I just had to share the details of my crazy fun birthday over the weekend because my husband (and our two friends that joined us) did such a great job to make it really special. (Plus, there were some really cool interiors at the places we went).
We started the evening at Gitane, a restaurant and bar in downtown San Francisco. We went there for drinks while we waited for our dinner reservations (which were at a young and hip 8:30 pm). The decor at Gitane was amazing. Here’s the alley where it’s located:
And here is the bar where we hung out for about an hour and a half.
20 foot ceilings with amazing chandeliers. Also, fabric panels that ran the whole height of the walls.
In this photo and the one below you can see the ceiling medallions quite well–that is real moss!
The photographic tapestries of people lying on each other was the only total question mark for me. We debated whether it was an orgy that got interrupted by a sudden and severe plague or is everyone in the picture so bored/hungry/drugged out they can’t summon the energy to even climb off each other? Really not sure but to be honest it was the one weird thing that I guess made it all work and definitely made it very San Francisco.
Back to the amazing stuff. Look at the curved chevron pattern of the paneling in the photo below. Incredible! Not to mention the wallpaper and the fabric on each of the seats as well as the patina on that bar.
But my favorite was probably the bathroom. Speechless.
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To learn more about Charles Doells’ gypsy inspired decor (Gitane means gypsy in French) see this article.
After Gitane, we headed over to Michael Mina for probably the best meal I’ve ever had.
(the only pic we got–that’s me on the left with my friend Val)
I think we were there for over 3 hours and had so much good food and champagne I had to forgo some of the dessert. Just some though. It was also then a requirement that we head out for dancing just to burn some of it off. So around midnight we headed to DNA Lounge:
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We had a completely age-inappropriate incredibly good time and I was tired for two days afterward (not from the champagne, from the dancing. Seriously,every muscle on my body hurt the next day!). Us at the club was a little bit like the older sister in Knocked Up. Farewell youth! 
Thanks so much to my hubby for an unforgettable 40th birthday!
