A birthday worth remembering

Whew! What a [long] weekend!

I honestly don't say this every year - but this birthday was absolutely one of the best I've had. I realize one's perspective of what a good birthday is will change as they age so that's perhaps why I more often than not enjoy my current birthday. But regardless - this year's birthday was fantastic!! I stated earlier what it is that I love so much about my birthday. It's not presents or cake or *gasp* getting older. It's friends and family spending time with me. I thrive off of this. And this year was definitely no exception. I spent my entire birthday with friends, from morning til... well morning!

The day started off as all fantastically special days should. With a scrumptious breakfast - made by someone else. Well, with no other cooks around other than myself...Tracey took me for pancakes at the Original Pancake House. Dutch babies to be exact! I've been wanting to try making these ever since Mom and I dined on them last summer. So it was very necessary to return to OPH to study them so that I could come home and try the what seems to be a very simple recipe. The hardest part is manipulating a gigantic cast-iron skillet. So the picture is those made by the restaurant - but stay tuned and I will attempt these very soon.

Next stop with Tracey was to get spa pedicures at my favorite local spot. This place is awesome. They spend a full hour on you!

Soaking and..
scrubbing and..
massaging and..
hot waxing and..
moisturizing and..
painting.

All the while you relax in a cushy massage chair which... isn't half bad!


After a perfect morning - my evening held all kinds of even better festivities:


A classy dinner with a small group of close friends.

A birthday party with 20-some additional friends.

Eating sweets and drinking cocktails.

And lots and lots (and lots) of laughter!

Mom and Dad had me over for dinner later in the weekend. Mom attempted homemade Napoleons (mille feuille) but she did it with shortcuts *GASP*! She used store-bought puff pastry shells. Pressed them together and then cut them into squares before baking them and sandwiching with vanilla pudding. Oh and dinner? (why must I always prioritize the sweets?) Fondue... it's perhaps not really a summer meal - but it's something our family loves. So simple yet so delish! We cook the veggies after dipping them in tempura batter...mmmmmmm!

Mom's bday dinner for me - beef fondue and homemade Napoleons!

Thank you to anyone out there who had anything to do with celebrating my birthday! Your cards (and thoughts) are being held very close to me. And I'll hold tight to them from now through to next year.

Thank you to all my friends!