Happy birthday to me!

I love making my own birthday cake! People seem bothered by the fact that I have to make my own cake but I love experimenting and frankly, it's the only time in the year that I only have to please myself. In this case, I did a sort of self-portrait in cake...

New York State of Mind, Part 3

We headed down to the West Village to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.

Here's me and my sis outside the shop.

For my birthday dinner, we headed to Eataly! OMG, what an amazing spot.

You can choose from a million fresh or dry pasta for take out.

 Besides pasta, there is a huge selection of everything you can imagine, mostly all originating from Italy.

There are restaurants scattered amongst the groceries, if you can believe it. We chose the pasta/pizza one. I had this amazing dish: ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta topped with lemon and pistachios. Yum-o!

And a last look at my favourite building in NYC. The Flat Iron. We rested in a park just north of it and I got to gaze at it for a while. Ahhh. I love NY!

New York State of Mind, Part 2

 We spent a good amount of time on the High Line. It's a former elevated train turned into a park.

It has all sorts of nooks and crannies. This one a sort of classroom where you can view the street below.

In certain spots, the High Line goes under buildings and has food kiosks. Finally made it to Blue Bottle Coffee, which was on my bucket list.

 We left the High Line and headed down to Chelsea Market where we met Richard's fabulous niece Jess, who is studying at Julliard. 

We had lunch and then went to L'Arte del Gelato.

Here's my niece Sylvie, Jess and me saying "Nom, nom, nom!"

 Speaking of food, did I mention the fabulous meal we had the day before at Jack's Wife Freda?

 A very loud, funky and happening place with delicious food.

I had the Greek and kale salad. Perfect on a hot day!

New York State of Mind Part 1

For my birthday, I met my sis and my niece in New York City. When we got into our hotel room, a lovely cheese, fruit and cookie platter greeted us. My niece Sylvie celebrates her birthday three days after mine, so it was a joint celebration.

 Our first stop was the World Trade Memorial. A very moving spot. We located the name of my brother-in-law's cousin who perished in 9/11. Very sad. Such a young man.

Here's what One World Trade looks like from the ground (to the left). The white wings look like a peace dove and I believe it is going to be a subway entrance.

Then we rode up the elevator to the top of One World Observatory. What a view. That square below is the footprint of one of the World Trade towers. The names of the dead are engraved around those squares.

 And the views? Spectacular! That tall building is the Empire State.

 Bridges into Brooklyn.

We had a drink a half floor above the observatory and all I can say is, wow!

Happy birthday Richard x 2

I made a cake for my cousin and my boyfriend, both cat lovers and both named Richard.

 It was a so-called "naked cake" where there is no icing on the sides...so little fondant cats could be seen coming in and out of the layers.

 Bonus: my other first cousin from Texas, Len was in town too. He doesn't have any cats but that's okay.

 The two Richards with their kitty cat birthday cake.

 Happy birthday Richard 1 and 2. You are both terrific guys!

Special birthday travels

 Since my birthday was on a Tuesday this year, we celebrated it on a Thursday and headed to New York State with our sights set on Tail O' The Pup.

It's a totally funky spot just north of Lake Placid with real barbecue ribs and such, lobsters from Maine and lots of total funkiness!

We're talking over-sized wooden folk art lobsters!

What to choose, what to choose...

 Richard went for the jerk chicken with sides of beans and coleslaw.

 I went for the half slab of ribs with coleslaw and cornbread.

Best of all, you could rinse off outside!

 We figured we should work off some of our food with a hike in the Adirondacks. This spot was pretty close to the restaurant.

 There was a warning placed in the little sign in box...the trails were wet but passable.

 We came upon a rushing stream...so lovely.

Very pretty spot!

I just love hiking in the woods. One of my favourite things to do.

 Selfie time!

Last on our birthday list? Ice cream at this darling spot on Saranac Lake.

 We both had hot fudge sundaes with the perfect view.

 Adirondack chairs in the Adirondacks. What fun!

A lovely day and way to spend my birthday. BBQ, hike and ice cream. Perfect!

Happy birthday to me

 Birthdays are a reason to celebrate life! Last week two of my friends and I celebrated my life at the Quirky Carrot in Alexandria. Here's Sigrun with her yummy selection.

 Here's Natalie looking like she's ready to dig in to her lunch. 

 For dessert I was treated to a slice of Julia's fabulous gluten-free chocolate cake.

 I loved that she had made my initial with chocolate sauce...and added an edible nasturtium to the top!

 It was washed down with a delicious cappuccino.

Birthdays are a great reason to get together with friends!

Happy birthday to me!