Birthday Bash!

(Candles, decked out with rose rings, were part of the birthday bash table setting.)


Yesterday was my husband's birthday. Because he is such a special guy, I decided to have a birthday bash for him. It was lots of work on my part, but soooooo worth it.

Preparation actually started Thursday when I went out and bought ingredients. Thursday night I spent making homemade New England clam chowder and Sicilian vegetable soup, and a four layer French vanilla cake with penuche frosting from scratch. Unfortunately, I didn't wait for all the cake layers to cool long enough. When I put them one on top of the other, one in the middle cracked all the way to China.

Did you hear that blood curdling scream coming from my kitchen? So I had to disassemble the whole shebang, opened the back door, and threw out a sweet treat (the cracked layer) to the neighborhood squirrels. Boy, bet they called in reinforcements to help eat it. They probably thought they died and went to heaven. (By the way, does anyone know a humane way to get rid of squirrels? Sometimes I think our front lawn is their convention headquarters. Of course, throwing out a fresh cake layer with penuche icing is probably not the way to get rid of them, right? hmmmmm)

Went to Dollar Tree and got 10 lovely birthday balloons. They are a real steal there for $1 each! They add so much to a festive atmosphere.

Set the table and brought down lots of Easter decorations from the attic (oh, trust me, you'll be hearing about them in the next few days.)


(See the balloons bobbing in the dining room? The chandelier provided soft lighting to set the festive mood of the evening!)

Made a delicious Greek salad out of the Rachel Ray cookbook my daughter bought me for Christmas. It had a great dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and a touch of allspice! I added a tad of sugar, too. That salad got scarfed and there was a heaping ton of it so guess it's safe to say the guests liked it. A lot!



Made another recipe out of the cookbook, too, namely, cheese tortellini with spinach/toasted walnut pesto. No kidding, it was great! Everyone seemed to love it.

Bought three dozen soft snowflake rolls at the supermarket, warmed them up in the oven, and served them with butter. Not a single roll was left (thank goodness).

So the birthday bash is now over. Kaputski. No one guessed the French vanilla cake with the penuche frosting was almost a washout and they ate every last crumb.

Had everyone sign my guest book,which, to me, is a great tradition. One can go back and read about events such as the birthday bash, long after they are over. Think I'll start putting down the menus, too. It will be interesting to look back and read what I cooked in the past when I'm too old to cook. I'll sit in a rocking chair near some fireplace and read my guest book from days gone by! Ha!

Nights like last night fill me with immense gratitude. First of all, I feel so blessed to have a really wonderful man for my husband. We've been through a lot together over the three-plus decades of marriage. I am also grateful to have been able to buy the ingredients for all the food and to have family and friends join us to eat it. Also, grateful to have a home in which to celebrate!

No one knows what the year ahead will bring but last night shone as bright as the birthday boy's candles and for that, my heart is thankful beyond words!

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS IN YOUR FAMILY?