It is Totally Still My Birthday

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I celebrate my birthday every year for an entire month. Not one day, not one party, an entire month worth of . Why you ask? Because birthdays are way too fun to celebrate for only one day. That being said, it is still my 21st birthday!

Here is the beautiful cake Mommaw made me for my birthday party a couple weeks ago. Isn't it gorgeous?! She does such a wonderfully impressive job, I am always so blow away by her perfection and attention to detail. I can only hope to be half as proficient as she is so that I can make birthday cakes for my grand babies.

Decorated with yellow and purple pansies, how perfect!?

Lemon cake with raspberry jam filling. Yummy, perfect for a birthday celebration.

Coffee Cup Wisdom

This past weekend I visited home and one of my first stops was to my favorite coffee shop in town. I ordered a latte I hadn't had in a while (light, no whipped cream, and half the shots, just the way I like it,)  and suddenly felt so much better about the bitterly cold weather outside. The snow was coming down like it rightfully should be in February, the wind was blowing enough to cut right through my thickest winter coat, and I still didn't mind because as I watch the snow swirl outside and sipped my latte, I noticed what was written on my coffee cup.

The question posed by this very inquisitive cup was "What will you stay up for?" Good question, since we all value the precious few hours we get nowadays. The answers varied from "the newest episode of The Desperate Housewives," to "to hear my 3 year old ask me 'what letter does S start with?'" So that made me wonder, what will I be willing to stay up for?

I will stay up to watch a Disney movie, to be a sympathetic ear and shoulder to cry on, and to read another few verses of the Bible. Definitely.

And I ask you the same question. What will you stay up for?

As you ponder, here are my birthday dessert pictures!

Rustic Apple Tart

Peanut Butter Blondies

Individual Fruit Tarts, glazed with honey

Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches (a birthday present from my roommate, Mary)

Mint Dark Chocolate Mousse in a Milk Chocolate Cup

Mocha Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Filling and Salted Caramel Frosting

Our dessert bar!

Birthday Weekend Recap

Things that made me so incredibly happy this weekend:

1. It was my 21st birthday (for all of you out there who have escaped the barrage of reminders that pepper my posts as of late.)
2. My beautiful birthday cake (pictures to come.)
3. The Passion Pit album downloaded for my by my roommate and now it has dominated my listening pleasure (check them out here and here.)
4. The prayer written inside of a birthday card from my grandparents, reproduced below:

Dear Lord,

Please bless this granddaughter with all that she may need as she seeks to do Your will in life and follow where You lead. Give her guidance in decisions, give her joy in little things, let her know You're always there, no matter what tomorrow brings. Fill her heart with the happiness she's so deserving of for the way she's blessed her family with her gentle faith and love.

This is our prayer for you, Kate

It brought tears to my eyes.

And last but not least... this yummy dinner inspired by the unseasonably warm weather consider it is almost February and I am used to only eating soups and stews at this point of the year.

The makings of a yummy tuna salad - a curious craving but a craving none the less.

My tuna salad dressing contains celery leaf, flat leaf parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flake, and salt. The salad itself is tuna (of course!), minced onion, celery, and red pepper. Simple but sublime!

Served as a sandwich...

... and salad.

Pizza of a Sweeter Persuasion

My 21st birthday is in one short week and, while preparing myself mentally for the stark reality of turning one year older, I have been making plans that will help me celebrate such a momentous occasion. I have decided to go home my actual birthday, which just so happens to conveniently fall on a Saturday, to spend with my family. We will be dining at McCormick & Schmick's which, so I've heard, is a fabulous fresh and locally proud seafood restaurant. I think seafood is one of the most decedent ways to celebrate, so I am thrilled to be trying this place for the first time, surrounded by family, cioppino, and a killer wine menu. Afterwards we will be convening back at our home to savor Mommaw's birthday cake (which I am thinking will be lemon cake with raspberry filling - one of my favorite flavor combinations and such a departure from the cold, dreary weather we have been having as of late.)

The weekend after I will celebrate with my friends by dining at my favorite restaurant in my college home town, Saul Good. Afterwards I am inviting everyone back to my apartment for homemade birthday dessert and coffee. The beauty of this arrangement is that: 1. I have a perfect reason to bake all the sweets I want because I will have all these wonderful friends to savor them with me, 2. I have all day Friday to prepare for such a festive event, as I don't have classes on Friday's this semester - heavenly.

I have been doing a lot of cookbook, blog, and recipe reading to decide which desserts I would like to make, and in the brainstorming process my roommates suggested a fruit pizza. An interesting option, and as I had never made one before, I wanted to give it a test drive. Let me tell you, they are every bit as fun to make as they are to eat!

Basic no-roll sugar cookie recipe that I used half for the pizza "crust" and the other half was dedicated to actual cookies to throw in the freezer for an occasion where sweets are necessary.

Pizza sauce - made of whipped cream cheese and fluffy sweetened cream cheese to lighten the frosting.

The final product! Pretty right?

Glazed here with a little melted honey to make it pretty.

A Different Kind of Birthday Cake

It was my sorority sister's birthday a week or so ago, right before finals (so unfortunately she spent it studying for an Accounting final, poor baby) but I am not about to let her work through her birthday and let it go un-celebrated. I invited her over for dinner, along with the rest of my Alpha Gamma Delta family. We enjoyed Chicken and Biscuits, a spinach, orange, and pomegranate salad, and Peanut Butter Brownie Pie. I assured my family that all of these dishes had brain food in preparation for finals (vegetables, lean protein, pomegranate, walnuts, and dark chocolate.) Everyone seemed thankful for the study break, and my little loved the non-traditional birthday cake.

Brownie pie with peanut butter frosting, soon to be topped with  chopped Reese's