The "Birthday Season" Recap!

Mmmk, so I'm done apologizing for not keeping up with this thing like I want to. Thankfully, the productivity-and-socialization streak I've been on (brought to you by Prednisone) has continued, so lack of posts = lots of life, mainly lots of Birthday Fun! Ergo, my lack of apology for my lack of posts!

My 23rd birthday was June 28th, so much of my time recently has been consumed by what Madge and I call the "birthday season." It's never just ONE day, because you've got the family "thing", the slightly extended family "thing", the friends "thing", etc, so I just sort of use the whole little period around my birthday to justify doing quasi-ridiculous things I probably wouldn't the other 11 months of the year.

Like spend a ridiculous amount of money at the ridiculous sales at the J.Crew and Banana Republic Outlets, then turn around and spend a slightly-less-but-still-ridiculous amount on still more new clothes at said outlets when making returns from the aforementioned ridiculous excursion. I haven't really updated my "wardrobe" in probably two or three years...a few things here and there, obviously, but no real style overhaul. Something about my recent good health (and perhaps the nagging doubt that my prep-tastic, self-imposed undergrad uniform might have something to do with being mistaken for a child) finally spurred me to go out and get some "grown up clothes," just things that are a little funkier and more individualistic, but still clean cut and pulled together. I don't know how to describe them, I just know I love them! Perhaps I'll post pictures in a future post...

So after operation outlet 1.0 the Friday before my birthday, I was supposed to go with my family to this awesome restaurant in Charlotte called Carpe Diem. It's a locally owned, creative kind of place, and I love it but it's a pain to get to for someone as navigationally impaired as I am, and it's expensive, so I don't go often. But I had been shopping all day, and it was hot, I was tired, and I really just didn't feel like getting dressed up; I just wanted to go somewhere laid back with tasty food...and beverages. So we went to Prickly Pear, a better-than-awesome place that serves "gourmet Mexican cuisine with a nouveau European twist." aka, "the best Mexican you'll have, ever, outside of Mexico itself." And we got a pitcher of margaritas. It was perfectly laidback and awesome...here's a (not so great) pic of me and Faja:

The next day, my mom and I went to a wedding of (put on your thinking caps here) my mom's best friend from high school's oldest daughter. I hadn't seen either of the girls in years, and Madge had only occasionally seen her friend, so it was good to catch up, but slightly awkward, since we seriously didn't know anybody else there. I got a text from Faja asking, since we were already dressed up and everything, if we just wanted to go out to dinner. Ha! But of course. Between the lure of food and the fact that it was aproximately 3281017 degrees with 281% humidity, we ducked out early and ended up just going for hibachi! woohoo!

Sidebar: When I was about five or so, my parents told me we could go anywhere I wanted for dinner on my birthday, expecting me to say McDonald's (or, as I often requested, "the gas station" as I associated it with candy). I promptly demanded to go to the "choppa-choppa house", as I so politically correctly refered to Japanese Steakhouses back in the day. It turned in to a bit of a tradition, going to the hibachi grill place sometime around my birthday, but fell off a few years ago with the advent of decent express japanese and sushi/hibachi hybrid places, and the development of my culinary palate. So going to a good hibachi place was doublely awesome because a)I didn't know there still was a good one around us (re: Sushi @ the Lake) b) the tradition continued, thereby extending my "season".

Here's a pic of Madge and I (pre-wedding, aka pre-sweaty and gross):

Then Sunday, on my actual birthDAY, my mom made me french toast (I love it, but nobody else does so I don't bother making it often...or ever) which I heartily consumed. I then hung out and napped and read and tried on clothes and was otherwise intentionally useless most of the day, while mom made me a lemon cake, from scratch, with lemon curd filling, from scratch, with lemon cream cheese icing...from scratch. We had my neighborfamily (Madge's sister, her husband, and 9-y/o daughter that live next door) and my dad's family (his parents and sister) over for dinner and a wee celebration, just a cookout and cake and ice cream...

So. I'm not a cake-y person, and my mom is an amazing cake decorator, so growing up, the big excitement about my birthday cake wasn't how tasty it would be, but how awesome it would look. I would pick out a theme, or a picture, or whatever, she would masterfully re-create it in edible pastry for, and I would then eat an obigatory slice (or half) and devour the homemade butterfinger ice cream my dad makes (almost) every year. Ever since I grew out of "theme" cakes, though, I've kind of been on meandering search for "my" cake. I've had plenty I like O.K., but never anything that made me understand why we celebrate with cake, rather than say, really good bruschetta.

But this was my year, and BY GOD I'VE FOUND IT! That cake was freaking phenomonal; I ate it for breakfast literally every day last week, and several additional slices throughout the day for probably 3 days. I even refused to take any to our friend and neighbor who had just had surgery, I got that obsessive...but for someone as non-cakey as I am to finally, after all these years, and all these awkward weddings and celebrations pushing flour/butter/sugar pieces around on a plate so as not to insult the celebrated, find a cake I love? No, as a matter of fact, I will not be sharing. (We got him ice cream, so I'm not an entirely awful person). Here's a pic of the cake:

Ahh. I wish I could have a slice RIGHT NOW. But I will force myself to wait another whole year. I finally get it, this whole "anticipating YOUR cake all year long" thing! It's like when I got old enough to just go ahead and whip up in August the special treats we only make at Christmas and get high on rebellion for a few minutes, only to discover they simply don't taste as good any other time. I think discovering MY cake was probably the best birthday gift of all this year. Then again, my iphone is backordered, so the jury's still out.*

*I'm guessing discovering a cake of my very own will at least tie, though.