.

And a fish pattern - this will go GREAT in my moms bathroom.

I FINALLY found some yarn....
First, I've been looking for some Red Heart Casual Cott'n, but EVERYWHERE I went didn't have it. I found it at Beverly's in Fair Oaks and got this great red colorway...

And I found the yarn I'm going to use for The Crochet Dudes Wooly Vest. A creamy white with a pink & cream novelty yarn for the trim. I'm thinking this will be for my aunts christmas gift...

But, my birthday is not over yet. My cousin Erin and her husband Jeremy are taking the train up this evening where I'll pick them up downtown and we'll be going to dinner and then hitting our favorite Brit pub here in Sacramento. More photos tomorrow after I've recovered...